Ella Mills,  founder of Deliciously Ella gave us a peek into her daily skincare and wellness routine, when we caught up with her on a recent IG Live to talk about her new cookbook, How to Go Plant-Based.

As a busy working mum of two daughters under four, and with a multi-million-pound business spanning a healthy snack range, chart-topping podcast and cookbook series to look after - she likes to keep her self-care regime simple and streamlined.

She favours certified organic products where possible, but they have to be effective and time-saving too. From the probiotic foundation to the 'magic glow drops' and ‘miracle moisturiser’ she uses on repeat here, the Deliciously Ella founder shares her top skincare products. 

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It’s her “product of the year,” according to Ella, and the medium-coverage organic foundation in question, also the world’s first probiotic foundation from specialist probiotic skincare brand Esse, just so happens to be one of GTG’s editorial director Victoria Woodhall’s favourite base. “I’ve generally never worn foundation and never liked it, and also I’m terrible at doing my makeup! Ella explains. "But this goes on so easily and it’s got SPF in it, it’s amazing!” 

She’s also a big fan of Esse’s Sensitive Cleanser, £44.50 which has a soothing, creamy consistency and is pH-balanced to minimise irritation to sensitive skin. 

When she’s really looking for a glow-up, Ella explains she combines the aforementioned Esse probiotic foundation with Pai Skincare’s Impossible Glow Drops. “This is like another piece of magic!” she says. The highlighting drops contain naturally-derived pigment particles that reflect light like a prism and are infused with hydrating hyaluronic acid and sea kelp, with vitamin C-rich lemon fruit water, to leave that sought-after dewy finish. For an everyday pared-back subtle glow, she’ll simply add a couple of drops to her moisturiser.

Ella foregoes serums and eye creams for just one moisturising product, which she credits with  “transforming” her skin, and says was a recent find. “I’ve found using lots of products makes me break out. The simpler I keep my routine, the better my skin is.” 

The Spectacle Skincare Performance Creme, which aesthetic doctor Dr Wassim Taktouk previously hailed “beauty sleep in a bottle” contains squalane, a lipid that’s similar to the squalene (with an e) that we naturally make ourselves to keep our skin supple. There's also gallic acid, which is 60 times more powerful than kojic acid for pigmentation and has an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin, plus a peptide complex, three weights of hyaluronic acid, along with an encapsulated retinoid complex (meaning it won’t go off in sunlight so you can use it in the day) and skin barrier-enhancing niacinamide. “I’ve been using it for three months; it’s seven creams in one,” she adds.

Next up, for a glow-enhancing face mask treatment. Both Ella and her business-partner husband Matthew Mills are obsessed with Josh Rosebrook's Cacao Antioxidant Mask “Matt calls it ‘the glower’,” she laughs. “We both use it a few times a week. I discovered it in lockdown and have used it a few times a week ever since.” 

The deeply purifying mud-like mask contains cacao and botanical antioxidants to protect and replenish the skin, while boosting skin luminosity.

Ella’s definitely a fan of a mud mask, as her next top beauty pick is Niod’s potent Flavanone Mud Mask, which she adds to her skincare routine once a week. “Do not leave it on any longer than 10 minutes," she warns," but oh my gosh it works!”

Niod's Flavanone Mud Mask delivers a three-pronged attack to first purify with kaolin clay; then protect from external aggressors such as pollution with the help of sea polysaccharides from microorganisms found in Polynesian coral reefs, resveratrol to fight pigmentation and a host of other active ingredients to detoxify.

“I keep my skincare really simple, but I use these two masks and it’s been the most transformative thing of my [skincare routine].”

Just like her skincare regime, Ella's wellness routine remains simple. In her latest book, she discusses how her plant-based diet is just one pillar of her healthy lifestyle, with others including prioritising moving every day, taking a measured approach to alcohol (and not smoking, obvs), addressing stress and sleep levels, and generally thinking about wellbeing in a more holistic way.

Broadly speaking, it involves doing between five and seven minutes of mindfulness each morning on her app feel better (before her daughters wake up). “We’ll practice some quick affirmations, my husband and I do it together to feel calm and grounded - it really sets me up for the day!” 

She does her best to move as much as possible, whether that’s opting to walk to work one morning or factoring short walks into her day while she's taking phone calls or listening to edits of her latest podcast episodes. “And try to go to bed a little bit earlier,” she adds.

How to Go Plant-Based by Ella Mills is out now, £12.99 (Yellow Kite).

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