Marianna Hewitt wears a lot of hats. The former TV host is now an influencer, podcaster, and style icon. But perhaps she's best known as the cofounder of Summer Fridays, the skin-care brand behind the cult favorite Jet Lag mask (IYKYK). Despite launching just three years ago, the brand is already a leader in the clean-beauty space thanks to its dreamy aesthetic and easy yet indulgent formulas.
The idea that skin care should be pleasurable is a driving force both behind the brand and Hewitt's personal routine. “Growing up, I was the teenager who loved my Noxzema pads,” she tells Glamour. “I had the Proactiv three-step routine. As I've gotten a little bit older, my budget has changed where I could explore a little bit more with my skin care. How I think about skin care now is: Do what works for you, and do whatever you enjoy. I feel like there are so many skin-care rules and opinions now that it's taken a little bit of the fun out of it. I feel like skin care should still be fun and enjoyable; it shouldn't be scary.”
Her take on it: As long as you're protecting your skin—like using SPF—go for what works for you. “If you like fragrance in your skin care, that's good for you,” she says. “If you don't like it, that's great. My philosophy now is just do what you enjoy as long as it's safe for your skin.”
However, that doesn't mean Hewitt sacrifices real results, and she truly knows her stuff. This is thanks in part to her facialist Shani Darden, whom she started seeing back in her hosting days in 2013. “I was working really crazy hours and wearing heavy makeup,” says Hewitt. “I was under studio lighting, and then I was going out and doing red-carpet interviews. So my skin had just gotten really bad.”
Darden told Hewitt her skin was too congested—so they overhauled her skin-care and makeup routines. “I started getting frequent facials,” she says. “She taught me about retinol all those years ago and the importance of sunscreen. At that time people weren't really talking about sunscreen the way they are now. She taught me that you want to treat and take care of your skin, but you need to protect it at the same time. If you're not protecting it, then all of these other steps are useless. I'm so grateful now that she taught me this so many years ago, because it's such an important step in my skin-care routine.”
So what exactly has made it into her current routine? Below, Hewitt spills on what she's loving for Glamour's Drop the Routine.
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My cleanser
I start with Summer Fridays Super Amino Gel Cleanser. We recently reformulated and repackaged it. We first launched it in a glass bottle, which isn't the most user-friendly in shower scenarios or if you're traveling. It's updated now, and we took that opportunity to not only update the packaging but also the formula. We wanted it to remove more makeup when washing your face, but still wanted it to be pH balancing and gentle. What I don't like is washing my face and it feels really stripping or drying afterward. Our cleanser feels really good on the skin, and you can use it a.m. and p.m. I use it at night to wash my face.
My makeup remover
Afterward, if I have any leftover eye makeup, I'll use a Neutrogena eye makeup remover. It's my absolute favorite drugstore product. I love it, and I've used it for years. I cannot live without it, especially from wearing lashes. It really dissolves any of the lash glue. I'll take a Q-tip, dump it into the product, and then run it across my lash line. I let it dissolve the glue a little bit, and then I'll wash my face.
My toner
For toner, I use Summer Fridays Soft Reset. It's an AHA exfoliating solution. You just use it in your toner step, but it's amazing because it has lactic and glycolic acid in there. If you like both of those acids, it's amazing for you. We also wanted it to be the soft in Soft Reset. We added glycerin in there as well as aloe so that even though you're using these acids, it's still going to give you a little bit of hydration at the same time. It feels soft on your skin, and it's not overly drying. I'll use that a few nights a week.
My serums
I love serums. If I have a problem going on with my skin that I want to address, serums are where I fix it. I like the instant benefit of all of these serums, because I feel like I instantly have a glow or hydration to my skin. But I know if I use them consistently over time, I'm getting benefits from them as well. So I look for something with instant benefits, but also over time.
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