Jessica LeRoy

Getting older has been… complicated. I’m still dealing with the same skin conditions I’ve had my whole life — texture, breakouts, sensitivity — but now I’m also navigating dullness, dryness, and fine lines. My old makeup stopped working. Everything started settling, clinging, or making me look tired instead of lifted. So I rebuilt my routine from scratch. These are the high‑end products that actually make me feel confident again — the ones that smooth without caking, brighten without emphasizing texture, and help me forget about my skin so I can just feel good in my face. This is the makeup that makes me feel like me again, just a little more polished, lifted, and alive.

Step back into the era of Caboodles, magazine tear‑outs, department‑store counters, and your first Sephora trip. This is the Beauty Hall of Fame: 90s Cult‑Classic Makeup Icons — a curated collection of the most legendary, nostalgic, and truly iconic makeup products that shaped an entire generation. These are the OG holy grails, the editor favorites, the mall‑rat must‑haves, and the cult classics that still hold up today. From the Clé de Peau concealer makeup artists called “liquid gold,” to the Lancôme Juicy Tubes that defined Y2K lips, to Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer that made contouring smell like dessert — these products didn’t just trend… they became beauty history. Whether you lived through the 90s or you’re discovering these icons for the first time, this list is your time capsule of the products that built the beauty world we know today.

A full 90s supermodel hair routine inspired by Cindy Crawford’s iconic big, bouncy, loose curls. Includes the exact products, tools, and step‑by‑step technique to recreate her editorial volume.

Electrolysis on the chin is no joke — the skin here is reactive, the follicles are coarse, and if you don’t baby the area afterward, you can end up with breakouts, pustules, or ingrown hairs that need extra care. This list includes gentle, soothing products that support healing, reduce redness, and help keep pores clear once the skin has settled. These are the products that make recovery smoother and help prevent the bumps and ingrowns that can happen after facial electrolysis. ---

The chin is one of the most reactive areas to treat with electrolysis — the follicles are coarse, the pores clog easily, and the skin can flare up with tiny bumps, pustules, or ingrowns once the initial healing phase is over. This list includes gentle, supportive products people often use after the skin has calmed from the procedure. These options help soothe irritation, keep pores clear, and support the skin while it settles. If you’re dealing with post‑electrolysis breakouts or ingrowns, this list pairs perfectly with my Post‑Electrolysis Recovery Kit.

If you've ever stood in front of a magnifying mirror at midnight picking at something that wasn't ready, squeezing a cystic bump that you knew you should leave alone, or digging at an ingrown hair that's been trapped under a scab for two weeks — this list was built for you. This is the routine I put together for skin that never gets a break: hormonal cystic acne, chronic ingrown hairs made worse by years of tweezing and plucking, distorted follicles that send hairs sideways under the skin instead of out, dead skin buildup that blocks the exit, inflammation from electrolysis, and the exhausting cycle of treating one condition only to flare another. The kind of skin that makes you cancel plans, over-touch your face out of anxiety, and pile on heavy coverage that oxidizes by noon and somehow makes everything worse. Every product on this list was chosen because it does two things at once — covers what's there and treats what's underneath, so your makeup is never just makeup. It's working for you all day. The goal isn't a full face. It's skin that looks calm, feels protected, and finally lets you walk out the door without thinking about it again.

Tucked into uptown hoboken, on a lovely little corner surrounded by beautiful brownstones is a true gem...Barbes...where the lighting does more for your complexion than your best clip-on light! It exudes sensuality and vibrates with each note played by the live jazz duet that plays every weekend. If I were still in the dating game this is where I would want to go to not only enjoy the delectable food but to look great against the golden backdrop of Barbes walls and sultry from the light that dances around your table from the candle to wine glass to your eyes and casts a filter for your face that Instagram has yet to capture in its filters! Using the word "restaurant" doesn't seem to do Barbes justice...it is more of a mood...a feeling of falling in love with who you are when you are within Barbes' spell. I started getting curtain bangs after dining here a few times, because this place made me believe I could pull them off ( and the truth is I am a married working mom of a toddler with a small forehead and a cowlick...but that is the power of the powder room at Barbes mixed with one of their specialty cocktails). Their menu is simplicity done right. Why reinvent the wheel when you can order mussels and pomme frites! Their french onion soup is so good that even my picky-ass toddler makes me give her spoon after spoon of the broth ( she doesnt want the cheese....FOOL! So, I get it all to myself! Finish things off with creme brulee or chocolate mousse and by then you will think you are actually in Paris and you walk out thinking you are Jane Birkin to your dates Serge Gainsbourg, that is until you almost get run over by a Tesla transformer SUV ignoring pedestrian crossing and doing 40 in 20. on 11th street and BOOM youre back in Hoboken again until your next trip to Barbes.