the love list '24
Every year or so, I update my “love list”: a window into the collection of things I love, tools, and products I use that I heartily recommend, plus more.
The bedroom I am sitting on the floor in, of the apartment I’ve been renting for the past two months is sparse with just a suitcase, the desk I saw my first private client on this morning, a couple of empty clothes rails and a mattress.
I am moving.
Again.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow the removalists will come and thrust my things into their truck and drive them 7 minutes to another part of the village and unload them into a little wooden cabin in the middle of the forest.
I had no intention of moving again so soon, particularly after my 7 moves last year, but sometimes life offers us opportunities that are worth exploring. So today, I am sharing one of your favourite articles each year.
The Love List.
Every year or so, I update my love list: a window into the collection of things I love, tools, and products I use that I heartily recommend and more.
Here’s my latest list of all my current favourites.
MORNING ROUTINE
I have a loose morning routine most days that normally looks like this:
stretch
20-minute meditation using Insight Timer
5-10 minute lymphatic drainage face massage
cuddle and feed my cat
splash my face with cold water, spray it with a hydrating mist, add a serum
make a hot lemon and water in the kitchen which I sip while I
get dressed for the day
Then there are days when what I need most is to let go of structure entirely and just be. Do nothing. Sloth about. Stay in bed, in my pyjamas for a full 12 hours only to shower, put on fresh pyjamas and go back to bed.
That, for me, is sometimes necessary self-care too.
MOVEMENT
Exercise has become a non-negotiable for me. For my mental health as much as my physical health. I have one rule: MOVE EVERY DAY. But gently and with care. I tune into what my body needs and my energy levels and select from one or a combination of:
Walking
Yoga or Pilates. Some of my favourite yoga and pilates classes are free and on my Lean & Tone playlist on YouTube. My favourite go-to Pilates teacher is Lottie Murphy.
Yin or Yoga Nidra in the evening especially if I have had an intense day and my nervous system needs help winding down. My favourite is this one.
Swimming
Dancing
BEAUTY
Inspired by the French ‘less-is-more’ approach to beauty I focus more on health, well-being and nourishment and trust that ripples out into my physical beauty. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy playing with makeup. I enjoy testing various products so this constantly changes but my current mainstays are:
Loreal Accord Parfait in No. 5 (a gift from a French friend). I use it more like a concealer: a little under my eyes, on my nose, my chin. Wherever my skin tone isn’t even. It builds well and looks like perfect skin.
Rouge for my cheeks and lips plus some highlighter for cheekbones and the cupids bow from the RMS Signature Set in Pop.
A tiny little flick to lengthen my eyes from each corner with a felt liner like L'Oreal Paris Perfect Slim Liquid Eyeliner.
To finish, my favourite mascara from Catrice which sadly is hard to find in the UK so I always stock up when I’m in Europe.
NOURISHMENT
I went through a health crisis and transformation at the beginning of 2022 when I found out that I was severely malnourished and depleted of core minerals even though I had been eating a “healthy” diet of lots of raw salads, veggies etc for a long time. I ended up doing a lot of research and learned so much with the help of a nutritionist who completely changed the way I think about and consume food and drinks. I have a much more balanced approach now that includes sustainable animal products, plenty of potatoes and Eastern medicine concepts to eating.
EVENING ROUTINE
Due to my commitment to sleep (see below) I have a nightly ritual that signals to my body that it’s now time to relax and rest:
Around 9.30/10 pm I turn my phone and all electronics off.
If I haven’t showered after exercise earlier in the day, shower and visualise the days and all my emotions sweeping off me down the drain. I love using Dr Bonner’s liquid soap in lavender to soothe my senses and settle my nervous system.
Either in the shower or over the sink I wash my face. If I am wearing makeup I use a Makeup Eraser Cloth first and then follow with an oil cleanse using either Egyptian Magic or Best Skin Ever and a warm damp facecloth. If no makeup I just do a thorough oil cleanse.
I am obsessed with hydrating with a mist like this one and then a nourishing serum. The one I am using right now is by a South African brand which I brought back from my travels.
I get into bed with my The Light Salon LED mask for 10-20 minutes on dry, clean skin which does wonders for collagen and elastin production and healing and often listen to a Yoga Nidra meditation at the same time on Insight Timer.
Finally, I moisturise with Avene TriXera Nutri-fluid Balm because a very famous person told me to.
SLEEP
Most nights, if I am feeling harmonious and content in my life…: I have moved my body and loved enough and been creative during the day I fall asleep immediately. Sometimes, when I am moving through some challenges I use this sleep hypnosis to get to sleep. And very, very occasionally when I notice that I am having a really hard time regulating my nervous system which means that I wake up between 3 and 5 am and can’t get back to sleep I self-medicate with Diazepam.
MENSTRUAL CYCLE TRACKING
I track my menstrual cycle with pen and paper in my Plannher observing my cervical fluid, mood, and appetite, and know what that means for me and where I am in my cycle day-to-day. I also track and sync with my calendar as outlined here. When I bleed I wear period pants. My current favourites are from Thinx and Modibodi.
SPIRITUAL TOOLS
Every Sunday night I use the Chani Astrology app that I am subscribed to, to map out my week ahead in my Plannher.
I also enjoy the Moon app because I like to know what sign the moon is in, especially when I’m journaling, as it changes every 3.5 days.
I do a lot of Reparenting and Inner Child healing work in my journaling, as well as integration practices and meditations to move through blocks and barriers that hold me back from living with the freedom and full authentic expression that I believe we are all here to live.
Join my free 28-day journaling challenge here.
CREATIVITY
Creativity is my raison d’etre. Everything I do is creative: write, move, speak, cook, display, clean, love, and make. I am obsessed with aesthetics and particularly love writing, watercolour painting, photography and creating beautiful spaces, experiences and interiors.
I’ve gathered a list of sacred characters and symbols that I like to use, to copy and paste into my social media, without having to scour the entire internet for them: 99 sacred characters + symbols.
Music is everything to me and I’m always making new playlists on Spotify.
LEARNING
I write about my favourite books regularly, which you can read reviews of here.
I listen to Audible books when I go on my daily big walks, during commutes and when travelling.
BUSINESS
To support my sweet self I run 3 businesses.
A personal brand that includes private 1:1 mentoring, group mentoring over at Her Way as well as for corporate clients, my stationary brand Plannher which is a journal-and-planner-in-one for women and The Mentor Training where I teach everything I have learned across my decade of experience to up-and-coming mentors.
I am the most productive when I work intensely over short spurts of time. My ideal is 5 hours per day 4 days per week. It’s amazing how much I can get done when I know I only have 5 hours in a cafe or the day, as opposed to a whole day or even a week. Learning to manage my time and efforts in very focused ways while having austere boundaries is key for me.
I work with the energy of the days of the week, to structure my days which are outlined in detail in my Plannher.
I have an occasional podcast called re.define that you can listen to on Spotify.
My favourite place to hang out online for work is in the comments section of my ‘kismet’ articles, where this newsletter is housed.
Alongside the missives and stories I regularly send out, there’s a paid subscription option for the more nuanced, delicate and private pieces for paid readers’ eyes only.
Instagram is a playful portal for marketing to the online world, but change is inevitable and is a space I share less in than I used to.
For photography, people always ask me what camera I use, and honestly, about 90% of the time it’s my iPhone 12.
For filming courses and otherwise, I use this Panasonic Lumix with a Rode Wireless GO Mic or a BOYA Directional Mic.
To edit, I use the Tezza app. I sometimes make little movies for Instagram using Splice.
My website is built on WordPress on a DIVI theme, which I learned how to code and edit a decade ago.
I use Apple Mail for all my emails and double up between my Plannher and Apple Calendar for planning, and Google Docs to develop my ideas into real, tangible things.
My personal breakdown of how I combine structure (planning + systems) with intuitive living lives here.
10 THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
Enjoy!
I hope you found something that delights you.
Coming back to report that after reading this post I subscribed to Chani app and oh my goodness how did I live without it?? I love the customised content and the whole feel of it. Thank you, Vienda, for sharing your love list, it's always full of treasures 💖