In conversation with Estée Lalonde
For this month’s conversation, I give you the wonderful Estée Lalonde, founder of an amazing beauty MIRROR WATER. I especially love Estée’s simple feel good tips, when I first read them I shouted “snap” out loud! She’s also kindly shared an exclusive MIRROR WATER 15% discount code exclusively for paid subscribers (at the end of our chat). I especially love the journal, pictured below, which I bought last year and have nearly filled.
Let me know who you’d like to hear from next in the comments section below. You can catch up on my previous chat with Donna Lancaster here and with Kimberley Wilson here. Stay tuned for next month’s very special guest, Dr Rupy of The Doctor’s Kitchen.
You and what you do in a nutshell?
Well, I started creating content online over 10 years ago to help me build a community & make friends when I moved to a the UK from Canada. So much has changed since I started, but the driving force behind everything I do in my career has remained the same. I still love creating content to connect with people.
In 2021, I launched my bath/body care brand called MIRROR WATER. The pandemic made it clear to me that myself and others are craving connection, self-reflection and growth. It began to make so much sense for me to create a lifestyle brand focused on creating those rituals of relaxation to encourage self-reflection. My biggest goal for the brand is for people to indulge in whatever makes them feel good, so they can connect with themselves and the people around them in a more meaningful way.
What makes you feel your best?
I feel my best when I make time to check-in with myself. That could be taking a bath, giving myself 5 minutes extra in the evening to take time with my skincare, or just calling up a friend and having a chat. Whenever I make it a priority to take a moment for myself, I show up better in every way.
I also love to spend time in the forest with my dog Effie! No wifi for the weekend in a cottage surrounded by nature? Sign me up.
Please share some of your feel good tips?
Getting outside first thing in the morning with my dog Effie is so great for my mind. I don’t always want to do it, but I’m so glad when I do. I like to get my steps in and spending time with her each morning always grounds me and starts my day off well.
My day can be quite hectic. I often feel like I’m being pulled in a million directions at once. It’s so important to breathe. Sometimes I don’t think it will make a big difference, but I take some deep breaths and I genuinely do feel less anxious.
For the evening nothing quite hits like the ritual of a bath. It’s my time to escape from the world, process the day and totally relax. Using products like my soak, bath salts from MIRROR WATER to help me fully get into the relaxation zone!
What’s your favourite season?
I’m a Leo so I’m ALL about Summer! For one, it’s my birthday month & London in the summer is always such a vibe! I love not having to think about what I’m wearing and chuck on a pair of shorts with a t-shirt. Heaven!
What do you like to cook? Or what’s the ingredient you couldn’t live without or best sums you up?
Recently I can’t stop making soup! It’s super easy but I always feel a sense of accomplishment when it’s done. It’s become a full obsession of mine and it’s quite a handy thing to have in the fridge when you’re in a pinch.
Your fave comfort meal
A ham & cheese omelet with chips is my ultimate comfort meal, nothing beats it!
What’s your afternoon pick me up?
A cup of tea will forever be my favourite afternoon pick me up. When I want to treat myself I’ll run out and grab a Chai Latte to keep me going for the rest of the day.
A ‘chore’ you find satisfying and relaxing?
Changing my bedsheets on a Sunday! It’s part of my Sunday reset ritual to start the week fresh. There’s something so cleansing about stripping the bed, putting everything in the washing machine and fluffing your duvet up. I find that I sleep better on those days too!
A book you’d recommend we read immediately
Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn! It’s such a beautiful book of essays about all the different types of love we have in our lives. It gave me so much comfort and more understanding of all the different types of love you can experience, and how to nurture & grow with those connections.
Tell us about a small business you love
Anyone who follows me knows I obsess over Earl of East. They have the most beautifully curated products. It’s a marketplace to shop independent artists but they also have their own products. One of my favourites has to be the Shinrin-Yoku Soy Wax Candle.
Your special place - UK? / rest of the planet?
Recently I have been loving getting out of London with Effie. She’s her best self in the countryside so anytime we can get away for a few days we make a little trip. We recently stayed at a treehouse in the Cotswolds and it was pure heaven!
Estee has kindly shared an exclusive 15% off MIRROR WATER with the code MELISSA15. Enjoy!
You can check out Estée’s brand MIRROR WATER here and follow her on instagram here. As I shared in this recent newsletter, MIRROR WATER is one of my beauty favourites. If you’d like to have a nosy at lots more of my beauty favourites, you can do that here!