Clare Hornby

Clare Hornby
Founder and creative director of luxury women’s label ME+EM, Clare Hornby dedicates her weekends to entertaining friends in the country and cheering her sporty children on from the sidelines. Find out how her Sunday evening ritual helps her feel focused for the busy week ahead, and which handbag essential she admits to being completely obsessed with.

On Sunday Rituals…

My kids are at boarding school so weekends are about trying to spend as much time with them as possible. On Sunday I’ll go to their matches, bring them home for lunch and then take them back to school later in the afternoon. My husband and I will then drive from our new house in Oxford back to our flat in London ready for Monday morning.

On Forward Planning…

During the drive, Johnny and I will do a lot of diary management, chat about the week ahead and I’ll start to think about logistics and meetings and jot down some notes to my PA from the car. So there’s a lot of winding up to do before I can even begin to think about winding down. By the time we get into London, which will be around 9.30-10pm, I can finally start to think about winding down, by which point I’m absolutely on my knees.

On A Love Of Candles…

Pretty much the first thing I do when I walk in is always light a candle. Fragrance is very important to me and I can’t relax until I’ve got scented candles lit. I buy a lot of Diptyque from Space NK. I love Diptyque Baies Scented Candle, £ 35,00 and Diptyque Figuier Scented Candle, £ 35,00, and I’ve often got those in both homes.

On Consistent Skincare…

I’ve used Eve Lom for years and years, and I’m religious about that. I use all of the cleansers, Eve Lom Cleanser, £ 48,00 and the gel, pump-action formula one for in the shower too. For me, it’s just the most amazing, amazing product. Even though everything I do in my life is about getting results fast, I am happy to be patient when it comes to skincare and wait to see the results. My skin is naturally very dehydrated and so hyaluronic acid is a big thing for me. On a Sunday I’ll often add in one of Sarah Chapman Skinesis 3D Moisture Infusion Mask, £ 50,00 – a combination of hyaluronic acid and rose water to deeply moisturise the skin and plump up the complexion.

On A Lip Balm Obsession…

I’ve probably spent about a gazillion pounds on Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips, £ 12,00 over the years. You’d laugh at how many of those I’ve bought from Space NK. I have a phobia of dry lips, and so anyone who knows me, knows I’ll be putting this on constantly. If I don’t have one of these on me, I can’t concentrate or relax. That’s the thing I’m weirdest about.

On Bath-time Podcasts…

I’ll have a bath and put a podcast on – I find I’m not very good at relaxing unless I feel like I’m achieving something. I like to listen to a lot of entrepreneurial ones, like Beauty of Fashion – they always have the best interviews with entrepreneurs. It’s really important to me that I’m always learning as I have this fear about dead time. Even if I’m reading a novel, it has to be a historical novel, it can’t just be a novel, because I would panic about the fact that I wasn’t learning something. I’ve almost got to the stage now that when people recommend a TV series or boxsets to me, I’ll always go, “how many episodes?” because I want to be able to see something or watch something fairly quickly.

On Hair Rituals…

I’ve got very curly hair and find it much easier to get my hair washed and blow-dried professionally. I usually go to Show Dry opposite my flat but my favourite is Hari’s on Ledbury Road. I probably have two or three blow dries a week. I’ll wear my hair curly on holiday, but for some reason I never feel quite ready to go unless it’s smooth. That’s my armour.

On Bed-time Essentials…

Before I switch out the lights I spray my bed linen with Sarah Chapman Skinesis Eye Recovery, £ 56,00 and massage Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm, £ 27,00 into my hands, as I have very dry hands and of course use Dr. Lipp’s Original Nipple Balm For Lips. I do struggle a bit when it comes to sleep, I have to have wax earplugs, because my husband snores, in fact I do have a slight fear of running out of wax earplugs too…

Posted: Monday, 30 December 2020