From Overwhelmed to Intentional: How I Reset My Routine
A dermatologist-founded brand reminded me that skincare isn’t about chasing youth, but about supporting skin so it can age well.
This post is made in partnership with Eighth Day.
I have a confession to make: over the last year or so, I’ve fallen a bit off the wagon when it comes to my beauty routine. Most nights look something like this: a quick swipe of a makeup-removing wipe, followed by whatever half-empty jar of moisturizer happens to be sitting at the top of my drawer. That drawer, by the way, is overflowing with products I’ve collected through years of being in and around the beauty world.
The truth is, I’ve never been the type to geek out over makeup or obsessively track every new launch on the market. But what I have learned is this: when I slow down and take the time to really dive into a brand, to understand its philosophy, its science, its ingredients, that’s when beauty becomes more than a surface-level routine. It becomes intentional. And when it’s intentional, it actually works. I also then become incredibly loyal to whatever brand I’m using, and usually going years before trying anything else out.
But over the past few years, as I continue to age and my skin continues to change, I somehow lost my way. I lost my rhythm, and with it, the loyalty I once had to the products that actually worked for me.
Part of it was convenience, late nights, kids, work, life, and part of it was sheer overwhelm. The beauty industry moves at lightning speed, with a new “must-have” launching every other week. So, when I heard about a dermatologist-founded brand built not around hype, but around regenerative science, I was intrigued.
I first learned about Eighth Day when I popped into Cos Bar at Sportsman’s Lodge in Los Angeles. The beautiful packaging caught my eye just as a wonderful sales associate walked over, practically glowing as she raved about the product. She explained how Eighth Day was born out of a lightbulb moment for board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon Dr. Nakhla. In his work as a dermatologic surgeon, he was using stem cells and nutrient-rich dressings to help heal open wounds. He realized that the very same ingredients, a powerful blend of peptides, growth factors, and amino acids, could also transform healthy skin if delivered through high-potency topical formulas.
About a week later, the brand serendipitously reached out asking if I’d like to meet with the founder, Dr. Antony Nakhla.
It was kismet.
It seems obvious to me the reasons why we should be using a consistent skin-care routine, but it is equally important to understand that most rich creams stop at hydration. “An investment-worthy moisturizer has to do more,” Dr. Nakhla explained. “Restore density, support collagen and elastin, and slow the processes that deplete skin over time. We developed VolumatrixSubQ™ biotechnology to address that hollowed-out look some of my patients start to notice as they age, or sometimes because they are choosing to dissolve fillers, or as a result of GLP-1 treatment,” said Dr. Nakhla.
It also feels like everywhere I turn I’m hearing the buzz word of peptides being dropped so I was especially curious to learn more about how the Ultra Rich Intensive Moisturizer by Eighth Day is composed of 24 bioidentical peptides, amino acids, and growth factors - the building blocks of your skin’s health. With the launch of their new Ultra Rich Intensive Moisturizer, Dr. Nakhla explained to me why peptides are more than just a buzzword.
“I think peptides are resonating because they work intelligently with the skin’s own biology,” Dr. Nakhla explained. The “Peptide-Rich Plasma®” is the brands proprietary patent-pending skincare technology that was formulated it very intentionally to ensure it has all the right ingredients that are biologically identical to those found within your skin - to stimulate skin to renew itself.
It was around the time in during the interview where I was slapped with a big reality check.
We all know there’s no magic cream that can stop time. And honestly, the more I think about it, the less I even want that. Aging means we’ve lived, and I’ve come to believe that “the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can stop fighting our own reflection.”
When I asked Dr. Nakhla why a peptide-rich moisturizer should be the one product we splurge on, he explained: “Facial aging is largely a story of volume loss. A peptide-rich moisturizer addresses that at its source by signaling the skin to produce more collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. It delivers hydration in the moment, but more importantly, it builds the kind of cellular longevity that helps skin resist depletion and maintain resilience over time.”
That line stuck with me. Because it reframes skincare not as a desperate attempt to turn back the clock, but as a way to partner with our skin as it changes. As he put it, “We’re not formulating for surface-level correction anymore, real change happens at the cellular level.”
And maybe that’s the point: rather than resisting aging, what if we learned to embrace it while still giving our skin the right tools to stay strong, resilient, and authentically ours?
In the end, this conversation reminded me that beauty isn’t about chasing youth, but about supporting our skin so it can tell our story with strength and resilience. And that, to me, feels like the most powerful kind of confidence. If you’ve been waiting for a sign to finally invest in your skincare, consider this it. Mine showed up at Sportsman’s Lodge, maybe this one’s yours.