To me, beauty is as much internal as it is external, from what you put on your skin to what you ingest, to your attitude. Beauty is wellness and feeling good.
What is Beauty to you?
On Skincare
My skincare routine is very simple. I have sensitive & eczema-prone skin and have learnt that less really is more. I only wash my face with water, no face wash, I know that might not be good, but it works for me. Then I apply Eucerin Urea Repair Crème Visage 5% d’Urée for very dry skin. I do this day and evening. Under my eyes in the morning I use this Chanel Camelia Rouge Revitalisant. If my skin feels a bit dryer I will double up my cream and apply the Chanel Camelia rouge face cream, I don’t know why this works considering my skin is so sensitive but it just does. When I’m out in the sun I use the beauty of Joseon sunscreen.
In Manuela's File
“Makes my hair light and airy and soft.”
“Mac pencil in Whirl – The perfect shade if I want to amp up my makeup a bit.”
“Silky, textured and blends in to look like skin.”
“I like having good-smelling hair and skin, so I use this on my body.”
“I use this once a month and it draws everything out and cleans the skin
deeply.”
On Make-up
I love to keep my makeup really simple. The Chanel concealer “le correcteur” has been my go-to for years, it’s very translucent so it just looks natural, I use a dot under my eyes. I wear blush every day, I love MAC “Gentle”. I brush my eyebrows with NYX eyebrow gel – I have thick eyebrows that won’t move and this is the only product that has really worked. Then I put on my go-to lip balm that I get from Monoprix called Labello in Cherry, the only lip balm/tint I use.
For night time it’s the same. I’ll just use Mac lip liner in Whirl and NYX in Brown but I like to look natural.
On Haircare
I have thick, curly and wavy hair. I tend to wash it once or twice a week max. I shampoo with Davines Replumping, then I use a mix of Davines Love mask and Furterer Tonucia – it makes your hair smell incredible and then I shampoo again with Pureology Hydrate. I like to shampoo my roots again after conditioner because I love a really clean feeling scalp. Then, I use the Davines OI all-in-one milk spray. This product has saved my hair from living in Paris with the hard water, it’s a miracle in a bottle. My secret to having my hair fall in place is going to sleep with freshly washed wet hair, I always wake up with the perfect amount of waves/curls. I like it when my hair looks beachy and undone.
On Health and Wellness
I love health and wellness. I’m always seeking out new rituals to add to my routine. The ones I stand by are scraping my tongue and brushing my teeth first thing in the morning and flossing my teeth every night. Having good dental hygiene is so important.
Every morning I stretch for 15 mins, drink maca root powder and take my supplements with my breakfast. I swear by taking a mix of four types of Magnesium, biotin, and vitamin K2&D3. I drink at least 3 litres of water a day, I put electrolytes in my first litre of water. I try to meditate but it’s more breathwork, I focus on my breathing a lot throughout the day. I find this to be a game changer for mindset and focus. I focus on feeling good in my body too; I see an osteopath every 2 weeks, and do acupuncture and cupping therapy every few months. Since I live in Paris I just walk everywhere. It’s easy to get in 10k steps in a day and tend to double or triple this on weekends. I also do yoga 4 x a week.
At the end of every day I lay in bed with my legs up on the wall for 10 mins to help with lymphatic drainage. Voilà.
On Fragrance
I’m very sensitive to perfumes, unfortunately they give me awful headaches.
I like having good-smelling hair and skin so I apply the Davines Oi spray to my hair and L’Occitane supple skin almond oil on my body.
Manuela's Directory
Maison Suisen in Paris for massages
Formula Fig for facials in Vancouver and LA.
“If my skin feels a bit dryer, I will double up my cream and apply the Chanel Camelia Rouge face cream.”