Morning Routine with Brooke Kiernan McCallion
I am so excited to introduce the first edition of a new series, Morning Routine, here on Simply Elegant. I have been wanting to do interviews with inspiring women in creative fields for a while now, but I wanted to take time to develop the right angle. Instead of attempting to accomplish too much in a short interview — I have narrowed it down to focus on Morning Routines. We are all so busy, I find most of us have created habits and schedules that are productive, efficient and unique. While it is fun to hear about someone’s recent favorites as we see most often on blogs; I also love hearing about the tried and true favorites that people return to again and again.
To begin I am excited to introduce one of my favorite 'blogger friends' Brooke Kiernan McCallion. We bonded months ago over email about natural skincare and Beautycounter. Brooke is a graphic designer and lives in Charleston. Keep reading below to learn about Brooke's tried and true favorites.
Rise and Shine
I wake up early at 6 AM every morning! I feel much more productive and awake in the morning than at night. I’m usually woken up by my dog Charlie or iPhone alarm!
I roll out of bed, open all the blinds and curtains, then walk to the kitchen to make coffee. I live for coffee.
Skincare
I always shower before work and use all Beautycounter products since I love them and work for the company! I wash my face with the Nourishing Cream Cleanser then tone it with Rosewater before applying the Nourishing Day Cream and Rejuvenating Eye Cream.
Morning Eats
My ideal morning would start with lemon ginger tumeric tea before my coffee, but that doesn’t happen everyday! I always bring a piece of fruit (apple, banana, berries) to work and eat it with lots of almond butter at my desk around 9 AM. I’m always trying to cut down on my waste so instead of buying containers of almond butter, I bring a mason jar to the grocery store and fill it up with freshly ground almond butter. Just go to the register before you check out to get your jar weighed and they will take off the price of the weight at checkout!
Start the Day on the Right Foot...
I always try to work on my blog in the morning, answer emails, and get fresh air, even if it’s just 10 minutes. I also oil pull for 10ish minutes while my coffee is brewing!
Daily Sweat
I love to exercise before work because it helps me feel so much more awake. I will run to the gym and lift weights or do a Kayla Itsines workout in my living room, which are so efficient!
Go - To Uniform
Since it’s really hot in Charleston, I wear shorts everyday, but bring a scarf to keep me warm in the A/C. My uniform = denim shorts, a flowly white top and cute sandals! But my recent obsession are these Isabel Marant espadrilles.
A Touch of Makeup
I always wear the Beautycounter Tinted Moisturizer w/SPF 20 and Pen Concealer to brighten up my eyes. Then apply the Matte Bronzer and finish by filling in my eyebrows and applying Lip Sheer in Twig!
Off to Work
My very kind boyfriend drops me off every morning since it’s been so hot. But I love to bike to work in the cooler months!
Work, Work, Work
I am a Senior Graphic Designer at Cobble Hill, which is a digital creative agency. I mostly design websites for fun clients, but will also do branding and packaging design. I always try to get to work a little before nine!
Cobble Hill is super organized, it’s amazing. We communicate through Slack, organize projects in Basecamp, and host all our files on Dropbox. So basically, I don’t have to do much! But to keep track of all my creative thoughts, I sketch and write in my notebook.
Daily Mindset
In college, a friend of a friend started to text daily quotes said or written by Catholic saints. I texted her to sign up and have been receiving one everyday for three years now. I love them because they pop up at random times of the day and always put any stress or anxiety in perspective.
