The #ITGTopShelfie interview series focuses on the beauty routines of Into The Gloss' lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Submit your own on Instagram—post your Top Shelfie (tag us @intothegloss!) and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie for a chance to be featured on ITG.
"I'm Emma Hutton (@weequizzie) and I'm a copywriter. I live in Camberwell in southeast London, and I get to work from home, which is good and bad. It's good that I can structure my day to be more productive, plus I can hang out with my cat and I don't end up spending all my cash at coffee shops. Some days, though, I’m in my pajamas from the moment I sit at my desk until the moment my boyfriend comes home from work. I always look forward to ‘Freelancer Fridays’ with my best friend. We both work for ourselves so we sneak occasional Fridays where we meet up, watch movies, drink coffee and laugh until our faces hurt.
As somebody who works from home, I try to stick to a routine—it always starts with coffee. I don't, however, stick to many routines for beauty. Every day is different and our moods change, so I just go with how I feel. Some days I just need to wash my face and other days I need the whole shebang and that’s cool. As long as I spend some time taking care of me and checking in with what I need to feel good then that’s enough. The one thing I do consistently is apply Bio-Oil after every shower or bath, as a kindness to myself. I'm a hot cloth face washer so I've got a load of balms that I switch between... My favorites are the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm, Sunday Riley Blue Moon Balm and Eve Lom’s Morning Time Cleanser. I also love a really good lip balm, but I want a matte finish. I've stuck to Nuxe Reve de Miel for a couple of years but I jumped on the By Terry Baume de Rose bandwagon lately and now I get it. It’s so good.
I'll tone with acid–Glow Tonic by Pixi or Dr. Gross' Extra Strength Alpha Beta Peel-and then a I use a good serum and moisturizer. I'm really into the The Ordinary Buffet and Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Serums from Deciem at the minute. Moisturizer is Tidal by Sunday Riley or Clinique Moisture Surge and then Zelens Daily Defence Sunscreen or Clinique Super City Block on top. At night I love an oil and right now I mix it up between my old faithful Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate with Luna by Sunday Riley and The Ordinary’s 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil.
Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Face Primer is the best. THE BEST. It gives you just enough luminosity to make you look alive when you're dying inside. I use Chanel Vitalumière Aqua or regular Vitalumière Foundation depending on the time of year and how my skin is feeling. I apply with my fingers and blend out with a Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush. Using a brush for foundation application has changed my life, the finish is just so much better. If I'm heading out in the evening or need a little more light in my face I’ll add Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl to the tops of my cheekbones. It’s magic. On my lashes, I'm crazy about DHC Perfect Pro Double Protection Mascara at the minute. Eyebrows are filled in with Suqqu Balancing Eyebrow Palette or Charlotte Tilbury’s Legendary Brows in Cara. I keep making appointments to get my brows threaded, but I always bail! I feel terrible calling them back, 'Hey, so sorry, but I can't make it. Again.' The fear of someone just taking too much and losing the shape forever is just too much.
I found out MAC's Dare You Cremesheen is a good dupe for the lipstick Phoebe Waller-Bridge wears in Fleabag so I’ve been wearing that a lot lately. I love a good matte lipstick too–MAC’s All Fired Up is probably my favorite, or La Diva by Chanel—but they can kill your lips. Now that we're heading into winter I'm sticking with Dare You and a bit of Black Orchid by Tom Ford. Since I work from home I don’t feel as though I need to make that much of an effort makeup-wise and a lot of the time I don’t. But some days, I’ll whack on some Nars Schiap or Tom Ford Cherry Lush. Occasionally, you just have to."
—as told to ITG
