Snail mucin from the Google Doc (you know the one)

Like so many Strategist articles, the original Google Doc was born out of personal obsession — one I really thought only my closest friends would find interesting. At the time, I was going through an especially difficult period with my skin: unrelenting cystic, hormonal acne. So I found myself exploring every fix I could find. I went down a deep skin-care rabbit hole and, in the process, became a serious fan of K-beauty. At that time, 2016, the category was really only known among hardcore skin-care and beauty obsessives.

I don’t remember exactly how I discovered CosRx Snail Mucin, though I suspect I found it at my favorite beauty store, Senti Senti in Chinatown. What I do remember is being immediately struck by how beautiful the formula was. It was the first product I’d ever used that seemed to address the many contradictory demands of my finicky, dry, acne-prone skin. I honestly couldn’t tell you how many bottles of snail mucin I’ve gone through over the years.

I compiled everything into what eventually became a master Google Doc of the 16 products that improved my acne — obviously including the snail mucin — and passed it around to my friends simply because it was easier to have it in one place, rather than explaining the whole process over and over.

Somehow, the doc made its way to Katy Schneider, who’s still an editor at New York Magazine (I love you, Katy!), and she asked if I would be interested in adapting it for publication on the Strategist.

It felt truly insane to have something I made out of pure, genuine curiosity and obsession be taken seriously by someone else. The first time someone came up to me to say they’d loved the article, I was standing outside the restaurant Lovely Day on Elizabeth and Spring. I could hardly believe it. People still bring it up to me, and it never stops feeling both surreal and very touching.

Before I started writing for the Strategist, I knew how much I loved skin care, but my experience here showed me just how rewarding it was to help people navigate beauty and, more important, make them feel seen and understood. Having struggled with acne for most of my life, I understood firsthand how overwhelming it could be. I wanted to be the person who could make that experience feel a little less daunting and maybe even a little less lonely.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that one article kind of dictated the course of my career. In the nineish years since, I’ve become a licensed esthetician and started working one-on-one with clients through my skin-care consultation practice. I’ve published a book, Let’s Face It: Secrets of a Skincare Obsessive, and I’ve also had the privilege of consulting with brands on product development and storytelling.

None of this would have been possible without the Strategist taking a chance on a random skin-care-stuffed Google Doc. How has it been ten years? —Rio Viera-Newton, contributing writer