Vicky Pattison talks mental health, skincare routines and her £4.99 beauty secret

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.

Vicky Pattison is an absolute firecracker and is best known for always being on the telly. From finding fame in Geordie Shore to being crowned Queen of the Jungle inI'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here 2015, we can't get enough of the lovable Geordie.

She also hosts her own very funny podcast (get subscribing, huns) and has aQUIZ Christmas collection arriving very soon. We can hardly wait, tbh.

Vicky talks about her fail-safe sleep hack, her go-to lip mask and how she deals with burn out...

This interview was conducted before the news of a second lockdown.

On the importance of self-care:

"I proper believe there’s nothing a good bath and sheet mask can’t fix!" Vicky tells heat as she holds up her stash of Glam Glow Sheet Masks on our Zoom call. "I like loads of bubbles in my bath, a Lush bath bomb, a glass of wine or pink gin, some little sweeties, a good razor... you just feel like a new woman when you’re fuzz-free, don’t you!"

Vicky explains how she doesn't consider getting her nails done or her eyebrows waxed as self-care, but simply part of her job as a celeb type.

"Someone else is doing it so you’re having conversation, you're keeping up appearances and all the rest of it. What I consider self-care is time on my own for me. I know everybody’s different so once a week, or once a month I like to take a morning or evening, or if I’m being really self-indulgent, a whole day where I just don’t see anybody. I don’t look at my phone, I put on a Netflix show that I’m super into and binge the tits off it.

I have a glass of wine, some chocolate, I put on a face mask, some nice body lotion, I light a nice candle. I just totally cut off from the rest of the world. I think it’s important for your mental health to take time just for you."

On her favourite budget beauty buy:

"Every time I sit in a make-up chair, everyone comments on how dry my lips are. I drink plenty of water, I’m not exactly exposed to the elements all the time, I’m pretty much a homebody, like everybody this year! But I just get really dry and cracked lips.

This year I’ve discovered a little product by Barry M, it’s like a lip mask. It got avocado oil in to nourish your lips and it’s packed full of vitamins. It goes on like a thick lovely lipgloss and leaves yours feeling really soft."

On her skincare routine:

Vicky laughs and admits she's not as devoted to her skincare routine as she'd like to be. We totally get it, sometimes you just CBA to double cleanse.

"My mam has literally just been lecturing me and my sister about our skincare, my sister just had a baby at the start of the year, bless her and she’s been lecturing her about not wearing make-up. She’s like, ‘still, you need to be doing your three-part skincare routine, I wish someone has told me when I was your age!’

The fact is, I’ve got a lovely micellar water and I’ve got a niceOle Henriksencleanser, toner and moisturiser. On a good day I’ll love using them and I make sure I use my night time one for dark circles and my daytime one for bright skin and all the rest of it, but if I’m totally honest, I’m super lazy. By the time I’ve finally got myself in that sleepy space, I don’t want to wake myself up by doing it all and I’ll do it extra special in the morning..."

On sleep:

Vicky admits although she's very good at sleeping on trains, she's terrible at sleeping in a bed.

"I fall asleep anywhere. Chances are, if you’ve seen me on a flight or on a train or even in the back of an Uber by chance, you’ve seen me catching flies. I’m notorious for falling asleep when travelling. But put me in a bed and my anxiety goes straight through the roof. I know that I have to go to sleep and I know that everyone else is going to sleep, all of that… the pressure just gets to me and I fall apart!

I’m not the best person at falling asleep so I have certain things that help calm me beforehand. I find that if I put on a show really quiet, then I’m focusing on that and not the noise inside my head, which is often like, ‘have you set an alarm?’ or ‘are you sure you’ve brushed your teeth?’ and ‘have you packed everything for tomorrow?’ it starts mundane and then gets quite big like, ‘god, are you still working?’ it snowballs quite fast.

The best sleep I’ve ever gotten in my life was in the jungle! So, I have an app that plays rainforest sounds, like crickets, sometimes rain hitting the trees and all that stuff. When I’m really struggling to sleep I put that on, because I’m aware I sleep next to my boyfriend who really doesn’t need to hear crickets just before he’s trying to get his kip!"

On burnout:

Saying yes to everything and working non-stop means that Vicky can often be left feeling burnt out.

"I always do, so whenever I’m working hard or burning the candle at both ends, I don’t know how to say no, that’s my problem. Despite my best efforts and best intentions this year, I promised I’d go slower, but when the world opened up August time, I did exactly what I promised myself I wouldn’t do, which was work too much and probably drink too much, too. Whenever life gets too much for me, I take myself out of the situation. It’s the only way I can cope. So, I take myself off to a juice retreat or I go to a spa for the weekend like Champneys. Or I just come offline.

Whether you just turn your phone off or if that’s too much for you, just delete Instagram, have some you time and put yourself first. Watch some good Netflix shows you love, read some books you love, sheet masks on, green teas or a glass of wine! Whatever it is that works for you. But ultimately put yourself first for a bit. You can’t pour from an empty cup."

Quickfire round:

Shows you're currently binging? "I was up til 3 ’o clock in the morning watching Gotham, it’s honestly unreal. Last night I was sat bingeing the tits off of it like a little creep on my own."

Favourite face mask: "The L'Oreal Replumping Tissue Mask."

**Go-to loungewear: "**I love an Adidas tracksuit. Failing that, I just love Harry Potter pjs."

Favourite candle: "Anything Jo Malone, there’s one she’s got that’s Basil and Neroli- I love that one."

Vicky Pattison's Christmas collection with QUIZ will be launching Wednesday 11 November.

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On meditation:

"I wish I was (into mediation) I’m not one of those sceptical, scornful types, like ‘oh, pull yourself together!’ I wish I was one of those people who could mediate, but I have a very crowded mind, I overthink and neurotic at the best of times.

So, if I’m going to relax, I need a lot of things going on still. I need to have Champney’s Lavender Spray on my pillow, a really hot bath, my favourite show on Netflix… not something too stimulating, something you’ve seen a million times and gives you a level of comfort. We’ve always got Friends on in my house! We also love Brooklyn 99, we love anything mindless that you can have on in the background and you don’t have to think too much. I’d love to be able to take half an hour in the morning and focus on deep breathing, but that’s not how I calm my mind, unfortunately, I have a whole process. Maybe one day!"