When Emma Chamberlain was 16, she did what many teenagers do: drove to the local Dollar Tree, bought a bunch of junk, and made a YouTube video of her so-called haul (Q-tips, a light bulb, hard candies). Thanks to her considerable charm and clever editing techniques, the video went viral, carving out her niche for turning mundane activities into highly engaging fare. In the blink of an eye, Chamberlain, now 22, collected 12 million YouTube followers and made it to Time’s list of the most influential people on the Internet. Her reach has expanded far beyond one URL. She now hosts a podcast, Anything Goes, sells Chamberlain Coffee, and is an ambassador for Cartier and Lancôme, among others. Her nighttime routine is just as action-packed.
When do you start getting ready for bed?
Most days, at 7:30 or 8. As soon as I’m done eating dinner I’m like, Let’s get this moving while I still have energy. If I wait too long, then I go to bed without doing the full skin care and brushing the teeth.
I’ve been known to go to bed at 8:30. But I’ve also been known to go to bed at five in the morning.
take us through your skin-care routine.
The first thing I do is take off all my makeup, if I’m wearing any. I like to do a proper deep cleanse with a micellar water and really get all the gunk off my face.
Weird fun fact: After I wash my face, I pause and brush my teeth. I use a very specific type of toothbrush called a Nimbus. They’re good for sensitive gums. Sometimes, I’ll Waterpik [with a Philips Sonicare]. My dad just introduced me to this because we both have receding gums.
Then I go back to put on all my [skin care] products. I try to keep it pretty simple because I’ve learned less is more. It’s just the Lancôme Advanced Génifique Face Serum—it’s perfect—thick Génifique night cream, and thick Génifique eye cream. I use the whole Génifique line.
Why do you take a break in your skin care to clean your teeth?
Whenever I brush my teeth, I get toothpaste everywhere. It’s on my face, it’s on my shirt. It’s somehow between my toes. How did that even happen?
Do you eat or drink anything before bed?
I always have like 10 beverages at all times. The first thing I do is I fill up my Stanley Cup with a bunch of water and ice. Sometimes I’ll put electrolytes in there if I worked out that day and feel dehydrated. I like Liquid IV and Ultima.
If I’m having a little sweet treat at night, a piece of chocolate or a little pastry or something, I’ll make a decaf Chamberlain Coffee or Chamberlain Coffee citrus chamomile tea with a little lemon.
I go through phases where I really want something to nibble on late at night. Recently it’s been popcorn. I’m obsessed with BjornQorn. It has nutritional yeast on it, and it’s so good. Sometimes I’ll have fruit in bed—something that will digest easily so I don’t have a tummy ache when I go to sleep, because I have really bad stomach issues.
At what point do you cut off caffeine?
Usually around four p.m. Then if I want coffee, no problem—I’ll just make decaf. If I’m going out for the evening, I’ll have an espresso at dinner, maybe with dessert. I don’t order an espresso martini. I like to have coffee and alcoholic beverages separately.
What do you do right before you fall asleep?
Online shopping. [But] not actually buying things. I like to see what’s on the market and fill up little wish lists at various Web sites, like SSense or Aritzia. And I’ll go on Pinterest because I feel like that’s a healthy form of social media.
I’ll [also] listen to music or listen to a podcast. I’m very all over the place—there are 500 podcasts I listen to because the algorithm provides me with things I like. I almost always fall asleep with something playing. I’m trying to stop doing that because I don’t think it’s healthy. Recently I’ve been trying to listen to sleep meditations.
Tell us about your pajamas.
I wear this one pair of Aritzia sweatshorts. They’re orange, and they’re so stretched out that no one can ever see them. They are so disgusting, it’s ridiculous, but they’re so comfortable. I will wear them with one of three T-shirts: one with Paul McCartney, another with a cat on it and a list of things that it can teach you, and my Wallace and Gromit shirt.
Are you particular about your sleep conditions?
It needs to be frigid. My room is 65 degrees. I like to lie on a heating pad, but I turn it off as I’m dozing off.
I have some lights on in other rooms, vaguely peeking into [my] room. I don’t want it to be jet black—that makes me uncomfortable. I like to be able to see out the window; that’s relaxing to me for some reason. I don’t like to feel claustrophobic.
Onto the bed …
When it comes to the mattress, I’m not super picky. I can fall asleep on anything. With pillows, I need a super-thin pillow. I want to be lying almost completely flat. It can’t be hard—flat but soft. To be completely honest, I haven’t found my perfect pillow yet. It’s a lifelong journey.
Sheets need to be super breathable and supersoft, which, again, is a challenging combo. I’m using the Buffy sheets right now. They’re some of the best sheets I’ve ever used. I made my dad buy them. They’re so cute, with white and blue stripes.
Do you let your cats sleep with you?
Oh, my God, I prefer it. I have a big orange cat who sleeps at the end of the bed, and a little white and orange one that sleeps on my tummy. Neither of us moves all night, and I wake up and she’s right there. I love it.
What’s your most bizarre nighttime habit?
I put my coaster, water bottle, and tea on the ground—my cats try to wake me up at two in the morning by knocking everything off my nightstand because they want treats. I’m like, it’s not time for that yet. I just gave you a treat before bed. They don’t understand this.
On top of that, I have a blue-and-red light mask. I will use that thing while I’m in bed, before I go to sleep, because I just need the thing in my bed. Other than that, I’m painfully normal.
What is the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had?
As depressing as it is, after a really therapeutic cry. It’s awful that in order to get to that point, you have to have challenging moments, but that’s what makes it karmically fair.
Jensen Davis is the Junior Editor at AIR MAIL
