Like many professional women, I don’t know what my weekday evenings will be like. 

Will I get home at 6:30 or will it be closer to 10:00? 

Will I need to meet a colleague for a drink or attend an event with my Boss? 

Will I simply be so wiped out from a marathon committee hearing that I don’t want to do anything but sit on the couch and sulk? 

It’s tough to predict.

To combat this uncertainty and start the week off on the right foot, I like to hit the proverbial reset button on Sunday night.  I clean my apartment.  I do my laundry.  I empty the refrigerator of all the expired food.  I set my DVR for the week.  And I tend to all of my personal grooming. 

Here’s my Sunday Night Beauty Routine:

Shower.  This is my time to deep condition my hair.  Shave my legs very well, and exfoliate until my skin begs for mercy.  Products of choice include PhytoCitrus Restructuring Mask ($38), Philosophy Coconut Salt Scrub ($25), and, instead of spending money on shaving cream, I use cheap conditioner.  Works wonders, and it’s…well, cheap.

Hair.  Once I’ve rinsed the deep conditioner and dried my hair, it’s time to trim the split ends.  I like to use an eyebrow scissor for this instead of a regular shear because this is a precision operation and control is key.  After that, I apply Moroccan Oil ($30) on the ends and give it a good once through with a paddle brush.  This massages the scalp and evenly distributes the oil. 

Face.  First, I apply GlamGlow or Borghese to refresh my skin and deep clean my pores.  Then I apply a 24k gold collagen mask and relax for an hour ($21 for 5). 

When the mask is done working its healing magic, I apply a liberal coat of Ole Henriksen Truth Serum ($48) for vitamin C and then add moisturizer. Once this is done, I break out the tweezers and clean up my eyebrows. 

Teeth. While my face mask sets, I also whiten my teeth.  I like Crest Whitestrips ($28) professional series in Vivid White for Sunday nights.  And I use GoSmile ampoules for touch ups during the week.

Clean Up.  While I wait for my facial mask to do the voodoo that it does so well, I like to clean my brushes, my makeup bag and my Clarisonic.  For a tutorial on brush cleaning, click here, but note that I now use organic baby shampoo instead of brush cleanser. 

I wipe down the makeup bag and brush case with a disinfectant wipe.  And I soak the Clarisonic brush head in vinegar to kill the bacteria while I clean the device with warm soapy water, paper towels and Q-tips.

Nails. I usually paint my toenails every Sunday.  This involves scrubbing my feet with a Ped Egg (yes, it works) and moisturizing my heels well.  Nothing is uglier than cracked heels poking out of cute sandals.  Proper foot maintanence is important. 

And even though I don’t usually paint my finger nails, I always clip, file and trim the cuticles. Because there’s unpainted and then there’s unmanicured.  The former is a choice, the latter is laziness.