The #ITGTopShelfie interview series focuses on the beauty routines of Into The Gloss' lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Submit your own on Instagram—post your Top Shelfie (tag us @intothegloss!) and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie for a chance to be featured on ITG.
“Hi friends! My name is Carina Chaz (@carinachaz), founder and CEO of DedCool, which is a unisex, non-toxic, vegan fragrance company. I believe scent is an essential part of one’s identity and personal aesthetic, so I take care to make scents that are clean yet sophisticated, and composed of the highest quality natural ingredients without a hippie dippy vibe. Although DedCool has been around for only three years, I’ve been making scents for over a decade. At 13, I formulated my debut perfume called CC N, which was modeled after Chanel No. 5. Some kids had Britney Spears…I had Coco Chanel’s nose. Soon after, a Big Name Corporation asked to license one of my compositions for the Twilight saga franchise. I respectfully declined, choosing to work alongside their fragrance house instead. The experience shifted my palette, where I uncovered an interest in masculine-leaning scents.
Even though I have liked fragrance since I was young, I never really thought of myself as a beauty person—I’ve never watched YouTube tutorials and I don’t wear makeup often. However working in the beauty space now, I’m exposed to hundreds of brands and founders. Having access to so many cool and innovative products has converted me into being a ‘clean beauty junkie,’ where 90-percent of my regimen consists of clean beauty, and the remaining 10-percent is a mixture of products I can’t live without. I’m also a sucker for brand ethos and story. I value connection and transparency, so it’s important for me to understand which safe practices are used to create products.
When it comes to skin, I’m super particular. I use La Natura’s Hyaluronic + Lemon Peel face wash because I’m obsessed with all the actives—yuzu oil, vitamin C for brightening, and lemon peel bio ferment to ensure clean and exfoliated skin. Once my skin is clean, I only use Mara's Universal Oil or the Retinol Oil. I’ve completely eliminated moisturizer from my skincare practice because I love these oils so much. And also, I gua sha the crap out of my face and I find that the oil’s consistency is perfect for that. But in the morning I can’t live without Josh Rosebrook’s Nutrient Day Cream with SPF 30. I mix it with my foundation or just wear on clean skin.
Next, the essential DedCool Chazsticks, in all flavors of course. I have one in every bag/pocket/drawer. Flavors include: Cannabis (Pineapple Express flavor), Rose, Vanilla, Mint, Coconut Milk and Watermelon. My Starfaced friend, Julie Schott said, “it’s like grown-up Lip Smackers,” which is the greatest compliment I could ever receive.
I’m a huge believer in correcting with treatments as opposed to product. For example, I always get hormonal breakouts during my menstrual cycle. When that happens, my facial fairy godmother, Jacky Banayan, cleans me right up. When it comes to makeup, I’m always going for the most natural look—partially because I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, and an even smaller part of me just thinks I look better without it. My makeup staples: Lilah B. Lip & Cheek, Jillian Dempsey Cheek Tint—any multipurpose product, really.
This is VERY UNDERRATED and Nécessaire says it best: ‘treat your body like your face.’ I love their sandalwood shower gel, it is real thicccccck and smells amazing. (My boyfriend steals it all the time.) I’m dedicated to La Natura’s walnut scrub in the White + Green Tea scent, along with its matching lotion. When I say this lotion is the best lotion I have ever tried, believe me because I’ve tried them all. Nothing compares to how it nourishes my skin. And I’m totally a fan girl of Corpus natural deodorants—I love sniffing my pits upon application and possibly throughout the day... I just can’t get enough of their Third Rose. My armpits are super sensitive and since we absorb so much of what we put on our skin, I’m a major advocate for switching over to the green side.
Hair, I like to keep short, so I get a straight cut once a month. I’m lucky because I brush it out of the shower and don’t touch it for days. My hair color, on the other hand, is not so minimal. I go twice a year to Stephen Garrison, the only person I let color my hair.
People ask me all the time if I have a favorite DedCool scent, and I always answer with nooooope. The way I see it, each scent has to be my favorite for a good stretch of time and then I move on. For me that one right now is Madonna, one of our most layered scents that’s composed of bergamot, black pepper, sandalwood and hints of lily. My past go-to’s have been: Fragrance 05 Spring, a fresh and woody citrus, Fragrance 04, which is a sexy green with notes of the woods and the earth, and Fragrance 02, my “magic in a bottle” scent with sandalwood and juniper berries.
It can be hard to work, exercise, and conduct a social life, but I do my best to balance. After a long day at the office, I try and get a workout in—usually some Classpass class. When I get home, I like to cook a nice meal—I love vegetables in the oven with some salt, pepper and oil. Then I usually meet up with friends or get in isolation mode. Isolation mode means that I take a bath and smoke a little weed. It is one of the all-time great combos—nothing's more relaxing than that.”
—as told to ITG
Photos via the author.
