The Morning Routine

I get asked this question a lot. And to be quite frank, I’m not a huge routine guy - I don’t need the familiarity of a daily or even weekly routine to keep my sanity. In the same way I, in no capacity whatsoever, need a morning coffee to function as a self-respecting sliver of a human 5 minutes after rolling out of bed. I drink coffee for the taste, for the excuse to visit a good coffee shop and enjoy the vibes, and on occasion to pair with my cigars - but my love for coffee is entirely tangential to the point of this article.

The one routine I've found myself thoroughly enjoying as of late is the infamous morning routine, yes that one plastered all over the TikTok pages of every “influencer” attempting to land the free cleanser from Clarins and the PR package from Rhode. And in no way am I throwing proverbial shade - we all start somewhere! But there is a correct way to do the morning routine, and it’s got nothing to do with a ring-light, sticky phone case, or a matcha (absolutely not). Let me tell you how it’s done.

The first thing I do every morning is open the curtains (following the eyes of course). Especially on a bright sunny morning, my apartment gets completely drenched in gold, always a great feeling before my second step; turning on my speaker. I appreciate a quiet start to the day sure, but to be completely honest, nothing gets me in a better mood than some golden classics. But this is strictly limited to a few artists. Usually its Julio Iglesias, Andrea Bocelli, or Mario Biondi. On occasion Matt Monro, Andy Williams, or Marvin Gaye creep into the mix, but my morning playlist consists of a very small selection of crooners.

Then it’s teeth - I use a SURI for those of you wanting the details - which happens to be a very aesthetically pleasing product for anyone posting bathroom pictures… I do not. Shower comes next, every morning without fail; I bounce around with products, although at the moment its Acqua di Parma (which might actually be from a recent hotel visit!). I stand firmly in the hot shower club, although on very hot summer mornings or following a workout this is flexible, and quite often I’ll turn the temperature right down to near freezing for the last 10 seconds for a real wakeup shock. A good 4.5 minutes does me well - I like to enjoy my mornings, but I also have things to do. Do I time myself? No. Did I previously use a smart shower which recorded my average shower times? Yes. I’m not Patrick Bateman people…

Curly hair isn’t the easiest to maintain, hence the compulsory morning shower to get myself looking presentable. On the off-days following a shampoo ritual, I always use Aesop violet-leaf hair balm when the hair is wet, leaving this in for a few days at a time - works a treat. Then comes the skincare, probably the most important part of the bathroom routine. One of the perks of working with exclusive brands is you meet a lot of interesting people and professionals of their respective fields. The biggest piece of skincare advice I can impart is, consistency. Doing the ritual in the morning and evening compounds over time. Prevention over cure right?

For those of you wanting a breakdown it goes like this, with the products I use: cleanser, toner, eyebalm, optional face oil, moisturiser. Twice a week I’ll also use an exfoliator and an anti-age cream for men. Over time you’ll find what works for you in terms of products, brands, and layering. I’m grateful to have a wonderful relationship with both Seed to Skin and La Mer, which have become the sole brands I use on a daily basis. However I’ve also loved using The Ordinary in the past, perhaps the the best entry-level skincare with everything you would need. That’s pretty much it. No need to go overboard and spend the entire morning in the bathroom. Get it done, and then put the espresso machine on.

Bathroom ritual over and it’s time for a coffee, not for the caffeine (I’m completely immune to its effects) but for the flavour and the process. I tend to by a small bag of beans at any one time, to give me the freedom of switching it up every few weeks from my local collection of favourite roasters. Lately it’s been the South American beans giving me my morning pleasure, although you could probably switch them for a batch grown across the nearest border and I’d be none the wiser.

Nevertheless the espresso is drunk without fail in the same place of my apartment - next to the coffee machine facing the sun-filled window, with Julio singing Mal Acostumbrado.

Then it’s time to choose the watch of the day, a whole other topic…

Happy weekend!

Azzam