my morning routine
Caryn Prime |
Vanity Fair editor-in-chief
Even before she packed her Brooklyn apartment last October for Carriacou, an island in the Grenadines that is as famous for its fascinating coral reefs as it is for its sun-warmed turquoise waves, Caryn Prime, editor-in-chief, was already known in the Vanity Fair office for their incredible shine. (Now of course it’s the next level.)
She says her mornings allow her to keep the magazine running like a well-oiled machine. “Exercising in the morning makes the whole day more manageable – I navigate more calmly,” says Prime, one of the people who manage to balance budgets and get appointments with such charm that nobody objects. Working in a place where the afternoon breeze smells faintly like ripe mangoes may be distracting for some, but Prime’s routines – a skin-care scrub she did in her suitcase and decompresses the sunrise workout now taking place on the beach takes place in Prospect Park – focus on work despite the tropical setting.
“My father comes from Carriacou and is buried here. My parents moved here from New York when he retired. When we were growing up, we came every Christmas to visit my grandparents. So it really feels like home, ”she says. “At certain points during the pandemic, Brooklyn felt creepy and stressful. Even though I live six blocks from my mother, we couldn’t see each other. But now we can both be here, and I’m very grateful for that. “
4:45 am: The roosters wake me up. I am such a morning person. (I often fall asleep early, like very early, like 8:30 p.m.!)
5am: I’m scrolling through Twitter, headlines, slacks, and emails. I avoid Instagram so early on though – we all know what a waste of time that can be.
5:30 am: I drink a huge glass of water mixed with the juice of half a lime. I take probiotics, magnesium, vitamin D, chlorella, spirulina, fish oil, a drop of elderberry syrup, vitamin B12, turmeric, and sometimes oregano oil.
I have a strong cup of coffee, sometimes with Moon Juice Tocos and Maca powder and always with condensed milk. Our house is surrounded by a field with goats and cows running around. I go out on the porch to check on them, watch the sun rise, and have my coffee. I started logging here and then I take the time to do it. Highly recommended. You don’t have to write long sentences or be eloquent; It’s letting go of your thoughts however you can, that’s so powerful.
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7 a.m.: Mom and I train together. When we go outside, I soak in mineral sunscreen – the sun is up at this point and it feels so good, but it’s intense.
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We either go for a long walk (Carriacou is hilly and the streets aren’t always paved so walking three or five miles here feels very different from Brooklyn!) Or swimming (the beach is a 15 minute drive away) , or she’s doing her stretching routine and I’m doing an online alo yoga or pilates class. I’ve also started incorporating a KaisaFit virtual mobility series that combines active yoga movements with stretching and strength exercises. There is nothing better than feeling like you have sweated out.
9:30 am: Back home, I eat some fruit (watermelon, mango, or sugar apples which are my favorite in season) and check my phone for urgent work before I take a shower. I wash off all the sweat and salt water with this great peeling washcloth from Salux and the soap. I don’t always wash my hair when I’ve gone swimming – I like the texture the salt water gives my curls – but when I do, I love Rahua’s conditioner. It’s super moisturizing and detangling. Often times I just rinse my hair out and work in a drop of Innersense leave-in conditioner to define my curls and that’s it.
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10:30 a.m .: I pat my face completely dry and it’s time for the G.Tox toner: I pour a small puddle into my hand, splash it on my face and smooth it with my hands from my forehead up (no kidding ) my sternum. I’ll give it a second to sink in and my skin will look damp almost instantly. Then I mix True Botanicals vitamin C powder with a few drops of water and press it into my skin. I love vitamin C because it offers some protection from UV rays (I still need sunscreen, of course) and it balances my skin. I seal everything with a pinch of Neal’s Yard Wild Rose Balm, with Beauty Counter Dew Skin SPF 20 as the last layer. It’s that amazingly lightly tinted moisturizer and sunscreen all in one that is super moisturizing and offers the perfect coverage to keep my skin looking smooth – and still looking like skin.
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11 am: I’m officially on my laptop. (Carriacou is an hour ahead of New York, and our schedules are more flexible now, as we often work late when we’re far away.) I have some fruit or boil an egg for a real breakfast, or sometimes we pick up fried baked goods ( basically a fried flour dumpling) and saltfish souse (a Caribbean breakfast made of cod, lettuce, onions, green peppers, and olive oil). At this point, I’m mostly inside for the rest of the day, but sometimes I work from the porch. When I can, I take a break and go for a walk and do shoulder, thigh or hip stretches outside. And I always try to remember to get up as much as possible.
