“People don't just want to look good, they also want to feel good,” explains Mélanie Huynh the founder of Holidermie.
The Parisian who started her career on the editorial staff of her home country’s Vogue, oozes chic in the kind of way only a French woman can. “I started as a stylist and of course, I was doing a lot of fashion and a lot of beauty shoots and that's also how I really fell in love with beauty.” She worked for almost 10 years on editorials for the revered magazine, so what she doesn’t know about looking your best isn’t really worth knowing. According to her there’s no point trying to take shortcuts on the path to feeling your best, "you have to exercise, you have to sleep, there is no quick fix."
After spending years in contact with the most cutting-edge and visionary experts in the world of beauty thanks to her job, and growing up with an acute knowledge of yoga, meditation and mindfulness thanks to her dual-Franco-Chinese heritage she started the cult-favourite holistic wellness brand, which has earned her the moniker of the 'French Gwenyth Paltrow.' "I think I have the mix of the French side of my mother, and her approach to beauty", she says “and my father who is Asian with taking care of what's inside and food supplements."
Despite many of us concurring that, there simply isn’t the time to dedicate ourselves to wellness, Huynh manages to balance motherhood with running a business, "What I love with Holidermie, is its more a lifestyle so you can bring the products with you all day long in your bag or in your bathroom. It makes life easier actually." (For what it's worth she's not wrong, her Holidermie coffee capsules do two jobs in one - I now get my caffeine and collagen all at once. I've been bringing them to the office ever since.)
Below, Huynh shares her exact routine:
Dry Brushing
I always like the same ritual in the morning. I wake up very early, when I wake up, I do some dry brushing.
Oil Pulling
After I do my tongue cleaning, and then put in the oil pulling, go in the shower, then spit out my oil pulling.
Face Yoga
After getting out of the shower I do some face yoga and Gua Sha, I love Gua Sha and it’s good to just give the face some drainage.
Skin Care
After I just apply my skincare, my serums and I always put on some sunscreen with SPF.
Wellness
Afterwards I go for a green juice, I take my supplements and every day I do a bit of exercise, either cardio, yoga or boxing. Then I head to the office.
Supplements
During the day I always grab one or two collagen cocoa cubes, and some gummies for my hair.
Evening
In the evening I always take care of my skin, not for long because I'm busy, I'm a mum. But even if I take like, 5 to 10 minutes, it's enough. It's better to do it every day than just one hour every three weeks.