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 ask 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 Married At First Sight UK star, Shona Manderson, who was known and loved for her sunshine disposition, wearing her heart on her sleeve and being a spiritual hun.
She was partnered with Brad Skelly on the 2023 season and despite putting her all into the experiment, things took a dark turn when he was accused of controlling behaviour, meaning the pair were asked to leave the process early as the relationship was deemed 'too unhealthy'.
However, despite leaving the show suddenly, Shona announced a new relationship with co-star Matt Pilmoor, last winter after meeting for the first time at the show's reunion in June. (Shona had left before latecomer Matt had entered the experiment.) So how are things going for the pair?
"I would just say we are two peas in a pod, we're like dumb and dumber!" Shona tells heat. "We have the same vibe, we're both so chill, so our relationship has naturally worked so well. We've been together for over eight months now and this life together is really fun.
"Matty and I, we just plod along to events together, go off and socialise with other people and then we come back together and then we come back to our normal life together. It's so nice."
Shona chats exclusively to heat about finding her sparkle again after MAFS, her self-care routine and the books that helped change her mindset.
On watching herself back
How was it watching the show back and did Shona feel she was portrayed fairly?
"I watched it back and I just thought, 'Fair!' In the beginning, I am the kind of person who wears my heart on my sleeve, I trusted in the universe and I'm very open, if I'm going for something, I'm going for something.
"There was a point at the beginning where people were saying, 'Oh my god, they don't love each other' but that's exactly how I felt at that moment. I felt like I loved that guy and was just going for it. You only saw one side of me at the beginning because it was playing to that storyline.
"Then it went to the other side when it all started to go dark and you saw Shona in her shell, which is also a fair representation. It's very honest of what happened because you watched me go from being optimistic, and full of life to suddenly me questioning myself and everything I say and losing my sparkle.
"That's really hard for me to watch because it's so real and raw. But I also feel so proud of myself for how far I've come and I've learned what I'll never stand for again."
On self-care
What does the ultimate self-care Sunday look like for the Mafs contestant?
"Self-care for me is all about balance. It's going to a party and having a drink, but the next day, taking my time and looking after myself. I always want to move my body, but for example, at the moment I'm on my period, so instead of a hardcore run, I went to Reformer.
"For my ultimate self-care Sunday, I love to have a slow morning. I've got my dog Winston and he is a Frenchie. He's so lazy and so cuddly in the morning! We'll always have a cuddle, me Winston and Matt. Me and Matt don't live together but we see each other most weekends.
"I always have two coffees with a straw, but on a Sunday I'd have a proper coffee with a cafetière. I always do my skincare routine as I've had really bad acne recently for some reason. I love to go to Hot Pod yoga on a Sunday and always make sure I do my skincare before I go.
"I always wear my Revolution Eye Masks, which is the number one skincare product I would recommend. They're affordable and they're so good if you're tired of hungover. I was walking around Oxford Street with them on, I will wear them everywhere!"
www.superdrug.com
On acne
"I've had a lot of hormonal acne recently but at the moment it's the best it's been. I had the copper coil and I've had it removed and now my skin is so much better.
"I've got quite a strong skincare routine going on, I love Needles and Creams, they're an independent company that sent me some stuff to try. I'm also obsessed with Wild & Wood's Crystal-infused Face Oil.
"When I spoke about my acne on Instagram, I had so many messages of 'Try this' 'Look after your gut' 'Check your allergies', but it was so overwhelming. I wrote down what everyone had said and I took it on board, but I pushed it aside.
"I'm trying to calm down and stop looking in the mirror every second of the day. I love the Starface spot stickers as you put them on but they stop you from picking. Now I try and distract myself but it's hard, especially when you have so many events coming up and you've never been spotty before.
"I remind myself that this is only temporary, this will pass and you will find a solution. I'm practising self-love and stopping comparing and just giving my skin a chance to breathe when I don't have much on."
On make-up for filming
"I'm not a make-up queen at all, so when filming Mafs, I liked to keep it quite simple and go for a glowy look. I swear by Ekin-Su's BPerfect Radiant Glow Perfector, especially for the days when I don't want to wear foundation, it gives you the most incredible glow.
www.beautybay.com
"When I do wear foundation, I love NARS Sheer Glow - I've used it for ten years.
"I love Doll Beauty's lipsticks. I love using my Benefit Hoola bronzer for eye shadow to keep things simple. I love the REFY Brow Sculpt for a fluffy brow. I love the Hourglass Ambient Highlight Powder which isn't glittery and very natural.
"I also love Weleda Skin Food. Because it's so thick, I don't put it on the lower part of my face in case it makes my acne worse but I love it for my forehead and cheeks and it gives a really nice spa, vibe."
On life-changing books
Are there any books that have helped change Shona's mindset?
"When I was in my late twenties, I discovered Caggie Dunlop's Saturn Returns and it was so life-changing for me. I was going through my Saturn Returns at the time and I noticed my friendships changing, a relationship ended, but loads of new things came, like I bought a house, made new friends and discovered yoga properly. After realising it was my Saturn Return, I found her book and podcast so comforting.
"Something else that was so life-changing to me was listening to Dr. Ramani who talks about navigating narcism. I first listened to her on Stephen Bartlett's podcast and she has YouTube videos and her own podcast and I would just binge them all. It helped so much.
"Another amazing book is called Block, Delete, Moveon by LalaLaLetMeExplain and it was so good. When stuff was first going on between me and Bradley, a lot of people didn't have opinions on it at first and I was confused about what had just happened. Then I read the book and it all made sense and now I always recommend that book to people."
"People message me online saying, 'Shona, I'm in this kind of relationship', and I'm always like, 'Read this book and look up Dr. Ramani!" You feel so validated because it's all so confusing when it's happening to you."
Quickfire round:
What show are you currently watching? Me and Matt have just started The Gentleman, but where we live apart, it takes us ages to finish anything.
How do you like your cuppa? I love an instant coffee with a little bit of oat milk and honey and I always drink it with a straw.
Everyday perfume? Matt recently bought me some Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir which I love.
Go-to takeaway order? We love Pokebowl sushi or if we're feeling more carby, a truffle pizza from Pizza Pilgrims.
Favourite candle? I love supporting small businesses as I used to make my own candles in lockdown. There's a girl from Nottingham who makes soy wax candles and she made one with me and Matty on! Their brand is called Scented Studio.