Chloe Hayward

CHLOE

The unknown gets me out of bed in the morning. The desire to get things finished that I’m working on, that gets my brain and body ticking as soon as I wake up. I have my best creative hours in the morning, so I try and use that peak time to work on projects, editing, writing, research. Some mornings it’s just reading articles or flicking through art books or biographies. I recently dove into Francis Bacon’s life and work, that was very inspiring. 

Mornings start with kisses, earl grey tea with oat milk, one of my Spotify playlists, more kisses and then breakfast. Some mornings Pilates stretches really help me get my body moving as I have back injuries from years ago. The older I get, the more simple and minimal my beauty ritual becomes. It starts with water. Drink lots of it, swim in it if you can. I love to use my gua sha tool to massage LESSE Ritual Serum into my skin after cleansing. It’s kind of meditative, the invisible patterns you’re drawing all over your face. It helps me tune into where my day is going to take me. I’ll slather on SPF everyday and if I need it some RMS Uncover Up and a little Make Beauty Bronzer. Lots of lip balm too, I’ve spent the month in Paris and got obsessed with homeoplasmine, it’s a miracle balm for everything. I love to use Diptyque oil in my hair nearly every day, it smells incredible and keeps my hair hydrated.

To me, beauty is passion. I think the most attractive people are those who are true enthusiasts about what they’re doing, it radiates from within them. They are captivated by what they are pursuing and therefore cast you under their spell too. I love those people, I just want to bask in their energy and soak it up. 

Inner beauty comes from happiness, fulfillment, love. For me, I feel most beautiful when I’m doing something I love, when I’m totally unaware of myself, when I’ve hardly had time to look in a mirror, when I’m connected to someone that I care about. It could come from an intimate conversation with a loved one or a connection to the subject I’m shooting. Also, when I’ve just had a cry, I look like my truest self.

I feel alive when I’m in a foreign country out of my comfort zone, somewhere I don’t speak the language, where no one knows my name. Seeing things I’ve never seen, eating things I’ve never eaten, finding ways to converse through broken translations and gesture. This year has brought me a lot of travel and I hope it keeps coming, it’s nice to feel like you can go where the tide takes you without your home comforts. 

I’m letting go of all the should haves, could haves. I think we have a tendency to write ourselves off to what we haven’t done yet instead of what is out there waiting for us be achieve. Creative things take time. Go slow to go fast.

We can spend too much time comparing ourselves, Mark Twain said, “comparison is the thief of joy” and I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been changing my routine by not looking at social media at all. Scripts are getting finished, edits wrapped up, ideas crystallized. You really have so much more space in your mind for your own work, I highly recommend taking a bit of a break from it.

If you can live with very little, you are much happier. I’ve been living out of a suitcase for three months and it's really refreshing to have a minimal travel bag that has all of your essentials. I like that simplicity of not having too much, keeping clothing and toiletries simple. It helps to not have excess baggage too, both literally and metaphysically!

I’m currently listening to a mix of Gloria Ann Taylor, Donny Hathaway, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Alice Coltrane. 

Moving to New York really steered my course. It wasn’t a place I ever saw myself living but the opportunity came at the right time. I had some hard times but persevered. I fell in love and have built a life I love, and met so many incredible people that I will know forever no matter where I eventually lay down roots. I would recommend that to anyone — moving from where you're from will teach you invaluable life lessons. Just tread boldly and remember where you come from. 

In summary, a quote to live by: “Don’t wait for things to change, the hour of man is now and whether you are working at the bottom of the pile or the top, if you are a creative individual you will go on producing come hell or high water” - Henry Miller.