Aerin Lauder interview | Home office tips and elevating the everyday

Aerin Lauder is the Estée Lauder Companies’ style and image director, and the founder of her eponymous line of cosmetics, fragrance, fashion, and furniture: Aerin. The granddaughter of entrepreneur Estée Lauder has also authored various books on entertaining, interiors and style, sharing tips drawn on family traditions through her modern vision.

You could call her the queen of domestic beauty; so, who better to ask for advice on making the often-mundane experience of time spent at home more extraordinary?

With winter drawing near, the weather presents us with less opportunity to spend time outdoors – and this is on top of the pandemic leading to increased at-home working. Subsequently, seasonal domesticity feels less of a cliché right now, and more of a welcome opportunity to elevate the everyday.

Here, Lauder shares her top tips for doing so.

1/ Bring the outside in

Flowers are the easiest way to feel closer to nature when you’re stuck indoors, and they can help you align with the changing seasons.

“One thing I definitely change are the flowers,” the tastemaker says of her interiors style. “Throughout the summer I use flowers that are in season, so they’re obviously summery, but right now I love the winter hydrangea, flowering quince with its beautiful branches and green leaves, and hellebore which is stunning this time of year with its deep purples and greens.”

Scenting your living space can also be an instant mood-changer, and Lauder updates her home candles seasonally. “Throughout the whole summer I used our orange blossom candle and now I’ve switched to tuberose which is a beautiful rich floral. It’s a bit warmer, which makes it feel very cosy.”

2/ Adjust your daily rituals

Using fragrance is a time-honoured beauty ritual harnessed to evoke different states within oneself, as much as our surroundings. As such, personal perfume is something Lauder changes seasonally, too. “In the fall I tend to love Ceder Violet – inspired by a sun-dappled forest – and Tuberose Le Soir, which is rich and heavy.”

Lauder explains that she likes to wear a different scent for the daytime and the evening, which can also help to enhance the differences between these times of day when you’re physically in the same space. “Fragrance is the one thing that really manages my mood. I even put fragrance on before I go to sleep sometimes.”

3/ Don’t save your best ‘for best’

“I think the home allows people to dream a little bit,” Lauder tells us. And yes, this sentiment can apply to the home office.

“Put a different vase on your desk with cut flowers, use a special drinking glass, and have other desk accessories like a beautiful clock,” she suggests.

“In my book Entertaining Beautifully I share a quote from Estée, that ‘everything can be beautiful if you take the time,’ and it’s that idea of using a beautiful coffee mug or pretty glass every day. You don’t need to save it for a special occasion! There’s something very appealing about that because it makes your experience at your desk that bit more special.”

She also suggests being playful with your space; redesigning the aesthetic without the commitment of decorating.

“I love rearranging bookshelves, vanities, my night table – I’m always changing photographs and picture frames. There’s something very comforting about doing that.”

While she keeps the structure, lighting and furniture the same at home, Lauder experiments with the smaller things – “the colours, patterns, texture,” she explains. For example, “in the wintertime I gravitate towards more gold tableware and dark green ceramics after using items like straw vases in the summertime.”

4/ Be loyal to your routine

Lauder notes that spending more time at home during the pandemic has also highlighted certain lifestyle elements that shouldn’t be changed.

“Everyone’s had a very interesting year and it makes you realise that for certain things you have to keep to a routine. Things like exercise, talking to family and friends, and your beauty routine should remain quite consistent – and I think that’s something people gravitate towards during these times of uncertainty.”

As one might expect, her personal routine is very established. “Advanced Night Repair [a cult Estée Lauder serum] is a product that I’ve been using for a very, very long time. I always start my day with it and end my day with it,” she says. “I remember as a very little girl my grandmother talking to me about the importance of good skincare; she always said ‘make-up doesn’t look good unless you take care of your skin’. So I’m forever loyal to that.”

She layers this with the iconic Crème de la Mer moisturiser and the Aerin Rose Lip Conditioner. In addition, “I always use my Rose Hand & Body Cream.”

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