The Best Bedside Beauty Products, According to a Makeup Artist

Tasha Reiko Brown is a Who What Wear editor in residence, Los Angeles–based makeup artist and male groomer, and a global ambassador for Chanel Beauty.

While well-intentioned, my days have rarely been calm enough to carve out a quick 30-second cuticle-oil application. I balance three full-time careers and multiple clients across multiple time zones. I’m the primary caregiver for my mother, and I still have to figure out dinner for my son—sometimes from London! I’m an artist, so I’m naturally chaotic. The schedule is no schedule. That said, I do adhere to a strict set of routines. My morning wake-up routine is extremely specific and involves sunlight, a full beauty routine, calm moments in the shower, and a beautiful cup of self-ground coffee. It’s the middle of the day where my intentions seem to fall apart as things pile on, change lanes, or become more urgent than expected. At the end of the day, all of the unexpected adventure and chaos really makes a case for having a regular bedside beauty routine.

One of my favorite daily moments ends up being my nighttime beauty ritual. The emails are done. Dinner has been eaten, and I have a few moments in bed just to sit, decompress, and reflect. This typically involves a few moments of journaling, and my Kindle in my lap to squeeze in a few chapters. I intentionally don’t keep a TV in my room, and it’s these relaxing moments where my aforementioned beauty rituals really come into play. I will use my hand cream and take a luxuriously long amount of time to really rub it in. As a makeup artist, my hands are my tools, so I wash them an exorbitant number of times during the day. Hand sanitizer is used in abundance. While lying in bed, I’m able to do the smaller beauty rituals with intention. I’m oiling my cuticles and turning digital pages. I’m able to care for myself while winding down for the day and fill my cup back up after pouring so much into other people’s throughout the day.

Because the products I use before bed are so important to me, I want to share them with you. I’m telling you every single thing I keep in my marble catchall right by my bed: a carafe of water, so I don’t have to leave my cozy cocoon; cuticle oil to enrich and nourish my nail beds; hand cream to support and replenish hydration to my dry skin. A lot of my beauty story is wrapped up in scent. I love deep-scented candles for the evocative mood and the soft glow that they cast. My morning scents are very bright. For evening, I like deeper tones and woodsy scents to drift me off to sleep. A candle snuffer so I don’t end the evening with a pungent ash smell but a lovely ritual. A room spray that deepens my mood. I also love a beautiful catchall. To quote Donatella Versace, “I want to desire everything around me.” Holding these objects in a beautiful place really carves out their intention for me.

A facial mist brings me joy, and I love a satin-lined bonnet because my hair is fragile and colored from root to tip. My journal is for the evening because I never have time to journal in the morning. My schedule is too erratic, and it’s a morning practice that doesn’t work with my natural rhythm. If I lounge too long in bed, I’ll roll over and just go right back to sleep. I need to get out of bed and wake the house up by opening the windows and starting my music. I prefer music without words. Jazzy tones and upbeat blues. Most of my business is in New York or Europe, so when I wake up in the morning, I’m eager to start my day. This isn’t a glorification of hustle culture—my work is an extension of me, and I’m absolutely always excited to see where the day goes. Below, find every evening beauty routine staple I adore.

My Must-Have Bedside Beauty Essentials