Lucy Kuper is the Co Founder and Managing Director of Biologi, an Australian skincare brand famed for their ‘cleanical’ beauty products — clean ingredients meet clinical results.
What does self-care mean to you?
Self-care to me means I am making a conscious decision to actively think of myself in terms of my mental, emotional and physical wellbeing and then actually partake in activities that benefit this.
Sometimes we can get so caught up in the day-to-day pressures of life that we forget about what’s important – taking care of ourselves. I’m a firm believer that if I’m not functioning at my best, then I’m unable to give myself wholly to those around me so sometimes you really do have to prioritise number one!
How do you know when you’re feeling stressed or burnt out?
Usually I’ll have some anxiety, feel flustered, panicked, and have small things spin me out when they wouldn’t normally. When I’m feeling really stressed those small things can get catastrophised in my mind and then everything can feel overwhelming.
That sense of overwhelm is what can further perpetuate more stress and then things can snowball from there. Thankfully though, these days I’m really good at recognising when I’m starting to feel this way and can take a step back and see the bigger picture.
Being able to recognise when you’re functioning in this way is really important because you’re able to see that you might not be thinking as rationally as you normally would. We all would prefer to make decisions when we’re level headed so it’s definitely beneficial to acknowledge when stress might be getting in the way.
Do you have a regular self-care routine? If so, what does it look like?
Yes! I try to have guided meditation nearly every morning. I also like to move my body with either a walk or a workout or both. I also love lying on my Shakti mat for some acupressure every night. I also am a big fan of clearing my space and myself with Sage or Palo Santo.
All of these activities make me feel good and help me to better function throughout the day, so I make a concerted effort each day to fit them in. It’s all about allowing yourself some ‘me time’ – it’s so important and you should never feel guilty about it!
What bumps you off your self-care routine and how do you get back on course?
Being super busy and having my routine disrupted – often it really is a lack of time that can bump these things out of my routine. If I’m travelling for work or have an overload of meetings, the work day can get longer and longer and sometimes those self-care activities get sacrificed!
To get back on track I just need to dive right back in and get back into that routine to start again. I also try to be kind to myself if my routine does get thrown out and tell myself that I’m doing the best that I can. We all have enough pressure in our day, we don’t need to beat ourselves up about things like. It’s just about recognising that right now we’re not in our usual routine, but we can get back to it as soon as we can.
Where do you go for inspiration, ideas or tools for self-care?
There are some amazing accounts I follow on Instagram such as life coaches, holistic psychologists, and even psychics/spiritual gurus. Thankfully we live in a world where we have everything at our fingertips so I’m lucky that I get inspiration from these people most days.
What do you think you need to improve in terms of your self-care practice?
I think I’m doing the best that I can right now with all of the things I’m juggling so I am proud of myself. I would however like to dedicate time once or twice a year to go to a wellness retreat. We are all so busy in our lives that it can be hard to find the time to completely switch off without all the distractions. The idea of being able to completely stop everything (meetings, distractions, social media, the news) and go ‘inwards’ for a week or two sounds like pure bliss. One day!
