For diehard beauty fan and blogger Kate La Vie Sunday nights signal serious pampering with some old favourites and some new discoveries…
The Wind Down
What time I wind down depends on what I’m doing. I’m definitely an evening person, it’s my favourite time of day. Whatever I’ve been doing in the day, I’ll come home and immediately take my makeup off and Sunday is the day that I really try and get ahead of myself and check what I’ve got on the next day; my goal in terms of my beauty routine is to indulge in a bit of a pampering ritual. There’s more products involved than in the week and I’m a lot more thorough with the application of it all.
I have a candle addiction and at this time of year it’s Diptyque Vetyver, it just helps create a mood that I love. My husband will probably be watching TV on the sofa and I’ll nip in and out, usually with a mask on, and catch bits of what he’s watching. It’s all very relaxed.
The Routine
I use Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel every single day including Sunday. On a Sunday I might use an oil as well for a double cleanser, something like Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Oil is good. If it’s not been a big makeup day I might just use a scrub I have a nice one from Ren, the Micro Polish Cleanser, I love that one. Then I’ll move on to a nice mask like the Oskia Renaissance Mask, which is so hydrating at this time of year — anything hydrating and glow-inducing I’m all for. I love a sheet mask too, like the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Moisture Infusion Mask. I always notice a difference when I wake up the next day after using those. I tend to save masks for a Sunday night, just because it helps me feel a lot better for the start of the week and also that’s usually when I have no plans to be out and so plenty of time to do one. Post-mask I love Sunday Riley Good Genes, it really does its job. I use it once a week and feel like even using it just that once makes my skin look so much clearer. I’ve got quite dehydrated skin and I love La Mer The Moisturizing Soft Cream, my skin is addicted to it! I mean, of all the moisturisers to become obsessed with, it would have to be one of the most expensive… but I honestly can’t get enough of it. I’m not so into serums but I do like oils. Sunday Riley Luna is one of my favourites and I love the Aesop Facial Oil too. If my skin is playing up those two usually sort it out. I tend to stick to what I know because my skin can get a bit picky if I mix it up too much but I recently got sent some Votary skincare and oh my gosh, I love it, it’s so so nice.
I’m all about a bath on a Sunday night. I recently got the Ren Atlantic Kelp & Microalgae Bath Oil and the Body Oil, they’re perfect for a Sunday night and make me feel amazing. It’s all about a creating a relaxing atmosphere in my bathroom, so I try and not take my phone in and just try to chill instead. I love Susanne Kaufmann’s Witch Hazel Bath, I love using something that turns milky in the water because they leave your skin so nice and silky. I have some scrubs and will use one if I feel like my skin needs it; again the Ren one is really good. I like relaxing scents in general and love the whole Deep Sleep range from This Works. I love the Aromatherapy Associates bath oils too, anything with essential oils really, and anything that’s going to help me wind down and sleep. Once I’m out of the bath I’ll potter around and do bits and pieces, half getting ready for the next day and half just relaxing. After a bath I feel like I need to moisturise but I am a bit slap dash. A few pumps of Kiehl’s Crème de Corps or a dry body oil is what I go for — anything that takes too long to dry is no good. I have to be able to put my pyjamas on straight away.
Sunday night is hair wash night. I’m not great with hair masks, I maybe do one once a month. I love O&M stuff, the Know Knots Detangler is the best, but I also love Ouai. I have the Treatment Mask, which you only leave it in for a few minutes. That’s fine by me as I’m really impatient. I’ve got Oribe’s Bright Blonde range on constant rotation, my hair can be a bit on the fine side so I like anything that’s quite light, and this cleanses it without weighing it down. I don’t bother blow drying my hair on a Sunday night. As long as I don’t go to bed with it really wet it’s usually fine on a Monday morning. I’ll just quickly run a tong through it to wave it when I wake up, and it’s good to go.
Bedtime
I’m a bit of a grandma, I go to bed quite early, usually around 10.30pm. I have a ritual of getting into bed early and then I’ll have a cheeky scroll through Instagram for about half an hour. I’ll also use that time to reply to any tweets too but I don’t watch TV in bed. I’ve got quite dry hands and try and keep a good hand cream by my bed; the By Terry Baume de Rose Hand Cream works well. I’m really into pillow sprays too and have got This Works Sleep Plus. They’ve also got a lovely one for the hair, which is great as well. I love all that stuff. I have the Headspace app, which I find really useful — when I do it. I was on a roll with it but stopped recently and have found it hard to get back into. The guy’s voice sends me to sleep though so when I do it I can’t be anywhere but bed or I’ll fall straight to sleep! At this time of year I like a hot drink – peppermint tea is my jam — I can’t have anything caffeinated anywhere near bedtime or it keeps me awake. I need about 8 hours sleep, sometimes if I’ve got a lot on, my internal clock wakes me up early but generally it’s pretty good.
Monday Morning
I never ever snooze, once my alarm goes off I’m up and out. I’m usually pretty set on a Monday, when I know I’ve got a lot on I’m like ‘let’s get this done!” so I try and get to my desk pretty early. I have a tea first thing and then when my husband is up he makes me a coffee. I like to see what’s what with my emails before I do anything, then I’ll probably schedule a blog post and start to get ready.
