Her latest project is launching e11even (e11evenfragrance.com) a unisex perfume she developed with her make-up artist friend Amanda Grossman. Deeley points out that the blend of essential oils was created completely sustainably – demonstrating that while leafy north London is home for now, her time in the US gave her a more considered approach to wellness.
“In LA, they were quite ahead of the curve in terms of beauty products, supplements and procedures and there was a lot to take from that,” she explains.
Here, Deeley shares some of her beauty recommendations.
No make-up days are no big deal
“In LA, you see women in the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel with not a scrap of make-up on. Nobody cares about that in LA – it’s such a different mindset to London. Also the sun shines most of the time in LA, so you can get away with wearing less in general.
“Now, unless I’m working, I don’t wear much make-up, just a light face oil like the Decléor Green Mandarin Glow Aromessence Serum, (£55, decleor.co.uk), which gives my skin a nice glow. I’ve been a fan of the brand for over 20 years – I love that the products smell botanic, herbal and floral, too.
“On the school run, I might use the Green Mandarin Sunkissed Cream and pop a baseball cap on and I’m good to go. I fake tan every few days, too, with Amanda Harrington’s collection.”
Wear sunscreen, religiously
“The LA climate is so different to London’s – LA is practically a desert – so my skin was much drier there and I had to take skincare more seriously. As well as smothering my face in a rich cream at night (I like to look like a greasy chip in the evenings), I used sunscreen daily.
“Back when I was younger everyone would slather themselves in baby oil or frazzle their hair with Sun In – the arrogance of youth. I don’t know if it’s partly the LA lifestyle or the fact that I was getting older and started to notice the signs of aging more, but I now wear sun cream every day. I like Anthelios by La Roche-Posay, (£18, lookfantastic.com) because it’s really light and sinks in quickly.”
Juicing isn’t just a fad
“I’ve become very good at taking my vitamins! I use Viviscal (£29.99, Holland & Barrett) to improve my hair’s condition, I take vitamin D daily and I take a multivitamin, too. I also do something that is very LA: I drink celery juice. It’s supposed to have good antioxidants.
“I also now make my own anti-inflammatory juice shots. Here goes: either choose pineapple or orange as your base and then add fresh turmeric, a little bit of olive oil, black pepper and lemon juice. That’s it.
“I got Covid in January 2021 and my joints really hurt as a result. I thought I was getting arthritis. It still hasn’t gone away completely, but I feel the juicing and supplements have helped. However, diet-wise, my general rule is to pick at whatever my boys are eating.”
Check if you have ‘a face for Botox’
“I’ve had bits of Botox done before but I’m not that person who will schedule it in. I’ve never had filler. I don’t want to change my face – and I’ve got to a point where I really love my face – but sometimes I look in the mirror and think, ‘Oh I’m really tired’, as I’m a terrible sleeper, and that might be the sign.
“However when in LA, I would see the renowned dermatologist Dr Harold Lancer to check moles and for some skin treatments. I remember once asking him, ‘How can I reach my maximum potential?’, and he said that I didn’t have the face to have stuff done and that it would look terrible on me and actually age me. So now I might have a bit of Botox on my jaw because I clench, but it’s not something I’m wedded to.
“And I now see an amazing doctor in the UK, Dr Frances Prenna Jones, who will Botox my shoulders for me as I get stress there: the toxin helps relax them.”
The facials that actually anti-age
“Before LA, I wouldn’t have regular facials, but I do now. In LA I would book in for LED light therapy and oxygen facials, especially if I had something big coming up. In the UK I love to see the Decléor facialist Katharine Mackenzie Paterson. At home, I use an LED face mask when I can, such as the CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Mask (£279, currentbody.com).
“However, generally with my beauty routine, I’m all for the double up: quick multitaskers, such as a face scrub in the shower or tanning while I have Zooms from home. I even have my toothbrush in the shower to be extra quick before someone shouts, ‘Mum!’
“If I have any time for ‘self care’, heaven for me is pouring some Epsom salts into a bath with some lavender oil and listening to an audiobook. But I’m in bed most nights by 9pm because I’m exhausted and I don’t know if the boys are going to wake up overnight.”
Stick to the hairstyle that works for you
“The colour and texture of my hair changed after I had my boys. My colourist in LA would use the exact same colour as usual and suddenly the tone was much warmer in my hair post-children. So I now cool it down regularly with the Icy Blonde hair gloss by Josh Wood, (£19, joshwoodcolour.com).
“As for the style, I occasionally toy with a fringe, but I’ve got a cow lick and it doesn’t work for me at all. And I now know that I can’t go short, either: if I cut it, it will go like a giant mushroom because it’s thick and I’ll have to do a million things to style it. That would drive me up the wall.”
Work exercise into your daily routine
“It’s much easier to be healthy in LA. I would get up in the morning, have a coffee, put my leggings and trainers on, take the dog down to the canyon and walk back up again. It was one and a half miles and a 45 degree gradient. It was always sunny, so even with yoga – which I did three times a week – I could just go into the garden and roll out my mat. Back in London, it just doesn’t work like that. Although I’ll do some online yoga classes, I haven’t completely found my groove yet, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it.”
And something I’ve done since I’ve been back in London…
“I’m 45 and I’ve just started getting my brows done. It’s one of the things I’ve done that makes me look a little more youthful, because my eyebrows are now a little bit more fashionable! I had amazing brows when I was 14 and then of course the 1990s happened and I plucked them into oblivion. They grew back a bit, but not quite as much.
“I went to a salon in St John’s Wood and had my brows “laminated”, which is supposed to make them look brushed up and fuller. Although when the therapist brushed them up I looked like a geography teacher – you know, when the hairs are so long you can pick up the BBC World Service. But then she did the lamination treatment, which softens the hairs and fixes them into place, and she applied a little dye.
“It’s the type of treatment that means you can wear less make-up and quickly look more put together. Which is everything I’m about.”
Head to instagram.co.uk/telegraphstella tomorrow to watch Cat’s full morning beauty routine
