19/99        Take us through your daily beauty routine, morning & night. 

Melissa Sansone        I love this question. I have tried so many different beauty products over the years and I continue to get really excited about trying new products so one of my goals recently has been consistency. I want to know what works with my skin. My skin is reactive, so identifying and simplifying my routine has been key as of late. When I wake up I splash my face with cold water, pat dry and use the Pai Skincare Back to Life Hydration Serum and La Prairie Anti-Aging Rapid Response Booster. After about two minutes I add on a hyaluronic based moisturizer, lately it’s been the Dr Jart Water Fuse Ultimate Hydro Gel Moisturizer. To be honest, while being in quarantine during COVID that is really it for the morning because I haven’t been applying makeup. When I do have a video meeting I will re-apply moisturizer, and tap on a little concealer such as the RMS Un Cover-Up and swipe on a red lip to look a little more polished. Evening is more of the treatment time for me. I wash my face with the Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser which I love, it is so gentle and smells incredible! SEEN just signed them as a client and I had a Virtual consultation with them; they were the ones that suggested I simplify, and see how my skin reacts to different ingredients. Pai has this beautiful organic muslin cloth that they include with the cleanser, which I use for a gentle exfoliation and to really get rid of the rest of the day’s gunk. Then I apply their Rosehip Bioregenerate Oil, which is really beautiful and I’ve found has helped calm my skin, treat pigmentation, plus it is brightening – truly a triple threat product and has claimed a place in my forever beauty routine. It’s strong and very pure, so two drops is all I need and I definitely wake up with a more radiant complexion. Then the Drunk Elephant C-Tango Eye Cream and that is it. Every other night, I’ll use the Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peels which are life changing – a desert island product since it treats so many skin concerns. And once a week I do the Drunk Elephant’s Baby Facial because I’m obsessed with it.  

19/99        How has your beauty routine changed over the years?  

MS         I’ve been always a really big product junkie, trying new things, learning about ingredients. On the agency side when I started in my early 20s I was blown away by the amount of products we would get as a perk of the gig, so from a really young age, I started using Perricone MD (one of my first clients) which is obviously really strong in terms of anti-aging, and was probably a little too much for my young skin, but it taught me how to take care of my skin and what I can expect 5, 10, 15 years down the road. From then, I was always using really high-quality ingredients, which I 100% learned from handling communications for that brand. The biggest shift the last few years has been my dedication to exfoliation and chemical exfoliation. I’m sure both of you remember back in the day there was Clearasil and the St Ives Apricot Scrub; it was really harsh and would always leave my skin red and wasn’t helping with any of the break outs I was experiencing -- if anything it would irritate them further. Once I joined Dr. Dennis Gross in-house I learned about the beauty and power of acids, how they help the skin, how to use them properly, what chemical versus manual exfoliation looks like. I now pulse exfoliation into my routine at least once a week, if not twice a week, to really fuel cell turnover. I have definitely learned about the invaluable use of eye cream and that you must use one in order to prevent fine lines and wrinkles. Not to say that having them is bad, but being able to hydrate the skin is really important, and taking care of the area around the eyes – learning that the eyes have a thinner layer of skin around the orbital bone was something I didn’t think about when I was younger.  

19/99        Do you feel pressure to look a certain way? 

MS         I think there is an expectation with what I do, because I work in beauty specifically, to be at the very least, polished. I believe it is important, especially in PR, to maintain a certain image because you are representing beauty and wellness brands. There must be an impression that I am interested in beauty and I take care of myself. Lucky for me, I’ve always been deeply devoted to beauty and educating myself about products, retailers and the wider industry trends and consumer behaviors. Self-care is something that is very important to me, and as I’ve gotten older it has become increasingly front and center because if I don't take care of myself (both physically and mentally) it will undoubtedly affect my relationships with friends and family, my relationship with work, it will affect the output I have on both a personal and professional level. If I am being honest, absolutely, for the role that I am in and the industry which employs me, there are expectations. But again, personally, I want to appear professional and exude confidence when I am presenting to brands and clients or when I’m talking to editors. My appearance is a reflection of my dedication to the job. I don’t know that I would be where I am today if I didn’t put forward that effort to embrace the beauty industry, and to be clear: not its standards, but the way that they have positioned the opportunity for women and men to look their best, but not feel it’s for anybody but yourself.