We all have those little rituals that help us get through the day. Some people meditate to promote a productive morning, others use aromatherapy aids to lift them from that inevitable 3pm slump. Some of us exercise, some of us take long baths, some of us work tirelessly to optimise our sleep patterns – not to mention those of us who use our skincare regimes as a moment of mindfulness. But what do the experts do to boost their wellbeing? Which teas do they drink for their holistic health? We quizzed some of our past podcast guests on the wellbeing products and practices they can’t get enough of and their recommendations span from bathtime aids 🛀 to interesting coffee alternatives🍵,supercharged supplements 💊 to even some rather clever sunglasses 🕶.
Want to know if their suggestions could help you too? Book in for a Holistic Skin Session and as well as overhauling your skincare regime, we’ll offer useful and personalised lifestyle recommendations.
Dija Ayodele, founder of Westroom Aesthetics and Black Skin Directory
Running “It keeps me in shape and provides some alone time to zone out and think.”
“A very grounding bath additive with relaxing chamomile and linden flowers. It helps me to relax and get a good night's sleep. It’s very nourishing for skin and generally a big warm soothing hug to end the day.”
“It’s very uplifting and a great way to start the day with sparkling scents of grapefruit, juniper and rosemary which sharpen my focus and clear my mind. It sets me up for a positive day.”
“I use this in the morning too. It’s really invigorating in its scent and leaves my skin feeling really soft with a great healthy glow.”
“For me, protecting my skin is an essential part of my wellbeing, especially when it comes to sun protection. This SPF has been a long time hero of mine and also makes a great mattifying primer for make-up.”
Pam Marshall, founder of Mortar & Milk
“If my gut is happy, generally I feel happy and function better.”
“I've seen too many 'iffy' growths on clients' skin, which can and have been diagnosed as a basal cell carcinoma. UV protection is like oxygen, you need it every day despite the weather conditions.”
“This little baby solves many of life's skin disasters. I never go without it at home or in my handbag.”
“It is the best body lotion I've found. I get everyone on it. It's not fancy, but it makes the skin feel incredibly hydrated without being sticky.”
Set the atmosphere “Every night we have dinner by candle light with jazz in the background. I use vintage linens, often old pieces of china and beautiful vintage silverware. I try to always have fresh flowers (we have rose bushes) or fresh greenery in tiny vases. Ambiance is everything. I work a lot, but every day I know that when I come home, within a short period of time, I will be able to escape to a beautiful table for dinner and a quiet evening with my husband. This isn't a 'thing' but a practice and so completely important to me.”
Kate Roath, founder of Wild Source Skincare
“It's the perfect way to end the day and unwind. I leave my phone in another room and soak for at least half an hour.”
Sleeping with my phone in another room “Since doing this I'm 100% sure the quality of my sleep is better. It also means I'm not reaching for my phone the second I wake up. Instead I use a Lumi light to wake up and have a much more peaceful start to my mornings.”
Starting the day with 5-10 minutes of meditation “I do this before I've even gotten out of bed. Morning meditation and setting an intention of gratitude gives you such a positive start to the day. If my brain is already too active to meditate I just write down 5 things I'm grateful for and float through them peacefully in my mind.”
Movement “I get to a certain point in the day (especially when working from home) when I have to leave the house for some fresh air and movement. Just 20 minutes outside is enough to blow the cobwebs away and feel refreshed.”
Skincare as selfcare Treat your skincare routine as an opportunity for a self care ritual. Take pleasure in the products you're using, enjoy their scents, how they feel on your skin and enjoy the tactility of skincare.”
Giselle La Pompe-Moore, spiritual guide
"When I'm in between sessions and need to hit reset, I always reach for this. Like an exhale in a bottle, a few spritzes help me to ground and refresh myself.”
“The sleekest incense I ever did see. With just the perfect amount of smoke and zero faff but with all the serenity; this is my go-to for evening soothing.”
“After a challenging relationship with my body, I never thought I'd be a yoga person, but here we are, I am now a yoga person. All thanks to SkyTing and their immense library of classes that treat yoga as the reverent, sacred practice it is.”
The 5 “When I'm in my head and feel like I'm living everywhere but in the present moment, I always do this short practice to return back to myself. I find 5 things that I can see, 4 things that I can touch, 3 things that I can hear, 2 things that I can smell and 1 thing that I can taste. It's a reliable practice that I always have in my mental back pocket.”
“Aromatherapist Jennie worked out how stress uniquely affects me before creating a bespoke rollerball for me. It does what other rollerballs can't by speaking to what I personally need to support me, when I'm feeling frazzled.”
Katie Service, founder of Aromabeads and author of The Beauty Brief
"The orange tint is supposed to be anxiety reducing and also the lenses help block the stimulating blue light, helping me regulate my sleep patterns”
“I find this natural oil ten times more anxiety-reducing than lavender. There is something about the smell that cuts through panic and overrides intense stress, helping you breathe deeper and think more rationally. I wear it on my aroma beads but also use it in a room diffuser on my desk.”
“Three pumps in the bath and then slathered all over my arms, chest, the backs of my hands and soles of my feet as I climb into bed are a recipe for incredibly deep sleep. It's such a beautiful smelling oil and very potent.”
Exercise “Exercise is of course a major player in my wellbeing and while I don't have much time (read: am bad at making time), Nathalie Clough Pilates and Shona Vertue both have me on membership schemes that short me out with amazing workout sessions first thing in the morning or in my lunch break.”
“I am trying to switch out one of my coffees a day for a mushroom coffee, which I find leaves me less jittery than a regular cup. I use sachets from Four Sigmatic and they also contain Ashwagandha which is an amazing Ayurvedic herb and adaptogen that helps manage stress and boosts brain function.”
Inge Theron, founder of Face Gym
“I don’t sleep as well as I would like with 2 small children so to combat puffiness, I’ll do a drainage massage with the cleanser. You just hold your hands straight, with the thumbs bent out at 45 degrees, like a letter L, then put your thumbs under the jaw, so you have the sides of the hands on the cheeks and the tip of the index finger up under the inner corner of the eye. Then press and release as you work the hands outwards over the face – it’s amazing for draining.”
Herbal tea “I’m a tea fanatic. Instead of taking supplements, I drink different teas: turmeric, ginger, echinacea and matcha green.”
Morning rituals “I’m very ritualistic and start each day breathing and setting my intentions for that day. It’s my bit of self-therapy”
Workouts “I work out three times a week at Heartcore Pilates. I never workout without my FaceGym Training Sticks. These are our motion-activated skincare which is a combination of powerful ingredients that are activated through moisture and heat to deliver key benefits while you exercise.”
Baking “I host a baking class for my kids every Friday. I love the smell of freshly baked cakes wafting through the house on a Friday, it’s the sign we have a wonderfully sweet weekend ahead. I find it really meditative.”
Antonia Knox, head of brand at Aurelia London
“To wind down after a busy day, the neroli and lavender fragrance within our Night Oil is the ultimate scent to prepare my mind for sleep.”
“My staple cleanser, I love the gentle, creamy texture and when I have a little extra time, I leave it on for 5 minutes to give my skin a real boost of hydration.”
“My everyday essential skincare product which is super nourishing yet not too heavy. It sinks in so quickly and I find it’s an excellent primer before applying makeup.”
Crafting “During lockdown, I started making friendship bracelets which is proving to be very therapeutic! There’s a satisfaction too in sending them out to friends and family as I love to show people I’m thinking of them.”
“One of my favourite beauty products. I love a red lip really to really finish off any look!"
Jasmi Bonnen, founder of Nuori
Dry Brushing "Dry-brushing in the mornings before showering is the quickest way to an overall feeling of wellness. It increases circulation, promotes elimination of toxins and exfoliates skin."
Tap water "Drinking 8 glasses of tap water every day is the fastest, cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to keep your skin hydrated."
"I love using NUORI’s all-natural Enriched Hand & Body Lotion daily all over my body. The natural scent is fresh and uplifting and it absorbs quickly, which is key for me."
A high quality Earl Grey Tea. "I start every day with a large cup of Earl Grey tea with splash of milk. It wakes me up in a gentle way and is just such a comforting habit to have."
"Wellbeing is also about caring for your health and using sunscreen every day is the best way to reduce the risk of skin cancer and premature ageing. I wear NUORI’s Mineral Defence SPF 30 every day, all year around."
Ksenia Selivanova, Co-founder of Lion/ne
Exercising everyday “I try to do different exercises like Pilates and yoga and it really helps me structure my day. If you can try to move a little bit everyday, doing something you love, it’s so important especially if you’re working from home.”
Eating green “For me it’s really important to have at least one meal a day that’s full of fruit and vegetables, because they’re so full of fibre and all the minerals that you need. I say start with just one meal – you can’t change everything at once – and then you’ll slowly build it up in a natural way.”
Avoiding inflammation “I like to avoid anything that can cause inflammation to protect my body physically but also mentally. Even with your energy; try to have a circle around you that has good energy. But then also with the body: not having five cups of coffee a day and things like that.”
Being clean and organised “I think being in an environment that is clean and organised makes such a difference. It changes how you feel and helps add structure to everything. If you work or rest in a stressful environment, it really has an impact on you. I like to reorganise my closet, donate clothes and products to my friends.”
Letting it go “I feel like with the energy in the city, we’re always moving around from work to dinner to drinks and if we don’t do everything we want to do, we feel like the day is a fail. Sometimes it’s okay to spend your Sunday in your pyjamas watching Netflix. You can just be content with yourself.”
Megan Felton, Co-founder of Lion/ne
Prioritising sleep “I suffer from insomnia and since September, I’ve started prioritising my sleep and setting better work boundaries. I now get 6-7 hours of sleep which for me is a lot, and I see such a difference in my skin.”
Gut health “I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my gut health. I take Symprove every morning and I think it’s made a huge impact on my skin; the inflammation levels have gone completely down.”
Mental health “Prioritising my mental health over the past year has made a huge impact on everything. I’m in such a good mental health space. Everyday I make a list of the things I’m grateful for and it changes everything. But I also do a lot of work on myself with my Enneagram stuff.”The home “I moved into a new house in August. The house I was in before was perfectly fine but the energy wasn’t right. Now I’m in a space that’s very bright in an area that I know with local places I love. It impacts my whole energy. It’s about making your home a home: I have invested in my bed linens and put things on the wall. It’s my safe space.”
Learning to say no “It’s no nice bailing, especially in London, there’s a culture where saying no is rude. But we need to learn that when you want to say no, it’s okay to say no.”
Want to learn what’s right for your unique skin? Book your Holistic Skin Session now.
