Photo: Courtesy of Kayla Greaves
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“I’m always going to look my best, whether my look is minimalist or I’m wearing full glam,” says the 32-year-old Kayla Greaveswho was the executive beauty editor at InStyle before quitting her nine-to-five in 2023 to pursue freelance beauty content, hosting, and consulting opportunities. “Even if I’m like going through the flames and embers of hell, I’m never going to look like it. I’m always going to show up as my best self. It’s one thing in my life that I can always control, and it’s a form of self-care for me.”
Greaves fell in love with all things skin care, hair care, and makeup at a young age — she got it from watching her mother — but says she didn’t gain the confidence to pursue a career in the industry until later in life. “Growing up, I was one of the only Black kids in my neighborhood and I didn’t have a ton of examples of what working in editorial would look like.” So years later, after working her way up from a communications coordinator at a music magazine in her hometown of Toronto to holding beauty, fashion, and lifestyle positions at HuffPost, Bustle, and InStyleGreaves made it her mission to “amplify what beauty means” for girls and young women who looked like her.
“I love skin care and makeup and hair care and all of the things, but for me, there’s a deeper meaning,” she says. “Having access to beauty products gives us the opportunity to explore creativity and feel the best that we possibly can about ourselves, which completely changes the way in which we show up in the world. I think beauty is really powerful.”
And Greaves’ extensive beauty routine is a reflection of that; it hinges on self-care and taking the time to give her skin the love it deserves. Here, she shares the products she swears by.
“I have a Hatch, so I wake up with the sun. I found that when I worked in corporate, I would kind of jolt out of bed every morning and it was just not good for me. I have it set to forest sounds, so the sound of birds chirping is the first thing I hear in the morning. It slowly turns on for an hour between 6 and 7 am I always make my bed in the morning. I wash my face in the morning — I know some people don’t have to wash their face twice a day, but I like to start fresh and clean off whatever is on my face from the night before so that my products can penetrate deeper into the skin.
Right now I’m using Tatcha’s Matcha Cleanser, which is really gentle. It gives the foamy satisfaction that I want without drying out my skin. I then take a shower and, when I get out, I put on hydrocortisone cream to help with my eczema. I apply a thin layer, mostly on my eyelids and wrists where my eczema is the worst, and only on days when it’s flaring up (because it can thin out the skin if you use it too much and we don’t want that). I apply Bloomeffects Royal Tulip Nectar on top of the Cortizone to make sure that my eyes are protected. It’s really nourishing and has the same effect as Vaseline or Aquaphor. I spritz the Vice & Virtue Set the Tone all over the face.
I follow up with a serum. The Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum is so damn good. It makes my skin feel so supple and smooth. I just finished that, so now I’m using Epilogic Max Plan, which is equally delicious. Since I have a little bit of hyperpigmentation right now, I’m also using Caudalíe’s Vinoperfect on any spots. I follow that with SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. I use it every morning, whether or not my skin is breaking out. Next, I go in with Rescue MD’s DNA Repair Complex. It’s really good for keeping your skin in tip-top shape. You can use it after you get some type of cosmetic enhancement, but I find that it helps reduce hyperpigmentation as well. I also use Augustinus Bader eye cream. You just need a tiny dab for the under eyes, it’s so rich and hydrating. Then I apply a daytime moisturizer, usually the La Mer one but I also started using the Balm from Joanna Czech. It’s the only product I’ve ever had that keeps the area around my nose from getting flakey and irritated in the winter. Finally, I finish with the Tatcha Silk Sunscreen, which is fantastic.
My nighttime routine is extensive because nighttime is when we renew everything. I typically double-cleanse and take another shower. I just feel like, whether or not I’ve been around people, I need to be clean before I get into bed. When I get out of the shower, I go through my same eczema routine with the Hydrocortisone Cream and the Bloomeffects serum. I also apply the Vice & Virtue toning mist, the Epi.logic serum, and Caudalié Vinoperfect at night. Then I use the Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Daily Retexturizing Triple Acid Peel, which works really well on my skin. Next, I apply SkinCeuticals P-TIOX. It’s a wrinkle modulating serum that’s meant to prolong the results of Botox, but it also helps reduce the look of wrinkles. I don’t get injectables, but I’ve noticed that some subtle fine lines in my forehead have gone away since I started using this. Once I’m done with that, I apply the same Augustinus Bader eye cream. If my skin is really thirsty, I also use the Medik8 Liquid Peptides Serum. I applied the Rescue Skin DNA Repair Complex again on top of that. I finish up with Augustinus Bader Skin Infusion or the Rich Cream, which I’m pretty loyal to.
In the mornings after washing my face, I hop in the shower. I use African Black Soap from Dudu Osun, which is the original Nigerian one. I’ve been using it for as long as I can remember, probably since high school. I also mix in a little bit of Sabon’s Shower Oil in green rose. It has a really nice aroma and leaves my skin feeling so soft.
I also shower at night. In the mornings, I’m just kind of rinsing off. But at night, I like to double cleanse my body — whether or not I’ve been around people that day, I just feel like I need to double cleanse at night and wash off whatever bad vibes have been around me before I get into bed. I start again with the African black soap then go in with Dove’s Deep Moisture Body Wash or Saltair Body Wash in the Santal Bloom scent. It’s super affordable but still feels so luxurious. I then use a pumice stone to scrub the bottom of my feet. I also have these waterproof, flameless candles from Amazon that I turn on while I take a shower. It creates a really serene, beautiful setting. I turn my speaker on, too, and create a whole vibe.
I’m very big on oral hygiene, and I don’t think people understand that it also affects the rest of your bodily health. We’ve got to be real about oral hygiene in 2025. I use the Burst Oral Care Tooth Brush in rose gold and Colgate Optic White Toothpaste. And then I use an electric flosser from this brand called Slate. It vibrates and really gets in there to make sure everything you’ve eaten throughout the day is out of your mouth. It also helps stimulate the gums. On the back of that flosser, there is a tongue scraper so I also use that. Next, I go in with my Quip Water Flosser, also in rose gold — you know, you got to match. And that concludes the oral hygiene part of the program. My dentist is thrilled with me.
I apply fragrance at night, too. It’s a luxurious experience. My bed has to smell amazing, I have to smell amazing, everything has to smell amazing. So after I apply my body lotion, I use Orabella’s Window2Soul perfume oil on my shoulders. On top of that, I spritz a little bit of Amouge Love Delight. It smells so soft and delicious. Another scent I really like for nighttime is Lush’s Vanillary. I also spray my pillow with NEOM Perfect Night’s Sleep Mist and Jo Malone Lavender & Moonflower Pillow Mist on top.