Ocasio-Cortez shares skincare regimen and campaign tips on her Instagram Story

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is known as one of the most social media savvy lawmakers in the country -- constantly connecting with fans and critics alike. The freshman lawmaker posted on Sunday an Instagram Story to her personal Ocasio2018 account, detailing self-care techniques, as well as her skincare and beauty regimes. 

"People want me to post my skincare routine," the lawmaker's story said before she proceeded to list off steps one through three of her daily regimen. Included in her regimen is "double cleansing," "toner & actives" and, lastly, "moisturizer & sunscreen."

She also provided extra skincare advice and personal anecdotes in a text section titled "random other things."

"My mom used to break out a lot in her 20s so she taught me since I was a kid to not touch my face much or rest my face on my open hand a lot," the Democrat said.

In another slide in her story she detailed her makeup routine, explaining that her regimen is "pretty simple" and encouraged followers not to "use more than you need."

In the same story, Ocasio-Cortez appeared to answer a more political question posed by one of her followers: "I'm sorry but I don't care about skin care routines. All I'm wondering is how do you run a successful campaign and how do you right your speeches?"

The lawmaker explained that she believes a successful campaign is run is by "learning how to listen." She also revealed that "virtually all" of her public speaking is "off the dome & improvised."

In response to a second question that appeared to be from a follower asking how she became so talented at giving improvised remarks and speeches, the lawmaker responded, "study orators."

Ocasio-Cortez listed Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis and Dolores Huerta, among others as her "favorites."

The Democrat posts regularly to her Ocasio2018 account, which has approximately 2.1 million followers. She also created a repocasiocortez account for "Congressional updates," that boasts around 368,000 followers.

Notably, the lawmaker's Instagram Stories detailing her road to Congress, now displayed in "highlights" labeled as "Congress Camp 1" and "Congress Camp 2," provided followers with an in-depth look at the steps members of Congress take to ready themselves for their new posts.

She also regularly goes "live" on Instagram, cooking meals while discussing issues that are important to her.

"I think it's about authenticity. And she is really pulling back the curtain on being a normal person," said Christina Capatides, the Director of Social Media and Trending Content for CBS News, of Ocasio-Cortez's social media presence. "I think politicians used to think that they had to be manicured in their public image and it is no longer the way."

Other politicians have taken notice of her social media authenticity and she herself has commented on the importance of being oneself on social media. 

Earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted she was teaching a "Twitter class" to House Democrats.

During a January appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she detailed some of the advice she gave her colleagues during the "class."

"So, I said, rule number one is to be authentic, to be yourself and don't try to be anyone that you're not," Ocasio-Cortez told Colbert. "So, don't try to talk like a young kid if you're not a young kid, don't post a meme if you don't know what a meme is. That was literally my advice. And I said don't talk like the Founding Fathers on Twitter."

The congresswoman's ability to seamlessly provide a look inside her life as a "normal" millennial and as a lawmaker with plenty of knowledge to share -- particularly on Instagram -- has led to other lawmakers to appear to follow suit.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren went on Instagram Live after announcing that she was exploring a 2020 presidential bid and drank a beer. But this move received mixed reactions.

"Looks like we have candidates shamelessly copying AOC by doing kitchen Instagram videos," Twitter user @ellewilson wrote of the video.

"It has landed flat in the past," said Capatides. "I think we've seen that with when Hillary Clinton had in her profile 'pantsuit afficionado,' when Jeb Bush tried to sell a guac bowl as campaign merchandise. It really has to be authentic, people can sniff it out if its not."

As politicians continue to expand their use of social media, and Instagram in particular, to speak with their constituents and open a window into their personal lives, authenticity clearly matters. 

Many of Ocasio-Cortez's followers can't wait to hear what tips -- or beauty advice -- she will post next.

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