Affordable Drugstore Beauty For Super Smooth Skin Care Routine

Feminine hygiene shower body care is high on my list of priorities, because the results are instant and I can show up as my best. I am always about all things that make you look good, feel good, do good, smell good, and taste good. Intrusive thoughts are welcome, because we have to be thorough when walking into the shower like a snake shedding skin with hopes of stepping out like a slippery seal. Disclaimer: This has affiliate links.

When coming back home to the Hollywood Hills in California, I only packed my Marc Jacobs Daisy Love Travel Spray Perfume, a body brush, toothbrush, and Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum. The first thing I purchased was Dr. Barbara Sturm Glow Drops when landing, but I needed to update the shower products I left here at home. Thanks to a bottle of body moisturiser I found out expired in 2016, I was literally itching to CVS and Amazon to pick up all my smooth skin necessities that made me feel like my smooth self again.

Here are all my latest affordable drugstore beauty picks that make you feel luxurious, because

sometimes you need to pick up shower essentials on a trip when you only have a carry-on
you are saving for something spectacular
luxurious necessities should not be complicated with department store visits

How to mitigate sweat, prevent smell, and eliminate rough skin

If you have been following me on Instagram or LTK @giagdixon, you know my legs are out quite a bit. A lack of sleeves is also a common occurrence on my person, because I do not like sweating. To stay cool, I like to remove all hair, dead skin, and glandular build-up opportunities by nipping possibilities at the bud.

This includes the scary peeling of sunburns by having an easy-to-use SPF on hand when doing outdoor activities and or wearing a lightweight white shirt when sitting out somewhere sunny. The classic, crisp white shirt also helps with modesty when you want to cover up from wearing a tank top in the heat.

Years ago, I lasered my entire body eyelashes down, but I still shave for touch-ups. The hack is using men’s shaving cream, because they do not include the price of the pink tax, yet men’s shavers cost more. Scrubbing my entire body — head, feet, legs, thighs, bikini area, back as far as I can reach, arms, underarms, shoulders, what haven’t I named? — and taking multiple showers a day from workouts and sometimes simply walking to my car in Autumnal Los Angeles heatwaves are regular practice. My goal is to always smell and feel fresh. These are symptomatic of having a solid body care shower routine nailed.

Smooth Skin

From head to toe, I like to use a spinning face brush to get all the dead skin off my moneymaker — what I like to call my smiley mug. This has also helped my loved ones who have facial hair, such as a beard, to easily cleanse those pores and prevent in-grown hairs. It makes a great gift and is perfect for travel, because it comes with a case and charger. AA batteries not included. The different brush options are great for removing makeup and making your face feel kissably smooth!

I feel like as a woman, or girl, having smooth skin is a must. For men, we are impressed when they have smooth skin, because we do not expect it. But for some reason, society has set this expectation on us to be soft literally and figuratively.

When I was a teenager, my girlfriends and I joined the volleyball team. We ended up spending a lot of time together, and became really close. So close to the point that we would huddle in cheek-to-cheek and we noticed one of our team members had some seriously soft skin. We all surrounded her with oohs and ahhs touching her cheek with the back of our hand laughing. I will always remember how soft and smooth Kayla’s cheek was. This is my goal. To have Kayla level cheek soft skin all over my body haha.

It really helps to have soft skin, because I get tons of compliments strictly because of my silky dermis. There were times I have been asked on dates after a man grazed my hide. The comments were always full of attraction. This has helped my relationships. You do not always need words to captivate someone’s attention. Remember scent ignites the senses before someone sees you. Touch is another level of intimacy that will enhance your cuffing season, so stay stocked and in the habit of exfoliating yourself.

Hair Care

Your hair should not only be smooth, but look smooth. This is commandment number three of Gia’s guide to getting up close and personal. I should probably make one. And soon. We all need this. I smell you. Just kidding. This is a pixelated screen (thank goodness!).

Command Number One: Smell good aka shower when you know you need to.

Command Number Two: Feel good aka exfoliate your entire body.

Command Number Three: Don’t forget your hair aka condition your hair properly and touch it up.

Are you taking notes? I am barely keeping up with myself, but these are the bare basics off the top of my head to impress yourself when receiving flattering remarks from individuals who stand next to you. I have not gotten into teeth in this episode or blog post and have some dedicated strong minty help you can check out here.

I have spent a small fortune on my hair, and the longer it grows the more painful for my wallet. To forego exorbitant salon visits but still get that shine finish they spent a few moments applying $100+ of multiple products on, I highly recommend TRESemmé Silky & Smooth Anti-Frizz Conditioner for Frizzy Hair 28 oz. As of now, it is only $5.99 on Amazon and it is my new holy grail. This amount of product for movie star photoshoot quality hair? Consider me a cult member.

It reminds of Filipino shampoo I grew up with my cousins would gift me when visiting. Shoutout to my mixed people. Represent. The brand is called Sunsilk, and their branding has changed a bit since I first used their hair care products. If you know you know. I could never find anything else like it in the United States or any other countries I have lived. It always left me feeling like a million bucks with the fresh sampaguita (Arabian Jasmine cultivated in the Philippines since the 17th century) flower fragrance and signature lotion-looking locks it leaves behind.

My strands look like liquid when I use it and the closest thing that resembles the result is this TRESemmé Silky & Smooth Anti-Frizz Conditioner that I use as a hair mask or conditioner depending how crispy my hair is feeling. I was profoundly impressed and will have a hard time shelling out the $55 Goop Goopglow Nutrient Shinebath Hair Mask. If you are brand-loyal, no harm, I love their products anyway! Both are fabulous alternatives and I will continue to utilise both in my routine to mix things up. Either way, I get hair commercial level locks.

Touching Up Your Do

Never forget the power of a brush. Especially a travel one that fits in your tiny bag when out partying with your girlfriends. Personally, I like to keep a mini brush on me at all times, because when it is hot outside, I wear less makeup that keeps my face in place and focus on my strands instead. Your hair essentially makes your face and affects a lot of your mood. Sometimes I do not leave the house if my hair is not absolutely coiffed perfect, but that never happens, because I always have a brush on hand! Here is an even smaller one that I recently purchased. It is insane the level of functionality we have at our fingertips that make us look and feel like a million bucks.You are welcome.

Down There Care

Once I learnt about my cycle and how to biohack my hormones, I realised when to deploy my arsenal of different types of feminine napkins. Ultra thin pads have become my friend over the years during my ovulatory and first half of my luteal phases. This is the time when your panties look…moist. To avoid the bodily fluid fragrance, simply use a paper-thin panty liner to preclude potential messes and smelling yourself.

Reduce Smell Further

Also, remember to change your underwear regularly, because there are glands by your thighs and private area. Think of your arms and underarms. There are glands there producing sweat, and they stick to your panties. Liners are simply preventative measure for liquids and solubles.

Fun fact: If you decrease the amount of red meat, spices, and sugar you eat, the less body odor you will have. Inflammatory foods make your body overreact, and it is true when they say You are what you eat. Eat cleanly without processed, packaged foods, and drink a lot of water instead of opting for a juice or soda if you want to smell on the fresher side. I know there are a lot of smelly decided vegans and vegetarians, but that is simply because they think they are doing the environment a favour by not showering as often as the rest of us.

How to always look, feel, and smell fresh

Sometimes we get overwhelmed, busy, and fall off the everything shower routine. Little by little, step by step is your friend when feeling beautiful. When you have an enormous checklist of things you want to do for yourself, all of a sudden self care feels like a chore. You are schlepping and busting missions all week, then do not take the chance to go out when invited by your friends, because you have not been prioritising your smooth skin everything slippery seal shower.

To not overcomplicate things, you can add one thing a day. When I do my nails at home filing away, I remind myself, Gia, it’s only 20 minutes of your day once a week. What I like to do is keep certain items in my car, office drawer, or in my handbag. I have three toothbrushes, Marvis travel toothpastes, and tongue brushes with covers on me at all times in different main aspects of my life: washroom, car, and bag to make it easier. I like preparedness and generally being ten steps ahead. Surrounding yourself with all the tools make implementing your routine a regularity is what will keep you on top of being your best self.

Outside of getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating cleanly with whole, unprocessed foods, make taking care of your body involuntary as breathing. Throughout this post, I tried making it as accessible as possible by offering travel options and keeping it simple. When you forget what you have to do to stay on top of feeling your best, remember smell good, feel good, taste good. You will always feel and look fresh when your grooming is a matter of igniting the senses. No self-tanner. No complicated makeup tricks. Just a clean, smooth version of you.