I Did Jonathan Van Ness's Beauty Routine For a Week and Got a Lesson in Self-Care

After a roaring (and voluminous) success in letting Queer Eye [1]'s Jonathan Van Ness dictate my hair routine for a week [2], I thought, "Why not let him guide me through an entire beauty routine?" I didn't have to look far on the internet for Van Ness's favourite beauty products since he is everywhere, and the internet can't get enough of him — myself included.

For a week, I lived by the beauty mantra, "What would Jonathan Van Ness do?," and it gave me so much more than a banging beauty routine (and an excuse to listen to Ariana Grande [3] on repeat, because he would): it taught me a lesson about self-care. Before delving into that, though, let's get into the products and tools I used.

I kept my hair routine the same as my previous experiment using the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo [4], conditioning with Ouai Repair Conditioner [5], treating with Ouai Hair Oil [6], and finishing with Bumble and Bumble Prep Primer [7]. The sulphate-free life is serving my hair well, and it's never looked better.

For my skin, I used a mix of Van Ness's favourites and my favourite hydrating products, as well as tools that I'd typically use for an at-home spa session.

Here's what was in my arsenal (which you can shop ahead): Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment [8], Kate Somerville EradiKate Daily Cleanser [9], Fresh Vitamin Nectar Antioxidant Glow Water [10], Tropic Skin Feast Nourishing Cream Concentrate [11], Algenist Reveal Concentrated Colour Correcting Drops, Green [12], Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm [13], Herbivore Rose Quarts Illuminating Body Oil [14], Beauty Bio Glo PRO Microneedling Regeneration Tool [15], Noble Isle Tea Rose Shower Gel [16], Wild Source Apothecary Rose Quartz Gua Sha [17], Antonia Burrell Facial Cups [18], Thisworks Sleep Power Nap Spray [19], and finally a S1 Ep1 Tom-inspired eye mask courtesy of my mother's beauty stash.

If you also want a Van Ness-inspired routine, you obviously do not need all of these products — just a collection of your feel-good favourites.

With my products in hand, I embarked on a week-long journey with the aim of glowing and healthy skin, but I also channelled Van Ness's viewpoint that with a beauty routine, you should "do it for yourself", which he often stresses in Queer Eye. Although I live and breathe beauty, with stress from work and everyday life, I was doing what many others do: not taking time for myself because life got in the way. I was using products that "get sh*t done" rather than using the expensive shower gel I love or shimmering body oil because it's pretty.

By the end of the week, I realised that I wasn't just benefiting from using Van Ness's favourite products with newly glowing skin, I'd truly embraced his self-love and self-care ethos, which I was seriously lacking. Of course, self-care means very different things for different people. What some might deem "boring" self-care [20] is just as important as taking time for yourself to treat your skin, but the principle Van Ness projects is about giving your body and mind what it needs and deserves.

Taking time to properly remove my makeup each night, spending the extra few minutes to suction cup my forehead to get rid of my terrible tension headaches [21], and using a bougie pillow spray because the smell made me feel like I had my sh*t together all had a really positive impact on my week. With this routine, I felt healthier overall, because other areas off my life were impacted, too. I didn't cancel yoga, I turned my emails off after 6 p.m., and I ate the food my body needed.

If I'm being totally honest, I probably won't be able to maintain this mantra consistently. Self-love isn't made overnight, and this extra time isn't always available. But it did serve as a reminder that a beauty regimen is more than just a fancy face cream. It is deeply personal and can give you control and enjoyment over something even when life seems to be spiralling out of control. So the next time you need a little Jonathan Van Ness magic in your life, I encourage a little self-love beauty experiment of your own.