This week on the journal we visit the home of photographer, beauty blogger, editor of 'Lolita Says So' and the authority on skincare — Emma Hoareau. We love Emma's style, and we think you will too. Every Sunday we are blessed with her Sunday School segment where she talks beauty, educating her audience about ingredients and how to implement these into their daily skin care regimen. Here we talk about everyday life, achieving inner stillness and daily rituals — as we admire her thoughtfully curated photographs.  

How do you spend your days?

Mostly in my flat in London – where I live and work. Shooting, writing and trying my hardest to have a good work life balance. I’m out and about in central for a few days a week for meetings and launches, too.

Do you have a morning / bed time ritual?

In the morning I have to have a mint tea before I can do anything else. If I have time I get back into bed with it and either read or meditate. It always feels like such a luxury to take time for myself in the morning, even if only 10 minutes to get my bearings and then get into work mode.

In the evenings I relish cleansing my face and applying my skincare, it’s a real ritual for me. Taking time to look after my skin is paramount, and allows me to switch off from work and wind down.

Tell us about your space, do you have a favourite area within it?

I think perhaps my lounge with my shelves, looking at them always makes me smile as there’s so many trinkets and memories on there.

How do you like to spark creativity?

By looking away from a screen. Reading, writing, walking in the park near my house. Taking the world in in the present moment and allowing myself to relax and not feel pressured into creating is when I do my best work.

You’ve travelled to some beautiful places, what has been your most memorable trip so far?

That’s so tricky! Most recently I’d say Milos. Even though it was so so windy while we visited there was something so magical about the light and the people there. 

Are you reading or listening to anything at the moment?

I’m reading The Body by Bill Bryson and enjoying learning lots about our bodies that I didn’t know before. I always find it important to keep learning something, it’s so easy to stop when you work all the time.

How do you like to practice self-care and achieve inner stillness?

I try to meditate as much as I can (I use the Headspace app) and again it’s taking time for myself. I find being in nature helps me calm my mind if it’s too busy. But also just doing nothing. I always have a never ending to do list and am trying to remember things I need to add to it so stopping and sitting and just being, not trying to think or do is really peaceful for me.

Who are some women you are inspired by?

Too many to list, they’re around me all the time.

How do you like to spend your downtime?

I do Pilates and eat pasta.

What are some words you like to live by? 

To make living itself an art, that is the goal. Henry Miller.

What are some of your favourite objects?

When I moved flat recently I got a murano glass lamp and it’s my favourite thing. I call it my mushroom lamp although not everyone thinks it looks like one! I love it because it makes me smile and I bought it for myself to celebrate moving into my first solo flat.

Artistic influences or favourite artists?

Frida Kahlo, Robert Rauchenberg, Cy Twombly and Mark Rothko.

We love your new series Girls in real life, can you tell us more of the inspiration behind this?

Thank you! I had been creating and sharing self portraits for a while and people were asking me if in addition to those I would start shooting other women, too. I loved the idea but didn’t know how to go about it so that it wasn’t just random; I wanted them to feel part of the same world rather than the odd shoot here and there. So I decided to create my own personal series that I called gIRL. I shoot them all on film, unedited, and ask them each the same 3 questions about beauty. I love that almost all the answers to ‘what is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen’ are about nature. It’s good to remind ourselves that real beauty is around us all the time.

All photographs by Emma Hoareau