The #ITGTopShelfie interview series focuses on the beauty routines of Into The Gloss’ lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Submit your own on Instagram—post your Top Shelfie (tag us @intothegloss!) and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie for a chance to be featured on ITG.
“My name is Erin Allweiss (@erinallweiss), and I am the co-founder of a media relations agency called No.29. We represent sustainable fashion brands, artists, organizations, and products, and our focus is on making a positive impact on the planet (which sometimes includes fighting bad people). The best thing about my job is that I get to learn from my brilliant clients every day. They are at the top of their respective industries, and I feel so lucky that my team and I get to be an extension of their work. In my most exhausting moments, I remind myself that collaborating with these incredible people is a privilege. I’ve been to the Brazilian Amazon with Veja to see how they make sneakers while protecting the rainforest, and marched down 5th Avenue in a cape with For Freedoms.
Growing up in New Orleans’ blonde debutante school of beauty, I battled my Jewish curly hair and thick brows. I loved fashion, but beauty just felt awful, exhausting, and synonymous with fitting in. I flat-ironed my hair and attempted highlights, which resulted in a terrible orange-tinted situation. My mother told me not to touch my brows, but I plucked the shit out of them anyway. 10 years ago I thought I needed longer lashes and tried Latisse, ignoring the risk that it can change the color of your eyes. Mine went from being more of a green to brown! It took until my 30s to learn to work with what I’ve got. The best advice I can share is to just lean into, accentuate, and don’t fight how you look.
For a good start to the morning I take Seed’s Synbiotic alongside Wooden Spoon Herbs’ Herbal Coffee, which I got at CAP Beauty. It’s one of my go-to beauty shopping destinations—I fully trust founder Kerrilynn Pamer’s curation. I also love to drink a cup of biodynamic tea from Alaya. My dear friend Esha Chhabra founded the line, and while I love every variety, my favorites are Chamomile, Tulsi and Darjeeling First Flush. I also take Gossamer’s Dawn tincture, a combination of CBD and THCV, in the morning. Alex Capano is the genius behind the formulations, and she holds the first doctorate in cannabinoid sciences.
I have very dry skin but also break out, so I change my cleanser depending on the season. I’m presently using the Ultra Gentle Cleanser from Face Reality morning and night, which my facialist Diane Higgins turned me on to. I started seeing her nine years ago, and she changed my skin and my life. I think I’ve gotten 15 of my friends to see her, too. I call her the skin whisperer. In addition to following all of her recommendations, I also use the products she makes on her farm-slash-apothecary upstate. After washing my face, I use Diane’s eye cream and her Balancing Facial Oil, which is remarkable. It feels so good going on. If my skin is particularly dry I mix a few drops in with her Blossom Cream, and then I always use sunscreen. I discovered I have melasma when I was 27, but it’s been a blessing in disguise because, after a childhood spent in the southern sun, it forced me to take sunscreen seriously. Tizo tinted mineral sunscreen is the one sunscreen that doesn’t break me out—it just sits like a protective layer on my skin. Then I add either Diane’s lip balm or a tinted Henné Organics balm. It’s super nourishing despite having some color to it.
I moved to Prospect Lefferts Gardens three days before lockdown. It’s been an interesting year to make a new home, but I’m so grateful to have Prospect Park for a front yard. Each morning I walk for an hour, sometimes joined by (masked, responsibly distanced) friends. I’m a runner and still do that, but there’s just something about walking. I also do yoga a few times each week—I am so thankful for Maria Cutrona and Danielle Rosati—and my team and I also work out with A Second U Foundation. I hate the term exercise because it sounds like a chore, but daily movement is crucial to my wellbeing. Without it, I turn into a cranky monster.
I have curly or wavy hair depending on the humidity, so I stick to ultra-moisturizing products. Beyond that, I always turn to my brilliant beauty editor pal Jayme Cyk for counsel. Right now I’m using Christophe Robin’s Regenerating Shampoo with Prickly Pear, Volume Conditioner with Rose Extracts, and Regenerating Mask. I also use Leonor Greyl’s hair treatment, and really love Crown Affair’s silk scrunchies, comb, and hair oil. I really want to chop all my hair off and just go for it, but friends reading this are probably laughing—I have a psychological aversion to cutting my hair. One inch feels like a foot! I dream of the day when I’m able to fuck it and cut it all off. I’ve taken to doing my own nails thanks to COVID. I stay in the lines when I use Odeme Polish, which I discovered at Regular Visitors in Brooklyn.
After my walk or run I repeat my morning routine then add undereye concealer and blush, both from Westman Atelier. I sometimes also use Eminence Organics mineral powder in Honey Apple, which smells great. It’s perfect if you’re like me and hate feeling anything on your skin. Then I curl my lashes. I rarely use mascara these days, but when I do Milk Kush is the only mascara I’ve ever used that doesn’t irritate my eyelids—they’re so sensitive! I brush my brows with Anastasia Clear Brow Gel and add a red lip. Damn do I love a red lip. Chanel Rouge Allure in Pirate is my favorite, and recently I’ve been into the reds from Kosas. I often mindlessly put on lipstick before reaching for my face mask, which is not the cleanest choice. Finally, I pick an Ormaie fragrance depending on my mood. Ormaie is a remarkable organic, sustainable perfume brand from a mother-son duo. They use natural ingredients, recycled glass, and-carved and regenerative wood tops. Plus, the bottles are just gorgeous design objects. All of them are delicate and interesting, but Papier Carbone and Le Passant are my current staples.
At night, my routine is quite simple. I wash my face with a Clarisonic, which I’ve just discovered has been discontinued. [Ed note: she’s right] Alas! Then, when my skin feels like it needs a boost, I do a Diane Higgins mask. Her new Pumpkin Power Peel is fantastic—it tingles, smells great, and makes my skin feel alive. Then I put on a Retinol Green Cream, which is non-prescription but still effective, and slather on too much Regenerating Facial Oil. I really am a sucker for face oil. Sometimes I work in one from Amalthea, a wonderful small organic line from Paris, too.
To relax and get a proper sleep, I swear by Gossamer’s Dusk tincture, which uses CBD and CBN. I have to shout out Rose Delights, which everyone should have access to in these anxious times. I envy Californians.”
—as told to ITG
Photos via the author