Founder of The Anna Edit, content creator and author of The Edited Life, Anna Newton shares some of the Space NK favourites that make up her extensive beauty routine. Alongside listing her bedtime essential and the latest skincare brand she can’t get enough of, she explains why she values her regime and how she makes it happen…
The Wind Down
I actually find cooking really relaxing, so the wind down for me starts when I start to cook dinner, usually around 5pm. Whatever plans we had for the day are usually over by then and it’s time to hunker down, turn off our phones, spend some quality time relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead. It depends what we’ve done at the weekend – if we’ve had a really good one with friends and family then sometimes I’m a little sad that it’s over, but I really love what I do, so often I’m pretty excited for the week ahead. There’s something about taking even just 10 minutes for yourself that makes me feel really relaxed and like I’m doing something for myself. I shout ‘I’M DOING MY SKINCARE, PLEASE DON’T INTERRUPT ME’ as I dart into the bathroom to do my routine! Hydration [is my goal]. I’m basically a raisin in the winter months, so it’s all about getting as much moisture and glow as possible into all areas of my skin. I always light candles; the Diptyque Figuier candle will forever be my favourite. We burnt it on our wedding day and I always make sure that we have one somewhere in the flat. All my beauty-related goings on happen in the bathroom. We renovated it earlier in the year, so I like to make sure I make the most of it! I do a lot of my planning on a Friday night – I know, I’m a real hoot! – but I do like to take a quick glance at my diary for the week ahead on a Sunday night, just so I can get my head around it and prepare myself. Sometimes I’ll write my weekly to-do list if I haven’t already.
The Routine
I’m really enjoying Drunk Elephant at the moment, so in the evening I remove my makeup, cleanse, then apply the C-Tango Eye Cream and mix the B-Hydra Serum and the T.L.C Framboos Glycolic Serum in my palm before applying my own little blend. Kiehl’s Centella Sensitive Facial Cleanser is the latest addition to my routine – it’s a great texture that feels like a gel, but slips like an oil on the skin and it’s really helping with my redness. I finish off with two pumps of the May Lindstrom Youth Dew which is basically heaven in a bottle. It’s my second bottle and I can’t imagine ever being without it! Sometimes I leave it on for hours while I do housework and errands. It leaves my skin so soft and really helps with hydration and any irritation that I have. My goal is always to be glowy, J.Lo-esque skin is the dream! One time my sister said that I looked greasy and it was the greatest compliment she’s ever given me. My skin is pretty well behaved for the most part, but I do occasionally break out around my chin and have redness on my cheeks – especially when I’m hot and bothered. I do love a good facial roller and although I try to do it most nights of the week – starting at the centre of my face and moving out to the sides – I do spend a bit more time doing it on a Sunday
I love a bath on a Sunday and if I have the time I go all out, I love bath salts – like the Herbivore Calm Bath Salts – they smell great. I like to exfoliate with the Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Scrub, shave and then back on the moisture with a body cream like the Kiehl’s Crème de Corps – sometimes I add the Tan-Luxe Body Drops to it if I fancy adding a bit of tan to my limbs. I also do love an oil. The formulas are just so light and easily absorbed these days, so I don’t feel slippery in the summer, but I feel so hydrated by them in the winter, like a layer of a protective cocoon for your body. I’ve also heard amazing things about the Susanne Kaufmann range, but have never given any of her products a go. They are on my to-buy list right now. I’m so low maintenance with my hair and because it’s so short I don’t find that I need to give it too much T.L.C. I just use my shampoo, blow-dry it and style it whenever it needs to look fancy. I use the Bumble and bumble Seaweed Shampoo; nothing else clarifies quite like it and whenever I divert to something new, it’s just never the same. It really helps to keep my greasy hair clean and remove product build-up too. I wish I could air-dry it and sometimes I do in the summer, but I find it gets a bit itchy and greasier quicker when I do that. So I blow-dry it roughly and wave it with a straightener and give it some texture with the IGK Beach Club Spray whenever I want to style it.
Bedtime
I like to get into bed around 10pm and read a book. I’m currently reading ‘What Would The Spice Girls Do?’ by Lauren Bravo. I love sleep so much that I like to get in as much as I can. I feel at my best when I’m well rested – I hate to feel groggy and tired. I’m definitely a deep sleeper, I love sleep. I put my ear plugs in and often don’t wake up at all throughout the night. I need a solid eight hours sleep.I do love the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. I spray it on my pillow and then my husband always leans forward so he gets a spray on his pillows too! Then I apply the Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and the By Terry Baume de Rose Lip Care before I hit the hay for extra moisture. Sometimes if I’ve had a day of just sitting at my desk, or have carried a heavy bag I like to do some foam rolling on my back. I use a soft and cushiony foam roller from my local Pilates studio and it actually feels like heaven. Sometimes my back cracks and it’s actual BLISS! I’ve tried meditation apps in the past but my brain is constantly thinking and ticking over. I don’t struggle to nod off though, so although I still have some apps on my phone, I don’t use them regularly. I’m currently taking probiotics, but I take them at the beginning of the day and I’m really noticing a difference with bloating.
Monday Morning
I usually set my alarm for 6am, to get out of bed around 6.10am and then I like to be at my desk and starting on replying to emails around 7am. I love a Monday. It always feels like a fresh start to me and is usually my most productive day of the week (it goes downhill after that!). I don’t like to snooze too much unless I’ve had a really late night, but I like to lay in bed for a good 10 minutes before I get up. I know it’s not the most ‘on brand’ thing for the author of a life organisation book to say, but I have to have a scroll of my phone to wake me up. Nothing too meaty, but just checking in on Instagram and Twitter to let the blue light do its thing and wake me up. Then I eat. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and the thought of it is what gets me out of bed. Finally I love to write a list, it gets my brain going and motivates me to start the day as I mean to go on.