Getting a skincare trolley changed my life. Here's why every beauty enthusiast should get one

I have always had an extensive skincare routine. On most days I will use a couple of toners, at least three lightweight serums, a moisturiser and sunscreen in the day and maybe a sheet mask at night. Those who are fans of a minimalistic skincare routine will gasp and roll their eyes, but it’s what works for my skin. My skin is extremely dry and just laps up all the nourishing and hydrating goodness. More recently, I’ve also added a LED device as well as a microcurrent device to help keep my skin healthy and looking youthful.

Going through the whole routine, however, does take a long time. On any given evening I spend anywhere between 30 to 75 minutes on my skincare routine and doing it at a vanity table just felt very restricting. I was stuck in one corner of my room while life seemingly passed me by. So I decided to get a skincare trolley.

Picking the right trolley for my skincare

A lot of things changed for me during the Covid-19 pandemic, including how I did my daily skincare routine. With stay-at-home measures in place, I had more time than ever to do my skincare routine and instead of doing it at my vanity table, I packed my skincare into pouches and lugged them from the bedroom to the living room to combine my skincare and Netflix sessions. As the restrictions eased, friends would come over and we would have wine and sheet mask nights. And I would lug the pouches back to the bedroom and put them in their draws.

When I moved house — and countries — I decided I didn’t want to set up a vanity table and chose instead to get a trolley to keep my daily skincare and beauty devices. I think I was unconsciously inspired by the skincare and hair trolleys you see at spas and salons that have everything the therapist or stylist needs right there, and each one has their own personalised one, ready to use no matter which room or part of the spa or salon they are at.

The ideal cart for my skincare had to be something that I could easily wheel about and have a sufficient amount of space. I toyed with the idea of getting a bar cart and converting it to my skincare cart but some of them were too big to wheel around easily and also, they were quite expensive. I figured it would be better to spend the money on my skincare rather than the cart that was holding it. So I settled on the IKEA RÅSKOG cart. It’s actually for the kitchen, but you can use it for pretty much anything.

I arranged the cart in such a way that everything I reach for at least two times a day is up top and easily accessible. My devices and masks are on the second shelf. Last, is the skincare graveyard, where I dump products that didn’t work for me, and empties that I need to document — by which I mean write mini reviews for my Instagram.

I keep all my skincare in easy-to-open boxes so no dust or dirt gets stuck on them and I wipe down the boxes and skincare bottles every week to ensure all the residue from my hands doesn’t attract any other dirt and germs.

How getting a skincare trolley helped me

I figured that if I kept all my daily skincare in a trolley, I could wheel it around to any part of the house and do my skincare wherever I wanted. This little change really freed me to make my skincare routine an actual part of my life, not something I had to carve out time for and wake up earlier or sleep later to complete.

In the morning, I take my cart to a table, have my cup of tea and go through my daily affirmations. As I layer my serums, and take a sip of tea, I quietly say to myself, “I am supported fully by the universe” or “My heart is open to the flow of love and support around me.” I will occasionally add in one I learned from J.Lo, “I am youthful and timeless at every age” trying to manifest looking like her as I age.

If I’ve woken up late, I move my trolley near my work desk at home and do my skincare while on a call (off camera, of course) or keep my sheet mask or LED mask on while replying to emails or writing my posts. In fact, I’m wearing my LED mask as I type this.

In the evening I do my skincare on the couch while watching the telly, which allows me to really spend time on my skincare and be present as I massage my face or do my gua sha, rather than hurriedly slapping on products because all I really want to do is jump into bed.

Slowly kneading my face helps to relax the muscles of my jaw and neck, which get so tight from spending the day in front of the laptop. Doing my skincare earlier also means it has time to sink into my skin rather than my pillowcase.

When my close friends come over, I bring my cart out and share suitable skincare with them or have a wine and mask sesh as we catch up on all the tea in each other’s lives.

I sometimes move it to the bathroom and do a clay mask followed by a whole routine while I soak in the tub.

Being able to do my skincare anywhere in the house has freed me up of the whole “I don’t have time for it” excuse because this trolley really can go anywhere with me, and that has really been the biggest benefit of getting a skincare trolley.