The Wind Down
I start winding down around 10-11pm but it’s really whenever I need to get my 11-year old into bed. He’s a night owl so it’s a process but we start our before-bed routines at the same time. My beauty routine is everything to my Sunday evening. I enjoy it and need to go through the process to feel ready for bed. It’s really the only day I have time to be somewhat self indulgent. My main goal is to feel relaxed, clean and prepped for the next day. I have three hurricane candles on our family room coffee table that I regularly light and I have the Diptyque Baies candle by my bed that’s used more as an indulgence. I listen to a few types of music from alternative and reggae to Bach! I generally feel lovely on a Sunday night. I cook for the family and it is seriously something we all enjoy and look forward to after very busy weeks.
The Routine
I can not function without our Vitamin C Nourishing Cleansing Balm, I use it AM and PM then follow it with our Complete B Bio-Correcting Crème. It’s a powerful combo that works really well for my skin. I use everything else in rotation, but those are my every day, without fail go-to products. I have what I guess would be considered normal skin, probably a little on the dry side. I have a lot of food and chemical sensitivities that can show up as redness but really is an immune response rather than skin inflammation. I use our Micro-Firming Wand mostly to get a treatment product deeper into the skin, however, the plumping from the microcirculation is a real plus. I love to sneak in a peel as well as our eye masks. I follow our Restorative Dual Acid Peel with the Complete B Vital Hydration Mask for a super radiant glow. I am always experimenting with future new launches. Right now, I am using a product promoting the power behind Neuropeptides.
I am both a bath and a shower person. I shower in the morning, and bath at night before bed; I sneak in a bath a lot, it is what keeps me balanced. My product assortment is very tight. Someone needs to introduce me to other products for me to get into them, otherwise, I like what I like. I love Susanne Kaufmann body products but most of all I love their Detox Oil. The perfect scenario is the Susanne Kaufmann oil in the bath followed by our Body Butter – my son even loves this combination! I am never not multitasking. I am actually learning to turn my mind off more. There is so much to be said about being in the moment, which is a goal! My hair care is pretty simple – wash, condition and blow dry. I wash my hair every other day, but this can fluctuate in terms of what days this ends up on. On my off hair washing day, my hair will be up. I really enjoy using the Ouai hair products, they just work very well with my hair. The treatment masque leaves my hair very full and bouncy. I do not use any other products or processes so it’s pretty much the same depending on whether it is a shampoo day or not. I let it dry for a little wrapped in a towel, usually while doing my skincare routine, then I blow dry it out.
Bedtime
I try to start getting my son ready for bed around 9pm but he stretches it out as long as possible so it’s usually closer to 10pm. I lay with my son in his bed every night (unless I am traveling) and we talk about his day for about 20 minutes. Then I take my bath and get into bed. With that said, there are nights I have been so exhausted that I fall asleep before him in his bed! My husband goes to sleep around 9pm, before the rest of us and regularly goes around turning off all the lights. He does this out of habit, and we always laugh at this as we stumble about in the dark. Once I’m in bed, I read. I actually started an exercise routine before bed, I was nervous it was going to keep me up but it actually did the opposite and made me too tired, so I’ve moved it back to the morning. I am always so tired by bedtime, there is no issue whatsoever falling asleep. I will take a calcium magnesium on long flights to sleep and I take regular supplements almost daily but those I mix up depending on what I feel my body is in need of. I need eight hours’ sleep, I have no idea how so many people can function on so much less, I just can’t. I’m a good sleeper and once I am out, I am out; I do not wake in the middle of the night. I can get out of bed and my bed still looks made so I don’t even think I move much while sleeping!
Monday Morning
Unless I am traveling, I do not use an alarm clock. My husband is awake no later than 5am and he makes sure all of us are up and out for whatever it is that we need to do. I would naturally sleep to 7 – 8am if I was able to. My husband has already been up for a few hours, so I smell the coffee and look forward to our morning time. It’s really my only vice and I thoroughly enjoy my mornings drinking coffee with him. I’m a snoozer [but once I’m up] I put my robe on, put my hair in a ponytail and do a quick cleanse with my cleansing balm. I start every morning with a to-do list of what absolutely needs to be accomplished that day. I generally have an idea of my week and rely on my computer calendar and meeting markers.
