For this month’s The Beauty Thread, we asked our Senior Brand and Campaign Manager, Harri, to talk us through how her beauty routine has changed working from home…
It’s now the fourth week of working from home at LiB and I’m slowly but surely getting used to my new home office space and new working routine. In between multiple Zoom calls, G-Chats and emails I’m finding time to multi-task my self-care and beauty routine with day-to-day WFH life at LiB, here’s what I do…
Morning
I have found that the key (for me) to stay most productive, is to stick to a routine. I’m an early riser and love making the most of my mornings, so I make sure I’m out of bed by 6:30am. First things first is (scrolling through Instagram, guilty) a shower to wake myself up and as I don’t have an 8am train to catch, I can spend more time tending to my damaged hair when I wash it.
My hair is in the worst state it’s been, well forever. After a bad bleaching, my hair has been left dry and frizzy with plenty of breakage. I have to be really gentle with it, so with an extra 10 minutes in the shower I’m making the most of masking. My recommendation is Olaplex No. 3 (a literal saviour) and I’m currently using a super-rich treatment mask from Oribe, however, head to LiB’s explore page to find some other hair heroes (tried and tested) from System Professional and HASK as both do a great job of giving my hair the love it needs.
While I’m giving my hair some TLC, I’ll use my favourite body wash from Aesop, which is such a treat first thing in the morning (can’t wait to try Molton Brown’s Heavenly Gingerlily soon) and use a face mask suitable for in-shower use (ExfoliKate from Kate Sommerville in my go-to) or exfoliate my body.
Since working from home, I’ve barely touched fake tan and, that mixed with a lack of vitamin D, I was starting to look a bit pasty. I usually go for a heavy-duty tan with instant results, however, now that I’m sat at home, I’m reaching for gradual tans that I can apply in the morning. I’ve been loving the Sienna X Gradual Untinted Self Tan Rose Water as it doesn’t stain my clothes throughout the day and I can barely smell it on my skin. For something similar, give the St Tropez Self Tan Purity Mist a go – it even comes with a mitt.
As I was saying earlier, I’m a creature of habit and love routine. I have always enjoyed the ritual of applying my makeup in the morning before work, it completely relaxes me and makes me feel ready to take on the day, so I’ve stuck to my pre-lockdown routine with a few tweaks…
I always start with my brows (a tip I learnt from watching Katie Jane Hughes on Instagram) and follow with my usual moisturiser and eye cream. As I have more time in the morning, I’ve found myself reaching for new products and I’ve discovered a new fave in the Erborian CC Dull Correct; it’s like a primer, tinted moisturiser and SPF in one. I usually opt for medium to full coverage, but at home, I just follow with concealer. I finish my face with some cream bronzer and liquid blush for a fresh look. I haven’t been wearing mascara but have fallen back in love with my eyelash curler; I’d forgotten how much a quick pinch makes a difference.
I’m letting my hair air-dry while I’m working at home to save any added heat damage, so I finish off with perfume. I’ve been leaning towards fresher, lighter scents and my most reached for has definitely been Calvin Klein Women.
DESK ESSENTIALS
My ultimate desk essentials for throughout the day is lip balm, and my lips have never been so dry. Is it from all this time inside? Oh, and hand cream to help with sore, dry hands from washing them. Luckily, LiB is the place to go for hand creams as we have so many on site at the moment. My favourite is from Natura Siberica, it smells amazing.
Once I’m done with my calls for the day, I’ll make the most of not being on camera with a few sneaky sheet masks. I have some micellar water at my desk to take off my makeup and start applying. My favourites are eye patches, I can always see such a difference. I have a lip mask in my stash that I should definitely use! Oh K!’s Anti-Pollution Mask and Blaq Hydrogel Mask are a few of my favourites on LiB right now.