Sherrille Riley

With over 20 years’ experience creating naturally styled brows, founder of expert brow collection Beauty Edit Mayfair, Sherrille Riley puts pampering on a pedestal. A lover of results-driven skincare, she favours active ingredients that work hard but are a pleasure to use. Find out how a spot of self-love on a Sunday makes for a motivated start to her Monday.

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The Wind Down

Sunday is my favourite day of the week. It’s my ‘me’ time day, the day when I can really relax. I get chance to meditate, practice yoga, listen to music, cook, and catch up with friends and family on the phone. In the morning, I’ll go to my local coffee shop and have my breakfast, usually a croissant and fresh orange juice. After, I like to buy fresh flowers and, for the last six weeks, I’ve been going to a meditation class in Pimlico. I generally do a double session of healing meditation and reiki, which lasts for about 1 hour 45 minutes. I might even do a little bit of Pilates too, depending on time and social occasions but I try to keep my Sundays free. I love to stroll around Holland Park and just really appreciate nature and clear my head and relax into the late afternoon. In the evening, I like to spend a bit of time catching up on my diary and work schedule for the week ahead. I log into my emails to check appointments, track revenue and KPIs and to generally see how we’re doing and if I need to make any adjustments. I like to see if I have any events I need to prepare my wardrobe for and sometimes I’ll find I’m like, “oh my god! I need to take that to the dry cleaner.” I don’t really plan my outfits for the morning though as I like to be spontaneous and dress according to my mood and of course the weather. I think it’s a Jamaican thing.

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The Routine

My rituals usually start about 11am, it’s more of a morning than evening thing for me. I wake up and put some music on. I’m a music person and was born and raised in Jamaica, where I listened to my parents’ music, which was what’s called Lovers Rock. Although I’m not religious, I  do like to listen to Gospel on a Sunday too, it has such an uplifting effect and makes me feel good. It’s a great start to the day and puts me in the right mindset. I’ll get up feeling happy and make myself a tea, I love, love, love lemongrass – it’s my thing. Then I get started on my routine. My background is beauty so I know how to take care of my skin and it’s something I’m really passionate about. I’ll always start with a cleanse. I love the entire Elemental Herbology range, it’s a natural and effective skincare line packed with active ingredients and so is really results driven. That’s the kind of skincare I like. I start by massaging Elemental Herbology Vital Cleanse Facial Cleanser into damp skin and it gives a really thorough cleanse and removes all traces of dirt and makeup. I don’t use a toner, so I pat my skin dry with my towel and follow with Elemental Herbology Facial Glow. I usually pop a small amount onto my fingertips and really massage it into my skin and then leave it on for about 10 minutes, during which time I’ll switch on the morning TV and see what’s happening in the world. If I have an upcoming event or want to up my skin game, I’ll also use a mask. I do fluctuate between products as I’m always testing out things that I’ve been sent, but the mask I always go back to is Ren Glycolic Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask. My skin is pretty dry and dehydrated and this mask is instant and helps to rejuvenate a tired or dull-looking complexion. I usually leave it on for about 20 minutes or sometimes longer, I’m one of those people who thinks the longer you leave things, the better.

I’m not really a bath person. I rarely have a bath, not even on a Sunday. In fact, the only time I might is in winter if it’s really cold. I take a shower every morning and evening. In the shower I’ll use a hydrating shower gel that’s good for extremely dry skin, something like Ameliorate Nourishing Body Wash. When I get out the shower I have to moisturise my body immediately, if I didn’t I’d be extremely itchy.

I only wash my hair at home once a week, and this is always in the morning because I am very sensitive and if I go to bed with even slightly damp hair I seem to end up with a cold. My hair is dry and frizzy so I am looking for softness and moisture from my haircare, but I don’t want it to feel greasy. I like to use natural products like Leonor Greyl but it also has to smell fresh and clean without clashing with my perfume. Because I have to blowdry my hair on a really hot heat to straighten out the curl, I have to protect my hair with an oil or serum. I massage the oil into my scalp, because my scalp has a tendency to get really dry. Every now and then I’ll use a hair mask or intensive treatment to restore shine and help with manageability.

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Bedtime

Before bed I’ll relax, watch a movie or read a book. My evening skincare routine on a Sunday is quite minimal, I’ll freshen up with a quick cleanse, using Vital again and I’ve recently started experimenting with oils. Even though I’ve got dry skin, I’ve always preferred cream textures over oils but I’ve been massaging a couple of drops of hydrating night oil into my cheeks to relax my muscles for about three or four minutes and then I’ll apply Aurelia moisturiser over the top. I always have a candle beside my bed. I’m a Diptyque fan and anyone who knows me knows my home is surrounded with Diptyque in every room, pretty much. If I feel restless or anxious, I’ll use the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and I do travel with it in my travel case because sometimes I hate flying and I fly a lot. If I feel a little bit agitated or anxious, that smell helps me to relax. I’d like to try the De Mamiel Altitude Oil for flying, as I’ve heard it’s good. I switch out the lights between 10pm and 10.30pm and I sleep pretty well on a Sunday because I’m calm and relaxed and have had all that quality time to myself.

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Monday Morning

I always wake up at 5am. I don’t use an alarm but I wake up at this time everyday. Having my own business means that my brain is always active and once I’m physically rested my brain is like, “come on, get up!” Every single day without fail, I’ll take three supplements; I take magnesium, iron and a probiotic for my healthy gut. I’m not one of those people who hates Mondays. I generally feel good and excited, especially if the sun’s shining. I think of Monday as a fresh start and an opportunity to accomplish whatever goals I’m working towards. The only thing that tends to change in my Monday morning beauty routine is my makeup. I like to start the week off on the right foot and so my Monday outfit and makeup tends to be a bit more polished than the rest of the week. I over-tweezed my eye brows in my early teens, it was a disaster, so you’ll never catch me anywhere without my brows on – if you did it would be like, “oh my god! Something’s wrong.” So I always fill them in with the Beauty Edit Mayfair Brow Pencil in Dark Dahlia – it’s a really nice, rich chocolate brown colour and it’s made with pure pigments so there’s no red, grey or orange undertones that come through. I would say that’s my hero, my beauty must-have. Before I leave the house I’ll massage Aurelia Botanical Cream Deodorant into my skin so that it completely dissolves. It’s unusual to what we’re conventionally used to but I like the fact that it’s natural and non-toxic and it works for me.

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