Tea Timing

I recently read in Real Simple or Martha Stewart Living or whatever domestic guilty pleasure I subscribe to, that many women don't leave their cleansers on long enough for them to impart the most benefits possible. Indeed, when I read less domestic magazines, I remember Seventeen suggesting readers leave on their cleansers for several minutes in order for them to take full effect. The irony seems to be, however, that as we (assumedly) increase our readership of domestic magazines as we age, our time to engage in beauty rituals can decrease.

Beauty rituals are not always engaged in as acts of vanity. Indeed, they can be more calming and serve as "schedulers" of our day over flippant indulgences. When we're young (I learned through Anthropology class) we take comfort in nightly rituals such as brushing our teeth ("beauty" for beginners, I suppose) and being told a story before disembarking from our parents for the evening. When we're older, I believe we can take just as much comfort from similar rituals at the beginning and/or end of the day.

In Happy Hour, I talked about how my nightly shower is my time to unwind. I love the heat. I love how no one can talk to me (I don't have kids). So, it's really my time to decompress, listen to some music and in the past, have a glass of wine. It always looked funny but when my appetite was low, a glass (or tumbler) of wine or bottle of beer sat right on my shower caddy next to my shampoo and soap. Of course, now, I'm older and am more inclined to chocolate once again over beer but I sometimes take tea in the shower and as such, have learned the trick of "tea timing" as I wash my face.

Time for tea... and a shower.

I am currently using Shu Uemura's skin purifier to wash my face. It's a cleansing oil: not great but it does the job. And as an oil, it begs to be left on the face and absorbed while it loosens grime. Yet while I could stay in the shower all day, when it comes to leaving products in my hair or on the body, I want them on and rinsed off as soon as possible. Ergo, I developed a small trick which allows me to allow my cleanser to do it's job better...

Within the course of my shower, I've been taking small "tea times" while allowing my cleanser to work its mid-range magic on my face. After applying said cleanser, I allow it to sit while I take a cup of tea. As of late, I've been making Teavana's Youthberry (available at Starbucks) and drinking it for about a minute while distracting myself from the need to rinse, rinse, rinse. It's a welcomed habit that gives me the benefit of tea (Youthberry contains white tea which is high in antioxidants) and the full benefits of my cleanser. So far, it's been sooooo good.