This Minimalist-Beauty-Brand Founder Shares Her Hour-Long Morning Routine

What's the first thing you do when you get out of bed in the morning? A well-rounded morning routine sets the tone for the day and gets you prepped—both mentally and physically—before you dive into a packed schedule filled with emails, chores, happy hours, workouts, and more. Our series Morning Person profiles those who have mastered the art of the morning routine.

Tune in every week here and on our Instagram to learn exactly how the pros get it all done before the sun comes up, from their go-to breakfasts to their a.m. workouts.

Despite writing about other people’s morning routines, I used to think I could never be the type of person to have one myself, simply because I don’t usually have a significant amount of time to carve out for it. But as Lauren Jin, founder of the minimalist beauty brand Cle Cosmetics, proves, you only need to dedicate one hour.

In her morning power hour, Jin is able to check off all her a.m. self-care needs, including some playtime with her pup, before settling in to her workday. Keep scrolling to see the rest of her hour-long routine. 

The first thing I do when I wake up is grab my phone so I can quickly check my schedule for the day. I am often greeted by my dog, Mori, before sharing our first stretch of the morning.

As I'm walking from my room to the front door to let Mori out into the front yard, I'll stretch out my neck and shoulders, as well as massage my ear lobes for some blood circulation. 

It's time to make my morning drink. What I make depends on my mood, but I tend to rotate between coffee with milk, honey, and moringa powder, and a red ginseng tea. 

It's finally time for my favorite part of the morning: my daily skincare-and-makeup routine. I'll start by using Cle Cosmetics Oxygen Foam Cleanser and applying it to dry skin. I usually don't wash my face in the morning, but since it's been especially dry lately, I'll go to sleep with a thick layer of Cle Cosmetics Multi Cream and Vaseline as the last step of my nighttime skincare. In the morning, I need to wash that layer off. 

Since I don't towel-dry my face afterward, I'll spray some Cle Cosmetics Lifting Mist to my damp skin. Once my face is semi-dry, I apply a thin layer of Multi Cream.

Afterward, I'll use this time to brush my teeth so that my serum and moisturizer can really set in before applying a thick layer of sunscreen. For me, sunscreen is a really important step, even if I am home all day! I am currently using Drmtlgy's Tinted SPF.

Next, I apply a tiny amount of Dr. Jart Cicapair as a color corrector. I just dab tiny dots around the areas I'm most concerned about, which are usually the corners of my nose and mouth. 

Then, I quickly apply a little bit of Cle Cosmetics CCC Cream and shape my brows with W3ll People Expressionist Brow Gel. This only takes me half a minute, which I like, and it's such an easy product to tame my brows! To finish off my makeup routine, I use the lip oil in the Cle Cosmetics Lip Care Trio to keep my lips hydrated! 

After I take a few sips of my morning drink, I'll go outside and play with Mori for a bit before settling down to start my workday. We usually just like running around or playing catch. 

Up next: The Morning Wellness Rituals DJ and Entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman Swears By