Walk into a beauty store today and it can feel like you need a degree just to build a skincare and makeup routine. There is serum, toner, primer, sunscreen, setting spray, face cream, lip liner and a seemingly endless selection of products promising to make us smoother, brighter, younger or more radiant.
Then there are the brands we already recognise. Maybelline, Dove, E45, Dark and Lovely and Oh So Heavenly sit alongside newer products and trends constantly appearing on our feeds. The temptation to buy everything is very real.
But do we actually need all of it?
Beauty Has Become a Routine of Routines
There was a time when a beauty routine could be incredibly simple. You washed your face, applied moisturiser, did your makeup if you wanted to, sprayed some perfume and carried on with your day.
Now we have morning skincare routines, evening skincare routines, wash-day routines, makeup preparation routines and even routines designed to make other routines work better.
A typical morning might start with cleansing, followed by toner, serum, face cream and sunscreen. If makeup is involved, primer comes next, followed by foundation, concealer, powder, blush and everything else. Then, after spending all that time putting your face together, there is setting spray to help keep everything in place.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying that process. Beauty can be fun, creative and deeply personal. The problem begins when we start believing that every trending product is something we must own.
Skincare Should Start With Your Skin
Before buying another serum because somebody on TikTok has beautiful skin, it is worth remembering that your skin has its own needs.
Toner can have a place in a routine, depending on its formulation and what your skin needs. Serums are concentrated products that can target particular concerns, but different serums contain different active ingredients and are not automatically suitable for everyone. Face cream can help moisturise the skin and support its barrier.
One product that deserves particular attention during the day is sunscreen. South Africa gets plenty of sun, and sun protection should not be treated as something reserved for beach days. A broad-spectrum sunscreen can help protect exposed skin from ultraviolet radiation, although the right product and level of protection will depend on your circumstances.
Brands such as E45 and Dove are familiar to many households, particularly when it comes to moisturising and body care. Familiarity, however, should not replace reading the label and choosing products according to your own skin.
Sometimes a simple routine that works consistently is better than a bathroom cabinet filled with products your skin never asked for.
Then Comes the Makeup
Makeup is where things get interesting because there really are no universal rules.
Some people love a full face, while others are perfectly happy with brows, mascara and lip gloss. Primer can help prepare the skin before makeup and may change how makeup applies or wears, depending on the product. Setting spray is generally used at the end of the makeup routine to help with the finish or wear of makeup.
Brands such as Maybelline have made products like primers, foundations, mascaras and lip products familiar parts of many makeup bags. But even here, you do not necessarily need every step.
If your makeup already sits beautifully without primer, you may decide you can live without it. If you only wear light makeup for a few hours, a setting spray might not be essential to you. Beauty products should solve a problem or bring you joy, not simply occupy space because social media told you that your routine was incomplete.
And then there is the humble lip liner, which somehow keeps finding its way back into beauty trends. It can define the lips, complement lipstick or gloss, or be worn more simply on its own with a balm or gloss. Sometimes the least complicated products are the ones we end up using most.
Beauty Goes Beyond the Face
Of course, looking after ourselves does not stop at skincare and makeup.
For many women, perfume is part of getting dressed. A fragrance can become so closely associated with someone that you immediately think of them when you smell it. Choosing perfume for women is therefore incredibly personal. Some prefer floral and sweet fragrances, while others lean towards fresh, woody, fruity or warmer scents.
Body-care products have a similar place in our routines. Brands such as Oh So Heavenly and Dove have become familiar names in South African bathrooms, with products ranging from lotions and body washes to deodorants and fragranced body products.
Hair deserves its own conversation too. Dark and Lovely is a name many South African women have grown up seeing in haircare aisles. Our relationship with hair products can be particularly personal because textured hair can have very different needs depending on how it is worn, treated and maintained.
You Don’t Need Everything
Perhaps this is the beauty reminder we need more often: you do not need everything being advertised to you.
You do not automatically need a ten-step skincare routine. You do not need every new serum. You do not need three primers because three different influencers recommended them. You certainly do not need to replace products that are already working simply because something newer has launched.
Start with what you actually need. Understand your skin. Protect it from the sun. Moisturise appropriately. Choose makeup you genuinely enjoy wearing. Find hair products that work for your hair, and buy a perfume because you love how it smells, not because everyone else owns it.
Beauty should not feel like another expensive list of things women are expected to keep up with.
Sometimes the best beauty routine is simply the one that works for you, fits your budget and makes you feel good when you look in the mirror.
