When it comes to complexion-perfecting skincare that’s as efficacious as it is natural, Annee de Mamiel knows her stuff. Read on to discover what makes the grade in her healing, holistic Sunday night routine…
The Wind Down
Sundays aren’t really different to any other day during the week, things just get fitted in when they can; running my own business means the pace of every day is the same as I never really switch off from it. I usually to do a gym session on a Sunday while my husband does his thing and then we come back and regroup. When it comes to beauty I do tend to do a little bit more than I normally do on a Sunday, although the time I start varies. My beauty routine is more face focused, I’m not great on body stuff. I don’t have anything on or playing in the background. In the office we have music on and I play music to the ingredients of our products, so I like the silence. That said, we recently moved into a new house which has the most amazing garden. I like to open up the doors and let the outside and all its noises come in. The pond will be going so I have the sounds of moving water, which I love. For a Pisces who loves to sail, it’s this kind of little thing that sustains me. I don’t light candles at home much because my work is so scented but quite often I burn frankincense resin or palo santo which is petrified holy wood. It’s just a beautiful, grounding scent that helps me feel calm.
The Routine
My routine is part experimentation and part sticking to my old favourites. I want my skin to regain balance, but I also want to see changes. I really believe everything you use should give you significant results, it should perform in a big way. The time and cost can be so much that I really think it’s important to provide products which are going to work. On a Sunday I tend to go big on masks. I use my Pure Calm Cleansing Dew to begin with because it’s especially good after the gym, then I add the Brightening Cleanse & Exfoliate and finally the Restorative Cleansing Balm on top. The result of layering all three is this brightening, pumping, hydrating mask, which means your skin is just lovely and glowy and full afterwards. I leave that on for a while, half an hour, maybe even an hour depending on what I’m doing. It’s very gentle but so active, so all it’s going to do if you leave it on for a while is make your skin look even better and even more nourished. After I’ve removed that with a warm cloth I soak some plain cotton sheet masks in the Dewy Facial Mist and apply to my skin for as long as I can. Even 5 minutes helps because there are so many actives in it. It’s a trick I use lots when I’m travelling and my skin just glows afterwards. Then I apply an oil. I always use my Seasonal Oils but often I’ll be testing new seasonal oils so will try those. Once this is on I use a Gua sha – it’s a Chinese rose quartz tool and the word translates literally as ‘skin scraping’. It’s all about moving the puffiness away from your face so it’s great for drainage and is incredibly cooling. The Gua sha I use are all different shapes, I use them on my patients in clinic a lot. I go right down under my chin and work through the muscles of my neck, it really helps release any tension there. Sunday night is also my time to play with ingredients, so if I’ve got something mixed up that I’m looking at reformulating or changing, I’ll try it then, too. I dip in and out of other brands and products because I can’t formulate absolutely everything I need in my clinic. I want the best for my clients and so make sure I try whatever I use on them on myself. At the moment I’m enjoying the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask but I always keep some from Aromatherapy Associates and Oskia on hand too.
While the products are on my skin I try and incorporate some breathing. It’s just about being mindful of my breath and ensuring I’m breathing from my tummy. I put one hand on my chest and one on my stomach, breathe in and hold it then exhale for longer than I inhale. I am definitely more of a shower person. Growing up in rural Australia where drought was common, baths just weren’t really a thing, plus as a Pisces I like the feeling of being under the water too. I body brush because my lymph system isn’t so great after all the radiation I’ve had for my cancer treatment, so I just like to encourage that. I love Aesop, I love the smell of the Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser and I have their Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash dotted around the house too. I wash my hair every day including Sundays but didn’t own a hairdryer until my 40th birthday! I’m lucky though because I brush it and it just dries straight. I can only get through about half a bottle of any shampoo before my hair reacts and goes really oily, so I’ve normally got about 4 or 5 bottles on the go at once. At the moment I’m using Ouai and Christophe Robin’s Clarifying Shampoo. Our new house has filtered water which has made a big difference to the softness of my hair as well.
Bedtime
Because I get up so early I’m generally in bed by 10pm and I keep my new Sleep Series [launching soon] by my bed. Bed is for sleeping, I’m really big on that. I need it to be dark and quiet — I have this weird fear that my body is going to absorb earplugs — so I can’t use them! Luckily my new house is very still and peaceful and has good energy and I get around 6 and a half hours. I’ve never needed a lot of sleep, I think I would get up exhausted if I got more than that. I do a bit more breathing before I go to sleep with one of my new Sleep Series oils and then it’s lights out. If I do wake during the night I’ll use my new Settle Oil from the range.
Monday Morning
I never set an alarm but I wake up naturally at about 5.30am. I wake feeling fresh, and get up feeling ready to start the day straight away. I have warm water and lemon and do my journaling. I follow the Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, which is essentially a way of getting all of my thoughts out of my head — anything that I’ve woken up buzzing with or thoughts that have come up in the night. The idea is that you just write as much as you can and even if it’s just gobbledygook, you get it out. It’s really interesting because as you reflect over your journals over time you see certain thought patterns emerging. I’ve been doing it for years and it really helps me deal with stress so much better. I start by creating a centring thought for the day, sometimes it’s an intention, sometimes it’s about stillness or abundance and I use pen and paper to write it down because I’m really old fashioned like that! After I’m finished I do a few yoga moves in my living room to stretch and wake up my body, and then I sit down and mediate for about half an hour. I might read a passage and use that as a reflection or occasionally I do a guided meditation. I’m a very reactionary person so I don’t like to be too prepared for the week ahead, the day brings what it brings. I have my running list of things that need to get done but I like things to be very fluid and to be able to incorporate changes. I find it less stressful that way. I take my daily supplements — probiotics, omegas and vitamin D — then I’m ready to go.
