Can I confess something a little vulnerable? Before I even set foot in a jewelry store or meticulously curated my Pinterest board (which, yes, has well over 500 pins dedicated to floral arrangements, dress details, and color palettes), there was one very deliberate priority I put above all else: my skin.
If you really know me, you know that skincare isn’t just a routine—it’s a form of self-love, a daily ritual, and honestly, a bit of armor. My bathroom shelf isn’t just cluttered; it’s a carefully assembled gallery of potent creams, serums in frosted glass bottles, and exotic treatments I’ve researched obsessively. I see my aesthetician religiously every month, and I’m no stranger to laser sessions, chemical peels, and microdermabrasion—whatever it takes to keep my skin not just looking good but truly healthy and resilient.
But as I stood on the cusp of one of the most pivotal chapters of my life—my engagement and the wedding that would follow—I knew I had to take it to the next level. This wasn’t about vanity. This was about feeling confident and radiant in my own skin on the day I said yes to forever. So I committed myself to what I called my “aesthetic bootcamp.”
My skin had its own story to tell. Fungal acne had been a quiet, persistent companion; dark spots and uneven hyperpigmentation painted chapters of past struggles and sun-soaked summers. There was a dullness that no amount of concealer could mask—a tiredness I wanted to replace with glow, clarity, and the kind of luminosity that comes from true skin health, not filters or heavy makeup.
After a month of trying to solve my skin issues on my own—cycling through products, second-guessing every ingredient label—I realized it was time to call in a true expert. Enter Elizabeth Grace Hand at Ställe Studios, a quiet gem tucked away in SoHo, known as the go-to spot for models, creatives, and even Jennifer Lawrence. I’d heard whispers of her magic touch and figured why not invest in someone who could see my skin not just as a surface problem but as a complex story?
I threw caution to the wind, swiped my credit card, and booked my first session. From the moment I stepped into Ställe, I felt like I was walking into a sanctuary rather than just a treatment room. Hand’s approach wasn’t about pushing the latest trend or aggressive fixes—it was about listening deeply, tailoring every treatment to me. She took the time to understand my skin’s history, my lifestyle, and my goals. It felt less like a transaction and more like the start of a partnership.
Over the course of six months—October to April—Hand and I worked together to transform my skin. It’s a technique she’s perfected called “Marry Me” skin, a nod to the several clients who got married or proposed mere weeks after sitting on her treatment table. The process included a customized routine made for my skin and a series of in-office facials and at-home self-guided treatments aimed at improving my texture and hyperpigmentation. Spoiler alert: While it was slow and steady progress, it worked.
Although I committed to not using makeup daily throughout the entirety of my “Marry Me” skincare journey, I did break my no-product rule once or twice by testing out the viral Victoria Beckham Beauty and Augustinus Bader concealer pen. In my defense, it’s technically skincare—Augustinus Bader’s TFC8 formula is baked into the under-eye pen, making your dark circles disappear thanks to the high-pigmented formula, but also over time with healing and skin-smoothing properties.
