While the phrase music royalty gets tossed around a lot, for singer-songwriter Mafalda, it’s a bit more legit. She’s an actual royal—her title is Princess Mafalda Saxe Cobourg of Bulgaria, but she prefers just Mafalda ( though she’s been know to answer to “the Princess of Pop”).
However, traditional pop star she is not; she describes her music as “dark pop” and is much more akin to Lana Del Rey than Brittany or Madonna—think swirling synths, emotional lyrics, and an overall cinematic feel. Previously she has only released music in English, but her latest EP “Bailando Sin Sentido,” released earlier this summer, is fully in her native Spanish.
Despite her royal background and current career, the 26-year-old is surprisingly down-to-earth, especially when it comes to her skin care—and her skin struggles. “Dry skin is one of my biggest concerns,” she tells Glamour. “Apart from that, something I can’t control is the hormonal pimples we all get here.” She gestures to her chin. “But what can we do about that? You know, it’s life, it’s part of who we are as women, and our hormones sometimes decide to have fun with us. It’s a natural thing, it is what it is.” (Her positive attitude is perhaps a little less relatable.)
It took her a little time after graduating from Boston’s Berkeley School of Music in 2017, but she has finally curated the perfect routine to keep her skin happy. “My routine didn’t start until I moved to New York, because there’s a lot of pollution that I definitely felt,” she says. “I started trying different serums and kinds of moisturizer, and throughout these past five, six years, I really tried almost everything.”
So, what does a princess’s skin care consist of? Below, Mafalda fills us in on the products she can’t live without for Glamour’s Drop the Routine.
My cleanser
When I moved to New York City, my skin was reacting very differently. It would get really, really dry, especially in the winters, so I started trying a lot of different products. And the one that I really found worked for me at the beginning, for washing my face in the shower or in the mornings, is the Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser. And that was definitely the start of my routine. I found everything else from there.
My serums and moisturizer
I really tried almost everything, but I feel that now I’ve found what my product is. It’s the Clé de Peau line; I’m a huge fan. I got introduced to it because I was doing a shoot with a magazine, and before the makeup artist applied the makeup on my face, she used the serum and moisturizer, and even before putting on makeup, my skin was already glowing. I was like, “Wait, I need this.”
It’s like a pack, and it comes with a night moisturizer, a day moisturizer, and a serum. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is rinse my face and apply my serum, and then moisturizer. I only use serums in the morning—I think for my skin, if I apply too many things at night, it feels too heavy and makes my skin oily. I love this set because it’s so light, and it just makes my skin glow—it almost looks like I’m wearing makeup when I’m not.
My eye cream
I have this little eye cream; I bought it in Spain at Mercadona, which is like the equivalent of CVS, so it’s not glamorous. But I feel like it really works! It’s just very light, and it creates a shimmer and glow under your eyes that almost allows me to not even put concealer on, unless I’m very tired or had a long week. I also found this one because a makeup artist used it on me.
An older friend of mine told me, “The best advice I can give you is start using undereye cream when you’re young, because that’ll just keep everything smooth as you get older.” So I use that.
My tool
My Foreo Bear is basically a lifesaver. I think it’s a good two-minute addition to my routine. It helps to keep your face not only glowing, but tighter and ready to go. And then the makeup I tend to apply on top is really light. When I’m putting makeup on, I always try to be as minimal as possible, because I think it’s so important for your skin to breathe. And I don’t think I have the most amazing skin, but if I had a one trick, it’s to let your skin breathe as much as you can. And I think it’s important to show our natural skin and just so whatever our imperfections are, it’s normal. We’re all human.
My mask
I buy the Boscia masks from Sephora. I use them either right before getting on the airplane for a flight or after. I’m not someone that puts them on during—that works for some people but for me, I just I don’t feel like I’m very clean on flights. But when I get home, it’s the best way to add moisture and hydrate my skin.
My lip balm
I’m currently using this super-simple Chanel lip balm. A friend of mine let me use hers, and I don’t know, I just felt the texture and it felt different so I bought it.
My pimple process
I don’t use spot treatment or anything, I honestly just let them be. That’s what my dermatologist told me, especially the ones that she said are hormonal, and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about that. I know friends of mine use these really cool stickers, but those just never really worked for me. So I’ve just got to let it be at this moment.
My face mist
I was using a lot of the Evian spray. Because of COVID, my face was really reacting a lot, especially always having the mask on. A friend of mine told me that the best way to hydrate is just straight after you take your mask off and you’ve washed your face, just spray it on. That will really help to just really keep your skin not dry. And I think that’s something my face had to just get used to, because of the masks.
Bella Cacciatore is the beauty writer at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @bellacacciatore_.
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