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Olivia Chantecaille

learned about the family beauty business, Chantecaille, at a young age from her entrepreneur mother Sylvie, who developed the Prescriptives brand for Estee Lauder. Olivia has been the brand’s creative director for many years and having grown up amongst lab samples, is involved in every aspect of the brand’s business including its myriad philanthropic works (proceeds from sales of certain products go to help endangered wildlife and support clean oceans).

We checked in with the NYC-based beauty maven to see how she winds down on the weekends and what she does in order to reset for the week ahead.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I give my daughter Delphina a kiss and grab my bottle of Pure Rosewater from my bedside table and give us all a spritz—it’s energizing and refreshing and wakes my skin up. Sometimes we’ll snuggle if there’s time, or other times we’ll head straight to the kitchen for some water with lemon, which helps alkalize my system before I hit the hard stuff—coffee! Sometimes my husband will bring me coffee in bed; that’s always nice.

What are your favorite things to do for yourself on the weekends?

Unstructured family time is a weekend luxury. We have the time to get creative and do crafts or just relax. Taking some time to go to a museum and absorb some culture is a nice weekend activity, too, and often I’ll find inspiration to bring to work.

How do you unwind?

Yoga and meditation are always good for unwinding. Even if I only have ten minutes to meditate, or sit in the sun for five minutes with my eyes closed, that’s a nice reset. Taking the time to take a bath and enjoy it is something that usually only happens on weekends. (This might only happen once a year—but it’s usually on a weekend!)

How do you deal when you’re away for the weekend?

We love to escape to East Hampton, where our family has a house, for outside time in nature, away from the bustle of the city. I instantly unwind; times slows down out there. But I am never truly disconnected from work especially working in a family business. Dinner discussions can turn into plans for a new philanthropy palette or fragrance launch.

What are the activities or errands on your “must-accomplish list” every weekend?

I like to get flowers with Delphina for our house and go to Whole Foods or the Union Square Farmer’s Market to get our fresh fruits and veggies for the week. I like to do a creative project with Delphina—we like to go to a museum and find a fun, kid-oriented craft or art project that she can participate in. It’s fun to find things to do together that we’ll both enjoy.

What do you do on Sundays to prepare for the week ahead?

We get organized so that we start the week with a fresh, clean slate. We stock the fridge, do laundry, make sure that toys that have migrated into other parts of the house go back where they belong. I’ll make lists of things that have to get done for work—emails to reply to, phone calls to make. It helps me organize my calendar for the week and make sure that my priorities are in order.