A new book by popular Korean beauty blogger Jude Chao offers insightful advice on how to achieve balance between your outer beauty with inner peace.
Disclosure: I was given a complimentary copy of this book for review. This post contains affiliate links, and Arizona Spa Girls will earn a small commission on your purchase. See our full disclosure policy for details.
The one thing I wasn’t expecting from “Skincare for Your Soul: Achieving Outer Beauty and Inner Peace with Korean Skincare” was a recognition of my own deep-seated insecurities with outward beauty and why ultimately, I was so drawn to dedicating most of my professional life writing about it. The author of this new book, K-Beauty blogger Jude Chao, introduces this pretty little book by sharing memories of her mother. Always striving to look her best, her mom stuck to a meticulous beauty routine — even through a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy.
I can relate. My mom’s nails were always manicured, her lips perfectly lined and glossed. She never went to bed without cleansing and moisturizing, and her makeup drawer was a beguiling collection of department store brand lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes and blush compacts.
Like Chao, I didn’t get it. And when my mother took her own life when I was 29, it set me off on what I now recognize as a slow journey of striving to get it. I’ll never fully understand my mom’s motivations but I know the way she appeared outwardly was something she could control. Her internal struggles were hidden beneath her perfectly rounded and lacquered nails and her ageless skin.
Chao’s own journey was paved with the loss of her mother at just 13 and a battle with depression and anxiety most of her adult life. Skincare became a way for her to take control of her life and practice daily self-care. The honest and sound advice she lays out in this book is laced with optimism and she gives readers the tools to develop a skincare routine that helps manage stress and anxiety. Chao invites us to look at our beauty routine not only as a way to ward off wrinkles or clear up breakouts, but as an outlet for developing our self-care habits.
What you can expect from “Skincare for Your Soul”
“Skincare for Your Soul” is a well-researched and practical guide on how to care for yourself and your skin. Chao examines every aspect of skincare including identifying skin types, beauty product types and key ingredients. She dedicates a full chapter to sunscreens and demystifying the chemicals and ingredients that offer sun protection. She also takes a look at various skincare tools like facial brushes, massagers and rollers.
“Skincare for Your Soul” offers readers:
- An easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to skincare
- A clear breakdown of skincare products (not brands), and pros and cons to help customize your routine
- An explanation of how following a skincare routine can be a reliable and effective mental health management tool
- Tips for avoiding common types of exploitative and manipulative beauty marketing
This pretty hardcover beauty guide makes a great gift for anyone in your life dealing with stress or anxiety (add a jade facial roller and you’re set)! Inspiring and informational, “Skincare for Your Soul” will set you off on your own journey of self love and self care that we all need and deserve.
Get “Skincare for Your Soul” by Jude Chao at amazon.
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