As a beauty industry junkie and guru, I find true joy and excitement in testing out products that align with my belief in containing high-quality and natural ingredients. I believe that when you look good, you feel good first. Here lately, it’s hard to avoid anything about self-care and the elusive Perfect Wellness Routine. We thumb through whatever news feed and see what the celebrity of the moment puts in her latte, what trendy workout she currently prefers or what supplement helps her hair grow. All that is fine and to be fair, I read most all of them for inspiration. But how should we all tailor our self-care routine so that it fits our lifestyle, taste and habits? How do we make it so that it is an easy obtainable goal that we can actually keep up with? Here’s my tip: stick to a framework and allow your routine to evolve as you do. My framework for self-care centers around three concepts: energize, savor, and chill. Keeping my self-care grounded by this framework allows me the freedom to try new things with zero guilt attached.

My grandmother, being the savvy and forward thinking woman that she was, would always encourage me to have a “me day” that energized my soul, inspired me to savor the things that bring me joy, and allow me the space to just chill out. Here are some of my favorite ways to indulge in self-care.

 

ENERGIZE

Sustaining the physical and mental energy to bring our best to the world is something I don’t need to harp on. We all know the importance and are reminded of it daily. Throughout this pandemic, with my business needing to evolve seemingly by the minute, I found that my energy needs and habits constantly shifted. One moment I needed a quick kick of caffeine because of an urgent work thing, and the next moment I needed a more sustaining energy to allow me to focus on big picture stuff.

Coffee gives me the instant gratification I crave, but after a couple hours I feel drained. So when I’m needing sustained energy, I take a little extra time to make a matcha latte with oat milk, MCT oil and my favorite energy-boosting adaptogens like Lion’s Mane and Chaga. Additionally, I couldn’t go a day without my afternoon Age Quencher, an electrolyte- vitamin drink that tastes like lemon- lime Gatorade. When I’m feeling uninspired or fatigued, taking a walk around the neighborhood with the goop podcast turned up can provide me with some much-needed motivation.

Podcast Pro Tip: Turn the listening speed to 1.5x when you don’t have as much time.

See the podcasts the Edit team loves to listen to here.

 

SAVOR

Stop and smell the roses.

Self-care requires recognizing things that inspire you–recognizing things that you could spend hours doing but feel like only a few minutes have passed. I’m a sucker for trying a new recipe, even if I fail miserably. Another one that fills my cup is painting with oils on canvas. Something about having to use my hands and focus on one thing at a time leaves me feeling like Wonder Woman.

I’d be being disingenuous if I left out sex as a way to get lost in the moment. With a little help from Dr. Harin Padma-Nathan (whose research led to the creation of Viagra), a tiny bottle of recently launched Vella Female Pleasure Serum helps heat things up even on my most mentally-occupied days.

Regardless of what method you choose, savoring the present moment allows for self-healing, self-reflection and just plain fun.

 

CHILL

If we don’t make time to chill out, we can’t possibly feel energized or have the ability to savor the things we most appreciate.

For me, some days I take a few pumps of my favorite CBD oil from Yuyo Botanics. Other days I take an evening bath soak filled with Epsom salts. On sunnier days, I squeeze in an afternoon sun session by changing into my bathing suit and soaking up Vitamin D. Even for just 15 minutes, it’s the most effective way to get your levels of this feel good vitamin up. Another thing I’ve recently been adding into my routine is listening to a Melissa Wood Health meditation session. She has mediations ranging from 6 to 17 minutes so they can easily be incorporated into your day.

Whatever you do, take time to relax and reset, and if you’re still on the fence about trying CBD, we break everything down for you here.