Unless you’re someone who gracefully sits up in bed and stretches as tiny woodland creatures perch on your extended arms and Grieg’s “Morning Mood” plays in the background from invisible speakers — and really, who is? — you may need a little help waking up in the morning. Hell, even self-proclaimed “morning people” can struggle with the transition from drooling dreamer to something resembling a sentient being.
Coffee is the most obvious way to expedite the whole compos-mentis thing, but certain beauty products are a close second (not to mention an excellent complement to coffee) when you’re still groggily half-convinced that you just met Timothée Chalamet on a submarine made of pinecones and need to snap out of it, and into waking life, ASAP. In fact, coffee — or sometimes just the pixie dust that gives it its magical powers, caffeine — can be found in a number of products, thanks not only to its stimulating properties but its other beauty benefits.
Unfortunately, most (though not all) of the products below require getting yourself out of bed before you can use them; you can’t rely on them to physically remove you from the cool embrace of your sheets’ ample thread count. But once they make contact with your skin, their ingredients (caffeine and otherwise) will have you looking and feeling more alert, even if you overslept too late to brew a pot.
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If you think a splash of cold water to the face is reviving, just wait until you try a blast of cold, fizzy foam to the scalp. This pre-shower treatment helps clear away product buildup with a chilly, bubbling spritz of micellar water and salicylic acid.
Bumble and bumble Bb. Scalp Detox, $26, available at Sephora
Infused with mandarin and grapefruit essential oils, this formula is super-invigorating as a body wash, but even more so as a massage oil if you can convince someone more awake than you to to give you a morning rubdown.
Cowshed Grumpy Cow Uplifting Bath & Body Oil, $35, available at Cowshed
Thanks to a tingly hit of ginger-root oil, this multitasking SPF can replace your moisturizer and your cup of coffee in the morning. (Well, maybe not quite.)
Dermalogica Prisma Protect SPF 30, $65, available at Ulta Beauty
Yogurt is a fine choice for breakfast, but it’s an even better choice for a cleanser, grandma always used to say. (OK, not really.) This creamy whipped formula wakes up your skin as it turns into a rich, cooling foam when mixed with water (not granola).
Korres Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cream Cleanser, $26, available at Amazon
If the coffee in this vegan body scrub doesn’t perk you up, the intense shimmer it leaves behind will. Sugar and salt help the ground coffee beans exfoliate, and itty bitty silver and gold particles stay on your skin to blind thine enemies with radiance.
Frank Body Shimmer Scrub, $21.95, available at Ulta Beauty
Nothing betrays tiredness like puffy, dull eyes and eyelids that keep shutting against their will. This eye cream won’t help with the latter, but its coffee and ginseng have got the bags and brightening covered.
Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten & Depuff, $32, available at Nordstrom
Everyone’s favorite face mist is so much more than, well, a face mist: Essential oils of peppermint and balm mint (yes, that’s two different types of mint) make every bracing spritz an instant, and highly effective, pick-me-up.
Caudalie Beauty Elixir, $49, available at DermStore
Body lotion just isn’t going to cut it when you need to moisturize and rally the troops (your troops being your brain cells in this instance). This mousse fizzes and cools upon contact with the skin, so you’re left lightly hydrated and not-so-lightly revitalized.
Philosophy Pure Grace Body Mousse, $40, available at Ulta Beauty
As if the periwinkle tint isn’t helpful enough with its imperfection-blurring effects, this primer contains ginger, spring water, and a citrus scent to help you feel as awake as it will make you look.
Becca First Light Priming Filter Instant Complexion Refresh, $39, available at Becca Cosmetics
On the off chance that you simply cannot drag yourself into the shower, these face wipes are fully equipped to cleanse and perk up your face thanks to green tea. (And no one will judge you if you use them on your entire body when you’re running late — as long as you don’t tell anyone.)
Sephora Collection Cleansing & Exfoliating Wipes – Green Tea, $7.5, available at Sephora
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Source: Refinery29 – Marci Robin