For the first time in my life, I have incredible skin. Not to brag, but I'm very humble, so the fact that I'm putting those words on the Internet is a testament to just how good my skin is these days. It's clear, it's glowy, and it's got that bouncy-plump feel (however, I do have a 24-year-old's collagen, so my ace skin-care routine might not be behind that one). Aside from the sebaceous glands on my nose that I will die with, my pores? To paraphrase the immortal words of the also-very-humble Mariah Carey, I don't know them. But that wasn't always the case.

Like most people who are constantly stressed and have a deep, abiding love of refined sugar, my skin was a nightmare for years. Getting rid of stress or sugar wasn't going to happen (LOL, right, let me just retreat from society and survive on legumes forevermore. No.) That meant I was stuck in a perpetual game of whitehead whack-a-mole—not to mention the ensuing scars. So I wised up, went to the dermatologist, went on r/SkincareAddiction, and emerged victorious. Not always an easy feat, because I went the retinol route, which is notorious for making skin flake like a croissant for months before you emerge a beautiful butterfly. But I beat the system, and this is how.

Morning

At the break of dawn, I rise and collect the dew from New York City's one tree to wash my face. Kidding. After years in the beauty biz, I've learned that using intense cleansers in the morning is usually overkill. Cleanser's main function is to take off the day's sweat, grime, and oil, so unless you've got oil that won't quit, morning cleanser typically doesn't do much. (Obligatory note: I'm not a doctor, merely informed. Everyone's skin is different, so trust yourself first and foremost.)

All of which is to say, I splash my face with water.

Vitamin C

Next up is a vitamin C serum, which it seems barely anyone uses but everyone should. Trust: Beauty editors are ride-or-die for these serums, the peanut butter to sunscreen's jelly. Serums like CosRX's Triple C Lightning Liquid, my choice, use antioxidants to intercept free radicals (boo, hiss), which gradually break down your skin's ability to repair itself. Enter sun damage, wrinkles, and the whole mess of sun-spawned problems.

Those concerns are incredibly difficult to get rid of if you start treating them once they're already there. The much, much better way is prevention, which pays off hugely in the long run. I raise my eyebrows every time I put on mascara and bite the inside of my cheeks constantly, and those habits are already leaving crinkles behind. Not my jam, so I slap on a dropper's worth of vitamin C.

BHA and Sunscreen

You want to work from the thinnest textured-product to the heaviest, so next I put on Paula's Choice 2% BHA lotion. That acronym stands for beta hydroxy acid, my morning acne super-fighter. It gets down into your pores and exfoliates them from the inside, fighting the bacteria and dead cell build-up that can cause acne. That's followed by a layer of La Roche Posay Anthelios AOX Daily Antioxidant Serum with SPF 50—SPF 50 because I fear death, antioxidants because the ozone layer is rapidly thinning, and serum because it has a thin, milky texture that sinks in immediately. There's no sunscreen smell because life is not a beach.

I glisten with moisture for about five minutes, and then I'm ready for makeup, which I used to use to cover purple-red acne scars scattered across my jawline. But with this routine? Foundation is optional.