Victoria Beckham Before 10AM

Victoria Beckham will openly admit that she is quite difficult to please. And Beckham’s second limited edition collection for Estée Lauder was no exception. “I had a really strong point of view of exactly what it was that I wanted,” she says. “Luckily, the Estée Lauder team is just as obsessed with precision and quality as I am, so it’s a perfect match.”

Beckham based this collection on both her core look—think a radiance boosting moisturizer, glossy eye formulas, and the designer’s take on a nude lip—as well as five of the cities she visits most frequently: London, Miami, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. “London is my home city,” she explains. “New York is great for work and it's where I show my collections. I have a house in LA and I love to holiday there with my family. Paris is effortlessly cool and sophisticated with great restaurants and shops, and Miami is a total escape for me.” London is all about smoldering eyes in tones of grey smoke and lush bordeaux; Miami captures the look of warm bronzed skin with a jolt of electric blue on the eyes; Paris is focused on strength and sexuality with its matte Black Cassis lipstick; New York calls for a powerful and polished smoky liner; and Los Angeles evokes ease with glowing skin. The line’s chic packaging—black pebbled leather with gold accents—is an homage to Beckham’s line of accessories. “With this second collection, I wanted to approach it in the same way as I would a fashion collection,” says Beckham. “We used a lot of mood boards, and really thought about the color palette and how each product relates to another [in order] to create one cohesive capsule.”

Naturally, each city has its own flair, but when asked about which city delivers on best-in-class shopping, Beckham singled out Paris. “It’s great for vintage finds,” she says. “Whenever I arrive in another country, one of the first things I do is check out the beauty brands that we don’t get in the rest of the world. When I was in Asia earlier this year, for example, I hunted down the perfect eye drops.”

What is the atmosphere of your bedroom?
My bedroom is beautiful and very calm with lots of books, crystals, and candles.

What time do you wake up?
I get up before the kids are awake so that I have a little quiet time to myself and I can fit in a workout.

How many hours of sleep do you require?
I definitely don’t get as much sleep as I would like! In an ideal world it would be eight hours, but then when you factor in the children, my job, and all the traveling I do for work, it’s often much less than that, unfortunately!

Any bedside beauty essentials?
I’m obsessed with Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery Powerfoil Mask.

Do you work out in the a.m.?
Yes, I make sure I find the time to fit a quick workout in every morning. It keeps me calm and focused, and sets me up for the day ahead.

What is your morning skincare regimen?
I use Sarah Chapman’s skin care products every morning and drink plenty of water before going to the gym.

What makeup and products do you use on a daily basis?
For every day, I like to keep things as simple as possible. I like fresh, glowing skin that’s slightly sun kissed. I apply Morning Aura Illuminating Crème to give my skin that fresh glow. Then I normally use a bronzer to sculpt and contour, a highlighter like my new Aura Gloss in Honey, Eye Kajal and mascara for definition, and a nude lipstick or lip gloss. Within my new collection for Estée Lauder we’ve developed a ‘Signature Look’ which basically includes everything you need for flawless skin and beautifully defined features. This Signature Look is based on my ideal everyday face.

What’s your hair situation in the a.m.?
My hair is naturally slightly wavy, so I like to go with that texture and let it rough dry and add in a few more loose waves if it needs it. It’s short at the moment so it requires minimal styling effort, which is always helpful in the morning!

What’s the first thing you read each morning?
The first thing I read in the morning is any messages Brooklyn may have sent me from New York! Then I check my schedule for the day, as well as what the kids have going on that day.

What business do you conduct before 10:00 a.m.?
Pre-10 a.m, I’m usually busy getting the kids ready for school. As soon as that’s done I head to the office, and check my emails on my phone in the car on the way to work.

What time do you head to your office?
After everything’s done with the kids I usually aim to get into the office around 10 a.m.