17 Self-Care Essentials Bloomingdale's Fashion Director Marissa Galante Frank Swears By

Photo credit: Images courtesy of BFA/Bloomingdale's/Sephora/Nordstrom
Photo credit: Images courtesy of BFA/Bloomingdale's/Sephora/Nordstrom


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Welcome to Take the Edge Off, a series that breaks down the beauty and self-care routines of influencers, CEOs, experts, and celebrities. Find out how they unwind and decompress, while taking a closer look at the holy grail essentials they're currently raving about.


After an internship at Michael Kors jump-started her journey into fashion, Bloomingdale's fashion director of accessories and beauty, Marissa Galante Frank, began her career as a personal shopper for Bloomingdale's at its 59th Street flagship in New York City. "I worked closely with my clients to work on their personal style," Galante Frank tells BAZAAR.com. "I was doing everything from picking out people's Christmas presents to helping them get brand-new looks for job interviews."

While working on 59th Street and assisting a freelance stylist, Galante Frank met with one of the Bloomingdale's fashion directors, which sparked her interest in the career. "It's strange to think back to that time when there was no Instagram, or it was just starting. So there wasn't the presence of like, 'These are the different jobs in the fashion industry that you can do.' But while I was talking to the fashion director and she told me about her job, I knew then that was my goal," she says.

After a year as a Bloomingdale's personal shopper, Galante Frank transitioned into a role with Gilt Groupe, but kept her ear close to the ground for the opportunity to follow her dreams and work with the Bloomingdale's corporate team.

Now as the retailer's fashion director of accessories and beauty, Galante Frank is utilizing all the tools she learned early in her career, including trend-spotting. "The same way I am working with trends and accessories, I'm working with trends and beauty as well," she says. "The sky-high platform trend in shoes, for instance, there's going to be a person who buys the black pair and a person who wants the metallic style. And similarly in beauty, if bold eye looks—which I'm personally obsessed with right now—are on trend, there's the person who wants to do glitter eyeliner and the person who wants to go all out. There's such a broad range, and that's what makes trends so fun."

In addition to keeping tabs on buzzy product moments across fashion and beauty, Galante Frank also contributes her expertise to Bloomingdale's remote events series, Bloomingdale's on Screen. "For beauty especially, events have been such a big part of our strategy in the past at Bloomingdale's, but, of course, the pandemic has changed that, which is why we started our events platform," she adds. "With On Screen, we'll bring in a global makeup artist or partner with a brand to do master classes, and just create incredible content customers can log in to for free, watch step-by-step demos, and ask live questions."

While there are a number of retailers and direct-to-consumer brands available for beauty enthusiasts to shop, Galante Frank notes that Bloomingdale's has an even broader range of products than shoppers may realize. "Something interesting that I found about working at Bloomingdale's is that because we're a department store, people don't necessarily think about us as a beauty destination as much as they could," Galante Frank says. "We have all the brands, and we're constantly trying new products and bringing in newness. Bloomingdale's also just started in the sexual wellness space with the incorporation of brands like maude, Fur, and Dame products. But thinking about overall wellness is something that means a lot to us, and not just day-to-day makeup."

As a wife and mother maintaining a high-stress job, it's no surprise Galante Frank has a number of valuable pro tips to share when it comes to staying centered. BAZAAR.com catches up further with Galante Frank below for a closer look at her short list of the holy grail beauty and wellness favorites she uses for supreme grounding and chill.


What are you reading these days?

I wish I had more time to read, but since having my daughter, I've been getting into audiobooks. So if I'm taking her on a long walk or going to the store, I'm listening to audiobooks. I recently finished Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell, which was pretty amazing. He talks about different trials and cases that have happened over the years, and brings in actual audio from each case—it's really cool.

What are some of your go-to bath and/or shower products?

I love the shower because it's like sacred time. Being a mom, I close that shower door and I feel like I'm having such a great self-care moment—my favorite, standout item is the OSEA Malibu Salts of the Earth Body Scrub. I remember the first time I used it, I felt very fancy, and it's super hydrating—I always feel like my skin is left very soft.

I also love masks, so I use Briogeo's Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfood Hair Mask often. For cleanser go-tos, I love using the ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm to remove the day's makeup, and it smells amazing and again is super hydrating. The other cleanser that I love using is the Dr. Barbara Sturm foaming cleanser, because it's really gentle.

What beauty or self-care products do you use on a regular basis to help combat Zoom fatigue?

I'm seriously a big mask person, so what I like to do once a week is have, like, a masking Monday. I'm lucky enough to have access to new beauty products and work with different brands, so I try to use a different mask each time, but, of course, I also have the ones I always go back to. But every Monday, I kind of force myself to relax and take time for me.

One of my favorites right now is the Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask, which uses Hungarian Moor Mud and is really cooling—I feel like it always cleanses my pores and brightens my face. And if I'm in a bind, or don't have extra time, I always keep my Dr Dennis Gross Spectralite FaceWare Pro mask around, because you can sort of put it on and do other things at the same time. Plus, it has an automated timer, so I wear it for three minutes while I'm making the bed or my coffee, and it truly does the work for you.

And if I have five minutes before I need to jump on a call, the one product I always use is the Kevyn Aucoin Foundation Balm. I'm not a foundation person, but I love the Foundation Balm, because I use it almost like a concealer, and it honestly gives the illusion of being airbrushed. I'll have calls with people and after they'll message me on the side asking, "Okay, what's going on? Like, what were you wearing?"

Do you have a favorite hand sanitizer, soap, and/or cream right now?

I'm definitely a big BYREDO fan, and I love their Rinse-Free Handwash—the one I have in my bag right now is their Rose scent. My daughter's name is Rose, so I have a personal love for that scent. And then, I always keep their Suede hand wash in my guest bathroom, and the scent is amazing. I remember after a friend came up to me after a party at my place and say, "Oh, my gosh, I was wondering who was wearing such a great perfume, but then I used your bathroom and I realized it was the hand wash!"

Do you ever light a candle or stick of incense to decompress? If so, what are some of your favorites?

I do have candles in my office, but I don't light them that often in the house because of my daughter who's almost two years old and would totally knock them over. But Diptyque candles are amazing, and what I've been doing lately is layering scents, so I'll light two candles at once. I love lighting Baies and Rose Geranium together. If I need a pick-me-up or need to focus, those scents just transport me.

What was the last beauty product you put on today?

So I'm lip balm obsessed—if you sit next to me, you'd know I always have, like, four lip balm products on my desk at all times. The one I'm loving right now, because it has a little bit of a tint, is the Guerlain KissKiss Shine Bloom Lipstick Balm.

Are you into bold makeup, no makeup, or no-makeup makeup right now, and why?

I think it just depends on how I feel and what I'm doing. It's interesting, there's this dichotomy between wanting to do nothing, and then being so excited to socialize again and go out. When I'm into a no-makeup-makeup look, I'd say my favorite product to use is the one I shared earlier, the Kevyn Aucoin Foundation Balm.

But I do love really going for it and wearing bold makeup when I have the chance to, maybe for a social or work event. I think it's great to escape and just have really fun beauty moments. The products I use most often for those would be the Valentino Dreamdust Glitter Eyeshadows, which are so fun, and the YSL Beauty Crushliner that comes in all different colors. I'm also a fan of Valentino Beauty's Eye2Cheek Blush and Eyeshadow Palette—I have this really beautiful pink tint that I put on almost like eyeliner.

What's the last fitness class you streamed or attended in person?

I've been going to this awesome Pilates reformer class called Core and Co and I love it. I like using a reformer because it kind of forces me to be present. I have to listen to the instructor's direction, focus on my movements and form. Otherwise, my mind will wonder and I'll think about things on my to-do list or what my daughter is doing in the moment.

What's one piece of self-care advice you'd recommend to our readers?

One piece of self-care advice I'd give would be listening to your body. It's something that's so simple, but so important and effective. I find that so many of us are juggling different things and multitasking, and I think sometimes the best thing is to listen to yourself. Sitting down, taking a breath, drinking some water—maybe not looking at your phone or computer screen—and just relaxing can go a long way.

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