Chief Pretty Officer | (CPO) Record | 12. ​ ​Mask Series Part One. ​ The Metaphorical Sense. ​ The TL;DR:​ ​We all wear masks for work, for love, for survival. But every so often, we need to pause and meet ourselves without them. This fall, in a three part series we’re exploring masking in every sense from the layers we wear to the rituals that help us uncover what’s real, radiant, and ours to protect.

Editor’s Note | Fall, Ritual, and Renewal

The arrival of fall always fills me with a sense of renewal. A soft shift, a change in rhythm and a nostalgic appreciation for You’ve Got Mail (a sure sign of my age).

For me, fall has always been a season of preparation for the holidays and about reflection. Closing chapters and starting new ones.

It’s also the perfect season to explore a concept that lives in both beauty and being: masking.

Because masking isn’t just what we put on it’s how we show up.

But this series isn’t just about protecting your skin. It’s about protecting your mind, heart, and your confidence.

Every phase of adulthood brings a different kind of fight: new new expectations, responsibilities and versions of ourselves to reconcile. As we grow, we learn that caring for our surface isn’t vanity; it’s how we preserve our peace.

I want this series to remind you that masking, in every sense, is part of becoming. It’s part of being a Chief Pretty Officer, owning your evolution, standing firm in your identity. It’s about knowing that tending to yourself isn’t indulgent. It’s normal and necessary.

The Three Phases of Masking

In this three-part C.P.O. series we’ll explore masking,
layer by layer.

Phase 1: The Metaphor​
​Before we peel anything off we have to understand what we’re wearing and why. The emotional masks, the professional ones, the ones we outgrow.

Phase 2: The Skin​
​Next, we’ll move to the surface of the literal kind. Our skin shifts with the seasons and so do our needs. We’ll look at how mask types can evolve with you, from hydration to detox to repair.

Phase 3: The Ritual​
​We’ll close with the practical: products, tools, and boundaries that protect not only your glow, but your peace. Because masking, when done with intention, becomes its own kind of meditation.

Part 1: The Masks We Wear

We all wear different masks depending on where we stand. In my professional life I shift, often adapting my tone, my language and even my pace to meet each client where they are.

With one client, it’s all about U.S. market strategy, educating her on how to position her beauty brand in channels where she’s unfamiliar. She’s famous in France but anonymous here, and my role is part educator, part strategist and part sounding board.

Another client leads an international skincare brand. Their products perform brilliantly in the U.S. but globally, the momentum lags. My focus? Helping them refine their omnichannel story and design “gift with purchase” campaigns that replicate domestic success abroad.

Let’s normalize masking: it’s not deception, it’s adaptation. What matters is that we remove the mask often enough to remember who’s underneath.

Personal Rituals of Masking

When it comes to skincare, a ritual becomes a kind of meditation.

One friend of mine multitasks like a pro. She applies a mask every morning while getting ready for work. Her weekends are packed with kids and commitments, so that five-minute ritual is her only window of care.

Another friend masks only while watching TV, phone in hand, mask on, fully present.

As for me? I’m a three-hour masker. Saturday mornings, a candle, a notebook, and quiet. I mask, write, reset, and let the silence do its work.

That time alone isn’t about vanity, it's about recovery. The mask gives me permission to pause when life doesn’t.

Whether your mask moment lasts five minutes or a few hours, it’s not about the duration it’s about the devotion. Every time you mask, you’re saying: this moment is mine.

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Reflection Prompts Before we move deeper into this series, take a quiet moment to ask yourself: ​ What masks do I wear daily and which ones still serve me? ​ Where do I feel safest removing them? ​ What does my masking ritual physically or emotionally say about what I need right now?​ ​ ​ Closing Note | Preparing for the Next Layer Masking is both metaphor and method: the pause before the unveiling, the breath between performance and peace. In our next Record we’ll move from metaphor to material. The skin itself, exploring how seasonal shifts, ingredients, and texture transform your skin. Until then honor your layers and protect your peace. And remember: the mask you wear doesn’t define you, it protects the masterpiece beneath. ​ Till the next one.