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Frank Ocean Inspired Me to Kick-Start My Skin Care Regimen

Kiehls/Sarah Jacobs/SkinCeuticals

Published Jan 17, 2019

During a recent interview with GQ, R&B singer and musical wunderkind Frank Ocean gave an update on everything that’s been happening in his life, from his move to New York City last year and his plans for fashion to what's next for him musically.

Ocean is known for a lot of things: His smooth voice on his albums and his legendary fashion sense, for starters. In this interview, he also shed some light on his skincare routine. After all, he’s gotta keep himself looking fresh at all times—and that starts with our body's largest organ. He stated:

“I feel like men just go to sleep. They may wash their face or they don't even bother—they go to sleep with the day face on. You really need to do a gentle wash and put a night moisturizer on. You can't have the retinol in your creams in the day because it makes you more sun-sensitive, so you wanna throw that on at night. I need the night cream because when I wake up I feel very beautiful, moisturized and ready to have people making eye contact with me, ready to look above my eyebrow, below the eyebrow.”

Sarah Jacobs/ONE37pm

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that skin care isn’t exactly high on my priority list. Like Ocean says, I’m extremely guilty of just going to sleep and hoping my face looks OK in the morning. Wake up, brush teeth, shower, get dressed and leave for work is the normal routine for yours truly and has been for years now. Sure, there was the occasional breakout or dry skin disaster (especially during the months that I worked in construction), but it wasn’t anything I took seriously. I’m the type of guy who washes his face with some Neutrogena and Irish Spring body wash, looks at himself in the mirror and says, “Eh, good enough.”

To help you imagine what the results of this routine look like, I basically have the skin of a dockworker who’s clocked more than 30 years on the job.

Upon learning that my routine was not good enough during a casual office skin care routine exchange, I was directed to read this Frank Ocean article. Let me tell you, I felt inspired. So inspired that I took it upon myself to create a brand new skin care regimen. I would finally join the rest of the adults and start treating my skin better.

To begin, I enlisted the help of some fellow editors who actually knew what they are doing when it comes to skin care. I picked up three different products that they thought would be a good starting point for a novice.

Kiehl’s Facial Fuel with SPF

Kiehl's Facial Fuel with SPF, $35 / Conor Sheeran/ONE37pm

As someone with Irish ancestry, my skin is predisposed to burning very easily, so a basic everyday sunscreen seemed only logical for me to try.

Kiehl’s Facial Fuel with SPF was first on my shopping list for skin care products. The directions for its use were as basic as any normal sunscreen: Put it on before you go out in the sun. Seems pretty self-explanatory and basic, right? Well, the difference here is that it is also described as an “energizing moisture treatment for men.” And let me be the first to tell you that it certainly accomplishes that mission.

First thing I noticed when using it is that my skin felt soft, a quality it hadn’t had for a long time. Keep in mind, I am a rookie when it comes to skin care.

It’s winter right now, so the sun is not as strong as it is in the summer, but the fact that this product is both a facial moisturizer and sunscreen makes it as good a place as any for a person such as myself to start. Protect it from burns and prevents premature aging; your skin will thank you, folks.

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SkinCeuticals Redness Neutralizer

SkinCeuticals Redness Neutralizer, $66 / Conor Sheeran/ONE37pm

Next up for me was something to take care of excess redness, another issue that sometimes plagues me. I was pointed in the direction of SkinCeuticals Redness Neutralizer, a facial cream that “combats environmental factors, comforts skin and helps visibly reduce the appearance of redness.”

Upon first use, I will admit that I didn’t notice a difference. Then again, my skin is naturally pretty red, so the product had its work cut out for it. But after a few days, my skin had become noticeably less red and I was digging it.

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Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, $30 / Conor Sheeran/ONE37pm

The final piece of the puzzle was something to apply to my face before I went to sleep every night. I was directed toward another Kiehl’s product: The Ultra Facial Cream.

Described as a “24-hour, light-textured daily hydrator [that] leaves skin comfortable and visibly well balanced, particularly in harsh weather conditions,” the Ultra Facial Cream was easy enough to apply and not greasy like a sunscreen.

After using it for a few nights, I did notice that my aforementioned “dockworker” skin had started to become softer and cleaner looking. While it was not immediately noticeable, it was becoming obvious that I was heading in the right direction.

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If I've learned anything from my brief foray into the skin care game, it’s that it’s never too late to start taking care of your skin. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to figure out how I can trick my skin into tanning.

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