Millie Kendall's 7 secrets of beauty and wellbeing
Millie Kendall MBE is the ultimate beauty insider – and gorgeous in every way. After founding Ruby & Millie cosmetics, Millie joined forces with Anna-Marie Solowij, formerly beauty director of Vogue, to launch BeautyMART, the ultimate edit of beauty products. You can find BeautyMART online (thisisbeautymart.com) and on the high street in Topshop at Oxford Circus, London. Here Millie tells us what keeps her boat floating calmly from day to day. In the mornings, I have 20 to 30 minutes of alone time to prepare my mind and body. I spend time at my dressing table after my shower. I massage myself top to toe with body oils and creams. The whole ritual is really emotionally balancing as well as physically beneficial.
I eat dinner at breakfast. Nothing beats a piece of chicken and spinach then a black coffee.
I keep a skin hydrating spray with me everywhere – desk, kitchen, car and in my bag. My beauty career started with working for a Japanese company so I have always been into hydrating mists, toners and what are now called cleansing waters. Water with added amino acids reduces dullness and the coolness of a fine mist helps puffiness. I have several favourites at the moment: Honest Beauty Elevated Hydration Mist is in my bag, Caudalie Grape Water on my desk and I love Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist.
It’s important to recharge my batteries at weekends. I totally block out work and focus on my kids, going to the park and playing sports. The sound of children laughing always makes me happy – and sunshine and green space in towns. I play tennis with a journalist friend, go to a boxing class on Fridays and I do a bit of yoga at home, alone or with my daughter.
I am quite a minimal make-up wearer, which is ironic given my job and the fact that I owned a make-up brand. My basics are a tinted moisturiser or light foundation, lip balm or gloss, mascara, eyeliner and eyelash curler. The products vary daily. Base could be a NARS tinted moisturiser, EX invisiwear for more full coverage but a light finish, and an Erno Lazlo absolute finish for evening wear. Lips could be anything from Carmex to Lucas PawPaw, or something fun like luv-2-kiss from Korea. Mascara is anything from Maybelline to Chanel. My favourite eyeliner – always brown or blue - is Glo & Ray ocean liner in blue or make-up artist Jillian Dempsey’s range of kohl liners. The only lash curler I like is the plastic Ruby & Millie ones, as it doesn’t pinch the eye area at all. But the line is no longer in production so I now have to buy them on eBay when I need a replacement.
I am short, which means people look down on my face so I always coat the tops of my blonde eyelashes with mascara before putting loads on the underside. Otherwise the tops don't match the bottoms.
The best wellbeing tip I have ever been given is that everything can wait… I shoulder stress fairly well but I have learnt to slow down and put things off when I feel under too much pressure. I would tell my teenage self to sleep lots and don't stress, to work hard and never let anyone down. Everything works out in the end.