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We spend a third of our lives asleep—that means our bedroom is the most lived-in space in our homes. It’s the room where we start and end our days, and that’s why the rituals that happen there are extra-important. In The Wind Down, we’ll be exploring the nighttime routines of people we admire and taking their advice to make the moments just before bed feel our best.

You might know Mi-Anne Chan for her ability to pull off truly any hair color and her expertise with vibrant eyeliners, but when she gets home after a long day, the video director is all about keeping things low key. And that always means changing into sweatpants, eating dinner, and diving into her ever-varied skincare routine. 

Though she experiments with her makeup on the daily (think: polka-dot eyeliner, watercolor-like eyeshadow, and cat eyes in every color of the rainbow), at night, she embraces a bit more consistency. When the sun sets, she’s always down for a sci-fi show and a glass of Ribena, among other things. Here, she shares all the ways she eases into the evening. 

But first, sweats: If I’m not doing anything after work, I’ll get home between 6:30 and 7 p.m. My boyfriend, Collin, and I start making dinner, and that’s when I change into my pj’s. I have pajamas I wear in bed and loungewear that I wear immediately when I get home—but that I don’t wear in my bed. I’m very particular about it. I really like Entireworld‘s sweats, and I also really like Hara the Label and Richer Poorer.

Hair story: After dinner, I take a shower around 8 or 8:30 p.m. I wash my hair once or twice a week maximum—it’s so color-treated, and I want to keep the color fresh. If I’m going through the full routine, I hop in the shower and wet my hair. Before shampoo I put in Olaplex No. 3. It’s really good for making my hair super soft. The only thing that sucks about it is that it’s so small. I tweeted them once like, “Come on guys, could it be bigger than the size of a tangerine?”   

While I let that sit in my hair, I usually also clean the bathroom or shave my legs. Then I hop in the shower and wash it out with a cleanser. I’ve really been enjoying Hairstory’s New Wash—it’s like a cleansing conditioner, but compared to others it’s quite light. It leaves my hair feeling really soft, especially combined with the Olaplex. I towel dry my hair by squishing it instead of rubbing it, and then I slap in a little bit of an anti-frizz cream—I really like the Seed Phytonutrients one.

Face forward: I really like the balm cleansers from Farmacy and Naturopathica—but really, any one that’s going to eat away at waterproof mascara is golden. Then I use a liquid cleanser—right now, I’m using the Löwengrip Cell Renewal Cleanser. I’m okay with any gentle cleanser that doesn’t have sulfates in it.

Skin saviors: I’m always cycling through different products, but there are many I always go back to. I love Pixi Glow Tonic and Glossier Solution. But if I’m going to use a retinol or an AHA, I’ll use more of a neutral toner, like Tower28’s SOS Spray. For serums, I really like Biossance Squalane Retinol Serum, the Farmacy AHA serum, and the Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Serum. If I’m breaking out, I use the Renée Rouleau Pore and Wrinkle Serum—that one’s really nice because it’s designed specifically for millennials who are dealing with acne but want to start doing an anti-aging routine. Then, I apply a cream or an oil on top. I love the Josh Rosebrook Vital Balm Cream. There’s an amazing facialist in Williamsburg, Sandra Lanshin Chiu, and she created a gua sha tool that I use. Then I finish off my skincare with the Bite Agave lip mask.

Sweet tooth: Sometimes I crave sugar in the evening, so I drink a cordial called Ribena. It’s a black currant syrup that you mix with water. I grew up drinking it with my family in Singapore, and I love it. 

Best bed: I like my pillow to be super thin, and I use a silk pillowcase from Slip because it makes my hair less frizzy. I have pale gray sheets from Buffy, as well as their comforter.

Nightstand essentials: I keep a face spray next to my bed and a big Mason jar of water.

Aromatherapy: There’s a candle that I really love by this French brand, Mademoiselle Lulubelle, and it’s a scent called Charmante Ingénue. It’s one of my favorite candles—it’s fresh but sweet at the same time. I got it from my cousin who lives in France, and I’m burning it so slowly because it’s just so nice.

Perfect pj’s: I actually exclusively wear XL men’s T-shirts to bed—usually all band tees with guitars on them or something. I can’t even wear socks.

Wake-up call: I have a very simple alarm on my phone. I always snooze it, and then I’m always late. 

Stream team: I’m one of those people who likes to watch, like, at least two episodes of a show before I sleep to get in the mindset that I’m relaxing. Usually, my boyfriend and I will watch movies or TV in bed. We love a good Canadian-filmed sci-fi show. Right now, we’re watching The 100. Sometimes we’ll watch reruns of Nathan for You and Key & Peele. And I love crime shows—I’m obsessed with SVU.

Read it and sleep: If I’m feeling restless, I just kind of lie there. I might take my phone out and put it on the dimmest level of brightness and read long-form features I’ve saved in Pocket. It gets me into a place where I can eventually doze off.

Lights out between midnight and 1 a.m.

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