Hannah Martin

Thanks to her dream Instagram feed and new and frankly brilliant podcast (with fellow MUA Lisa Potter-Dixon) we all know makeup artist Hannah Martin’s tips and tricks when it comes to putting on her makeup, but what about taking it off? To coincide with the amazing images Hannah created for our NEW IN BEAUTY campaign, we caught up with her to delve deep into the rituals and regimes of her precious Sunday night…

hannah martin sunday sessions

The Wind Down

The wind down starts as soon as we get the children to bed. I like to try and get my little ones down a bit earlier on a Sunday so they have a good night’s sleep before the week ahead but that doesn’t always go to plan! I love to have a really delicious meal with my husband on a Sunday evening and we like to treat ourselves to supper in our PJs in front of the television once we’ve had a tidy up to clear downstairs of the chaos the weekend brings. We usually watch something we’ve recorded in the week or something we’re watching on Netflix and enjoy some quiet just the two of us. I start to relax once I’ve had a shower, taken my makeup off and gotten into my pyjamas. The feeling of being makeup free and applying my skincare helps me feel really fresh, comfortable and heralds bedtime which is always welcome. Once we’ve eaten and cleared supper away we’ll enjoy a hot water (my husband got me in to it and now it’s a nightly routine!) and I’ll go through my diary and check out how my week is looking. I’ll then double check my phone calendar to check there’s nothing I’ve missed and then I’ll start mentally preparing what I need to get done on Monday to be best prepared for the week. We’ll make sure all childcare is in place and I plan what food needs to be bought and what I’ll cook for the week. I’ll open up a new note on my phone and start making a list – I love a good list! Getting my thoughts all down on paper helps me clear my head before bed. I’ll also spend a bit of time looking at emails as they pile up over the weekend. As we head up we make sure the kitchen is prepped for breakfast, Bear’s school bags are packed and ready and that the change bag is fully stocked with wipes and nappies for Bo – little jobs that mean less stress on a Monday morning as we’re all flying out of the house!

hannah martin sunday sessions

The Routine

My skin is different from day to day but it’s generally on the dehydrated side. I suffer from surface dryness but also secrete a good amount of oil throughout the day – I’m definitely more oily than I was as a teenager. I find layering my skincare really helps with this and I really notice when I don’t use enough, my makeup looks dull and my face feels tight. Moisturising well at night helps prevent too much dehydration the following day. I cleanse my skin in the bathroom at the top of the house. I switch up my cleansers but I usually start with the Eve Lom Cleanser and then double cleanse with the Drunk Elephant Beste 9 Jelly Cleanser so I know there isn’t a shred of makeup left on my skin. To pamper my skin ready for the week ahead I like to really plump the surface of my skin with a lot of moisture after I’ve applied either the Drunk Elephant  T.L.C Framboos Glycolic Night Serum or the Kate Somerville +Retinol Vita C Power Serum if my skin isn’t feeling too delicate (I only apply retinol a few times a week). Then I lather my skin in oil-based products and leave them generously on my skin and treat it almost like a mask that I wear throughout the evening. I love the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Overnight Facial, the Votary Jasmine and Calendula Facial Oil and the Drunk Elephant Marula Luxury Face Oil. My skin can be a little sensitive at times so in the past I’ve stuck to the same products bar the odd ’treat’ mask but in the last year I’ve felt the need to step up my skincare regime and I’ve loved experimenting. I’ve started to use vitamin C religiously (in the morning always – I LOVE Drunk Elephant C-Firma) and then glycolic or retinol in the evening. I always have tube of Malin + Goetz Salicylic Gel on hand too in case I do have a blemish I want to get rid of it. Somehow Sunday evening seems to be the time that I get up close and personal with my magnifying mirror and do my brows and examine my skin.

hannah martin sunday sessions

We currently don’t have a bath – I know it’s such a first world problem – but I really miss having one, it’s always been my preferred way of relaxing (with some Laura Mercier bubble bath and body lotion, heaven! I love the Vanilla, Creme Brûlée and how I miss the Tea Menthe Citron range), so I’m forced to be a Sunday evening shower kinda girl! Once I’m clean I apply the Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion to hydrate my skin and treat my mild Keratosis Pilaris. Back in the day I’d spend time doing a full body exfoliation, nail trim, hair removal, tan routine but those days are on hold for now while the children are small and time is precious so a little body lotion is as good as it gets! I don’t wash my hair on a Sunday evening; I can only do so if I have time for a really thorough blow dry and just now the risk of waking the babies with the hair dryer is too great, so I save washing my hair for the morning. I regularly buy cheap shampoo from the supermarket but when I’m feeling flush I treat myself to some Bumble and bumble hair products. I absolutely love them and the Surf Shampoo and Conditioner always leaves my hair feeling and looking amazing. I always scrub my scalp thoroughly but I also put my head down and scrub my scalp from underneath to ensure my roots are well cleansed as I have quite thick hair. I’ll always let me hair dry to the air as I do my makeup, then once I’ve finished my face I blow dry it roughly all over one side, then flip it over to the other side and blow dry with my head down to try and get a bit of volume at my roots. I take a little of the Bumble Texture Hair (Un)dressing Creme through the tips of my hair to add texture and then finish with a few spritzes of Surf Spray for a tousled, beachy finish but again, I’ll only ever do this in the morning.

hannah martin sunday sessions

Bedtime

We head upstairs sometime after 10pm with the aim of being in bed by 10.30pm, then debrief the events of the weekend and set out our intentions for the days ahead. Although we try and keep screen time to a minimum before bed, the books on our bedside tables are often ignored and we usually end up on our phones in bed!! I’ll take a look at how my YouTube video is doing (I post on Sundays) and check out the stats of my new podcast (also posted on Sundays with the lovely Lisa Potter-Dixon) then I’ll browse Instagram for a bit and respond to some DMs (I spend my life replying to DMs!!) while Simon does some emails or watches triathlon videos on YouTube!! On my bedside table I have my Votary Pillow Spray, Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum, T.L.C Framboos Glycolic Night Serum, Kate Somerville Retinol, Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil, By Terry Baume De Rose Lip Care and a few others from which I’ll dip in to depending on what my skin needs. On a Sunday as I usually do my cleansing and moisturising before supper I often supplement the hydration with a little extra face oil but always eye cream and lip balm right before bed. We take hot water up with us and I always have a bottle of water next to me that I sip whenever I stir at night and that my son will drink from it when he comes into our room in the morning.

hannah martin sunday sessions

Monday Morning

I haven’t set an alarm since my son was born six years ago! Ha! If I have a particularly early call time then yes I’ll set an alarm but I try and stay at home with Bo on Mondays so I rely on Bear or Bo to get me up and they’re both up around 6-6.15am. I long for the day Bear sleeps until 7am but hey, one day he’ll be a teenager and I’ll have a hard time getting him out of bed, right? I bring Bo in to bed for a feed and Bear clambers in for a chat and a cuddle then we’ll all head downstairs for some breakfast. Simon leaves for work just after 7am and the children and I have time to get up and ready for school. If all is well then I’ll spend a bit of time doing my makeup but if not then I’ll simply shower, cleanse, moisturise and leave it at that.