My morning routine

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by my favourite beauty tool, the CurrentBody Skin LED Face Mask. I genuinely use it every morning.

I haven’t set a daily morning alarm in almost four years, since having my son. Now an alarm is merely a quaint reminder of my pre-motherhood era, like clubbing and cream dresses. I wake sometime between 5.45am and 7am, although the latter is a luxury that happens about once a month; it’s definitely more around 6. Some days my three-year-old son comes in and wakes us but if I’m up before everyone else I’ll read my book, as I’ve recently made a conscious effort to stop looking at my phone in bed - can’t recommend it enough. Currently it’s Anna Karenina (almost finished!)

Whether I’m fast asleep or in the throes of the latest drama between Anna and Vronsky, our bedroom door bursts open and our son climbs into bed with us where we’ll cuddle for at least ten minutes. Urgh I try not to get too emotional about children growing up (it’s a good thing!) but this is what I’ll really miss when it’s gone. I smell his fluffy hair and he tells us about his dreams, which are usually food related.

After cuddling, I down a pint of water, do a couple of yoga stretches, brush my teeth and we head into the kitchen. I whack BBC 6 Music on the radio and then must immediately start making breakfast for my hungry prince (son not husband). I’ve managed to convince him that proper porridge oats is a real treat (it’s the measly bit of honey I allow him to add) so he thinks he’s really pulling one over on me when he has it. I’m thrilled he’s not having sugary Kellogg’s, which I was eating at his age. The ten minutes it takes for the porridge to cook and cool can be a bit much for him to bear but a banana usually stops him from having a meltdown - but don’t even think about it if it’s bruised in any way, shape or form. I must also ask if he wants it peeled or not. During mornings, you’re one unwanted peeled banana away from a full tantrum.

While he eats, it’s coffee time. We have a Sage coffee machine so I grind beans for an espresso and then steam some milk (full-fat cow’s) and make a latte. Over the last five years I have managed to reduce my sugar intake in coffee from two full teaspoons per cup (!) down to a small half-teaspoon, practically quarter-teaspoon. I keep trying to fully eliminate the sugar but I just can’t. Maybe one day. If I’m feeling generous I’ll make my husband a coffee too. I don’t have breakfast yet because I simply cannot eat for the first hour I’m awake.

We sit at the table and I read the news on my laptop (The Guardian, The Times), check emails, catch up on WhatsApps and Instagram and have a quick check of Substack to make sure I haven’t been cancelled overnight. When my son is done eating, I get out LEGOs, Connetix magnets or felt tips and hope he will happily amuse himself while I do my online catch-up. This works about 50 percent of the time. When it does, great. If not, my husband or I will need to get on our hands and knees and start playing. We never do TV before he goes to nursery.

The only thing I do at the same time each morning is have a shower at 8am. I wash my hair religiously every other day and am always delighted if I realise it’s a no-wash day. I like Klorane mango shampoo because it makes my hair feel really clean but it is rather unsatisfying as it doesn’t lather (but that’s meant to be a good thing) and wash my face with CeraVe’s Hydrating Cleanser.

After I get out of the shower, I immediately put on my CurrentBody LED Red Light Therapy Face Mask, which must be used on a clean, product-free face. I was using this seven days a week until I realised that you only need to do it for five to see results so now it’s a Monday to Friday thing. The mask is brilliant, it has three clinically proven wavelengths - red to reduce lines and improve glow, near-infrared to calm and repair the skin, and a deep infrared to boost firmness and reduce deep wrinkles. CurrentBody masks are tested by a process called Veritace meaning it is the only mask on the market to test every single bulb in your mask, others only test samples. I’m 43, tired, and have never had Botox or any invasive treatments and I have seen such a difference since using the mask; my lines are less pronounced, it’s reduced redness, and I have more of a glow. It’s why I can’t stop using it. (You can use discount code GILLIANOCB for 10% off all CurrentBody devices.)

The mask takes ten minutes (it turns itself off after that time) and while I’m wearing it I do some light housework. I know many people like to relax and scroll while they wear red light masks, but I make the most of those ten minutes, especially because the mask is made from a flexible silicone material and so is really light weight and easy to wear around the house. I’m making beds, cleaning sinks, putting a wash on. I swear my house is tidier because I use these ten minutes well.

Then I do the rest of my morning skincare routine: some Kiehl’s Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate with Vitamin C on my forehead, The Ordinary’s Multi-Peptide Eye Serum, RoC Retinol Correxion Daily Moisturiser with SPF30 and sometimes I add a bit of U Beauty’s The Super Intensive Face Oil. I don’t bother with full makeup but I always put on Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm, cover up any blemishes with Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick and fill in my eyebrows with Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat because they’re otherwise criminally sparse. I get dressed, usually in jeans, a cashmere jumper and Adidas trainers (although that’s increasingly becoming a t-shirt and sandals - hurrah) but I always try to throw on something slightly interesting whether that’s a baseball cap, a long pendant or a silk scarf. I always finish with a good spritz of perfume; at the moment I love Liberty LBTY’s Tudor.

My son has usually joined me in the bedroom by this point and we’ll get him ready and pack his snack box. At 8.45am I’m out the door to nursery. It’s the last term of nursery now before school starts in September and I’m starting to really like some of the other parents so I usually chat with a couple of people for a few minutes, or walk home with one of the other mums. Half of me was dreading the forced community of nursery/school parents but it’s actually really pleasant. Lately I’ve taken to introducing myself because I’ve been chatting to some of these people for months and I don’t even know their names.

I return home at about 9am and make breakfast, usually Greek yoghurt with whatever fruit we have and nuts or some boiled eggs and buttered toast if I’m really hungry. I brew a strong cup of breakfast tea with milk and sit down at my desk (the kitchen table) to start work. I will say that my son’s mood slightly dictates the atmosphere of each morning. When he’s well-rested we can have a beautiful morning, but if he’s cranky and gotten up super-early it can feel like it should be the end of the day by the time I sit down to work. Still, it won’t last forever. But neither will the morning snuggles in bed.