Self-care will forever be our favourite hobby but we appreciate that recharging and putting yourself first looks different for everyone. Each week, we'll be asking the celeb lot to share their ideal self-care Sunday routines, the hard-working beauty products they recommend to their friends and which TV show they're currently binging…
This week it's all about Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, best known for winning the eighth series of Love Island and quickly becoming the nation's favourite thanks to her hilarious one-liners, glorious outfits and her ongoing beef with a 'cursed' yellow beanbag. Lol. She has since starred on Celebrity Big Brother, The Traitors US and even penned her very own book - Be Your Own Best Friend: And Other Lessons From A Life In And Out Of The Limelight.
Brand partnerships come and go, but Ekin-Su has stayed loyal to BPerfect since leaving the villa, launching her best-selling collection with the Irish beauty brand. Testament to how good the products are, she's received thousands of rave reviews and her cult Radiant Glow Face Perfector, £16.95 is forever going TikTok-viral.
"BPerfect feels like family," Ekin-Su tells heat. "If I’m sad about something, all I want to do is visit Brendan [McDowell] or go and see their offices. There’s something about them which doesn’t feel like work even when we’re releasing products, it just feels right."
She adds, "It all started in the villa when I used their body glow and it was only right to work with them after as I was already using all their products."
Ekin-Su chats exclusively to heat about her favourite make-up tips, the true meaning of wellness and her favourite glow secret for award ceremonies and filming...
On self-care
"Self-care is this little corner here [Ekin shows us a cosy corner in her home]. You’ve got scent sticks, you’ve got plants. I sit on this chair and I read a book - usually about self-improvement and getting rid of negative thoughts. Or sometimes I’ll sit here and have a few candles on. I’ll put on my favourite song that I listened to as a kid. It just brings back memories of before this life. It grounds me.
"Sometimes I have a phone call with someone I like on this very chair or have a chocolate bar FaceTiming friends or just smell my candles. It's the little things that make me feel humble and human."
On skincare
What are Ekin-Su's favourite tips for great skin?
"For me, it’s always been to not sleep with your make-up on. When I was younger I used to go out and then sleep with my make-up on and I never understood why my mum would be so strict about it. She would also tell me to moisturise my neck and I would be like, ‘Why am I moisturising my neck?’ She was prepping me when I was younger and her favourite secret for good skin has always been rose - rose oil and rose water.
"These products aren’t actually expensive and you can get them pretty much everywhere for cheap, but it’s the key ingredient for smooth, youthful skin. It works for dry and oily skin and it’s just always been my mum’s go-to in her skincare routine. I always switch up my skincare brands but I always come back to rose oil, it’s the best. It’s also so good to help your hair grow too, my hair has grown really long now."
On make-up tips
"Less is more. It doesn’t matter what age you are, I personally believe less is more. We’re all blessed with lovely unique faces and we shouldn’t cover them too much. We should enhance the beauty we have. You want to be recognisable and sometimes when you put on too much make-up, it can hide your natural beauty."
On make-up for filming
"Whenever I get my make-up done, I always introduce them to BPerfect products and they’re always so surprised at how good the quality is. On the show with Andy Cohen, I actually used my red lip kit - the Play Me Duo, £19. Everyone was asking me what I was wearing and I was like, ‘Listen, it’s only BPerfect and it’s from my new range!"
BPerfectwww.bperfectcosmetics.com
This affordable duo contains a satin lipstick and creamy liner in the perfect red.
"I also use the Radiant Glow, £16.25 for everything. I use it for award nights, date nights, and day-to-day. In the summer, if I don’t want anything on my face I just use the glow."
Beauty Baywww.beautybay.com
Forever going viral on TikTok, the multi-use glow is packed full of hydrating ingredients and is instant radiance in a bottle.
"If I’m doing a TV appearance, I also like to use a lighter, thicker concealer under my eye and make sure to really powder it so when I’m on screen I look really awake otherwise you can look a bit tired."
On daily wellness habits
"I love dancing! Behind closed doors, I put on songs, pretend I have a microphone and it’s a concert and everyone is watching. It feels great and it’s my sort of thing. I also love singing in the bath. Singing is great for everyone, and I'm sure people can relate. It doesn't matter if you can sing or not. It's just a feeling, isn't it?"
On life-changing books
"I read a book when I was younger called The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and it teaches you how to deal with confusing people and understand the human mind and how the mind is just a chemical. Negative thoughts aren’t real and things like that.
"Another thing that grounds me is when I’m on a flight and I’m up in the air and I look down and everyone looks like ants. I feel like everyone’s worries mean nothing when you look down on a flight because everyone looks so tiny! When you’re on the ground everything feels so over the top, big and exaggerated - problems seem so huge. We’re actually tiny when you look at the galaxy."
On great advice
"Someone sent me a video on TikTok that showed sand going through an hourglass. It said how the sand at the bottom is the past, the sand falling down now is the present and the sand above is the future and we don’t know what the future will bring.
"It was a message to stop worrying about tomorrow, stop worrying about what happens in three hours, and focus on that one second now and be grateful for it. Because we don't know how much time is left. We don't know how much sand is left in everyone's lives. We don't know when that sand is going to end. You have to be grateful that the sand is still going."
Quickfire round:
What show are you currently watching? Love Is Blind - I love the concept of meeting someone without seeing them. It's bringing back the old days and I love that.
How do you like your cuppa? My coffee order is a flat white with oat milk.
Go-to loungewear brand? I really like Boux Avenue, I've been wearing it since the villa.
Everyday perfume? Baccarat Rouge I have bottles of it! That is my scent, people know me from that.
Go-to takeaway order? I love Sushi.
Favourite candle? Jo Malone Gingerbread Biscuit.
The NEW BPerfect Cosmetics X Ekin-Su range can be purchased from BPerfect with prices starting from £10.95
Aimee Jakes is heat’s trending content editor. As well as writing about skincare launches, high-street fashion and gym bag essentials, she’s forever chatting to celebs about their fancy beauty routines. Follow her on Instagram here.