SEPTEMBER 2019 | 63
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Age: 35
Job: Actor, writer,
stand-up comedian
Fitness MO:
Hip-hop dance
Wind-down
secret: CBD oil
ROUTE TO WELLTH
Aisling
Bea
The writer, actor and comedian talks witchcraft,
sustainability and making peace with her skin
HEAL
Now more than ever
we’re realising mental
health isn’t just an
airy-fairy idea. My TV
show This Way Up is
about a girl working
her way back up after
a breakdown. It
explores the fragile
period that follows
hitting rock bottom. It’s
not autobiographical,
but a huge part of my
life has been managing
stress and anxiety, and
I’m always changing
how I approach it
- one week it’s a
crystal healer, the next
week it’s a therapist. CELEBRATE^
I’m lifted by my female
peers. I’m glad we’ve
moved past thinking
there’s a finite amount
of space for women to
succeed. I was writing
my show at the same
time as my friend
[comedian] Sara
Pascoe was writing her
book [Sex Power
Money, out 29 August].
Reading it now, I’m like,
‘You came up with this
when you were sat
opposite me drinking
wine? You genius.’
MOVE
Some aspects of being
healthy come naturally
to me; cooking proper
meals is one of my
favourite things.
Exercise? Less so. It’s
taken me ages to find
something I like, and
dancing is definitely
that. I’ve tried to find
a hip-hop class where
I’m working, but the
guy I went to did salsa
to songs from a Shakira
album. I enjoyed it,
though – good old
Shakira, there are
some classics in there.
SUSTAIN
We all need to start
living more consciously
- and it’s all about little
changes that you can
make in your own
world. My sister is a
costume designer, she’s
done Black Mirror, and
she wrote a directory
to help the costume
industry become more
ethical. I tried to make
the set for my show
more sustainable, too.
We had meat-free
Mondays and no
plastic. Reducing my
avocado intake remains
a work in progress.
CONNECT
I love to try spiritual
things – I’ve even been
on a witches night. We
had to burn incense
and go round in a circle
to say where we were
in our cycle. There’s
a search for meaning
in this life and certain
things seem weird, but
I bet there’s science to
back them up. I grew
up in Ireland, which is
a very Catholic country
- I’m not religious, but
spirituality and a belief
in the connection
between humans is
important to me.
RESTORE
My sleeping became
out of sorts recently
because I got burned
out, and CBD oil has
changed my life. It
helps wind my brain
down. I travel so much
that pottering around
my house would
be my ideal evening.
I’d be carrying my
laptop like it’s a tray of
canapés and watching
Queer Eye. If I’m being
honest, I’d probably
cook potato waffles.
Things that you cook
in the toaster from
the freezer are my
nostalgia foods.
SYNC
I’ve just read Period
Power by Maisie Hill
and I wish they’d hand
it out in schools. I
started monitoring my
own cycle, and I’ve
realised how much of
a difference it makes. It
helps with your mental
health: ‘Oh, I feel low
today, it’s because my
oestrogen boost has
gone and I’ve had a
progesterone drop. So,
maybe if someone says
something to me today
that I don’t agree
with, I won’t write an
emotional email back.’
It’s knowing how to
map your mood.
TREAT
Managing my skin has
been a lifelong battle.
There’s nothing worse
than breakouts when
you’re a comedian
who is looked at
for a living. A New
York dermatologist
prescribed me
spironolactone,
which helped clear
my hormonal acne.
Appointments with
London facialist Abigail
James help, too. She’s
taught me to be wary
of over-perfumed
products – now
I love brands like
The Ordinary and
Image Skincare.
Catch Aisling in This
Way Up on Channel 4
this August
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