Katie-Jane Hughes

Get the lowdown on ex-Space NK alumni and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s go-to makeup artist, Katie-Jane Hughes’ covetable Sunday night routine…

katie-jane hughes sunday sessions

The Wind Down

Unfortunately my husband works most Sundays, so for me Sunday is usually the day I have brunch with my friends, or potter around my neighbourhood in Brooklyn. It’s usually an easy day, I might create some content too, but really I just go with the flow of the day. I probably start to wind down around 5pm or 6pm, I’ll put on Netflix and make myself a healthy dinner. I always try and eat healthily on Sundays because I want to try and set myself up for the week; I have to eat gluten-free because I have a thyroid condition called Hashimoto, so I usually have some kind of protein and some veg, or a poké bowl. Something simple but delicious and not too heavy. How I feel on a Sunday depends on what I’m doing on the Monday. If I’m on set on a Monday and it’s a new job then I’ll be feeling a bit apprehensive. Only because I don’t know what the atmosphere will be like with a new crew. It’s almost like that first day of school feeling. If I’ve just got emails to catch up on, then I feel pretty good on a Sunday and I feel excited to get good headway on the week. I also love to have a big tidy up on a Sunday, just all the stuff that didn’t get done during the week. I think a clean house really sets you up for the week and helps your mind to feel calm.

katie-jane hughes sunday sessions

The Routine

In the week I don’t have time to do a ritualistic skin routine, so on a Sunday there’s no excuse. I really like a good cleanser to start things off; Eve Lom Cleanser is one of my cult favourites, I’ve been using it since I started working in Space NK back in 2008. I love the aromatic experience of it, the chamomile and the hops, it feels so cocooning and luxurious. In terms of treatments I listen to my skin and see how it’s behaving. If I don’t need much then I’ll follow the cleanser with a face oil for a bit of mild hydration. I love oils because I like to use concealers when it comes to my makeup, and using an oil underneath helps sheer it down and give you a really glowy base. If I’m really parched I’ll use a serum and a moisturiser over the top of the oil.

If my skin is feeling dry and flaky I’ll do something with an acid, usually some kind of glycolic acid exfoliation just to get rid of dead skin. I’m going through a peel pad phase right now, I love them because it’s easy and I feel like they really get all the dead skin off; I love the Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Peel Pads. If it’s feeling sore and bit malnourished then I’ll apply a creamy and rich mask, which I might leave on and sleep in. Otherwise I really like the 111SKIN Rose Gold sheet mask.

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My skin is quite normal in the sense it’s never too far one way or too far the other, it’s pretty easy to manage. As a general rule I just exfoliate when I need to and I don’t hydrate my oily zones. If I over hydrate my t-zone I’m just going to get shiny all day. Skin is always the first thing you learn. When I was an assistant makeup artist 12 years ago, the first thing you’d hear on set was ‘Can you do good skin?’, and that’s just stuck. If the skin isn’t right then you’re not doing your job as a makeup artist. That’s the thing I loved about working at Space NK when I did, the customers were all about trying to get that beautiful, fresh, glowing skin, that just looked like their skin but better. It really set me up for success on set because I was getting to practice what I preached off and on set. It’s the same for me. I think it’s really important to maintain the integrity of the skin and show off the good bits where you can. It’s why you really need to assess your skin to see what it means.

I have a bath in my apartment but probably only take one about once a month. I get annoyed when the water starts to cool down and I think, oh this isn’t very relaxing! We have an amazing shower though, with six different heads with crazy different settings. It’s like a mini fireman’s hose! I love a good body scrub with a grainy, oily texture, but one that doesn’t leave too much reside afterwards. I really like a big mix of stuff in my shower when it comes to washing, my shower has way too many products in there. I like all textures, anything milky or soapy, or foaming as long as it’s not stripping, and I like shower oils too. In terms of scents I don’t like anything too sweet, just something fresh. I love the Ren Moroccan Rose Otto range. When I get out the shower I always put on a pair of flips flops because I hate walking around the house with bare feet and I hate putting slippers on wet feet, it makes me feel sick. I have some 99p flip flops that I keep next to the shower so I put those on and put my robe on and just dry naturally. I’ll moisturise my body when my skin is balmy as opposed to wet, and I like an oil or a really rich cream.

I love the Christophe Robin scrub so much, like so much! My hair always feels so clean after I use it and I just love the texture and how it soaps up. And the smell too. I wash my hair once a week if that, because I like to work a style for as long as I can. I use a lot of dry shampoo and love the Ouai one. I love the whole Oribe line too. Once my hair is washed I put some heavy styling cream in it and let it air dry. Then whatever the texture that I end up with once it’s dry, is how I’ll style it; if it’s dried a bit straighter I’ll run a straightener over it but if it’s dried wavy then I’ll put a curling iron through it. My hair is frizzy and it doesn’t always do what I want it to do, so this just means I’m working with it not against it.

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Bedtime

The time I get into bed on a Sunday really varies. My husband works from 10-8pm on a Sunday so I’ll usually get into bed around 8.30pm or 9pm, watch my iPad for a bit and then fall asleep. I have the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray next my bed and if I’m feeling a bit stressed it’s a nice thing to use. I always sleep with a rich lip balm next to my bed, like the By Terry Baume de Rose Lip Care. I slap loads on before bed because then I wake up with fuller lips I need somewhere between six to eight hours, anything more than that and I feel a bit groggy.

Monday Morning

I’m definitely more of a morning person, I find it pretty easy to spring out of bed in the morning. I love waking up to natural light, if I could sleep outside I would, because I feel so much more refreshed when there’s natural light. If I’ve not got work I wake up when I wake up; if I’ve got work and I have to be onset for 9am then I’ll set my alarm for 6am just so I’ve got 3 hours to get myself together. I have to have a cup of coffee first thing, I love it — the smell of it, the ritual… I actually tried to quit it last week but it wasn’t really successful! I really missed it. My makeup routine in the morning is my meditation. Sometimes I’ll do it on Instagram stories or Instagram Live, and I find it really therapeutic. The longer I give myself to do that ritual, the better I am that day. My normal makeup look on a Monday morning consists of a brow pencil — I wouldn’t leave my house without my eyebrows on — then a good mascara, I love Chantecaille Faux Cils. I’ll also use a nice face cream like Sunday Riley’s CEO and then finally a good concealer or foundation just where I need it. I like ones from By Terry and I love the Hourglass Illusion Hyaluronic Skin Tint SPF15. Then I’ll just add a little bit of blush somewhere. Blush is really having a moment right now. I just like throwing on a bit of colour on my cheeks and if it’s a cream texture I might put it on my eyes and lips too.

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