My 95 Minute Nighttime Routine Is Absolutely Over-the-Top—But Trust, I Sleep Like a Little Baby
I am a girl who loves a routine. Give me a schedule to follow, a checklist to accomplish. Every pore of my body just oozes Type A energy. I’m ok with it. I’ve embraced it. And according to my closest friends, family, and co-workers, I’ve maybe been known to go a little crazy with it. But my neurosis has led me to discover the best nighttime routine in the history of nighttime routines. I personally don’t think it’s too extreme—five steps (give or take) total, but I’ll admit, it does take 95 minutes to complete. In turn, I end up having the most peaceful night’s sleep you could ever imagine.
The thing is: I don’t function without adequate, a good-quality, sleep. My head gets foggy, and my yawns become uncontrollable. So if a $100 pajama set and an obsession with home fragrance can bring me brighter days and mental clarity, well, that seems like a fairly rational trade-off in my book. So if you’re looking to upgrade your evenings and bring a little peace and quiet into your home, please read ahead. Because this is the perfect recipe for a five-star before-bed routine.
Everything Shower and Blowout. Every Night. No Exceptions.
New York City is disgusting, and you cannot and will not fight me on that. The second I walk in the door, my clothes go directly into the washing machine and my body goes in the shower. I am washing every bit of subway grime of my body with a luxury soap and scrubbing my scalp with a yummy-smelling shampoo and conditioner. I’m also adamant about giving myself a blowout before bed—it makes me feel clean and fresh. Plus, who doesn’t want to wake up with already-styled hair?
She smells just as delicious as you think she would. It’s not too overpowering, works up into a nice foam, and leaves my skin super hydrated.
Call me crazy, but I shave my legs, my arms, and my pits every single night. I hate the feeling of stubble and like to crawl into bed feeling like a hairless mole rat.
Put on the Coziest Pajamas Imaginable
I am the world’s biggest pajama snob. I have tried pretty much every single brand in existence. My takeaways: always sleep in cotton; pants over shorts; wash them in your fancy detergent. Matching sets are my way of life, and that doesn’t stop at bedtime. Some of my favorite brands include, but are not limited to: Cozy Earth, The Nap Co, Cozyland, Eberjay, and Lake.
These have been on my wishlist forever. I live for a pointelle set, and Eberjey has the world’s softest materials. I’m the kind of weird that loves that they match the decor of my apartment. I swear I sleep better in them.
I discovered this brand when I was shopping in Selfridges during a London press trip and swear it's my favorite discovery of the year. The fabric is yummy and they’re so stinking cute.
Light My Candles and Flip Diffusers
I need a solid 40 minutes to switch my mind off from the day's chaos. Once I’m clean and cozy, I light my candles and flip the reeds in my diffuser so my apartment smells delicious and the mood is relaxing. I cocktail the scent profile in my home depending on the season, but these make up my current lineup.
Somehow I’m still making my way through my limited-edition Crown Affair x Nette candle, which you sadly can’t get anymore. But! Next up on my list is Pearl Dust, which was literally designed to emulate the smell of clean skin and fresh towels. Say less.
Yesterday, my handyman told me that he loves coming to fix things in my apartment because it always smells so good. I credit this diffuser for the gorgeous smell. It’s warm, comforting, and powerful enough to take over my whole studio apartment.
Make a Hot Cup of Tea—Drink While Watching a Crime Show
As the psycho who finds murder shows relaxing, my go-to sleep ritual obviously involves Law & Order: SVU (yes, I lost my mind when I got to FaceTime Olivia Benson, a.k.a. Mariska Hargitay, this week). It is during my 17th rewatch that I sip on a hot cup of tea. I’m a newer tea drinker, but I have found myself gravitating toward more concentrated sachets, which taste more like tea and less like dirty water.
I am obsessed with this peppermint flavor. You smell the minty freshness the second you open the canister. I look forward to sipping it from the moment I wake up. If my stomach is feeling a little funky, though, I reach for the lemon ginger flavor.
Ginger honey tea is fabulous for digestion and frankly, I need all the help I can get. A lot of ginger lemon teas don’t have a strong flavor, but this one is powerful enough to push paste the dirty water stereotype.
Silk Sleep Mask and Air Purifier
My allergies this year have both come out of absolutely nowhere and been incredibly rough. Add that to the fact that I have chronic dry eyes and, per my eye doctor, sleep with my eyes open, and I’ve had many nights where I wake up with my eyes absolutely bloodshot because of irritation or a particle landing in it. So far, this two-piece combo seems to be doing a solid job and keeping my eyes ok.
I hate most eye masks because the pressure they put on my eyelids makes me wake up with blurry vision. It doesn’t dissipate for around an hour and I feel all out of sort. This Skims one though, has a padded border so the silk mask doesn’t actually touch my eyes—but still shields out the light and dusty particles.
New York City apartments are just breeding grounds for dust and particles. I keep this running all night and really helps suck up unwanted allergens and keep my eyes in a more peaceful state.
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