The GOnly quite recently I have started not putting the blinds down before I go to sleep so that I can wake up in the natural daylight. It helps me to start into the day at ease and I feel like it is a more gradual and balanced way of having my rise and shine moment.
As I am mostly self-employed while working on different projects simultaneously, my schedules tend to be very different, so I’d describe myself as a hybrid between a morning person and a night owl. Some days I consciously enjoy waking up before sunrise around 7 am before going for a morning walk. I feel like it is such a beautiful thing to be able to witness how the cities of Berlin or Zurich start to be filled with liveliness and a sprinkle of chaos while all the invisible birds are happily chirping somewhere in the background. The silent clash of realities and personalities is something that I find very interesting and that also gets me going.
On other days I’d find myself not even setting an alarm and allowing my body to let me know when it is time to start my day. Especially with this irregular schedule, I do believe that it is crucial to follow certain routines. Routines give me a feeling of security and they generally provide a positive structure for my day as a whole and for my mental well-being. I think I follow way too many routines to be listed here, but I believe in doing regular workouts, going for walks or having coffee breaks, and social catchups with my beloved friends, in order to make it successfully through my day.
Another important part of my self-care is also dedicated to my beauty routines. I do have to say that I change my beauty products quite a lot. The only proper consistency is me having showers in the morning as soon as I get up. Right after I’d use different kinds of cocoa butter to keep my dry body skin hydrated and smooth. One of my absolute favorites is the CBD-infused whipped body butter by a black-owned company called "MH All Natural Cosmetics" – I met their founder on a night out in Berlin and it is so small indeed that you have to order it via Instagram. At the very moment, I’d start my day soon after with the foaming face wash by Kylie Skin, which is so soft that it feels like my face is still laying on the warm pillow that I had just left behind. After this, I am applying the classic “Ultra facial cream” by Kiehls, which once again has a very soothing texture and doesn’t leave my skin oily like a lot of other moisturizers.
For a longer time, I usually wear my hair very short and my friends make fun of me for this fact, but for my hair, I usually still keep on switching between the Leave-in Conditioning Spray by Balmain or the Revive (former R&B) leave-in hydrator by Lush cosmetics. Only a very few pumps of Balmain help my few millimeters of hair to get a little gloss while Revive keeps on blessing me with its amazing tropical scent. The organic avocado butter, cold-pressed jojoba oil, and for sure also the oat milk derivate make sure that not only my hair but also my scalp gets enough hydration and natural ingredients. My morning routine is pretty much finished by using one of my all-time favorite perfumes, which is “Black afgano” by Nasomatto. It is a very woody and well-rounded Extrait de parfum, with earthy whispers of oud, leather, amber, and seductive sweetness.
I’d finish my days with not too many products but washing my face with water. Especially in the drier winter months I regularly put on the “DRINK UP Intensive Overnight Hydrating Mask” with avocado and glacier water, which makes me wake up in the morning with perfectly hydrated and evenly textured skin. All year round I am using the needling set by the German brand M1 med beauty. It comes with a derma roller and different serums, which I find amazing for not only preventive anti-aging measures, but I have also good experiences with poor refinement and general facial cell renewal.
Once again I keep on having to explain to a lot of people why I am making use of different preventive measures, but I do believe that prevention is way better than problem-solving at a later age. So you better start now!
This interview has been edited and condensed.
