"If I wake up looking tired and puffy, I fill a sink with ice and cucumber and submerge my face," Kate Moss once said in an interview with Stylist. "It tightens everything making you look and feel instantly awake. It is a bit Joan Crawford–but it works!"
In case you have yet to be exposed to the cult classic (do so ASAP) she's referencing cult classic film Mommie Dearest, a biographical drama about Crawford (played by Faye Dunaway) in which the actress started off the day with a beauty routine so intense it puts the 12-step Korean skincare regimen to shame. The hallmark of her beautification routine? Plunging her face into a sink full of ice to shrink her pores/please MGM Studio execs. And it's not just Moss who's a fan of the "skin icing" technique, legions of women practically swear by it for its, instant facial-like benefits...
I don't scare easy when it comes to beauty, so the morning following a work happy hour (we know how those go), I decided to de-puff the hybrid that was my hangover/daily morning face and give skin icing a go (plus cucumbers, because Kate said so). And here's my takeaway:
1. It hurts like hell. At first it's brain freeze on steroids, but then you kind of get used to it and suddenly you're going from 0 to 100 real quick, inside and out i.e. it doesn't hurt to think and your face practically tightens before your eyes. Hey cheekbones, been a minute ;)
2. You get a frost-bitten glow. Basically, dull skin is no match for the sheer shock of ice. The ice works like a toner to improve skin toner and texture while making your cheeks look like there's a nip in the air in the best way.
3. Pores are less noticeable. I knew better than to think they'd "disappear" after just one go of it, but I was pleased with the on-the-spot- reduction of the pesky pores on my cheeks.
4. Your eye cream will work even better. Considering my perpetual lack of sleep, my eye cream always has its work cut out for it. After prepping my dark circles with the ice treatment, it was even more efficient when it came to reducing darkness and puffiness. I was more willing to go sans concealer than I ever thought possible.
5. The rest of the morning will be slightly less miserable. Fact: Starting the day with cucumbers is bound to make you feel fancier/more put together. But real talk, I felt refreshed and my makeup-less reflection was 50% less jarring.
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