I think it’s really important to spend time in front of the mirror looking at yourself. We don’t tend to do it often enough. I’ve got a background in psychology, and I think it’s a real therapeutic practice to spend some time in front of the mirror—barefaced—just looking at yourself, noticing your face and paying attention to yourself. It’s a really rare moment in the day. It grounds me. It makes me walk a little bit taller. I feel more sure in my skin, and that feeling of centeredness snowballs throughout the day. It’s very rare that there’s time just for you to spend with yourself. Carving out that time is really important for me. It’s easy to get swept up in the things you think you should be doing and fall into the rhythm of the rest of the world. If this past year has taught me anything, it’s that life is yours to create. By spending time with yourself—truly, deeply looking within and at yourself—questions that perhaps you haven’t asked yourself in a while naturally arise. Maybe you won’t come up with the answers straight away, but it’s really important to take control of the life you’re creating.

I don’t have a lot of stuff, quite purposefully, because I’ve moved around a lot over the last 10 years. But my most treasured possession, at the moment, is my first piece of artwork, which I bought by an artist named Joy Yamusangie. It’s of a person flying a kite. The kite reminds me to be as free as possible. To be as playful as possible. To take a moment to breathe and enjoy whatever is around me. To be present.

I’ve just recently come to understand the power of serums. I have quite naturally oily skin, so I’ve tended to veer away from anything that feels moisturizing, or heavy, in texture. At the same time, my skin is quite dehydrated. I used to be very strict in going cleanser, toner, and sometimes I’d skip moisturizer, which is awful. Now, I know better. Once you know better, you do better. I’m treating my skin as though I love it, and I want to take care of it. It’s not something I’m just extracting out of, but something I’m giving back to as well. I’ve learned that in the form of serums. My skin just looks more alive. I’ve got quite an alive energy, in spirit, so I want my skin to match that. I think vitamin C serum, which brightens the skin, syncs up the alive spirit with the alive skin.