“Supermodel caviar snack, let’s go.” Bethenny Frankel, in pajamas and bedhead, likes to eat on TikTok, in this case piling ossetra on a potato chip smeared with cottage cheese. “Why is it supermodel? Because I said so.” Anyone who’s watched her on The Real Housewives of New York City knows Frankel as funny, fiery, and unabashedly direct. She’s also unafraid to flaunt her Skinnygirl margarita wealth (she sold her cocktail business to Beam for an estimated $100 million in 2011). Frankel’s 3.3 million followers tune in for her beauty-product reviews, chicken-salad tastings, shopping trips to the Dollar Store and designer boutiques, and salty parenting advice (she has a 15-year-old daughter, Bryn). To celebrate her 55th birthday this week, Frankel shares her nighttime routine—snacking habits included.
WHEN DO YOU START GETTING READY FOR BED?
I want to say 10 or 10:30. Sometimes it’s earlier, because I want to get it done, and I know I’m going to be in bed watching TV. So between nine and 10:30, maybe.
WHAT DOES YOUR NIGHTTIME SKINCARE ROUTINE LOOK LIKE?
If I have makeup on, which is very rare, I use a cleansing balm and a washcloth, and double or triple cleanse, and then a foamy cleanser. I add a toner because I need to really make sure the makeup is off everywhere. Right now, I’m repairing my skin barrier, so I’m doing more healing of my skin with an under-eye cream, a serum—like a hyaluronic acid or a peptide serum—and then a rich cream.
DO YOU EAT ANYTHING?
I mean, I’m a snacker, so probably. Sometimes I’ll have a chill gummy, like a cannabis gummy, and sometimes salty snacks, like Skinnygirl popcorn, grapes, or some ice cream.
ONCE YOU’RE IN BED, DO YOU WATCH ANYTHING?
I fall asleep to TV shows, but I turn it off before I go to bed. Right now, I’m watching Girls, Animal Kingdom, and Task.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU HAVE TO DO BEFORE BED?
Put my night guard in.
DO YOU ADD ANY STEPS BEFORE A SHOOT OR EVENT?
Just hydrating sheet masks. I always make sure there’s a hydration packet in the water next to my bed.
HOW DO YOU DECOMPRESS?
Yesterday, I watched a show with my daughter, and I was able to nap on the couch. I always put my pajamas on the minute I’m allowed to—it could be three o’clock in the afternoon. I like to cook and make snacks, I like to lie with the babies [her rescue dogs, Biggy and Smallz] on the couch. I like to be horizontal, under a blanket, watching TV.
ON TO YOUR PAJAMAS…
That’s a loaded question. I have so many pajamas. I have some that are silky. I have good, soft, cozy ones—a lot of those. I have some men’s cut pajamas. I’ve got a lot of pajamas.
ARE YOU PARTICULAR ABOUT YOUR SLEEPING CONDITIONS?
I like to be blacked out with my fan on… And I like blankets, a lot of blankets. But I can sweat in the middle of the night, so I’d rather sleep in the cold, because you can bundle up.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR MATTRESS AND SHEETS?
I have Boll & Branch sheets, and they’re beyond. I have a Lola blanket. I alternate my bedding depending on the season, but I like Cozy Earth bedding. My mattress is Helix, and I’m obsessed with it. I posted about it, and the number of people who bought that mattress is astounding.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO FALL ASLEEP?
Fifteen minutes? Oh, but my other thing is if I can’t fall asleep, I’ll be screwing around in my closet, organizing like a crazy person.
WHAT’S YOUR STRANGEST NIGHTTIME HABIT?
I would say leaving my bed and going to pack and put together outfits like a weirdo.
WHERE IS YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE PLACE TO SLEEP?
Oh, my bed at my own house. I love my place in the Hamptons and my house in Florida.
WHAT’S THE BEST NIGHT’S SLEEP YOU’VE EVER HAD?
Usually, the good night’s sleep is not the night that you go out late, it’s the night after that. You’re just cozy in your home, there’s a little bit of Sunday scaries … those are decent nights.
Jeanne Malle is a Junior Editor at AIR MAIL
