What Nulastin Founder Leah Garcia Buys at the Drugstore

First of all, let me just say this: I am annoyed with the soft cotton end of the swab these days. When I was younger, Q-tips had the softest, fluffiest swab. I’m telling you, I think they changed it. Now, I’m still completely devoted to the brand Q-tips. Why? Same reason why I buy Kleenex, but I’m annoyed. I’m constantly looking for one, so I keep them everywhere. It’s probably the least glamorous thing in my beauty routine, but I’m never without them. I use them to clean up the lash line. The only thing I don’t use it for is if I get mascara on my eyelids. Instead, use a spoolie brush to take it off, especially if you’ve already done your eyeshadow. I learned that from Jamie Greenberg on one of her Instagrams. It takes it right off.

I try to wear sunscreen every single day, and I’m particularly diligent about putting it above and around my brows. Sunglasses don’t always protect that area, and I’ve seen so many women experience brow thinning as they get older. After going through changes in my own hair and brows, it’s an area I’m very conscious about protecting. This is literally my favorite sunscreen in the world. I love the small tip applicator. Now, that being said, I’m on my way to Croatia Wednesday, and I will pick up that same sunscreen, but with BEMT, which is the ingredient that just got approved here in the United States. The sunscreen formulation there is different from the U.S. Same brand, just next-level good. But if I’m in the States and I don’t get to poach a product from Europe, then I will go right into Target and pick this one up. It’s non-comedogenic. I don’t get any acne. It disappears after I’ve put it on.

My God, it’s dreamy. This was given to me as a gift at a conference, and now I’m a junkie. I will get it anywhere if I can. This is something I picked up from childhood. My mom used to use old-school baby oil and blend it with some generic lotion. It gives you a nice glistening glow. Now, I use this every time I shower. And when I travel, I pour some into the little bottles of hotel-room lotion. Those lotions never seem to moisturize at all. But you add this, and now all of a sudden you’ve got whatever generic lotion from a hotel room mixed with that Saltair. It makes it feel luxurious.

Listen, I normally will pick Native because I like the way it looks on my counter. No question. It’s not because I put it on, I go, “Oh, that’s really great.” As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever read their ingredient deck. It might have dimethicone in it for all I know, which I’ve been trying to avoid. But I buy it first for what it looks like on my counter, which is not right. So my tip would be, read the directions. If you need to adjust, adjust. But I figured that was better than Vaseline, in terms of body lotion. I am a creature of my past, so it’s either Lubriderm, Eucerin, any of those, but I just want a clean, usually white bottle on my vanity. That’s what I’m after.

Who can win with their heels? It’s like pushing the biggest boulder up a hill. No matter how many times I try to get all that calluses off of it, it’s just fighting back. I think the whole thing is disgusting, so I buy new foot files whenever I can. I don’t want that shit reused. I don’t want to be like, “Oh, where’s that heel scrubber from four years ago?” I just get a new one. They’re not that precious. Mine has one of those notches, so that all your little callus junk stays in there. I can’t let all that dead skin go flying everywhere either.

I used to love Crest. I then got told by somebody at one point to use Sensodyne. My husband and I both couldn’t stand the smell of either. I think when you get older, your sense of smell changes and affects what you can and can’t tolerate. I’ve also tried to go into Whole Foods and get some of their toothpaste. First of all, it’s full of air. It looks like a big toothpaste, but it’s not. Then, you use it, and you have to use a lot of it, because it really doesn’t feel like it does much. The consistency feels overly whipped. I can afford to go try these new things, but I feel very strongly that I don’t get nickeled and dimed like a potato chip bag that has a very small amount. I want to get my money’s worth with things like toothpaste. Finally, we switched to Colgate. It’s not the typical one, but a slightly more expensive, bougier one. This Colgate will last me forever.

I don’t mind sweating, but I do mind smelling. Old Spice is a deodorant but not an antiperspirant, so it doesn’t stop sweating. Years ago I was told it’s best not to use antiperspirants, so I’ve just stuck to that. I’ve been using this because it’s easy. Plus, I can share it with my man.

I’ve never missed a day of flossing in the last 35 years. Listen, I don’t know if it’s environmentally really friendly for all of us to be using these, but they are made from recycled plastic. I love the dual floss string as opposed to just the single string. One string will break, and all of the reviews that you see are accurate. A game-changer is that once you get done with the string side‚ you flip down the end of it, and then the other end is a pick to get up into your gums. It’s a process, but it feels really good. My husband and I affectionately call them harpsichords, even though it’s not even shaped like a harpsichord. I don’t know why, but we say, “Did you pack your harpsichord?”

I don’t wash my hair every day; I wash about every fourth day. On those days I need to throw my hair in a fun bun, I use a scrunchie. I can’t even use an old school ponytail holder anymore. It has to have a soft silk or cotton around it. I’m not particular about the brand, I just like something soft and easy that I can throw my hair up with without fussing over it. I loan them out all the time to my friends, so I’m constantly having to buy new ones.