Joanna Ellner

Beauty, to me, is not a destination. It’s not the achievement of perfection, nor an idealised view of yourself that you work to carve out. It’s the flashes along the way that reveal who you are. It is to be found in the in between moments, the B-roll, the split seconds when our spirit and self collide in one spontaneous moment. It’s in the photos that my daughter sneakily takes of me. It’s in her face when she laughs. It’s simplicity over excess. Truth over the superficial. And getting the fundamentals right – and that always begins with skin. To that end, I believe beauty rituals should be about revealing, not painting, or concealing what is there. No shield, no armour. Beauty is not trying. It’s the congruity of you being entirely you.

As I get older, I find it’s the indulgent pockets of indulgence that no one sees that bring me the most joy. And scent is usually what guides me there. For my morning shower (scalding hot, though I don’t advocate it), it’s currently 39BC Fig Milk Oil Body Cleanser, which leaves the subtlest hint of cyclamen and fig on just-showered skin. I cleanse my skin in the shower, using our REOME Three Suns Balm cleanser which leaves my skin feeling satin-y, never taut.
After two decades as a beauty editor, I went back to university to study for a degree in Chinese Medicine at degree level, and have taken additional courses in gua sha, which I adore as a daily skincare practice, and one with such a rich cultural heritage, that I wanted to ensure I studied it directly from Asian-born practitioners. I like using quite a basic black obsidian stone with some grapeseed oil for slip. I don’t believe in oils as a skincare formula – their molecular weight is almost always too high to penetrate the skin at any meaningful depth, but for facial massage, in any form, it’s great. I trace up my jawline and down my neck, and up from the nostril, under the cheekbone to the temple. The goal is to bring blood flow to the face, to reset the contours and flood cells with nourishment. So once I’m tomato-red, which doesn’t take long, I’m done.

I’m wedded to using our REOME Active Recovery Broth every day – it has transformed my once irritable and spot-prone skin to a smoother, more gleaming complexion. With 16% actives – almost double the standard serum potency, it packs a punch, but the intelligence of biotech is that it maintains its affinity with skin. My skin literally drinks it up.

I’ve spent literal decades finding the right base products for my pale, Celtic skin. I adored Giorgio Armani Power Fabric, but it’s now been discontinued, so I’ve moved over to Luminous Silk. My holy trinity is that, plus Kosas Super Creamy and Brightening Concealer over any patches of redness, and Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer under my eyes.

My brows are fair and sparse, and so I fluff them up with By Ellie Brow Texture, which doesn’t leave white residue, and then I go over with the Nyx Brow Pen in gentle, upward strokes, until a brow appears. I’m currently in a blusher love affair with Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick in Dou Dou, lightly brushed onto the apples of my cheeks.

We moved to Surrey so we can live closer to nature – and now, with our 1-year-old Cavapoo, we take family walks in the woods each weekend, which I love as you can see the seasons change in such a visceral way that city life doesn’t allow. I practice visualisation meditation the shower, each morning, following techniques I learnt from Dr Tara Swart. I’ve become much better at taking supplements consistently by switching to nighttime. I take cod liver oil, Artah NAD+, a multi-vitamin, and ashwagandha, the last thing before bed. I’ve started to use electrolytes in the morning too, and often tap in and out of using Symprove, which I see a definite improvement with in my digestion and metabolism.

Lipstick used to be my playground. Now it’s fragrance – currently, I’m obsessed with The Apartment, by Abel, a beautiful New Zealand brand. It smells almost like a pheromone spray, you can’t place what it is, exactly, but it’s addictive. I’ve worn Le Labo The Noir 29 for the last few years, it’s become really synonymous with my building of REOME from scratch, so when I smell it now, it’s a lovely reminder of how far it’s come. I’m completely seduced by scent nostalgia, and can’t help but purchase bottles of Cacharel Eau de Eden on Ebay – it reminds me of walking the beauty hall of House of Frazer as a teen, intoxicated by this world of beauty and fantasy. Dior Poeme has the same effect, but it’s harder to find. And, I have a soft spot for Ex Nihilo in Fleur Narcotique, as it’s what I wore on my wedding day, in Bordeaux, ten years ago.

If you want to improve hair health, up your iron intake. If you want great skin, add bone broth to all your meals. Take care of the inside first. Then, it all comes down to what you put on your skin – treat it as you would your child, not your kitchen worktop. Invest in it. Be kind to it.

KMP Skin / Katherine McKenzie Paterson in London, or Raquel New York for facials.

For blonde hair colour, Nicola Clarke at Nicola Clarke Salon.

Sophie Rose Harper for pilates in London

Holly Webber for reflexology. I also have three local acupuncturists that I rotate depending on what I’m aiming to treat.

Khapang at 180 Health Club or Diana Augustoni in NYC for brow lamination.

Volker Scheid for Chinese herbal concoctions.