Mia Park Wants You To Get Lazier About Your Skincare

HAWT SEAT #3 feat. a skin genius & laziness expert

Apr 19, 2026

Welcome to HAWT SEAT, a guest feature in the likeness of my monthly repeats letters. Today’s celeb columnist: Mia Park.

Mia is the brilliant mind behind Lazy Skinscience, which makes one of my favorite moisturizer + serum duos in the most stunning little fresh cream rose jam yin yang pot. YUM! You also might know her from Sundae School, which she co-founded, or her newsletter Lazy Living with Mia. Mia, tell us what’s been on repeat for you lately…

Backgammon

It’s technically not its repeat season yet, but mentally, I’m already there. I associate backgammon with a very specific kind of life — long afternoons, salty air, nowhere urgent to be. A few years ago, my partner gifted me a travel set, the kind that folds into itself, slightly scuffed now in a way that makes it feel more legitimate.

I haven’t played nearly enough this year, but I keep it close anyway. It’s aspirational repetition. The idea that soon I’ll be sitting somewhere coastal, playing slow games that stretch into hours. Some repeats are about habit. Others are about the version of yourself you’re trying to return to.

Kimchi soup

I’m one of those people who craves spicy food when it’s hot out. It makes no logical sense, but it feels right in my body. A spicy kimchi soup clears everything — your sinuses, your head, sometimes your mood.

I make a big pot of kimchi soup on Sundays and eat it on repeat throughout the week. It’s efficient and comforting.

It’s also the best hangover cure, which is less poetic but equally important. My Korean mom’s version (recipe here in my Substack) is the one I default to. It does what it needs to do, every time. It’s reliable and something I can always count on, like my mom, my family.

“Mad Men” (but for a different reason)

I thought I was so over mid-century modern aesthetics. And then I watched “Mad Men” for the first time this year and it completely undid that opinion.

I watched the entire series in two weeks, which is slightly unhinged, but I keep going back to specific episodes. The writing, characters, fashion — yes, everything is intoxicating, but my eyes go back for the rooms, the furniture, Don’s bar stool, Peggie’s office art, and SC&P’s lobby. The show is old (its first season aired almost 20 years ago!), but its interiors never feel out of style.

Don’s New York apartment:

Don’s office:

The SC&P creative lounge:

Peggy’s office:

Lazy’s Double Duty

I know, I know. Founder talking about her own product. But if anything, I’m more ruthless with what I actually use because I see everything that goes into it.

What I keep noticing, not just in skincare but in how we live, is how easily we slip into overdoing. More steps, more products, more optimization. And then suddenly self-care feels like another job.

gorg cream jam swirl in happier grocery!

Lazy Skinscience’s Double Duty is the opposite of that. It’s the thing I reach for when I don’t want to think. One step, light but actually hydrating, no layering gymnastics1. The red camellia keeps my skin even and calm, especially in this in-between season where everything feels a little unstable. If something earns a place in my routine, it’s because it removes friction, not adds to it. That’s the real test.

This $8.99 top? skirt? find

I found this top at a thrift shop for $8.99, and I’ve been wearing it both as a top and as a skirt. Which feels like the most “lazy” fashion outcome possible.

This matcha from Malibu

I met Zayna, the founder of Ashu’s Matcha, a few months ago and she gifted me a few of her blends. Since then, it’s become my morning default without me really deciding it would be.

My favorite is this first harvest Tsuyuhikari which is earthy but clean, aromatically sweet with no bitter aftertaste.

Froyo but from Pinkberry and 16 Handles (original tart, always)

F*ck all the fancy new froyo brands that are popping everywhere in New York. I have no patience for the line and the price.

I’m loyal to Pinkberry’s original tart. It’s cold, sharp, and simple. The toppings are exactly what they need to be as well as the wait time. There’s something special about going back to the same place you’ve been going to since middle school, where everything feels familiar in a way nothing new can replicate2.