Welcome to The Current, where we spotlight the rituals, obsessions, and resets shaping the people redefining beauty, wellness, and culture right now. Each edition offers a glimpse into what’s inspiring tastemakers in The Current moment — from the products they’re reaching for to the practices helping them feel most aligned.
For Catherine Lockhart, founder of Shelter Skin, the art of living well is less about what we add and more about what we choose to leave behind. With a wedding on the horizon, a growing beauty brand, and a house full of dogs, she's embracing a season of editing—trading excess for intention, complexity for consistency, and the pursuit of more for the luxury of enough. In this edition of The CURRENT, we dive into her daily rituals, her evolving definition of luxury, and why sometimes the most radical thing we can do is less.
What’s your “current” right now?
Editing. My life feels very full right now. We’re in the middle of planning our holiday launches at Shelter, I’m prepping for my wedding, remodeling my house, and coming home to the chaos of three dogs every day. I’ve found myself constantly asking, “Do I actually need this?” Fewer things, fewer obligations, less noise, and being much more intentional about what gets my time and attention. I think I used to associate growth with adding more, and right now I’m much more interested in what happens when you take things away.
What’s a ritual you’ve returned to — or one you’ve let go of?
I’ve come back to castor oil packs and morning gua sha. I’m in a slightly more stressful season right now, and my jaw is always the first place I feel it. I have pretty bad TMJ, so I’ve been using our Shelter Skin Acupressure Gua Sha every morning and really taking my time around my jaw, neck, and scalp. It’s one of those rituals where I can actually feel the difference when I’m consistent with it.
What does luxury feel like to you at this exact moment and how does it show up in your everyday life?
Time and quality. I’m much less interested in having more things and much more interested in having fewer, really beautiful things that I know the story behind. I want to know where they came from, what they’re made of, and who made them. Luxury to me right now is natural materials, good sheets, cooking dinner slowly, putting my phone somewhere I can’t see it, and having enough space in my day that I don’t feel like I’m rushing from one thing to the next. This doesn’t happen often, but I’m grateful when it does.
How are you cleansing your energy right now?
Baths. Whenever I feel overstimulated or like I’ve carried too much of the day home with me, I take a really hot bath and use our Shelter Skin Coconut Milk Bath Melt. I leave my phone in another room and stay in there until I feel like a person again. There’s something about physically getting into water that creates a really clear end to the day for me.
As a Founder and Creator, what’s a trend or habit you wish people would unlearn immediately?
The idea that more is always better, especially when it comes to skincare. More actives, more steps, higher percentages, a new product every week. I think we’ve gotten so used to treating our skin like a problem that constantly needs to be fixed that we forget how much it can benefit from simply being supported. I’m much more interested in doing fewer things consistently and actually understanding why I’m using something in the first place.
What’s one product, step, or practice you’ll never rush, no matter how busy you are?
My nighttime routine. I need a very clear transition between work and sleep, so I take a super hot shower and then absolutely lather myself in our Shelter Skin No. 1 Vanilla Tallow Body Butter while my skin is still warm. I’m very into Vanilla right now. Then I put our Lanolin Lip Elixir in Slip on as an overnight lip treatment, get into the comfiest sweats I own, and get into bed. I also recently got an Eight Sleep cover and it has changed my life. I used to sleep with a heating pad every night, and now my entire bed is basically one giant heating pad. It might be my favorite purchase I’ve made all year.
If you had to put someone onto one MARA product right now, what would it be — and how do you use it?
I’m cheating because I have two. The Flower Acid Algae Serum is one of those products where I can genuinely see a difference in the texture of my skin. It really resurfaces it. I cycle it with my retinal so I’m not using both on the same night. And the Pearl Peptide Glaze has become an every-single-morning product for me. I use it without fail before moisturizer. If I had to choose only one, I honestly don’t know that I could.
Shop the Essentials
Pearl Peptide Glaze Hydrating Facial Essence
$77.00
Pearl Peptide Glaze Hydrating Facial Essence
$77.00
