'My name is Diana Heald [@dianaheald] and I'm a Social Media Producer at an agency called Gluttony. I develop social media strategy and oversee content creation for some really interesting clients. The best part about what I do is that it gives me a chance to be strategic, creative, and analytical—I get to wear a lot of different hats.
Two opposing ideas govern all aspects of my beauty routine: The first is to keep it simple and streamlined, to be ruthless about eliminating extra products and steps, and to have a healthy suspicion about things like 'toxins,' liquefied stem cells, and patented firming technologies. Out of respect for my high school science teachers I just can't bring myself to buy into any of that. Then my other philosophy is to spend massive amounts of time reading about hard-to-find brands and obscure cult products and amass as many of them as possible, especially if they have pretty packaging or are made by nuns.
Right now, I'm firmly of the latter mentality. For the past year, I've been going to Between You and the Moon in Brooklyn for facials and I get most of my products there. I cleanse my face with No Evil, a really gentle oil, and rinse it off with a warm, wet washcloth. Then I spray my face with one of their hydrosols—right now I am using Holy Cow, which smells amazing. Then I put five drops of Nourish & Replenish Oil in my hand and spray it with Holy Cow so they blend together, and pat that all over my face. Once in a while I'll exfoliate using Sow Your Wild Oats—it's a powder and you just mix it with water or honey. I like to do a mask every week or two, like The Honey Mud by May Lindstrom—it's so silky.
My skin is sensitive, so I'm pretty rigorous about moisturizing well. And I feel like if your moisturizer works, you don't really need primer before you apply makeup. I've tried a bunch of all-natural brands for foundation, but I'm extremely pale, and they are always too dark, so I've come back to Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in #2. I'll put it on with my fingers and blend with the Beauty Blender to make my skin to look dewy and natural. Cream blush helps with that, too—I really like the Burberry Fresh Glow Blush in Pink Azalea. Or I use Olio e Sasso in #3 or #4.
For the most part I just put concealer on my eyelids, plus Diorshow Waterproof Mascara, and call it a day. I do have a Surratt Autographique Liner that's great to draw a cat eye. My favorite is Surratt Smokey Baton in Cendres. One end is a liner and the other is the exact same color, but as a powdery shadow that you can use to blend the liner out and kind of smoke it up. For lips, I mostly don't wear anything, but I like the Burberry Lip Glow Balm in Pink Azalea that matches the blush.
Because I'm ash-blond, I like to have my eyebrows tinted a bit darker. When I get it done, I ask for graphite—everyone thinks I'm crazy, but it looks way better. I learned about it from this lady who told me that all the blondes from the Caribbean always get their eyebrows tinted gray...it's also possible that I may have misheard her. Either way, it works. For everyday maintenance, I use Surratt Brow Pomade, which is clear and kind of waxy.
I got into a very bad place with my hair a few years back—I was in Argentina and I accidentally got a very potent Brazilian Keratin treatment. I had to do it at my hairdresser's house—I thought it was to save money, but it turns out it's because it's illegal. I realized something wasn't right when I had to wear a gas mask during the entire process and was still crying from fumes. Then I was getting highlights and this guy totally messed up and fried my hair off, so I had to stop using anything with silicone or sulfates and let the highlights grow out. Now I just go to bed with it wet, wake up in the morning, and go. I felt that if I made the conscious decision that messy hair was my signature look that made it OK and also French. And if I have an event or anything I’ll just go to Drybar.
My favorite part of my routine is perfume, and my interest in it has only grown in the last few years. I remember as a teenager being amazed at how smells can trigger the most intense, complex memories instantaneously. I've been trying to teach myself more about how smell works and the classifications of perfume and the raw materials, although I’m still very much an amateur. Actually, I just signed up for a class on it, so I'll be less of a novice soon.
I started with Grass from Gap when I was 11 or 12, then I graduated to Clinique Happy, and then to J’Adore. At 16 or 17, I started wearing Diptyque Philosykos and L'Ombre Dans L'Eau, and for the most part I've stuck with niche fragrances ever since. When I was younger, I thought it was really important to have a signature scent, because all the magazines would tell you about these 80 year olds who had been wearing Fracas since age 10, but it turned out that's extremely limiting and you just outgrow things over time. I like L'Etat Libre D'Orange Noel Au Balcon, which has a beautiful honey note. Isle Ryder, which is the higher-end line of D.S. & Durga, and Serge Lutens Fille En Aiguilles are two that I really like for fall—really warm, outdoorsy, pine-y scents. I have a few variations on green fig, like Philosykos, Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio and Rouge Bunny Rouge Lilt. Figs and green scents are a constant for me. For the most part I don't wear anything too fruity or too floral, but I don't want to rule anything out.”
—as told to ITG
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