AM

I am a morning girl through and through. I blame a handful of factors for this preference for the 6am wake-up: First, I live in the central time zone, but only formally recognize EST. Second, my fitness fury was born on ass-crack-of-dawn NYC workouts, so I have an ability to just get up and fly out the door. Third, see above re: workouts and replace with flights. With that said, I live for a morning routine! 

The first thing I do when my eyes crack open is put on a To Be Magnetic meditation. I rotate through a few, but I am currently locked in on Stripped, Dream Life and Planting the Seed. TBM uses hypnosis-style tracks to lock into your subconscious to cut through all the bs that tells us we can’t do enormously wonderful things. I make my bed every single day, and no man has ever resisted commenting on the sheer number of pillows– at time of press, there were 9. 

On a good day, I am downing water, my magnesium supplement and a green juice before caffeine. My green juice recipe is super simple and I have been using the same Breville juicer (< $100) for the past five years– celery, spinach and/or parsley, apple, mint, ginger and lemon. If I’m on coffee, then I will make a pourover, Mokapot or Nespresso (lazy day!) over ice and milk. However, most mornings I am whipping up an iced matcha with a little maple syrup and unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Thrive Market. It gives me so much energy without the jitters, and my at-home recipe is 10/10 over a $7 coffee shop version.

Ok, off to the workout— I still love an am workout but now 7:30 is my earliest call-time. I am either doing Melissa Wood Health at home, reformer Pilates, or going to see my trainer Kenny. We will talk about spin in the PM section, but this combo has given me the tightest bod and best endurance I’ve had in a while. I hope you caught my fitness/wellness breakdown here.

Skincare depends on if I’m on the way to a workout or just getting ready for the workday. I will wash my face with a gentle cleanser like La Roche Posay if I used retinol or another active the night before. If not, I just rinse with water and pat on a light toner like my Good Light Toning Milk (I’m an investor! Message me for a code), the Essential Tonic from Ursa Major or Summer Friday’s Jetlag Mist. I will wait a few minutes, and apply moisturizer and/or a face oil and then slather on SPF by Soltan.  

Thankfully, I work remotely, so I am mostly dressing for Zoom. My formula is internal team meetings– sporty casual with zero makeup; larger department meetings– business on top, whatever on bottom and a lip; donor meetings– dress like you’re in-person with brows, blush and lip.

Aspirational AM things— zero phone for at least 30 minutes, writing something via pen/paper most days, daily morning walk by 8am, and that whole salty water with lemon thing.

Mimi x Night

My PM routine is a bit more lax because I love a weeknight out, so you gotta be flexible after 8pm. If I am home in Memphis, my evenings normally revolve around a workout or walking with a friend. I love a 5pm spin class at CycleBar and will push/forgo dinner plans to get on the bike. I also adore a leisurely stroll through my neighborhood or a friend’s and will strap on my weighted vest or ankle weights to add a little oomph. I’m not a big dinner person, unless it’s a great bar sit at my neighborhood spot or obvi anywhere in NYC, so I eat very light in the evening. My digestion can be a battle so I am very cognizant of what I consume before bed. 

Night skincare is my favorite because that’s when the magic is happening! I live for a double cleanse, especially for dissolving makeup. I use a cream or oil to start the process and cap it off with a traditional foam cleanser. Dr. Perricone Vit C is quite good. I also love La Roche Posay and Mario Bedusca’s Gycolic Foaming Cleanser. I have talked almost nonstop about my moisture routine (Honest Beauty Hydrogel, Weleda Skin Food, EA 8-hr, all oils x The Ordinary and LRP Ciciplast), but one recent addition to the routine is Goop’s Exfoliating Sleep Milk. I apply it early in the night so it doesn’t soak into the pillow/get all over my mouth and activate my sensitive top lip. When GP says her shit is efficacious, she means it. The exfoliating milk is not cheap, but it works right away. If my forehead is glassy the next morning, it’s a winner winner chicken dinner. Other actives I swear by are A313 (only purchased from a legit French source), Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Exfoliant (forehead only!) and Goop’s Glycolic Acid pads in the 5% formula. I have recently added this incredible Qi Gong facial massage routine and I swear, it has helped me settle into a few great night’s sleep.

The capstone of my night routine is dental hygiene– I will floss anywhere, and my Invisalign is non-negotiable. Written in Invisible Ink– I’ve even gotten freaky in the thing! I have to have an electric toothbrush by a heritage brand (sorry Quip!), strong floss and alcohol-free mouthwash.

Once I am in my pillow-riddled bed, I try to limit screen time and read an actual book or just quietly meditate for a bit. Even if the read is not top-tier lit, it’s nice to be analog for a bit. DND is my savior, and you have to be in the inner circle and/or literally in the bed by my side to reach me after a certain hour. I fell in love with this cool-mist humidifier over winter and have it fully loaded every night. I end the day as I start it with a TBM meditation, usually Confidence or Magnetic Desires, so I can manifest my TriBeCa penthouse while I sleep! 

Aspirational PM things— phone punted into another room, the whole salty water with lemon thing at night, investing in a redlight mask or device, legs up the wall or lymphatic massage.

What are y’all doing day’n’nite? Tell me! Xx