KISS FM’s Tinea Taylor talks self-care and the £4 vitamin C spritz she swears by

Plus the inspiring books she's been reading over lockdown 👏🏻

Updated on18 02 2022

We love a bit of self-care and all this time at home has really given us an excuse to look after ourselves inside and out. Each week, we'll be asking the celeb lot to share their Sunday self-care routines, because taking care of yourself is more important than ever.

Tinea Taylor is a KISS FM presenter and probably has the coolest job on the planet. Everyday is different in radio, she explains, from DJing in front of 25,000 people at a gig in Malta to interviewing Lady Gaga.

"She was exactly how I expected her to be," Tinea laughs, "she was wearing a wedding dress, she came out of a taxi barefoot and was covered in white paint. It was near Halloween and she loved the decor in the office and said, "this is just like my bedroom!"

Tinea tells heat how she relaxes after a hard day at work (spoiler alert: it involves an actual cupboard), her loungewear staples and her AM skincare routine...

On her Sunday self-care routine

The radio presenter always starts her Sunday with a hardcore Instagram Live workout with Ciara London.

"I know some people will be like, 'ugh, really?' but honestly, it just sets me up for the day. I literally jump out of bed, put on my workout gear, head to my living room and do an Instagram Live workout. I’m a proud member of Ciara London’s squad and I always do her workouts."

Tinea was one of the lucky ones who managed to bag all the gym gear at the start of lockdown. WE KNOW.

"At the start of lockdown I bought a mat, resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, so I kind of have my own home gym workout kit." she says. "Everyone has their own thing, some people meditate, some people pray and mine is exercise."

"Sunday is also a wash day for me," says Tinea, "I wash my hair pretty much every Sunday. I have black hair so it’s a process not a wash and go. I like to shampoo and condition and then use a leave in hair mask. I’m quite lazy, some people will say to leave it in for 30 minutes and I’ll watch two episodes of Son's Of Anarchy and leave it in for hours!"

"I love using African Pride Leave In Conditioning sprayand Cantu Leave In Conditioner is another favourite of mine."

Another beauty product that Tinea swears by for self-care Sundays is the cult Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Maskfrom The Body Shop. "I leave it on for around 15 to 20 minutes and once I’ve wiped it away with a flannel and warm water, I have such nice skin. I’ve been using that mask for about two years now!"

Next up are pyjamas, which Tinea explains are a Sunday must. Our kind of girl, tbh.

"I love to have a really long shower and put on fresh pyjamas, as I just want to feel really comfortable. I am lazy! I might move my duvet to the living room. This is my downtime! This is where I get to do absolutely nothing."

"I also talk for a living. My sisters will call my phone and be like, 'you never pick up!' and explain that I literally spend all week talking and I can’t have conversations right now! I always try and put my phone away."

On dealing with stressful AF day

"The first thing I do is I lie on my sofa and I have a glass of red wine! I'm not even going to lie, I open that bottle and I'm like, 'I absolutely deserve this!'"

Since lockdown, you may have seen voiceover artists, podcasters and radio presenters sitting in a cupboard to get the right acoustics... or literally having to sit in bed and put the duvet over their head.

"I'm the cupboard girl!" Tinea laughs, "so I go in my spare room, sit on the edge of my bed and put my head in the cupboard, with a blanket over the cupboard door and that has been my makeshift studio recording booth for the last six months."

"When you've done four jobs back to back in a cupboard, at the end of the day, I need a glass of wine! "

On books that have changed her life

"I've just finished reading a sample copy of a book I was so fortunate to read called Loud Black Girls written by Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, who also wrote Slay In Your Lane.It was absolutely incredible."

"At the start of lockdown, I read Taking Up Space: The Black Girl’s Manifesto for Change by Chelsea Kwakye."

"A very very good friend of mine, Ashley Charles wrote a book called Outraged and it's about why everyone is so outraged on social media and should we be annoyed at certain things we're annoyed at and cancel culture etc."

Tinea's next book?

"The book that I'm going to get stuck into next is Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, I got it as a birthday present a few months back and haven't had a chance to read it yet. That's my next one I'm going to get stuck into."

On her favourite bargain beauty buy

Tinea reveals her favourite cheap-as-chips must-have and it's a4.99 vitamin C spritz from Superdrug.

"I'll put it on under my make-up or use it as a make-up refresher. Honestly, it just gives you a really nice glow."

On her morning skincare routine

Tinea doesn't just save her elaborate skincare routine for Sunday and explains that she is a huge fan of looking after her skin.

"I'm massive on skincare. Lockdown has been such a blessing for not wearing makeup, you're just letting your skin breathe."

Her current faves includeCeraVe's Foaming Cleanser, followed by The Body Shop's Tea Tree Mattifying toner and CeraVe's moisturising lotion .

"There's a black lady who has her own brand and she does it all by herself and it's called the The Glowcery. Hands down, they do the best serum I've ever used! It's called Clean Greens - Superfood Serum Facial Oil and it's got broccoli and spinach and everything you could imagine. That's the serum I'll put on my skin after moisturiser."

"Then I'll use La Roche-Posay SPF 50. SPF is so important. I've only started using it SPF in the last two years and when I started researching into it, I was like "Oh my god, I've gone so many years without using SPF!".

On loungewear

"If I'm not in fresh pyjamas and I mean the proper Grandad type of pyjamas, you know the pair you wear on Christmas day? I wear them with thick, fluffy bed socks, my fave. If I'm not in that, I'm definitely in an oversized hoodie and tracksuit bottoms. I lounge. I don't do trying to stay cute at home, I proper lounge!"

Catch DJ & Presenter Tinea Taylor on the brand new KISS FM Hype Show, weeknights from 7pm!