When you work at a beauty company, all conversational roads tend to lead back to beauty. It’s our comfort zone! At the coffee pot first thing in the morning: “There’s a candle in the closet that smells like breakfast.” Typing, at our desks: “I think I found the perfect lip balm!” And most recently, over Zoom in a team meeting: “Oh yeah, I actually spot treat with my moisturizers.”
The person on the other side of my computer was Glossier’s makeup Sales Assistant, Hayley. And I had several follow-up questions for her. Why? Where? With what? (Sure, none of them were 100-percent pertinent to the meeting in progress, but it was sort of my job to get to the bottom of it.) Hayley had cracked a novel solution to skincare’s most common qualm, combo skin. “My nose is super oily and has large pores, but all other areas on my face tend to be dry,” she explained. For a long time, she’d been bouncing back and forth between a heavy moisturizer (which caused her nose to get shiny and break out) and a light gel (which left the rest of her face dull and dry). And eventually, she discovered that her skin fared far better when she applied a little bit of one moisturizer over here, and a little bit of something else over there. “It works wonders!” Turns out, this isn’t uncommon moisturizing behavior at Glossier HQ—and there isn’t just one way to do it. Got combination skin? Find your newest moisturizing hack below.
The Active Listener
The combo it’s best for: partially oily, acne-prone skin that also tends to get dry
“At night, I use Differin on the tip and sides of my nose and then Priming Moisturizer Rich or a heavier cream on my cheeks, jaw, forehead, and top of the bridge of my nose. It works wonders!” —Hayley Kennedy, Sales Assistant, Makeup
The Masked Crusader
The combo its best for: balanced skin that’s masked for prolonged periods of time
“Since we wear masks all day at HQ, I have to plan accordingly. I’ll use Mary Allan’s Moisture Molecules and Pressed Flower Milk all over—both are super lightweight, hydration-laden serums. But then I’ll skip the final layer, Mary Allan’s Lipids of Youth moisturizer, anywhere my mask covers. I don’t need the extra hydration there, my mask traps enough moisture as is!” —Ashley Weatherford, Senior Editor
The Two Step Two-Step
The combo it’s best for: mostly dry skin that also struggles with clogged pores
“I use Priming Moisturizer Balance and an oil based cleanser on my nose to keep my blackheads at bay, and a richer moisturizer like Priming Moisturizer Rich plus a water-based cleanser on the rest of my face, because the Texas sun dries me out.” —Doa Jafri, Senior Engineering Manager
The Layer Cake
The combo it’s best for: balanced skin that’s really dry in just some spots
“I usually use Ursa Major’s Fortifying Face Balm. But if my regular moisturizer isn’t doing the trick and I’m noticing dryness during the day, I’ll touch up my dry spots (under my eyes, laugh lines, nose, chin) with something rich, like Drunk Elephant’s Protini.” —Liana Franklin, Senior Manager, Product Marketing
The Sahara System
The combo it’s best for: dry skin that needs extra protection on its hot spots
“I just want to be a glazed donut at all times, you know? So I usually use a rich moisturizer (Embryolisse or Skin Food) all over, and then I'll put an Aquaphor or Homeoplasmine on my driest and flakiest areas, like around my mouth and nose.” —Cati Pishal, gTeam Supervisor
The Moisture Segmentation
The combo it’s best for: true combination skin that’s really dry in some spots and really oily in others
“My sister uses three moisturizers: Priming Moisturizer Balance is good for her T-zone, but her cheeks would get dry if she used it exclusively. She uses regular Priming Moisturizer on her cheeks. And when they get very dry in winter she also has Priming Moisturizer Rich on hand.” —Laura Conwill, Engineer
Photo via ITG
