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It’s easy to picture Kate Bock at the beach. After all, the model has covered the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. But in reality, Bock splits her time between the colder climates of New York and Cleveland, which tend to wreak havoc on her dry skin. “I switch [my skin-care products] up a lot because I live between different places,” she tells Glamour. “I have my travel bags with my Cleveland products and my New York products. It’s a mix.”
When the pandemic hit, Bock hunkered down in Cleveland with her fiancé, NBA player Kevin Love. Work from home kept her busy—she collaborated with Bond-Eye Swim on a swimwear line and became the chief brand officer of hard sparkling water brand Pompette—but quarantine threw another wrench into her skin-care routine. “I started getting a lot of funny skin issues, as I think a lot of people did because of masks and never being outside and not getting any natural light or air on your skin,” she says. “I was using just the most basic drugstore products for a while where my skin was really irritated. But now that I’m back on track, I definitely like a little high-low. I do some of my more basic products and some more luxury products.”
When it comes to travel skin care, Bock is all about layering hydration and SPF protection. “I definitely tend to be super dry, so I’m drawn to really oily hydrating products,” she says. “I feel like I can never get enough hydration in my skin. I put on tons of SPF and wear it every day. Especially when I’m on a sunny trip, I’m someone who definitely thinks burning is humiliation. So let’s never, ever do it, ever.”
Just as with her skin-care routine, Bock knows that work and self-care is also a balancing act. “We all feel like we’re drowning sometimes, and that’s completely normal,” she says. “I’m not anywhere for more than three or five days, and it is really exhausting. But just giving yourself the time to go through your emails, follow up, and make sure that you’re staying with your head above water. And then having people on your team that you really trust to work with that can really help you. No one can do it all themselves.”
Her favorite way to take a moment for herself? A good soak in the bathtub. “I was never a fan of taking baths in my life. But now I light candles, put Epsom salts in, make the bath really comfortable. I love my audiobooks. Just sitting quietly in candlelight, making the space special and relaxing. When I need a little me time, that’s 20 minutes that really does the trick.”
Ahead, Bock shares her favorite products to combat travel and maskne breakouts.
My cleanser
I use Dr. Barbara Sturm Foaming Cleanser, and I like it. It’s fragrance-free and foamy. I find it’s really refreshing and takes all my makeup off. I don’t wear copious amounts of makeup, but it does everything that I need. I really like the foaming cleanser, and it has a little travel size that I always have in my bag on the go too.
My serums
I use the Vintner’s Daughter essence and serum, a little set of the two. I have been using that for a long time and I actually love the scent. It’s almost like vinegar, so you may not be super excited about the smell, but it does really feel like it’s opening and cleansing your pores. The serum is an oil serum, so I feel like a glazed doughnut after those two layers. I’m very oily and glowy.
Right now I have Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Acid Serum here in Cleveland, and the retinol serum for nighttime. In the morning I really, really hydrate my skin because I’m definitely someone who by midday will be feeling dry.
My mist
If I do need to lock in more moisture midday and don’t want to restart my makeup, I use the Soft Focus Setting Spray by Hourglass. You can put it on after you do your makeup, or just midday if you need to rehydrate but don’t want to wash your full face off and restart. The hydration goes under the makeup and you can just feel aglow again.
My moisturizer
For a daily cream, I have been using the Vanish Airbrush Primer by Hourglass. It’s hydration and a primer, and it feels like silk on your skin. It smooths out any pores or bumps. When I put on makeup on top, my skin is just so incredibly silky smooth.
My eye cream
Skin Science eye cream. That’s one my derm recommended. Actually, my facialist and two dermatologists that I separately saw in different states all recommended the same thing, so it made me feel real confident about it. Anything to lift and hydrate the undereye is always good. Being really gentle with your undereye skin is so important. So many makeup artists along the way have mentioned that.
Don’t be rubbing on your undereye skin—gently dab and be very sensitive to that skin because it’s thinner and more delicate. When I fly, I put on Baggage Claim Under Eye Masks from Wander Beauty. Just before landing after a long trip, I do those, but not that often at home.
My spot treatment
I actually had been sent ZitSticka and tried those and they are amazing. If you have a red irritated pimple, they cover and blend into your skin pretty seamlessly. You can walk around with it and not feel like you’re wearing a Band-Aid on your face. It blends pretty well, and it’s doing whatever it can to calm the sore. It’s aloe and soothing, and it usually helps it go away.
My sunscreen
I love Super Goop’s Unseen Sunscreen. The best one ever. The texture of that is like clear jelly, so it goes on really smooth. It makes your makeup look good. It’s a really magical product. Also, it works for your full body too, because I hate when a sunscreen is all white and then your skin looks so weird after. That one just goes on beautifully and lasts and really protects. I never get burnt, and I don’t have any weird colors happening on my skin.
My lip balm
I have been on a mission, trying so many different ones. My favorite has always been the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask. It’s so hydrating, and I do it before bed. In the day, I use Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Rose. It’s an SPF lip balm with a little bit of a tint. That one’s been my classic everyday lip. It goes with everything.
My devices
I have those ice orbs. Kevin and I sometimes do those in the morning when we’re really exhausted and roll them all over our cheeks while we’re drinking coffee. They do feel really nice. We have red light therapy in the house, so I do that as often as I can remember and just go stand in front of it for 10 minutes. That’s supposed to be really healing and anti-inflammatory and good for your skin. I also have the Dr. Dennis Gross facial steamer. Especially in the winter months in these cold climate places that I live, I feel extra dry, so I try to do each layer of my skin care and then give it 30 seconds to a minute in the steamer to really feel like it’s getting in my pores.
My body product
Jao Brand Goē Oil. It’s the best scent and is a beautiful hydrating oil for your full body. I also always have Lucas’ Papaw Ointment. It’s a classic industry trade piece. I feel like every makeup artist has it. It’s papaya fruit preserve and an Australian product. It’s one of those things that’s good as an ointment, as a cream, as a healing product. You can put it on cuts and wounds and bites and sunburns and cracking skin. I always have it in my purse. You can put it on your eyelids for a little glow, you can put it on as a lip balm, you can use it as a hand cream. It’s a go-to product that’s always with me.
Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @arianayap.
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