The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 23

February 23, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 6 Arts & Entertainment Shark self-care: Start a new skincare routine As the day of love has come and gone, there’s still time to love yourself. Valentine’s Day and the weeks surrounding it are always sort of tough for me. I’m in a long distance relationship and it sort of sucks seeing everyone else get to hang out and do cute couple’s things. This February, I was determined to do some self care that would make me happy, and hopefully, provide a sense of comfort all month long. To be honest, I have no existing skincare routine. I wash my face with water in the morning and then with a $5 drugstore face wash before I go to sleep. I don’t moisturize, I don’t really wear sunscreen and I don’t use any toners or serum. I consider myself pretty lucky that my skin hasn’t peeled off quite yet; I don’t have very frequent breakouts or any noticeable dark spots. As an act of self-love, I decided that I needed to finally start taking care of my skin. I’m a big fan of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty products and have been getting a lot of ads for her new skincare brand, Fenty Skin. So, I ended up buying the Fenty Skin Start’r Set for $40. It included the Total Cleans’r, the Fat Water and Hydra Vizor. The set was marketed as an easy, travel-sized three-step routine to better skin. Even better, everything in this set is recyclable, vegan and cruelty-free, which are all important to me when it comes to using beauty products. The Total Cleans’r claims to remove dirt, excess oil and makeup without drying out the skin. I used this cleanser a couple of times, but not as often as the other two items in this set. My only qualm with this product is that it smells very sweet, almost like a cupcake. While some scents don’t bother me, this one was a little too much to rub all over my face. However, it removes makeup pretty well and doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry like other cleansers do. The Hydra Vizor actually impressed me. I hate the feeling of things lingering on my skin, which was a big reason why I didn’t wear sunscreen or facial moisturizers before. I have combination skin, leaning to the oily side, so it was hard to find products that didn’t make my skin too dry or too oily. However, the Hydra Vizor was somehow the perfect product. It’s a 2-in-1 moisturizer and sunscreen, perfect for someone like me, who hates both. It has a creamy consistency like the cleanser, but doesn’t smell too sweet. I used this product in the morning after I apply the toner and it leaves my skin feeling hydrated without being oily. Finally, the Fat Water: my favorite. It’s a toner-serum combination made with Australian lemon myrtle, witch hazel water and Japanese raisin tree. While it does smell sweet, it wasn’t an unpleasant sweetness. I loved pressing this into my skin every morning, and while I honestly can’t say that it magically removed acne scars and completely evened out my skin tone, I can say that I have noticed less redness in my cheeks. I’ve used these three products for just three weeks, and while I haven’t seen life changing results yet, I’m going to keep using them. Not only do I see all three of these products lasting me a while -- I might even repurchase the toner and moisturizer -- but using them makes me feel better about myself and my appearance. Establishing a routine of self care every day has improvedmymornings so much, and while it doesn’t have to be Fenty Skin, I would definitely recommend starting a skincare routine if you haven’t already. Spilling the tea on how to get into tea Much like coffee, tea can be a bit overwhelming to get into. It’s not as simple as going into a tea shop, pointing at a random item on the menu and hoping you enjoy it. To avoid wasting money at expensive tea shops, you can go to a supermarket and buy different types of tea and additives to make at home. Doing this is sure to save you money and help you narrow down what types of tea you enjoy. Get your teas and additives To start off, go to your favorite grocery store and locate the tea aisle. Thankfully, tea isn’t very hard to find, so almost any store will do -- Walmart, Target and Whole Foods all have great selections that won’t break the bank. Some malls also have specialty tea shops where they only sell different varieties of loose-leaf and bagged tea, but those may be a bit more expensive than the classic Lipton tea from Walmart. Regardless of where you purchase it from, you’ll want to get a few different types. The easiest types to find will likely be black tea, green tea and herbal tea. Each of these come in different varieties and flavors. It’s up to you to choose whichever you’d like. Popular additives for tea include milk, honey, lemon juice and sugar, so be sure to pick those up, too. Get to know your teas and preferred temperatures Different types of tea are supposed to be steeped at different temperatures and for different amounts of time. Usually, the box or label on the teabag will tell you the exact length of time and temperature to steep it at. If you don’t have a kettle that tells you thewater’s temperature or has presets for different teas, you can just wait for the water to come to a boil and then let it sit for 45 seconds to a minute, depending on the tea. However, if you find that you don’t enjoy any of the teas when prepared “the proper way,” you can always begin to experiment. You can start by heating the water up to different temperatures, leaving the teabag in for longer or shorter amounts of time. You can even use different types of water, such as tap, distilled or spring water. Warning: some tea leaves do become bitter and astringent when left steeping for too long, so be sure to taste the tea often to avoid ruining the cup. When experimenting with temperatures, it’s better to lower the temperature instead of raising it to avoid scorching the leaves. If you’re using loose leaf tea, you can also try adding more tea leaves for a stronger flavor. PHOTO PRINTED PERMISSION BY S. GALLUS Loose leaf tea is an alternative to using single-use tea bagss. Additives As for additives, you’ll want to research what typically gets added to each type of tea. For example, black tea is usually served with milk and green tea typically has lemon juice added to soothe its bitterness. Honey always makes the tea a bit sweeter and smoother. Some teas are also best when left pure, but ultimately, it’s up to the drinker to add whatever they want to get a taste they enjoy. Every type of tea has away that it “should” be prepared.However, if youdon’t enjoy itwhen prepared traditionally, feel free to experiment with all the variables you’d like. You won’t be punished for steeping your tea for an extra minute or adding milk instead of honey. Any preparation style that allows you to enjoy your drink is the correct way. By: Evan Kelley Contributing Writer By: Sofia Gallus Arts & Entertainment Editor PHOTO PRINTED PERMISSION BY S. GALLUS Loose leaf tea is an alternative to using single-use tea bagss.