With her delightful malapropisms and breezy gaffs, Kathy Hilton is a gift to the Bravo universe. When she joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2021, The New York Times called her “the unexpected darling” of the show.
She seems unconcerned with rules and makes no effort at understatement. Just the other day, she posted an Instagram reel in which she twirls around in a new Alice + Olivia suit with the magnetic anti-theft tag still attached, blissfully uninterested in removing it. “I don’t care. I gotta go.” In another post, wearing what looks like her pajamas, she piles caviar on a baked potato as if she’s scooping ice cream.
Her Housewives stint almost overshadows her previous claim to fame as the mother of Paris and Nicky Hilton and the wife of hotel heir Rick. The 66-year-old meme queen tells us about her bedtime rituals and the logic of sleeping in false eyelashes.
When do you start getting ready for bed?
Rick and I come home from dinner at around 9:00, and by 9:30, I’m taking off my makeup. I have a big routine.
Take us through it.
I have more skincare than Bergdorf’s and Saks put together. I love doing a scrub and putting on masks. I love ReVive. Nobody can beat their neck cream. Then, after a week, I may switch to my La Prairie. I have everything, Estee Lauder, Allies of Skin. And, believe it or not, I just started using Paris’s skincare products [Parívie]. I don’t like the pink packaging, but I like the That’s Tight Neck Treatment. Then I do a night mask. I have very dry lips, so I have to always have something.
I like to take fruit and rub it on my face. Maybe it’s lemons on Monday. Tuesday, it’s strawberries. Wednesday, blueberries. I have a banana in my shake in the morning, and then at night I rub the peel on my face. I think it’s like a toner.
I take lots of vitamins—magnesium, glutathione, all the C’s, all the B’s. I use these Cymbiotika gel packs because I started to get nauseous from all the supplements.
On Mondays, I do a Tru Niagen drip to take me through the week. Sometimes I do that at night, and I’ll have them put magnesium in it. It’s like you’re floating to sleep.
I try to get one of those massages in the middle of the week to get out the water retention. What are they called? Lymphatic drainage. It really helps me, especially if I’m going out, because it will definitely flatten my stomach another inch.
Once you’RE In bed, do you watch anything?
I’m always scrolling. I don’t watch TV or movies, but I am on Instagram, Pinterest, and eBay. Chairish, too. I’m a chair collector. What I need to get rid of is the iPad. I’ve got to have somebody monitor me. I’m on it, and then I try to go to bed, and I’m thinking about everything.
It takes me about 20 minutes to fall asleep. I really try to think about what I’ve accomplished. Even if it’s something stupid like, I found mail, and I put it in the mailbox. Or I dropped off all this dry cleaning. It could be something great, like I returned the phone call I dreaded. It doesn’t have to be anything news-breaking, just little things to check off my list. I feel that’s a rose. It helps me calm down, relax, and feel good about the day. To be in the moment and not think about tomorrow.
What type of pillow, sheets, and mattress do you use?
I travel with my own pillows and a fan. So that’s part of my resting routine. The fan I’ve been using since I was little. Living in New York, it helped buzz out the sound of all the fire engines and police cars. When I moved back to L.A., it was really, really very quiet. I need some kind of a hum. All my children like it, too. And we carry our own pillows and our own pillowcases.
I actually did a line of sheets with Pioneer Linens in Palm Beach. And they’re beautiful, 600-thread count, and just so soft. I have a down comforter from Scandia that is insane, like sleeping on a cloud.
I always have a pillow between my legs and under each arm. I snuggle in the beginning, and by the time I wake up in the morning, I’m kind of on top of the comforter.
My mattress is made of bamboo, and it is so comfortable. They’re in every room in the house. People don’t want to get out of these beds.
Are you particular about your sleeping conditions?
I like the room to be very dark and cool—68 degrees. Rick will turn it up a bit, and I’ll just go and turn it down.
What’s THE one thing you Have to do before bed?
I cannot go to sleep without brushing my teeth. And I have to have some kind of lip balm on.
I cannot sleep without my Mindfold eye mask. It’s like a really soft sponge and doesn’t leave any marks on your face. The mask is almost a pacifier for me. Also, you can have on Liza Minelli lashes, and it wouldn’t touch them.
If I’m going to Vegas for the weekend, I do what’s called the Elizabeth Taylor. I clean off my eye makeup but leave my lashes on. I figure that at least if I have the lashes, I can put a little blush and not scare people.
Oh, and another thing, Rick snores. I wear Mack’s earplugs. They’ve saved my life.
How do you decompress after a long day?
I take a bath to calm down because I’m extremely hyper and A.D.D. It’s a little alone time without the phone and the iPad.
Do you have a favorite brand of pajamas?
I’ve been working with Print Fresh. For the last three years, we’ve done a pajama party for charity, and 50 percent goes to Nicky’s dog charity, Animal Haven, and my son’s, Yogi’s House dog rescue.
Where is your all-time favorite place to sleep?
Really, any comfortable bed. I mean, I love sleeping at home, but I sleep really well in Palm Desert. The best sleep I ever had was at my in-laws’ old house in the desert. It was the most relaxing, healing sleep.
Linda Wells is the Editor at AIR MAIL LOOK
