Beyond Selidor

I'm trying to keep the prompts for these Friday open threads in January fairly gentle and kind — I'll switch things up a bit in February, possibly, but I thought it best to start the year with soft, relaxing kinds of questions.

With that in mind, today's prompt is: what is something you do to provide restful feelings and nourishment for yourself? As always please feel free to interpret the question as broadly as you would like.



My answer is a bit of a silly one: skincare. I haven't worn makeup in years — I never wore it regularly (just in situations where I thought someone might photograph my face), but the pandemic and mask-wearing ended it even then — what was the point of painting my face if it would just rub off on a mask anyway?

Skincare, however, is another matter. At some point in the past three years or so, I fell down a rabbit hole of skincare Youtube videos, and wound up with an elaborate seven- (or eight-)step skincare routine, morning and night. I know on some level the whole thing is a capitalistic placebo designed to sell me ever more expensive containers of nice-smelling unguents — washing your face, and wearing sunscreen are good for your skin, but the rest is all just sales pitches — but it has a soothing, calming effect, and at some point became routine. It takes time, but no effort. It's almost meditative, and draws clear lines between the waking and sleeping parts of the day, and just generally feels psychologically nourishing.


What about you?