March 28, 2022

Vanity Affairs: Phoebe Burgess On The Skincare Routine That Hides Her Lack Of Sleep

Warning: reading on may cause spending of excessive funds on really good beauty products.

Welcome to Vanity Affairs—a series where we document the beauty routines of notable people.

There are some people who have an I-can’t-put-my-finger-on-it kind of glow—a certain je ne sais quoi, if you will. You know the ones—their hair falls just right, their skin is dewy but never shiny, and they seem to exude confidence.

In the interest of public service, we’ve set about tracking down these actors, influencers, models, founders, entrepreneurs, musicians, spokespeople (and more!!) to find out their secrets. Have you got your pen and paper ready?

Previously, we’ve spoken to Lara FellsJules Sebastian, Georgia Fowler, Jonathan Van Ness and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Today, we’re going deep into the beauty routine of Phoebe Burgess.

Burgess is a former magazine editor turned influencer whose 86.5k Instagram fans follow her for honest insights into her life as a taste-maker and single mum. She’s also an ambassador for French beauty brand L’Occitane and for good reason—she has seriously enviable skin. 

As a mum of two, Burgess’s skincare routine is also about stealing moments for herself among the chaos (regardless of how much sleep she’s had…). Her skincare routine is focused on skin luminosity, which means even when her quality of sleep suffers, her complexion doesn’t.

Here, she shares every single product she uses in her daily beauty routine.

SKIN

“The start of my day depends 100% on the quality of sleep from the night before by the entire household.* My three year old, Billy, is the family rooster so whatever time he rises, I rise! Or, my day starts with 5 year old, Poppy, rolling over onto my side of the bed (yep, she won’t sleep anywhere else) foot in my face, literally kick-starting the day!

To be honest, my morning skin routine is the first thing I do after rolling out of bed—it wakes my body and mind up and kind of sets the tone or the mood and outlook for the rest of the day. 

If I can, I love to start the day by sneaking into the bathroom (either before they have both woken up or while Billy’s inhaling his Weet Bix and tea) to start the day with a little self love. 

I start by putting my contact lenses in, then it’s straight into a fresh, uplifting cleanse using L’Occitane’s Immortelle Divine Foaming Cleanser.

Then, after being in the sun during our little holiday escape to Yamba, I’m needing a major boost in moisture so I’ll spray (i.e: shake, spray, pat) my clean skin with L’Occitane’s Immortelle Reset TriPhase Essence (this is also a great primer for a dewy skin look) followed by their Immortelle Overnight Reset Serum (it contains these little caviar-like bubbles that pop when you press the serum into your skin). Then the Immortelle Divine Cream (if I’m still needing hydration I’ll add a few drops of the Immortelle Divine Youth Oil) goes on just before my Aspect Physical SPF 50). 

Then it’s all about breaky, teeth-cleaning, tying shoelaces and uniforms to make that school rush!

*It’s rare, but if I’ve woken up before the Rooster or his sister, Poppy, I love stepping into a silent kitchen, making a tea, and sipping it while it’s actually hot, in silence, before the rush begins…

My nightly skincare routine is such a sacred moment in my day. I will usually get around to it when I’ve wrestled the monkeys into their respective beds and I’m finally able to stop, breathe and indulge in a little self-care. I’ll usually have removed my make-up with L’Occitane’s Oil-To-Milk cleanser, while running the kids’ bath. Applying it to dry skin then rinsing off—then it’s a secondary cleanse with my Immortelle cleansing foam, followed by my L’Occitane Immortelle Overnight Reset Serum—I make sure to press and roll into my skin with either palms or a skin roller. Eye creams are a major must at night—and it’s the main area I am noticing the natural ageing of my skin, which I kind of love and am embracing as much as possible! To keep this cute, and not too sinister too quickly, I use my L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Eye and Lip Contour which is also great for the fine lines around your lips. 

I finish off with the L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Cream which is like a loving, hydrating hug enveloping your skin. It’s all about harnessing the power of the Immortelle flower (which lives on after it has been picked!!) that is ethically and sustainably grown and harvested in Corsica, promoting even skin tone, defying signs of ageing by hydrating and nourishing skin overnight, so that I wake up completely reset, balanced and ready to roll.”

Photographed by Sarah Daly

MAKEUP

“I used to believe I had a deliberate look, that was my own and one that I had invested time and effort in. But these days, at 32, being a solo mum I’m lucky to achieve: presentable. On some days, that’s a huge achievement. But the more time I have, I like to think of my make-up look as effortless, clean, fresh, and slightly chic. 

My mum always taught our family of three girls to focus our attention on good, consistent skincare routines using minimal, but effective products instead of spending the time and effort on correcting issues with make-up. So, the best look for a good base is a naturally healthy one! 

I love clean, golden skin using either a slightly dewy tinted moisturiser by Laura Mercier or the tinted serum by L’Oreal—it’s so amazing I’ve powered through four bottles! These are both buildable but sheer enough to reveal any freckles and add natural glow. For a more deliberate base, or if I’m needing to cover up blemishes and purple eye-bags I go for Westman Atelier by Gucci Westman. It’s buildable coverage using multiple shades—that come in these gorgeously chic makeup sticks—to match your actual tone that fits in your handbag! Then I add the truffle or biscuit coloured contour/bronze just under my cheekbone with a tiny amount of Minette blush (blush is a very new addition to my make up roster! Thanks to Max May I’m in love with blushtouring for that beautiful Margot Robbie esque flushed cheek look). 

Then it’s all about the fluffy brows using Hourglass Brow Gel—my tip is to press it down after applying so your brows stick upwards on your face! At the moment, when it comes to eyes, I believe in eye shadow or mascara during the day—so if I go for a slight Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk wash of colour I’ll abandon lashes. Equally, if it’s about the lashes I love a long fluffy look using Urban Decay’s Perversion or the gold Hourglass and Westman Atelier mascara

To finish it off—lips should be kissable, plump, juicy and naturally yum! I go for the Too Faced Max Lip Plumper to create a sexy, naturally coloured, juicy pout!”

HAIR

“I am very low maintenance when it comes to hair care—since having children in tandem with a pandemic, I’ve accepted lived-in-blonde with tousled (unbrushed) waves or a low bun—as my “look”. To pull off low maintenance though I do preach hair health! So, as an unnatural blonde, that means minimal heat styling and using good quality shampoo and conditioners—but less often. I adore the L’Occitane Almond Shampoo and Conditioner when I’m indulging, the smell is just heavenly and I’ll alternate this with washing my hair maybe once a week using the Olaplex Bond Maintenance series—No 6 is the leave-in treatment I swear by especially at the beach when I’m not washing my hair at all but trying to look after it!  

I also love Kerastase’s Blonde Absolu masque, or CicaExtreme when I’m really trying to push my colour out, it’s tres iso-chic. Then it’s all about The Dyson to ensure I’m preventing the inevitable snapping that comes with too much heat on bleached hair!” 

BODY

“It’s madness that we tend to focus so much of our resources on protecting and nourishing our faces and so often we neglect every single other part of our body! So to make sure I’m spreading the love, I make sure I have the L’Occitane Almond range which includes the Almond Shower Oil, Almond Milk Concentrate and the Almond Shower Shake. Not only is it one of my all-time favourite beauty products—ever—it’s the reason I fell in love with L’Occitane. As a 13-year-old girl, one of the first beauty products my mum every introduced me to (slash I stole from her bathroom) was the Almond Shower Oil. I knew early on looking after the skin we are given, being consistent with self-care, is the best beauty hack there is! So, eliminating dry skin, nourishing your skin, helping balance it, protect and cleanse is so important for long term skin health. I also use the shower oil to shave my legs to avoid any cuts or bumps! Then my other tip is to apply the Almond Supple Skin Oil or the Almond Milk Concentrate to your skin while it’s damp, as soon as you jump out of the shower—it locks in all the beautiful moisture.”

FRAGRANCE

“Surprise, surprise I have a couple! For my on-the-go, everyday, throw-it-in-my-handbag I have the roll on Byredo Rose of No Man’s Land or L’Occitane’s Neroli Orchidee (offers such a light, delicate sweetness without being sickly or heavy). 

And, for my occasion scent I adore cult favourite Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 or the L’Eau A La Rose for a fresh, daytime lightness. I could swim in these scents. 

My favourite scent in the entire world is ‘rose’. My mother is passionate about her garden, and we were raised to always have flowers in the home, so, for as long as I can remember my sources of comfort and safety have always had the lingering scent of roses … it signals ‘home’ for me. Peace. Safety. So, wearing a light but deeply true rose-based fragrance means I can carry those feelings around with me wherever I end up that day. I can and will hopefully pass those scents as memories on to my own babies. I am constantly encouraging my Poppy and Billy to literally stop and smell the roses.” 

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