The Routine | Elise’s Nighttime Wellness Routine

The Routine is a key element within Sijo. Our goal is not only to provide you with comfortable bedding that will leave you blissfully dreaming. We aim to create a complete environment of calm, happiness, and comfort in your home. 

That desire led us to create our signature routine, which includes 4 key steps: Environment, Body, Mind, and Rest. 

Today, we’re exploring how one team member, Elise, makes this nighttime routine her own, and what she does to wind down at the end of each day.

Elise’s Routine

The first thing I do when I arrive home from work is going to sound completely ridiculous. I love to walk in and start putting anything away that I may have left out in a rush that morning, or if I was responsible that morning, to put away and sort mail, my bag, my jacket, etc. 

Having a tidy, sorted out space makes me feel good, and sets me up for a night of calm. After that I make dinner, light a candle (currently rotating our Bergamot Citrus -- beautiful fragrance in the kitchen -- and Sandalwood Rose) and enjoy my meal. 

Once that’s through, I clean up again and take some time to watch a show/movie or FaceTime with any friends or family who don’t live nearby. Sometimes, I’ll have a cup of tea (my favorites are the Soothe tea or an Arabic tea that my parents send me) and something sweet. 

Next is my incredibly extensive shower and skincare routine. I am a beauty product obsessee, and I am so vocal about it that it’s a feature point in my Instagram feed and bio. I’m super lucky to have brands I’ve loved for years featured on our website. I use scrubs and oils from Little Barn Apothecary often (my favorite scrub is this one, and for oil, I love this one), and the Restore Aura Spray from Therapie any time I need a pick-me-up. The Equilibrium bath and shower essence is also INCREDIBLE. 

My skincare routine follows once I’m out of the shower, and the list of things I try is so extensive, that in the interest of your time, I will spare you. But I do a facial massage with my serum to reduce puffiness nightly, and am currently using our rose quartz roller. I have been a fan of rollers and gua sha tools for a long time, and was thrilled when we decided we wanted to develop and share them on the site. I’ve spent tons of time playing around with our rollers and gua sha tools and am just floored at how much they have exceeded my expectations. I love them so much.

I read every night before I go to bed, and a few nights a week, I do a practice called “20 minutes.” My middle school English teacher (who, surprise!, is also my mother) had us do an activity where we wrote stream of consciousness style for 20 minutes each day during the school year. It was to help us put pen to paper and immediately write, and it has been so therapeutic for me that I have continued doing this a few times a week into my adult life. My mom actually doesn’t know that, so mom, if you’re reading this, it works! Keep doing this with your students.

After HOURS of ignoring my bed (mainly for the purpose of helping me sleep), I finally jump in! I keep a little spray bottle with a diluted version of one of the lavender-based essential oil blends to spray on my pillow. The lavender in the Calm blend not only helps me sleep, but soothes my chronic migraines. I sleep in our Bamboo Lyocell sheets (I have a complete set in Snow) because it keeps me cool and comfortable all night. 

And that’s it! I try to pack a lot into my evenings, but always try to keep the last hour or so as relaxing and soothing as possible. This, of course, changes if I have after work plans (not the skincare. It’s an intense process every night, no matter how late I come home), but I always try to ease myself into the night. Sleep is hugely important to me, and helps me to feel strong and well. I’ve experimented with so many pre-sleep rituals, and am glad to have found this one.