Savannah Hudson Drops Her Skin-Care Routine

The Between Friends lead singer shares the products she can't live without.

Savannah Hudson Drops Her Skin-Care Routine

While many of us spent the past year learning to bake or working our way through Netflix's catalog, Savannah Hudson's been busy making magic. Alongside her brother Brandon, the 22-year-old makes up one half of musical duo Between Friends, who released their debut full-length album I Like When You Shine! earlier this summer. 

The siblings dreamed up, wrote, and recorded the 25-song project in their at-home studio over the course of about a month. “It was kind of, in the best way, not planned,” Hudson tells Glamour. “We had an idea to create something that could be like a playlist of music—my brother and I were super drawn to mixtapes that my parents would make for each other when they first started dating. We found them in the garage during quarantine, and there was so much thought that went into each song, and like how they play into each other and the way that they make you feel. And we were just kind of like, ‘We should do that. Like let's just say, “Fuck it and make a mixtape.”’”

The result is a super-chill, synth-y dream that I've been playing on repeat. “I think we just had no rules when we were making it,” says Hudson. “We just wanted to have a good time and have people feel good when they listened to it. It's a lot of music, but I recommend it if you have a long drive or if you're at home getting ready. I always like to say, out of 25, there's got to be at least one in there that you'll like.”

Instagram content

View on Instagram

Hudson's skin-care routine is equally chill. “I'm really kind of all over the place when it comes to taking care of myself,” she says. “I'm a big believer of taking care of yourself and making sure that you feel good externally, internally, all of the above, but I'm like a ‘bro girl.’ Like, I've been on tour my whole life with dudes, I use shampoo to shave my legs.”

However, over the past year of downtime, she's started getting into more of a routine—starting with the basics like washing her face every night and wearing sunscreen, and working up to more advanced things like ice rollers at the suggestion of her skin-care-obsessed little sisters. She also deals with polycystic ovary syndrome (or PCOS), which has impacted her self-care.

“It's been an interesting thing for me to navigate with my body and my skin, just because it's very unpredictable,” she says. “Some women who have it are prone to breaking out; sometimes I can tell when it's affecting me in my skin or my body. And it's definitely something that not a lot of women talk about, but it's so common. I want to start talking about it as if it's normal, because it is, and it's definitely an extra step in a lot of women's lives.”

In addition to PCOS, Hudson has rosacea, which for her means her cheeks are often dry and red. “I've learned to love and embrace it, because I tried so many green creams and things that would suppress it or make it feel better,” she says. “And now I'm like, My cheeks are going to get red. A lot of times I don't even need blush and people are like, ‘Oh my God, you have so much blush on.’ I'm like, ‘No, that's my face.’ I'm very happy that [a lot of blush] is a trend right now.”

So what does Hudson use for her low-key yet effective routine? Read on as she shares the buttery moisturizer, $13 oil, and magic mask she can't live without in the latest installment of Drop the Routine. 

Instagram content

View on Instagram

My cleanser

I love micellar water. I pretty much always start with that; it's my base. I've been using micellar water forever. I feel like every time I've tried super-fancy products that my mom would get me for Christmas or things from friends or that brands will send me, I found myself going back to the simple cotton round and micellar water. I'm so grateful for all of it, but at the end of the day, I'm really simple. I'm using Garnier right now, but I'm not devoted to one.

Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water All-in-1 Cleanser & Makeup Remover

My moisturizer

I have a new discovery, which I was excited to talk about because I don't use anything interesting! But this is super affordable—it's L'Oréal. It's amazing. A friend of mine showed it to me. She was like, “Sav, have you tried this? It feels like you're putting butter on your face; it's the most amazing moisturizer ever.” I usually don't just try things, but for some reason I did, and I went through three things of it. I use it in the morning, and I use it at night. When I wear it at night, I wake up and I don't feel dry. Sometimes I'll just wear that for the day, and it feels amazing. 

L'Oréal Paris Collagen Moisture Filler Facial Day Night Cream

My SPF

This has a light tint in it, but it's also good to just throw on after you wash your face and you put your moisturizer on. It's Drunk Elephant, and it's SPF 30, and it's also 20% zinc. It's got a nice tint that goes with any color skin. You just start rubbing it and it blends right in. I've been loving that.

Drunk Elephant Umbra Tinte Physical Daily Defense SPF 30

My lip balm

I use the Mario Badescu lip balm every day, morning and night. It's superthick and nice and stays on all day. 

Mario Badescu Lip Balm

My spot treatment

So from the PCOS I never get cystic acne, but I noticed in the past two years that I get these tiny little bumps. You can't pop them; they're just little texture-y things. And I was so frustrated for so long because I couldn't figure it out. I went to my dermatologist, and he just didn't have an explanation. It's just a hormone thing, so I found my own cure for it. It's the Mario Badescu Silver Powder. I don't know what it is, when I read the ingredients in it, it was one of those things that I was like, This sounds like a science experiment, but I'm down to try it. 

I use that just on my forehead. You dab it with a cotton round that's kind of damp. That's been a lifesaver for me. Every time I—knock on wood, I don't want it to jinx it—but every time I have those little bumps, I like take it out of my drawer. I feel so grateful I found it. 

Mario Badescu Silver Powder

My eye cream

My friend recommended this to me. It's an eye cream, but it has ginseng in it. It's an energy-boosting gel moisturizer. I don't use it on my whole face. I only use it when I need it. This is a rare occasion, but like, if I'm feeling extra posh, I'll use this, or I do just a bit under my eyes if I'm feeling puffy or hungover. And it helps! It's nice, even if it's like a placebo. I feel like whatever we do, it makes us feel good.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream

My mist

This is another strange secret. In the beginning of quarantine, my mom was trying to find all of these natural, immune-system-boosting, skin-boosting things that would protect us. And she found this thing called Briotech, and it's like a topical spray. It literally says it's “tattoo and piercing aftercare. Sea salt cleansing solution, natural saline toner, hypochlorous acid facial mist for bumps, scars, blemishes.”

So it's kind of like an all-in-one party pack—you can use it anywhere. I would wake up and spray it on my face and also breathe it in. I had a cut or something, I would spray it. I took a little tumble on one of my bikes recently, and I just sprayed my knee with it. It's super natural, and it also helped me a lot with overall skin texture, and it's just like a little hidden gem. 

Briotech Topical Skin Spray

My oil

I also love the sweet almond oil from Whole Foods. I put that everywhere. I use it to shave my legs. I put it on my face if I've already moisturized in the morning and I don't have any makeup on, and throughout the day I'm feeling dry or something. I always have it on me. I'll just put it in my hands, and then go down my neck and my arms. I love it. It feels good; it's natural. I don't really know if it has any benefits for me, but we'll find out, I guess.

365 by Whole Foods Sweet Almond Oil

My mask

I've never really had a real facial or been super into masks, except for that silver powder, though I don't put it all over my face. But I feel like I'm at a point now where maybe I should get a facial, and maybe they'll give me like a mask recommendation that I'll like. I have done the Aztec Clay mask. It's very intense. Like, I was not expecting that. I think that's why I got scared of masks. That was, like, really hard to get off. But it was great! It worked nicely for me. My friend had that and she was like, “You've got to try this.” And we were just sitting there. I remember sitting in her house being like, “I can't move anything.”

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Condé Nast