'I'm a beauty editor - and here's the beauty 'rules' I do (and don't) follow.'

Listen to this story being read by Erin Docherty, here.

My job as a beauty editor grants me many wonderful things: a never-ending supply of products, fancy events, exciting interviews, lots of cardboard boxes, etc. 

It also means I get to annoy some of the top experts in the beauty industry - from dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons to makeup artists and hairstylists. 

I ask them questions about the best way to do things, what ingredients I should and shouldn't use, the brands that are actually worth using, how to not f**k up my skin - and there are a lot of beauty 'rules' out there. Goodness. And it can be bloody scary!

Watch: You know what else my job involves? Putting lube on my face. Here's what happened when I tried the lube primer hack that's all over TikTok. Post continues below.

So, as a writer and a co-host of the sparkly You Beauty podcast, I inject lots of these expert thoughts and opinions into my work in the hope it can help other people navigate this very noisy and confusing place that is the beauty industry.

However! While I do firmly follow some of the obvious beauty commandments (like wearing sunscreen every day and always eating chocolate before dinner), the truth is that I'm kinda s**t at following a lot of others. Really, I am.

In fact, I break a heap of these beauty 'rules' all the time.

Here's a few of 'em - plus, the ones I always stick to.

The beauty 'rules' I don't follow.

1. Getting regular trims.

HA! As if. I honestly get my hair cut, like, twice a year. Not even kidding. 

While I know the best way to keep your hair looking healthy is to get frequent trims, I'm very lazy, get bored easily, and can't be arsed sitting in a hairdresser chair for ages on end. 

I'm also extremely awkward and can never hear over the persistent drone of 4,329 hairdryers - so I'd just rather... not. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ 

2. Not plucking brows between appointments.

While I'd love to be able to not pluck my eyebrows in between appointments, I've been seemingly blessed with the brow genes of Bart Cummings - so it's near impossible to just let them be.

Y'see, my brows grow at a stupidly quick rate - and if I didn't do the upkeep in between, I'd almost certainly have to secure them back from my face with an entire packet of bobby pins.

3. Not squeezing pimples.

Look, when you have a MASSIVE pulsating twin on your face that feels like the size of a $2 coin, as if I'm not going to squeeze it! C'mon, Helen.

But in the interest of not scarring my skin and making things eleventy million times worse, I squeeze that jerk the correct way. Because there's obviously a very not-good way that involves screwing up your skin.

My general rule is this: if it's looking all red and taut and shiny - no touchy. But if I can see a white or yellow head and it genuinely cannot be left on my face - I'm going to get that monster outta there. 

Carefully, though. Very carefully. No blood. No nail indentations. Lots of swearing.

4. Always have shellac or SNS professionally removed.

I think I've had my SNS or shellac taken off in a salon, like, once in my life. Seriously. 

I'm terrible at this and rip them off whenever things start looking a bit dire and peely. It's satisfying as hell, and I like to congratulate myself profusely when I manage to peel an entire bit off.

It's terrible for my nails (and yours), and they look like s**t afterwards. 11/10 wouldn't recommend.

The beauty 'rules' I do follow.

1. Wearing sunscreen.

While I heavily enjoy swapping and switching between different products, there's one thing that remains pretty dang consistent in my daily routine: my sunscreen application. I'm *always* consistent with my sun protection.

Don't roll your eyes! I just want to help reduce premature skin ageing and - y'know - SKIN CANCER.

Plus, now there are a heap of fancy skin-loving formulas out there that make wearing sunscreen every day actually very pleasant. So, there's really no excuse.

2. Never wearing makeup to bed.

Even if I'm tired/CBF/had too many fun juices - I'll ALWAYS cleanse my face before going to bed. Always. Sounds anal, but it's true.

And tbh - I don't understand why you wouldn't want to wipe off all that dirt, pollution, and pore-clogging makeup. Am I right? (Or am I left? Please confirm).

Not cleaning your face at night not only wreaks havoc on the health of your skin, but it actually AGES your skin, too. 

Plus, there's no point in me spending all my time and dosh on trying to look after my skin and then not doing one of the most basic steps. What a fool!

3. Not scrubbing my skin.

If there's one thing I've learnt, it's that my skin is delicate and does *not* want to be scrubbed with harsh apricot granules every, single, day. Like - not even a teeny bit.

As someone with sensitive skin, it just makes things a hundred times worse. Instead, I stick to chemical exfoliants - mainly gentle ingredients like lactic acid. 

Have I missed any? I can't think. Wanna share some of yours below? Go on! Let's all have a lol.

Feature image: Mamamia; Erin Docherty.

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