24 Hours With Marina Raphael: How The Swarovski Heiress Spends Her Day
From waking up to going to bed – and everything in between – she shares her daily routine with Bazaar here…
The Swarovski heiress opens up on family life, her minimal approach to beauty and who she dreams of wearing her bags…
6:45AM I’ll wake up naturally – there’s no need for an alarm clock even after a late night out – and I’ll have a warm cup of ginger tea to refresh me.
Breakfast is usually at 7:30AM. I’m a creature of habit so will either eat an açaí bowl or avocado on toast with my parents and my 17-year-old brother. Once I’m done eating I’ll put on my gym clothes and take two out of four of my dogs for a hike in the nearby mountains where I live in Greece. They’re big dogs so taking them all out at once is a little hard to handle.
By 8:30AM I’ll arrive home and take a quick shower using Korres Morning Mimosa Shower Gel and will always hydrate my skin with Nivea In-Shower moisturiser just before I’m done. I’ll wash my face with La Roche Posay Effaclar Foaming Gel and then will apply Vichy Mineral 89 Daily Skin Booster. I’ll tie my hair up in a ponytail, and very rarely I’ll wear a bit of tinted moisturiser, but I tend to go make-up free. It will take me about 10 minutes to get ready. I’ll choose something comfortable yet chic, one of my Marina Raphael tote bags and definitely flat shoes – my favourites at the moment are from Ingrid Incisa di Camerana – as I might be in the warehouse, running to complete orders or have client meetings. Functional style was key for me during the pandemic and I think the mood will stay with me, although after a whole year of lockdown in Greece, I’m very much looking forward to getting dressed up for a fun night out.
I’m at the office for 9:45AM, which is organised and clean as I think it is very important to keep everything visually calming, that’s why I have chosen soft and light colours for every surface. I have an open-door policy, so anyone can come in at any time to discuss anything they need. I’ll plan out my day first thing and catch up with anyone who is the office early.
I’ll schedule calls for around 12:00PM as it’s less hectic at that time, I’ll also answer emails, and prepare any packages to be shipped in the morning.
Around 2:00PM I’ll take lunch with my team, we tend to talk about other topics to take our mind off of work. Some of my most creative ideas come after interesting conversations I’ve had with my team, so I will always keep a notepad and a pen close by. I try to keep a balanced diet no matter where I am, therefore depending on the day I’ll have a healthy salad and some chicken or fish, my favourite is salmon with quinoa salad followed by a piece of dark chocolate. Every Friday I have this fun idea, where we take it in turns cooking a dessert for everyone in the office.
I’ll leave the office around 7:30PM depending on how busy the day is, but I’ll be still in work-mode so I’ll start planning the next day’s to-do list when I get home and will read the teams’ recap of everything they did that day so I can keep track of all on-going projects. During the summer, when the weather is good, I’ll go for dinner with a group of my close friends. I’ll wear a dress from Caroline Constas, her breathtaking designs are perfect for hot summers in Greece, which I will pair with a belt from my vintage collection. But since I tend to reserve my weekdays for family, I enjoy coming home to a home-made dinner with them and sometimes watching a movie together.
I’m an early bird so I’ll go to bed no later than 11:00PM. As I’m an energetic person, I’ll draw a calming bath to relax and will listen to an audiobook – currently Becoming by Michelle Obama. Ι would love to see women like Kamala Harris and Jacinda Ardern wear my bags. I truly admire their unwavering conviction to justice and equality as well as their passion and sense of duty with which they serve their fellow citizens. However, I have to admit that I’m equally thrilled when anyone chooses to wear my creations, as I believe that everyone is influential in their own way.
I keep a notepad on my nightstand as I might wake up with ideas and I need to write them down immediately otherwise I’ll forget. I’ll read a couple of articles on my iPhone and take a quick browse through social media before popping in my ear plugs as I’m quite a light sleeper.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s June 2021 Issue.