Recently Cosmopolitan interviewed Senator, and Democratic presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren. Among many other questions that were asked, Cosmopolitan posed a question to the Senator from Massachusetts about . . . her “skincare routine.” The exchange went like this:
Jessica Pels: You knew this was coming. What is your skincare routine?
Elizabeth Warren: Pond’s Moisturizer.
Elizabeth Warren: Every morning, every night. And I never wash my face.
Jessica Pels: Wow.
Elizabeth Warren: Nope, nope.
Jessica Pels: You’re one of those.
Elizabeth Warren: Yeah, I am.
Jessica Pels: That’s a very French thing.
Weirdly, the Q&A on the Senator’s skincare habits has drawn as much attention as anything else in the interview, with some people expressing mystification at the fact that she evidently never washes her face. I’m not really qualified to comment on somebody’s skincare routine, although I seem to remember seeing my mother and grandmothers dipping into a little jar of Pond’s cold cream now and then.
Apparently Cosmopolitan asks the skincare question to all of the candidates, male and female, and if you’re interested you can see the answers given so far here. You’ll be stunned to learn that Senator Bernie Sanders doesn’t do much in the skincare area. (I would have thought he would need to apply a mild form of sandblasting to those leathery jowls, frankly.) And Joe Biden hasn’t been quizzed on the skincare topic yet, so we don’t know whether, as I suspect, he regularly applies something to that porcelain visage to make sure that it doesn’t crack.
Seriously, though — do we need to ask political candidates these kinds of intrusive, personal questions? I’m sure some would argue that it humanizes them, and I suppose the barrier was forever broken when some unduly curious person asked Bill Clinton whether he wore boxers or briefs. I, for one, don’t need to know about that, or skincare routines, or shaving techniques, or preferred deodorants. I think we’d all be better off if we left a little respectful distance between ourselves and the everyday personal routines of the people seeking higher office. Ask them about their positions, look into their backgrounds and public activities, and explore their voting records all you want — but can’t we leave a respectful zone of privacy in the skincare and personal hygiene areas?
Webner House 