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"Doing something that you love is always good to feed the soul."

Welcome to Take the Edge Off, a series that breaks down the beauty and self-care routines of influencers, CEOs, experts, and celebrities to discover how they unwind and decompress, while taking a closer look at the holy grail essentials they're currently raving about.

After working in the finance and private equity industry for more than 21 years, it became apparent to lilah b. founder Cheryl Yannotti Foland that the "creative fire in her belly"—which signified her underlying passion for clean beauty—could no longer be denied.

"I'm originally from the East Coast, born and raised in Connecticut. And immediately after university, I ended up in Manhattan. Being the oldest child of a big Italian family, I did the very responsible thing and followed my lawyer and doctor parents," Yannotti Foland tells BAZAAR.com. But "I didn't want to become a lawyer or a doctor, [so] I did the next best thing in their eyes, which was to go into business and finance."

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Yannotti Foland gained knowledge of the beauty space through her work with personal care manufacturing company Arcade Beauty while still working in finance, which ultimately informed her decision to move to California and start an indie brand. Launching a new beauty company on the West Coast not only helped Yannotti Foland follow her dreams, but also change her entire lifestyle.

"I had an incredible transition in my life from being this chaotic, frivolous, high-strung, type A New Yorker that never stopped shopping," Yannotti Foland says. "I had more items in my closet and in my vanity than I knew what to do with. And here, I ended up in California and started living a much better balanced, more mindful, thoughtful life. I bought and wore less, and appreciated and enjoyed life more. That, coupled with my experience in the beauty space and understanding of the lack of simple, easy, clean, luxurious brands, I created and developed lilah b."

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Based on the philosophy that less is more—in life and when it comes to makeup—a major brand mission for Yannotti Foland is to provide her customers with clean, effective staples that enhance their natural beauty while streamlining their product rotation. Since uprooting to California and simplifying her own beauty essentials, the founder relies on just a few key items to stay glowy and refreshed on a regular basis. For a closer look at her routine, Yannotti Foland shares a short list of some of the product favorites she uses daily to reset and stay grounded.

What are you reading these days?

That's an interesting one, because I was always so well read. And I don't know what happened, but when COVID hit, I felt like I almost couldn't focus. I was so consumed with what was going on in the world, reading newspapers and articles online, that I kind of did away with, and didn't really think about, reading something enjoyable. My husband and I took a trip for a long weekend to Palm Springs, and it was so refreshing. And I said, I want to have just a fabulous book with me. And I've had a book sitting on my nightstand since November 2021, Stanley Tucci's book Taste: My Life Through Food.

I'm halfway through with it, and it was my poolside reading in Palm Springs, but I have a mad crush on Stanley. He's that cool, calm, collected Italian guy—I just think he's incredible; I'd love to spend a day with him. The book really reminds me of my life growing up. He grew up in Westchester, so also on the East Coast, and was one of three children.

But the book is really all about food, not just digesting, eating it, but really connecting through gatherings and Sunday suppers, and how big that was in his Italian family. Making something from nothing with the simplest of ingredients or miraculously pulling together a meal at the end of the week with the leftovers that you had in the fridge—growing up in a modest home. I could totally relate, and I absolutely love him and the book, so I would highly recommend it, and I'm not even finished with it yet.

I think it really probably depends on my mood. Aesop has an incredible body scrub—not only does it smell heavenly, but it is just this fine scrub, so it's not super abrasive. It's their Redemption fragrance, which I absolutely love, so I probably do that, like, once a week all over, and it sort of gives me that, like, polish.

Also, my friend and fellow founder Rosie Jane Johnston of by / Rosie Jane has the most incredible body washes. She's clean, she mostly does fragrances, but she also has body washes and oils. The one I love the most is the Leila Lou scent, but last year, she launched two others, and I happen to love one of them as well: Wake the F*ck Up and Calm the F*ck Down. So those are probably my go-tos in the shower, and to be honest, I don't spend a lot of time in the tub these days.

Well, first of all, Zoom fatigue is real. There's not a day that goes by where you don't have some sort of technical glitch, and I'm really kind of tired of seeing myself. However, in the fall of 2021, we launched a new product called Aglow Golden Priming Oil, and that is just one and done. It's my serum, moisturizer, this gorgeous golden illuminating primer; it just gives you this radiant glowy skin even when you're feeling dull and tired. If I don't want to do anything or fuss at all, I just throw on that priming oil, and it gives me the glow that I need for the day.

I'm a little obsessed—it's by the brand Noshinku, which is basically clean skincare meets sanitizer. I have one in every bag and car. They use clean formulations with ingredients like aloe and jojoba, and our brands align so well, because we use a lot of the same [things in our products]. They recently launched a refillable version of their little pocket hand sanitizer, and I'm obsessed with the Eucalyptus scent, but they also have a beautiful Lavendula as well.

We've partnered with them on a fabulous collaboration set that's ideal to use while traveling or on the go that includes our Aglow Face Mist and Lovingly Lip Treatment Oil, plus their hand sanitizer that I'm super excited about.

Whether I'm working from home or in the office, I have a candle lit every day, all day. My go-to is by the brand Hudson Grace that's sort of like a tabletop, entertaining retailer, sort of like a Crate & Barrel feel but more boutique-ish.

A very dear friend of mine, Gary McNatton, is the founder and a fragrance developer, and they make their own candles—I like the Original scent. It continues to be my favorite, even though I believe he's created eight other fragrances beyond that. But they come in all different sizes: a single wick, a larger four-wick candle. So I kind of have them everywhere to the point where I almost don't even smell them anymore, because they're just part of my life.

My Aglow Face Mist; it sits here on the side of my laptop always. Whether I'm using it to set my makeup or just for a boost or pick-me-up, it really just gives me a glow for days. But it sits next to me all day, and I'm constantly re-spritzing.

I've never been a bold makeup kind of girl, ever. And these days, it's either no makeup at all, or it's more or less about ease. We speak to the power of using only three lilah b. beauty products—how you can achieve so much with less. So I guess I'm kind of in the middle of the road. Not quite no-makeup makeup, but definitely not bold.

To be honest, the last class-class I attended was probably a Bikram hot yoga class, which was probably two years-plus ago, pre-COVID. And it's sad, really, because I used to enjoy what yoga did for me, mind, body, and soul, and I miss it. But I typically work out more independently: runs in the vineyard with my dog or out on my road bike with my husband. I'd like to get back into yoga, though, to be honest with you.

It's interesting, because we heard so much about self-care during the pandemic. And it was about masks and skincare, and all sorts of things that were really product focused. And in my eyes, I think self-care can be practiced in the form of physical or mental care—they both sort of meld into one at some point.

I think alone time, focusing on doing something that you love is always good to feed the soul. Using gratitude journals and taking time for moments of reflection are so healthy, too, and I think really smart. It's part of taking care of oneself, especially during the bleak times that we've all had and coming out of this with optimism. I think it's really about focusing on what we're grateful for; that's my version of self-care.