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.
"Hey! My name is Emily Code (@emily_code) and I live in Chicago. I work for a Big 4 public accounting firm as an auditor, or as some would say, a guardian of the capital markets. You know how companies release financial information? Well, we're looking at that first to make sure everything is OK. My favorite thing about my job is that I get to spend all day solving financial mysteries at a table covered in work papers and candy bar wrappers with a group of people whom I’m continuously learning from. While some of us are quasi-experts in slow-cooking, public policy, and wine pairing, you can catch me raving about skincare and giving beauty tips to anyone who'll take them.
Unfortunately, the florescent overhead lighting in the audit room does nothing for my post-6PM cheekbone glow, so every couple of hours I hydrate with either Glossier Soothing Face Mist or Avene Thermal Spring Water. I love to experiment with new products but I always find myself reaching for my tried-and-trues. My first cleanse of choice is Banila Clean It Zero—I love it because it easily dissolves makeup and feels like a silky dream. I usually spend a few extra minutes on this step and massage my face to increase circulation and stimulate collagen production. Then I cleanse again with a Cerave Foaming Facial Cleanser to remove any dirt sticking around. Then, I prep my face with Son and Park's Beauty Water before applying serums. I think of my face like a dry sponge, and if I don't wet it with a hydrating toner first, nothing subsequent will soak up like it’s supposed to. The beauty water has gentle exfoliating ingredients that get rid of dead skin cells.
My holy-grail serum is the Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin—this stuff has changed my life, really. If I’m in a rush and have time for only one product, this is what I reach for and in the winter months I’ll double or triple up on this stuff because after a few pumps, my skin is comparable to having done a sheet mask for 20 minutes. It's great for anti-redness and pigmentation issues. I like to layer my moisturizers, so I’ll start out with a gel-like one like Etude House Moistfull Collagen Cream. Then I use a thicker cream, COSRX Honey Ceramide Full Moisture Cream, which locks in moisture all day. In the mornings I’ll wrap up my skincare with a layer of Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen, and if I know I’ll be in the sun for more than a few hours, I’ll toss it in my bag and reapply throughout the day. It's my go-to SPF because it’s so lightweight and fresh that I sometimes can’t remember if I've put it on yet. I have chemical sunscreens to thank for being an entirely different experience than those greasy mineral sunscreens that I knew all too well growing up in Florida.
A beauty secret I think the world should know is not a secret but more of a reminder—to listen to and get to know your skin. It’s often tempting to go out and buy the same products that beauty icons are beating the drum for, but I’ve learned that everyone’s skin is different and what may be a holy grail moisturizer for them could easily cause my acne-prone skin to breakout. If ever I’m feeling oily after a weekend of partying and fast food, I’ll do a mud mask to clear out impurities before I settle down with my Sunday night sheet mask to rehydrate after probably having guilty passed out in my makeup the night before. I also think everyone should take daily hyaluronic acid supplements to help the skin and joints retain moisture. My lips are noticeably plumper and eyes are less dry since I started taking them in the mornings.
I’m one of those girls who won’t leave the house without brushing my eyebrows, but can’t be bothered to comb my hair unless absolutely necessary. I was blessed with naturally straight hair so I let it air dry unless I have somewhere special to be and want to add some volume with a hairdryer and round brush. I’m a big fan of the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day line because their products don't have silicones, like a lot of other hair products on the shelves, so they leave my hair weightless and moisturized without that feeling of not having washed all the product out. While my hair is still damp I run some of the Living Proof Styling Cream through it with my fingers to protect it from the dry weather and it doubles as a heat protectant for my styled days too.
My daily makeup is as follows—I’ll brush and shape up my brows with a bit with Anastasia Brow Wiz in Dark Brown and curl my lashes with my Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler before finishing off with a few swipes of Glossier’s Haloscope in Quartz and heading out the door. If I’m getting ready for a night out I’ll add some drama, starting with Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in 20 Beige and a Beautyblender. I stick with this foundation because it's water-based, lightweight, and goes on like a second skin. I like to use a pressed highlighter at night so I can glow in the dark and I just hit pan on my Mary-Lou Manizer by theBalm. I love a good shimmer blush too like Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Infusion. For mascara, I use Covergirl LashBlast Fusion. I’m obsessed with how the applicator brush separates my lashes like they don’t know each other and I swear I couldn’t get it to clump if I tried. I'm late to everything so I always find myself rushing to put my makeup on last minute, and Lisa Eldridge turned me on to the Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Eyeshadows because of how quickly I can pat them into my lid with my fingertip. In college, you could hardly tell I’d blacked out the night before when my eyeshadow still looked that good in the morning."
—as told to ITG
