As the global public-relations manager for UGG and a mom to her 1-year-old son, Enzo, Maricia Josephs’s morning routine is quite unpredictable. When she’s not up at 6:30 a.m. reading emails from her colleagues in Japan and China, she’s tending to her teething baby boy. From managing work to navigating motherhood, Josephs is a lot more intentional about doing the little things like taking a shot of apple-cider vinegar every morning to support her gut health and energy levels and actually spending time on her skin-care routine. The 30-year-old turns to beauty as an escape. “Being a mom pushes me to take advantage of the pockets of time that I do have and not put things off,” she says.
And in those pockets of time, Josephs, who has been working in fashion for over a decade now, takes care of herself by practicing self-care in the comfort of her own home. There’s this sense of escapism in winding down that she finds joy in. A part of that escape? Reveling in her daily skin-care routine.
She takes a moment to evaluate her skin every morning because some days she’ll wake up a bit drier than others. If she’s exhausted, she’ll see her eyes sinking in a bit and knows she needs to spend some extra time on that area of her skin. The type of morning her skin is having determines whether she’ll wash her face because doing so every morning has caused irritation in the past. “Sometimes I’ll go in with lukewarm or extremely cold water because I find that it closes up my pores,” she says. She reaches for the dermatologist-loved Clean Skin Club face towelettes, which are gentle and eliminate bacteria commonly found in normal washcloths.
When she chooses to cleanse her skin, she opts for Tatcha’s creamy rice wash. She’s been using it for years, and it’s never failed her sensitive skin. Made with Japanese rice powder and hyaluronic acid, the cleanser thoroughly removes impurities while keeping the complexion luminous.
Photo: Maricia Josephs
The one product that has changed the game for her? Paula’s Choice vitamin-C serum, a brightening treatment that banishes dark spots and improves uneven textures. Josephs has tested her fair share of vitamin-C serums that have left her with redness and irritation. And after becoming a mom, improving luminosity to kick the dullness from those sleep-deprived days is a nonnegotiable step in her routine. “This vitamin C not only brightens my skin, but it also gives me an overall smoother complexion,” she says.
Next up is moisturizing with Tatcha’s cult-favorite Dewy Skin Cream, which has a rich, cloudlike texture that instantly plumps and hydrates her skin. Just like her go-to cleanser, this cream is formulated with Japanese rice powder and hyaluronic acid.
She never misses the most important step in her routine: sunscreen. She’s tried several sunscreens that did not work for her, causing her to stop using it altogether. But since it’s such an essential product, she did her research to find the right one and ultimately landed on Paula’s Choice hydrating sunscreen. The sunscreen has SPF 50, offering ample protection without leaving an unwanted white cast on her deep complexion.
In the winter, when her skin is extra dry, Josephs locks in all the moisture with Aquaphor. “I know some people say it’s too greasy or thick, but it works well for me and gets rid of my dry spots,” she says. It’s the one product she always turns to, even in those moments when she runs out of her other products and it’s time for a restock.
At night, she swears by Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery oil, a restorative blend of botanicals. Josephs enjoys how nourishing it feels while she’s sleeping. “It’s like my skin has been completely renewed overnight,” she says, adding that she always wakes up with a glow.
Before having her son, self-care looked a lot different for Josephs. “When you’re living life for yourself and not responsible for another human, you’re just enjoying life like a fun single auntie. It’s Enzo’s world now, and I love living in it,” she laughs. Before motherhood, taking care of herself looked like getting her signature long acrylic nails at the nail salon or going shopping. Now having a moment to herself to just sit in silence feels like self-care. “Self-care is being able to watch a show uninterrupted, taking a shower for more than ten minutes, not being too tired to follow through with my full skin-care routine, sitting in a bath to just relax, or lying down,” she says.
Recently, she’s found joy at the gym. “I’ve always loved working out, stretching, and weight lifting, but I really understand the gym girls now,” she says. Once she discovered she feels more energized after releasing endorphins, she found even greater gratification from exercising. She goes at night, and it’s something she looks forward to having in her schedule weekly.
Josephs’s mom, Donecia Henderson, really takes care of herself, and observing that has inspired her to live a more stress-free life. She’s always admired her mother, but over the past two years, Josephs has really reevaluated the way she approaches life. “From the way she eats and works out to lower her stress levels, I started taking all of that into account,” she says. “Lifestyle habits and stress levels takes a toll on everything, skin included.” Her mom became a vegetarian a few years ago, and though Josephs hasn’t followed in those footsteps yet, she’s definitely changed her relationship with food. “I used to love to treat myself,” she says. “I’m not saying I don’t treat myself now with fries or a burger sometimes, but I have learned that eating healthy is actually treating myself.”
From drinking fresh ginger tea to practicing prayer and meditation, many of her daily practices stem from growing up in a Jamaican household. Everything that is now dubbed a “wellness thing,” like drinking fresh juice, had been instilled in Josephs since she was a child. “We grew up drinking fresh ginger and lime and eating clean foods, and I want my son to know all of these things will benefit his health,” she says. “Growing up, it was like, Ugh, I don’t wanna do that. I want McDonald’s. But now I realize how amazing it is to grow up and have these healthy habits that I can now pass down to my son.”
To Josephs, who comes from a lineage of women who embrace aging, getting older is a beautiful thing. “I may have some smile lines, but I’m excited to see how I will age — I celebrate that,” she says.
