Julia Yule

We talk to Julia Yule, co-founder of Bloom and Blossom about how she juggles homework, dinner discos and running a business with sister-in-law Christina Moss, and still makes time for her precious bath…

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The Wind Down

I’m a mother of three ranging from a two-year old to a seven-year old, so the landscape of the family admin is broad in terms of everything that needs to get done. Sundays very much have a back-to-school feel, so I like to start the week knowing I’ve done everything that needs doing and that everyone has got the right forms in their bag and has done the right homework. That said the pace on a Sunday is much more relaxed. We have our meal together as a family, have an after dinner disco and then go up for bath, book and bedtime. Now that the clocks have gone back I generally like to start their wind down, and in turn my own, that little bit earlier on a Sunday because it all comes back to making sure they get enough good quality sleep. What I drill home to myself about getting a good night’s sleep is obviously something that’s massively important to me as a mother and as a parent too, and was a big part of why we created the Night-Time range at Bloom and Blossom. Once the kids are down I get myself into my sleepwear and that’s the cue for my wind down, which is mentally very important. My sleep routine is really what it all centres around. During the week I don’t get time to allow my brain to formally switch off because it’s so busy, so on the weekend everything I do has that focus. Even if the products I use don’t actively induce sleep, it’s all about the process of using them that’s all part of the sleep ritual.

I love candles and tend to keep them in the bathroom. I have a huge Diptyque Feu de Bois candle in there and I thoroughly enjoy the pomp and ceremony of just lighting it. I’ve also got Byredo’s Cotton Poplin and alternate between the two. As soon as I light one my senses are just put into the mode of wind down. In fact when I smell Feu de Bois out and about it reminds me of that switch off, it’s just like therapy in itself.

 

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The Routine

On a Sunday I tend to spend that bit longer on my skin. I love oils, my skin just seems to react really well to them, and I love the feeling of my face feeling like an oil slick! I would say I’m much more thoughtful about my skincare on a Sunday, I really think about the process and what I’m putting on, whereas in the week I just don’t have time and it’s more about ‘is my face clean?’ I do more of a layering process too and I love everything Annee does at De Mamiel. I’m using the Autumn Facial Oil at the moment, I just love the fragrance and the texture of it. I might even put more than one on – I love the Aromatherapy Associates Revitalising Facial Oil as well and also swear by the Emma Hardie Age Support Eye Cream and the Tata Harper Illuminating Eye Creme too. I love using the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm as well. I really enjoy my beauty cabinet on a Sunday night because it becomes something more than just a process. I have the Oskia Renaissance Mask in my cabinet and it winks at me every now and then – I do it when I remember. Sometimes I think about doing a little self-tan, something like the Vita Liberata Self-Tanning Anti-Age Serum – just something to lighten and brighten.

There’ll always be a scrub on a Sunday night but I love a bath and don’t like to mix the two. I’ll do my scrub then jump in the shower and rinse it all off, and then get in my lovely bath with my bath oil and candles lit. I like the Tata Harper Smoothing Body Scrub but I also just like to body brush; it’s the only time I get to do it and even if the very least I do is my legs then I think, well done! The bath is the real centrepiece of my evening – I don’t read in there, I just sit and enjoy it. I love using the Bloom and Blossom Indulgence Bath Oil, which kicks starts the whole sleep process for me, and then I continue the sleep theme by using the Night-Time Bath and Shower Gel; the underlying fragrance in that range is frankincense, linden blossom and honey myrtle which is so divine and smells very spa-like and sophisticated. I get out feeling already mentally ready for sleep, and then I use the Night-Time Dry Body Oil, it has spray nozzle so you can get it everywhere. Once that’s on I put on my PJs and the aroma of the oil just takes over, it’s all enveloping and just beautiful. I usually have a potter in my room, but everything is very low key — I love reading and so pop my dressing gown on and read for a bit. I always have a big pile of Sunday supplements by my bed. There’s nothing better than that feeling of falling asleep with a book in hand, and you just can’t keep your eyes open any more — that to me is one of the most successful ways to go to bed because it’s your body telling you it’s ready to sleep. I leave my phone and laptop downstairs because having it upstairs goes against everything I believe in, in terms of good sleep. Why ruin and completely unravel everything you’ve just done? I have a really classic alarm clock by my bed instead.

My hair is my hair…there’s a lot of it! I wash it once a week because of the nature of the curls and how porous it is. I’ve used the Bouclème range for about three years now and I think I’m their biggest consumer! I use the entire range and then leave my hair wrapped in the special muslin Curl Towel and let the Curl Conditioner do its thing. I leave the towel on for a couple of hours so once I take it off my hair is pretty dry – I might just diffuse it a little with the hairdryer so I’m not going to bed with it damp.

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Bedtime

I’ve recently started a new habit of drinking a little cup of warm almond milk an hour before bed; it could be an old wives’ tale but I enjoy it. I always apply hand cream before I get into bed and keep Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve on my side table – I’m always replenishing it. I set my alarm (I have to, I like my sleep too much) and then the final thing before lights out is a spritz of my Night-Time Pillow Spray all over my linen; it’s the final piece of my jigsaw and I really feel like my routine wouldn’t be complete without it. I don’t consciously do any kind of breathing exercises but it sort of just happens anyway as part of my pillow spray ritual, just in that general slowing down of everything. I’m happy if I turn my light off at about 11pm (if it’s earlier then I feel smug!) but to be fully functioning I need about seven hours sleep.

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Monday Morning

When the alarm goes off, I’m up. I’ve got three children to get out of the house so it’s all go. The first thing I do is splash cold water on my face – I always have done and always will. Then I apply a serum and use a moisturiser with an SPF in it, without question. I have my own business so I’m excited to go into the office, but the Sunday night process of clearing out my mind really helps me to feel like that come Monday morning.

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