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February 28, 2023

mbg Beauty Director

By Alexandra Engler

mbg Beauty Director

Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she’s held beauty roles at Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com.

February 28, 2023

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Beauty routines are never truly stagnant—practices evolve and change like we do. In As of Late, we chat with influential folks about their current products and rituals. Here, we get a snapshot of what they’re doing right now: the sacrosanct formulas they use until the last drop, the fresh launches they’ve got their eyes on, and of course, the why behind it all. 

Scroll through TikTok or Instagram, and you’re sure to see one very prominent buzzword once or twice: Manifest. But what’s often missing on the endless social media scroll is, ahem, how to do it in your own life. That’s where Roxie Nafousi comes in. 

Nafousi is a London-based speaker, influencer, and author of the book Manifest: 7 Steps To Living Your Best Life. In the book and through her work, she guides folks through actionable steps one can take to manifest goals, big and small. Because—as we’ve noted about the powers of manifestation—it’s not just about lofty ideas of what your life could look like. Manifestation takes work, commitment, and care. 

And on that last point, one thing I was personally curious about is how Nafousi cares for herself. Here, the well-being and beauty routine Nafousi is using lately. 

“My mom taught me to use rosewater when I was like 14, because we’re Iraqi. It used to be really hard to find—you’d have to go to a specialty store, like an Arabic store or an Indian store. But now you can get rosewater toners in most supermarkets. I still use the cheap, classic ones from the supermarkets—those work amazing. 

“I’ve just trusted my mom that they’re good for your skin. But I’m pretty sure it’s anti-inflammatory. I’m prone to irritation and redness, so it really helps with that. Plus it just smells nice and I like that it’s just one, natural ingredient.” 

“I love the DIRTEA mushroom powders, which will be coming to the US if it’s not already. Functional mushroom powders are my new favorite thing. With a lot of these things, they come along and sound like a trend, so I’m always a bit doubtful and ask myself, Do they actually work?

“But I’ve been taking just about a teaspoon of the lion’s mane mushroom in my coffee every morning—and I’ve definitely, definitely, definitely seen a change in my energy levels throughout the day. I don’t get that 4:00 p.m. dip. Now I’m just fascinated by mushrooms in general.”

“I live for massages and have one a week. I have an at-home service here [in London], but the first thing I do when I travel is to find a massage place. For example, I tried Remedy Place in Los Angeles, and The Well In New York.

“For me, I think it’s the only time I truly switch off. Most of the time I nap during them: It’s the best power nap on earth. 

“Like many people, I’m a working mom and don’t sleep enough. I’m always stressed. So whatever ways I can find that de-stress me, I do. And the thing is that massages just work for me every time. 

“There’s also a lot of power in massages. We store so much trauma, stress, and emotions in our muscles—so having someone moving and releasing the muscles is a really good thing. There’s that study that shows 10 minutes of physical touch can help reduce cortisol levels1. 

“My mom taught me the importance of simplifying your routine, be it skin care or makeup or whatever. She taught me to try and not overdo it with tons of products. 

“In lockdown I was doing a face mask a night, and my skin was just not happy with it. But she just always had amazing skin, and was just so simple. She basically just had one cream, rose water, and that was it.”

“I was having a moment where I had really, really sensitive skin. Part of it was probably because I was trying lots of different products and mixing brands, as I was getting sent a lot of different kinds of things. But also, since having a baby I just have naturally more sensitive skin. 

My sister bought me the whole Skkn by Kim Set for my birthday. I was like, Oh I really don’t need more skin care. What a bad present. [Laughs.] But then I was just like, OK I’ll try it. So I stopped doing everything else and just used the line. Honestly? My skin has never been better. I’m not as sensitive, I don’t have rosacea, and it’s clear. I’ve refilled it three times!”