Courteney Cox is a bit of a homebody, and you would be, too, if you had a home in Malibu as inviting and comfortable as hers. It also just might be the best-smelling place in the neighborhood, given her line of stylish, sophisticated household products scented in mint, cardamom, cedarwood, basil, mandarin, and rose petal. She created the Homecourt line—dish soap, counter spray, candle, hand wash, and hand cream—in 2022 and is now expanding into the laundry room with a detergent, a linen spray, and fragrance oils to sprinkle onto wool dryer balls. To toast the launch, Cox shares her meticulous and utterly charming nighttime routine—complete with earplugs and a mouth guard.
When do you start getting ready for bed?
I do the same ritual every night, but I’m really quick at it. I’m not someone who unwinds, and I’m a late-night person, so I probably start heading to bed around 11:30 or 12:00, unless I’m working.
What does your nighttime routine look like?
I take off my makeup with a hot scented towel. I think you’re supposed to do a cold towel after the hot one, but I don’t do that, because why put myself through anything that’s not comfortable before bed? I’m already too awake as it is.
I always make the mistake of brushing my teeth after I wash my face. I’m gonna switch that, because I put all of these serums on and then I wipe them off—no wonder I have so many wrinkles above my lip. After the serums, I use Retin-A, or a version of that, on my face, and then I do the same thing on my chest, and put cream all over my body because I’m dehydrated. When I get in bed, my goal is to stay off my phone. I put in Mack’s silicone earplugs, which I can’t sleep without. Oh, and I have to wear my mouth guard. Then I hope for the best.
Do you take anything to fall asleep?
I take Metformin, which is good for my blood sugar, because I’m kind of a sweets person.... I like sweets and salt. I take vitamin D and a lot of magnesium. I also take probiotics and an antioxidant.
How long does it take you to fall asleep?
I can do it pretty fast, but when I wake up in the middle of the night, as I do, that’s when I start thinking, “Oh, you gotta go back to sleep.” And then that takes forever.
Once you’re in bed, do you watch anything?
That depends on if my partner’s in town. We love to watch TV. He falls asleep right away and I, of course, will go through the entire series because I get hooked. But I don’t watch TV before bed if it’s just me.
What’s one thing that you have to do before bed?
I spray my sheets and pillow with our linen spray. It’s incredible. I even do it when traveling. I have such a strong sense of smell—it’s weird. I get soothed by smelling things that make me calm.
Do you add any steps when you’re shooting a project?
I just finished doing Scream 7, and we were shooting nights, so I did a lot of my routine before I left the makeup trailer. They have the hot towel and the stuff to wash your face ready, just because you’re so tired you just want to go home and brush your teeth … and wipe all of your serums off.
How do you decompress?
By having friends over or cooking. I love to be in the kitchen. I light a candle, cook, relax, and have a glass of wine. During the day I’m always going, going, going, so it’s nice to be able to talk to a friend. Talking about whatever is happening in life is a really good way to unwind.
Are you particular about your sleep conditions?
There can’t be any light and I have to be cold. I mean, how personal do we want to get? I don’t sleep with anything on top, but I have to have covers on me because otherwise it would be too cold. That’s how cold it needs to be. Yeah … I’m a nightmare.
How about your sheets?
I have to have really soft sheets. The sheets I have now are Duxiana, but I just bought some from Cultiver. I also like another company, called Coyuchi—they’re incredible. I’m not a linen-sheet person, per se, but I think I could be swayed. For now, I’m still a cotton girl.
Are you finicky about your pillows?
Yes, I have two Duxiana pillows. They’re travel pillows that I stack on top of each other and then put on top of an old standard-size pillow that’s almost featherless. I don’t like king-size pillows as much as I like smaller ones, because I like to fit them in little spots and … I don’t know.... Saying this all makes me realize how particular I am.
What’s your strangest nighttime habit?
Did I not say like five of them already? It’s not a great look: the night guard and the earplugs, and the hair that kind of sticks to the earplugs. But I don’t use one of those Breathe Right strips, and my partner does. Together, we’re really a sight.
What is your all-time favorite place to sleep?
Next to my partner. It’s nice when you can sleep with somebody that you’re comfortable with and when you’re not just waiting to roll over. Or honestly, my daughter, Coco. When she lets me sleep with her and I reach over and she holds my hand for a second, that’s so nice. But that doesn’t happen often.
What about your dogs?
I don’t let my dogs sleep in bed with me, even though I want to. I’ve done it before, but it becomes a whole co-dependency thing because I travel a lot, and then I feel bad, and I get jealous if they sleep in somebody else’s bed. I have loyalty issues with dogs. I need to know that I’m the most important.
What’s the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had?
I just went to Australia, and I didn’t sleep over there at all. The other side of the world just didn’t agree with me. When I came home, I slept until 11:30 A.M. That was worth the whole trip. Even though it’s beautiful, and I get it, I was only there for three nights. I sleep so well when I haven’t slept for a couple of days. I don’t mean not sleeping at all, but inconsistently. After that I get a great night’s sleep.
Jeanne Malle is an Associate Editor at Air Mail