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“Hello! I’m Oset Babür (@baburoset). I’m the Associate Restaurant Editor at Food & Wine magazine, where I edit Obsessions, our section focused on product recommendations, taste tests, chef profiles, personal essays, and gift guides. Obsessions is the very first set of stories in the book, and it’s super graphic and service-driven–it’s designed to excite you for the rest of the issue. As a lifelong deadline-lover who craves structure, I can honestly say that the joy I get from fitting a punny headline into the allotted space alone would make my job feel like a solid fit, but then there are the glossy results of months of ideation, planning, and production. A tangible thing that’ll sit on newsstands, coffee tables, and restaurant counters around the country. That part’s pretty amazing, too.

I live in Brooklyn with my fiancé and our five-ish year-old rescue pup, June. We’re getting married in October, so I’ve been spending the last few months trying to get my skin to a point where I can wear minimal makeup the day-of. I eat and drink a lot for work, which has a huge impact on those efforts; a lot of wine at a tasting dinner means splotchy, red skin the next day. Lasagna followed by créme bruleé for dessert? Cool, I’ll probably break out from the dairy (in addition to experiencing some gastric distress).

I’ve been using Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser since 2015, and while I’ve dallied with other cleansers, none have worked as well. I wash my face with that every evening. I started getting facials at Rescue Spa a few months ago, mainly because I wanted Biologique Recherche P50 1970, or, as I lovingly call it, Satan’s salad dressing. I spent the first week purging like crazy—it turns out a pandemic, when I’m in relative social isolation and wearing masks all the time, makes for a stellar time to start something intense. Now I apply my P50 three to four nights a week. I’m into the smell—to me, it’s like soy sauce meets fish sauce meets….mushrooms? I get kind of hungry after. If I’m still feeling dry, I’ll use Is Clinical’s Hydra-Intensive Cooling Masque, which is also a godsend after a night of wine and pizza, followed by Glossier Super Bounce and Dr. Jart Ceramidin cream. In the mornings, I’ll add in Maelove’s Glow Maker vitamin C serum and eye cream. Undereye discoloration is my biggest skincare issue, and I’ve had some eye creams give me horrible flaky, red skin under my eyes, or just do nothing at all. Dr. Goldfaden’s Bright Eyes is a winner in my book. I’ll notice dark circles crop up if I skip it for even a few days.

I have a massive bottle of Avène Thermal Spring Water that I bought from a Turkish pharmacy last time I visited my parents in Istanbul, and in the summer, I’ll stick it in the fridge and spray it all over my face when I get home. I also feel like my skin gets greasy from staring at screens all day, and the miniature Evian Facial Sprays are great to keep at work or in my gym bag. For something fancier, I’ll use Is Clinical’s Copper Firming Mist, which exerts a nice, confident spray volume. Face sprays are highly underrated. You know how the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding puts Windex on everything? That’s me, but with face spray. Hungover? Stressed? Thirsty? Here, spray your face.

My hair feels greasy and stringy if I don’t wash it every morning. I know that makes it worse, but I’m firmly stuck on this hamster wheel—don’t even talk to me about the concept of oil training because I refuse to entertain it. I used Kenra’s volumizing shampoo for nearly a decade, and when they changed the formula I switched to Prose. I’m mostly in it for the earthy fragrance, if I’m being totally honest. For build-up from hard water, I love Living Proof’s Triple Detox shampoo, which resets my scalp and has a satisfying, creamy texture. I’m also truly obsessed with my Manta brush–it feels like a scalp massage on both wet and dry hair, and is super gentle and easy to clean.

My best new makeup find is the Kosas Cloud Set Baked Setting Powder in Breezy, which is the only setting powder I’ve ever used that doesn’t leave a starchy cast on my skin–it’s also great for making sure my makeup stays put under a mask. Usually I dab Dior’s Forever Skin Correct Concealer in 1W under my eyes and on any red spots with an Artis Elite Oval 4 brush. It makes my skin look so much more airbrushed than it does when I use a sponge. Then, I pretty much always wear blush. I rotate between Bloom from Flesh Beauty if I want something healthy-looking, or Hourglass Mood Exposure for a deeper, berry hue. If I’m going out, I’ll add Chanel’s Rosy Light Drops on my cheekbones and eyelids, plus Rouge Dior Ultra lipstick in Caress. You know how as a teen, you’d listen to a song on repeat 75 times and then never be able to hear it again? That’s kind of how I am with tinted lip balm. Right now, I’ve got Kosas Lipfuel in Pulse on a serious loop. But if I had to pick just one product to use forever it would be Soleil Tan de Chanel, which comes in a tub that is so massive I’m convinced it’ll outlive both me and my future children. It’s great at giving off an aura of health and emotional fulfillment even when I’ve had a horrible few days.

Some of my earliest beauty memories involve doing truly horrible things to my eyebrows. I grew up in the early aughts and I’m 100-percent Turkish, so my thick-ass brows did not look anything like Jennifer Aniston’s. In fact, the morning of my middle school graduation, I took a pink Bic razor and shaved off a little less than half of my left eyebrow; the rest I tweezed into something between a whisper and a silent scream for help. I now entrust every aspect of my brows to Josh Beeler and Samson Smith at Shen Beauty, my neighborhood beauty store. Basically any product Samson recommends is going to be awesome, but I’m especially fond of the Kosas brow pencil I bought per his suggestion. It is the best brow product I’ve ever used–I use the shade Black, and it makes them feel full but somehow more controlled. I’ll see Josh for a wax every three-ish weeks, and as someone with serious trust issues on this front, I finally feel like I’m healing.

In the hopes of being truly carefree whilst wearing a sleeveless wedding dress, I started going to Ever/Body for laser hair removal a few months ago. The hairlessness is great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also conveniently located a block from my beloved Breads Bakery. I like to treat myself to a nice rugelach and tea after paying someone to burn hair off of my body, as one does. When I shave, I use Flamingo’s Light Hydrating Spray afterwards–I can’t stand the greasy feel of thick moisturizers, so a non-touch option that absorbs right in post-shower is ideal. Twice a week, I’ll also exfoliate with First Aid Beauty’s KP Bump Eraser on my arms and legs. It feels like rubbing small pebbles and, like, dirt all over your body, but the resulting smoothness is absolutely worth the drudgery.

Fragrance-wise, I gravitate towards products that smell like foods or drinks I crave. I’m very pro-eucalyptus—it’s a big part of our wedding floral arrangements and I buy the biggest size of Malin + Goetz’s eucalyptus body and hand wash once every quarter or so. My everyday scent is Le Labo’s Thé Noir 29, which has seriously long-lasting notes of black tea leaves, vanilla, bergamot, and tobacco, but I also love Diptyque’s figgy Philosykos. I use Malin + Goetz’s almond hand cream because it smells like marzipan, and I’ve recently fallen in love with Brightland’s new Digestif candle, which is both peppery and citrus-forward.

To relax, I’ll take a CBD gummy from Rose Los Angeles; their chef collaborations just blow me away. Or, I’ll make a big pot of green tea, dig into whatever stack of magazines I’ve accumulated, and turn on some reality television. If you’re reading The New Yorker while RHONY runs in the background, it’s kind of like mixing Emergen-C with tequila, right? Balance.”

—as told to ITG

Photos via the author