Beauty Tips for When Mercury Is in Retrograde

Today is the first day of the fashion crowd’s most dreaded multi-week ordeal. In the upcoming weeks, beware of well-dressed, sleepless zombies staring and muttering intently at their smartphones. The world will feel dark and cold, and everything will seem meaningless. Subway doors will shut in your face. The Uber app will crash. There will be lots of tweeting, pleading for “it” to be over and for life to resume its course. No, it isn’t the much-maligned Fashion Week: It’s Mercury in retrograde, and it might make you feel less than attractive, if you believe in such things.

According to astrologers, Mercury is responsible for all transportation and communication issues, ruling over intelligence, truth, and education. When it goes into retrograde, or a backward motion, its ruling entities also go into remission and all goes to hell. So, re-schedule your haircuts (now is not the time to try the Karlie), don’t sign any contracts, don’t buy that $3,000 Marni coat, and assume that yes, you will miss that connection, Craigslist or otherwise.

Since you can’t call in “Mercury” to work, we’ve compiled a list of no-fuss, feel-good beauty products for every day of this planetary purgatory. We chose them for their simplicity, uplifting effect, and ability to perform. Consider them your beauty toolkit for the next 21 days of your life. Buying even one of these is guaranteed to lift your mood.