My vanity is just too crowded with devices I barely use

Buying into the routine I didn’t actually need

I remember walking past a department store display for one of those home beauty devices, the Quadthera Teenz, and thinking it looked simple enough. It was about 200,000 won, which felt like a reasonable gamble at the time. I’d read that the secret to good skin is just having a consistent routine—like how some celebrities say they’ve been drinking lemon water or using olive oil for fifteen years. I thought if I just bought the right gadget, my morning routine would magically snap into place. It didn’t. Most mornings, I’m just trying to get out the door, and the last thing I want to do is figure out if the device is charged or where I put the gel. It ends up sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, serving as a reminder that consistency is actually much harder than just having the tool.

The complicated ritual of keeping it simple

I tried adding a few of these ‘minimalist’ capsules I saw advertised, the ones with Mediterranean olive oil. They were marketed as a way to simplify my morning, but having to pop a capsule and massage it in just added another step I wasn’t used to. I’d be standing there with oil on my hands, realizing I still had to pack my bag and check the bus schedule. It’s funny how marketing makes everything look like a seamless, five-minute ritual, but in reality, it feels more like a chores list. When I stayed at a hotel in Busan last month, they gave me this ‘rejuvenating’ collection as part of a package deal. It was nice, sure, but I didn’t end up using the whole set because it felt like I was back at home, managing a skincare laboratory instead of relaxing. I just wanted to wash my face and sleep, not track three different skin benefits in one bottle.

When medical care gets in the way of habits

Honestly, some of these routines can get pretty annoying when your health isn’t perfectly on track. I remember when I had to deal with minor post-surgery recovery, and suddenly my ‘skincare’ routine became secondary to managing basic physiological needs. I was reading up on how even soap can be irritating, and everything felt so fragile. You realize that when things get uncomfortable, you just want to go back to the basics—lukewarm water and nothing else. I’m still using some of the products I bought, but I’ve stopped trying to follow the ‘pro’ routines I see online. It’s weird how I still feel a bit of guilt every time I look at that beauty device sitting unplugged by the window.

The lingering doubt about all these layers

I’m not even sure if my skin is actually better off for all the extra effort. Some days I look in the mirror and think the change is just subtle enough that I might be imagining it. I spent a good amount of time trying to coordinate my morning routine with these new products, and yet, I find myself skipping them three days out of seven. Maybe the goal shouldn’t be to have a perfect routine, but just to find the one or two things that don’t feel like a chore. I’m still holding onto the device, though. I tell myself I’ll use it this weekend when I have more time, but I suspect it’ll just stay there until I eventually decide to gift it to someone else.