How I Crafted the Perfect At-Home Beauty Routine — and Earned Freebies

Let's be real: as we've morphed the space formerly known as home into an office, entertainment center, workout studio, and homeschool hybrid, the confines can be way too close for comfort. And we're all having feelings. As I'm learning to navigate this new (crazy) normal, it's the little lifts along the way that are giving me life. My brand of coping involves all.the.tie-dye hoodies ever, elastic waistbands, extreme binge-watching, and an unlimited supply of avo "toast" on matzo, thanks to the industrial-size box that came free with my last $450 grocery bill. The other thing that's feeding my soul in a way that only a great blowout or spa day could is some serious self-care of the beauty kind.

While I love a moment of pure pampering, I also live for the thrill of a deal (see exhibit A: free matzo). So what's making my product-hoarding shopping even more satisfying is a perk-filled program I just found: P&G Good Everyday Rewards. By signing up on the P&G site (it takes literally 10 seconds), you can start earning points on all the everyday items (skin and hair care included) you're already buying, which can then be cashed in for some major rewards. Think: virtual personal-training sessions; manis, pedis, and blowouts; movie streaming; and more (that free matzo pales in comparison, amiright?).

The best part: all you have to do is keep on shopping for your favorite necessities like shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, moisturizer, and more, because chances are, you're already using P&G products on repeat (this is the full list of participating brands, FYI). To earn points, simply upload your receipts from partner retailers to P&G Good Everyday or answer a quick survey, quiz, or poll. But there's another reason to sign up: each time you score points, P&G makes a donation to a cause of your choice (from providing safe drinking water to ending period poverty). Helping others — and helping yourself — means wins all around (a beautiful thing, right?).

Now, back to some self-care. To create your own pampering sesh at home, here's some inspo courtesy of my own regimen. Go forth and beautify.

Dryness, check; dullness, check; fine lines, check — my complexion these past couple months was basically dead to me (thanks, lockdown). To bring it back to life, I started using Olay Masks Resurfacing Peel Vitamin C + AHA, which delivers spa-like effects (in a bottle) in T-minus three minutes. The two-step system includes a Vitamin C Resurfacing Mask, which you massage into clean, dry skin for one minute, and an AHA Peel Activator, which you massage on top until crystals dissolve. Rinse with warm water, and it's like you've hit the reset button on your skin with a smooth, glowy stand-in.

Even when my spirits are less than sunny, my smile fakes it all the way, thanks to Crest 3D White Whitestrips Gentle Routine Whitening Kit. What I love about this kit is that it's formulated for sensitive teeth, and mine definitely have strong opinions — about cold, sweetness, and basically any food that rubs them the wrong way. Apply the whitening strips to your teeth for the recommended 30 minutes (just enough time to give myself a mani-pedi), then use the accompanying little blue-light device for a few minutes to give your teeth professional-like 1,000-watt perfection. Honestly, my whiter smile is basically forcing me to be happier.

Winter may be over, but my dry feet don't seem to have gotten the memo. One thing that's been helping heal my heels: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Skin Cream. This rich, creamy moisturizer is gentle enough for both body and face — i.e. my sensitive-upon-touch skin doesn't break out from it. Ingredients like colloidal oatmeal, shea butter, and ceramides are the secret sauce to smooth and improved skin. And here's my tip: I slather it on my feet, then slip on socks — because sandal season is upon us. Period.

In a perfect world, I would actually take up residence in a spa. A girl can have dreams, and right now, mine are filled with visions of massages and saunas and botanical breezes wafting through my mind. While I can't hit up my favorite spa right now, I can turn my shower into a sanctuary. My method of choice: Kiwi Botanicals Soothing Shower Gel with Chamomile & Manuka Honey. The soothing fragrance transforms an everyday wash, rinse, repeat into a calming retreat for mind and body — at least for a few minutes. And it leaves my skin touchably soft, too.

If your roots, like mine, are no longer roots but what can only be described as one part of a gradient color scheme, then you feel my pain. In lieu of a trip to the salon for a refresh, Pantene Illuminating Color Care Shampoo With Biotin is keeping my hair from looking all kinds of wrong. There's no stopping my overgrowth, but at least I can protect and invigorate the color that's held on and maintain my hair's overall health. Ombré is the new bronde, didn't you know?

So, globe trotting is on pause, but we can send our hair on a little "trip" to the tropics. When I (and my hair) need an escape, I use Herbal Essences Coconut Milk & Aloe Hair Mask, the product equivalent of a day at an exotic beach, frozen beverage in hand. The dreamy, coconut-and-vanilla-fragranced deep conditioner heals damaged, straw-like strands and replaces them with what feels like silk. I recommend applying it (to wet hair) while in an indulgent bubble bath to really up the vacay fantasy.

This content was created by P&G Good Everyday.