Sylvie Chantecaille

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Discover how brand founder and industry legend Sylvie Chantecaille unwinds, from her skincare of choice to the candles she burns…

The Wind Down

For me, Sundays are about finding things to do that are fun and easy. I love having a chance to just talk to my husband and cook with him, or to have a relaxing dinner with friends who I don’t get to see any other time. Hopefully we will be in East Hampton at home, and if I know I can stay there the next day too, I feel very good and relaxed. Sunday is the only night I will watch television, so I may watch a movie on Netflix and get into a set of cashmere pyjamas. If I choose to listen to music, South American music is on my playlist as it really relaxes me. We always have candles in the house at night; I usually stick to non-fragranced candles, but I do like Diptyque’s Roses and Mimosa candles. They’re both beautiful and very subtle scents that don’t overpower my home

I am often flying the next day for business so one thing I sometimes do on a Sunday evening is prepare my carry-on beauty bag. This includes the Chantecaille Energising Eye Recovery Masks, which are vital for puffy eyes and the Chantecaille Pure Rosewater, which I spray all around me on the plane. I also carry a concentrate of herbs & essential oils to help avoid getting sick, as well as Vitamins D and C.

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The Routine

In terms of skincare, I believe you really need to find a set of products you know work well for you. As I travel so much to places with different climates and environments, I change up my regimen a lot; you have to listen to your body and skin and be in tune with it.

My skin is healthy, but a little dry and sun damaged, so I focus on brightening in my routine. Usually I start with the Chantecaille Flower Infused Cleansing Milk, but I never really ‘double cleanse’ because I want to avoid over-cleansing my dry skin. Instead, I use the Chantecaille Pure Rosewater, then splash my face with water, then spritz with it again! To follow, I mix my next products together in my hand rather than layering them one-by-one. Mixing is great – you only have so much time and if you layer, layer, layer, then I don’t think your skin really absorbs it all. I’ll mix the Chantecaille Blanc Gardenia Brightening Emulsion with the Vital Essence, and sometimes a moisturiser, too – and I always do my neck. I also like to sleep in one of our masks, like the Bio-Lifting mask. I’m working on a new wonder-mask at the moment so am trying that out, too – you’ll probably be seeing that come April.

I’m actually really obsessed with hair products and love talking about them. I like Christophe Robin products such as the Regenerating Mask with Rare Prickly Pear and the Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt, which I also use on my body. I love a product that offers goodness all over, wherever you apply it. Leonor Greyl Crème aux Fleur is a great product; when your hair is very dry in the summer and you want to restore it, try this. You don’t even have to shampoo afterwards! Their Shampooing Sublime Mèche – For Highlighted Hair is also a very good product. After washing and conditioning my hair, I just need a good round brush and I will flip over my head to dry it. I tend not to use too many styling products afterwards as it can make my hair feel dirty.

I also make my own hair masks, which my Mum taught me to do years ago. I mix egg yolk, olive oil, coconut oil and a dash of rum. Besides smelling wonderful, the rum really helps the other ingredients penetrate into the hair. I’ll leave this on for at least 45 minutes and will check through my emails while waiting. Having short hair is so much easier than having long hair, but I do have to get mine cut every three weeks as it grows so fast at the moment. I think having healthy hair is a big part of looking attractive and vibrant.

I’m a bath person on a Sunday. I have a really nice bath tub in East Hampton that opens up to the garden, so when everyone has gone out, I will light some candles and take a bath with oils. Not only does the REN Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil make my skin feel soft, but it just makes my whole bathroom smell beautiful. I often add a scoopful of Mauli Himalayan Healing Salts to help destress and detoxify, too. After I get out of the bath, I love using REN’s Moroccan Rose Otto Ultra-Moisture Body Oil, which smells wonderful and really helps to repair dry skin. Chantecaille also has a really good body product that I love: the Retinol Body Cream. I know it’s expensive and big in size but I really can’t live without it; it makes skin super smooth and helps with any bumps on the body. I was recently at a party and had been on my feet in heels all night, but had left my cream somewhere. So when I got back, I had an ice cold foot bath and then mixed the Chantecaille Retinol Hand Cream with some rose water and massaged my feet with that. Heaven.

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Bedtime

My bedtime varies, there is no ‘usual’ time, but I never get into bed and go to sleep before midnight. My body needs 9 hours of sleep, but I never really get it. Before going to sleep, I like to read. I never watch TV in bed and try to stay away from screens; my husband reads on his iPad but I need a real book to relax. A book actually takes you away from your daily life and any stresses and worries. As well as reading, I also take time to send energy to different people in my life.

I do like a dark room to sleep in, but can’t stand eye masks! Even if I get a facial or a massage, I never want to have my eyes covered. The This Works Pillow Spray is a permanent staple on my bedside table, as is the Chantecaille Pure Rosewater. I’m a good sleeper but these just help me to drift off on a Sunday evening. If I wake up in the middle of the night I will spray the Rosewater too, and I think about controlling my breath.

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Monday Morning

The time I get up really depends on what I am doing. If I’m catching a plane I will be up super early, or if I’m staying at home I probably won’t get up until around 9. I am definitely not a morning person; I’m actually a bit of a mess in the morning. My husband is a Godsend though; he’ll bring me hot water with lemon which I like to start my day with as it really wakes me up. After drinking that I will get up, walk around for a little bit, stretch, meditate for a minimum of 15 minutes and have a massive amount of tea with some fruit and yoghurt. I don’t always have my dog with me (Ella, a rescue dog) but if I do, I sometimes run out of the door to the park and it’s heaven. I really love her, I even named one of my little blushers after her!

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