MyEcoGlow: Mika Simmons
How do you find your glow? It might be a run in the park on a crisp winter day, the perfect blow out at your regular salon, a sushi feast on a Saturday night, or simply sitting by the fire on a cosy Sunday with a packet of biscuits and a huge pot of tea. In MyEcoGlow, we challenge some of our regular customers to spend a day mindful of the eco impact that all of their decisions and actions make on this world. Will they still get their glow on? Or will conscious living be a burden in their already busy lives?
Mika Simmons is an award winning British Filmmaker and Actress, founder of the Lady Garden Foundation and creator of The Happy Vagina podcast. Her life varies vastly from day-to-day from being constantly on the go with daily castings, press appointments and recordings to spending intense periods of time alone, writing. She rents from MY WARDROBE HQ for red carpet events and when she doesn’t have time to think about what to wear. Here we challenge her to get her glow by spending the day living in a more eco conscious way…
8.30am
My weeks are very intense so Saturday’s are usually sacred. I try not to make too many plans and just let my day unfold in an organic way, allowing myself to wake naturally. I’m then most likely to head to my local Gails, before heading to the Gym or a class with a friend. But today is different – I have a film premiering at the BFI London Film Festival, Us Among the Stones, plus – I’ve committed to finding MyEcoGlow with MY WARDROBE HQ. To be completely honest, I’d been a tiny bit skeptical that I could improve my footprint, as I’d like to think I’m already quite a conscious human, but, straight off the bat, as I push open the door at Gails I realise – I don’t have a refillable cup. Full disclosure, I don’t even own a refillable cup!
There’s only one thing for it, I’m going to have to go old school, pause and take my coffee in a clay cup. At first I’m annoyed to be forced to slow down, but then I remember the challenge is for my own good, so I stop, try to let go and watch the world go by. A woman comes in, in a bit of a flap, because a car almost knocked her off her bike. I ask her if she’s OK and if I can get her some water. She’s fine, just stuck somewhere between shocked and angry. I tell her “I love a Boris Bike” and she laughs and says “That isn’t a real bike!” She picks up her tea and thanks me for checking on her, saying it’s really helped her calm down. I feel like a totally different person after this small amount of human connection …. Although I suspect the oat milk flat white might have helped too!
10.00am
Instead of our usual Gym class I’ve convinced my friend to go for a run outdoors. We meet by the Albert Memorial on the South Kensington side of Hyde Park and, rather than driving my eco friendly Fiat 500, I go one step further and walk there. Starting to feel a bit chuffed with myself now.
We run to the top of the Serpentine and back. Honestly, I can walk faster than I can run – but I’m still parched by the time we get there. I top up my glass water bottle from Lululemon which I love and have been using consistently for the past year,
11.30am
After running into South Kensington Club for a quick, post run, ice bath I pop into MY WARDROBE HQ, whose studio is just round the corner. I have the premiere tonight and I also need to borrow a dress for a shoot on Tuesday. It can sometimes feel like a huge pressure to find outfits for work events, but MY WARDROBE HQ has totally changed the landscape on that. I spend a fun couple of hours trying on beautiful frocks and the team leave me feeling uber confident about what lies ahead! I go for a slightly sassy, but understated Christoper Kane for the red carpet and a show stopping Vivienne Westwood Anglomania piece for the shoot. Both in red! It’s a colour I can wear and there’s been a lot of it around these past few seasons.
2pm
I eat lunch at home, using as many local ingredients as I can. This is something I’m really passionate about – when you can, buy local! Imagine if the only thing being flown around the world was humans, not food! I can’t resist a bit of quinoa but I make it with local vegetables. I always put some olive oil in the pan and heat it gently, then add the dry quinoa and blanche it with some salt and pepper, before adding the water and bringing it to the boil. It makes the already creamy quinoa off the richter scale yummy. Tomatoes, grilled with some balsamic, are a favourite to add in and make it super sweet.
4pm
Next on the agenda is a manicure at home to get me red carpet ready with LeSalon, a small business I love to support as they really empower their therapists by giving them phenomenal training and paying them above industry standard. Doesn’t matter which way I look at this, there is no eco version of nail varnish remover and colour polish so I decide to get a natural manicures – no chemicals, just a good clean manicure to strengthen and improve my nails. The girl does an amazing job and actually tells me that where she is from they often use milk to soak the clients hands. She pushes my cuticles back using a wooden stick and explains it’s healthier not to remove them as they work as a barrier for infection. Finally she uses a buffing block that makes them shine as well as any polish – buffing also boosts circulation to the nail bed giving slow to grow and weak nails (mine!) a shot of fresh oxygenated blood they need to get stronger and grow faster.
6pm
I take a Gett Green Taxi into the Empire on Haymarket for the premiere and contemplate my eco aware day and how it has changed my weekend. I definitely feel virtuous, and content, that I have trod lightly on the world today. Being conscious, has made me slow down and think more about what I do and if there is a way that I can do it better. I notice I’ve got way more energy than I would usually at this stage of the day (ideally I’m at home in my pyjamas on a Saturday night) and I’m super excited for the evening ahead ….. I’ve clearly found MyEcoGlow and I intend to keep it a while longer.
Follow Mika on Instagram and Twitter @missmikasimmons
