Superwoman Monique Foy

This Aussie turned Parisienne has a deep passion for wellness and draws inspiration from yoga, Ayurveda, her love for cacao ceremonies and her low-sugar lifestyle. She incorporates ritual and ceremony into her everyday life to make every day meaningful and special.   

I started out as a lawyer in Australia but early on in my career moved to Paris where I spent 10 years working in marketing for luxury fashion houses. I then had a short stint for an online beauty start up before launching Cosmic Dealer. Obviously my experience in brand building has served me immensely, but no matter how much experience you have, when you launch your own business it’s a whole other ball game. Whereas in my previous roles I headed one or two departments, suddenly you find yourself in charge of ..everything. That’s the most exciting and challenging thing about it. So I think the capacity to adapt and problem solve are more key than anything.

 

The little moment of joy you feel when you receive a nice note or message from a happy customer. We’re all about transformative daily rituals so we receive a lot of beautiful, encouraging feedback on how we have helped our customers make shifts in their wellbeing. I make these products really (selfishly) for me as the first customer, so it’s such a high when I hear what they are doing for others.

 

Tropical holidays. A low-sugar diet. I also strongly believe in supplements, especially: D3, K2, Fish/Algae oil, Magnesium and B12.

Tongue cleaning. Oil pulling. Rolling on fascia balls. Cuddles with my baby daughter. 8 hours of sleep.

 

Tongue cleaning and Botanical Bouche oil mouthwash in the morning are non-negotiables. I don’t think I’ve missed a day of tongue scraping in 11 years. I burn incense during breakfast in the morning: it completely changes the start of my day and immediately switches any morning stress to calm olfactive bliss.  

4pm is the moment I take pleasure in plants: I nibble on our dark herbal cacao and sip on our Ayurvedic tea. They are the perfect antidotes to any sugar cravings. I switch between the 85% and the 100% depending on my mood. On full moons I melt a whole tablet and combine with rose tea and spices ;) and usually do a little personal cacao ceremony with breathwork.

 

 

I have met a lot of female entrepreneurs from smaller brands similar to mine lately. I must say they are who I find super inspiring. We have similar motivations, purpose-driven missions, and it really does you good speaking to people that share similar day to day challenges. 

Voxe newsletter (French) and the NYT Daily podcast (English) for news 

Lucas Rockwood podcast for in-depth health musings Zara Wong’s substack for a mélange of pop culture / fashion Snaxshot newsletter for the consumer-good and packaging nerd in me. I also sometimes find myself falling into a Pinterest-scrolling coma for inspiration

 

I make sure to leave a day in the week without any (or minimum) meetings or calls: as being able to focus without distraction, especially when I’m working on creative projects is really important. I separate my tasks into ‘push forward’ and ‘ongoing’ tasks. Things that will ‘push’ the brand forward, that are new ideas and that will have a big impact can easily fall to the bottom of the to-do list because they aren’t entirely ‘necessary’ for the ongoing operation of the business. But they are key! So I dedicate time to them every morning, when I’m fresh. Then the rest of the day is dedicated to ongoings. Instead of long phone conversations my business partner and I are fans of short and sweet whatsapp voice notes. 

My business partner: we exchange on pretty much everything. Before she joined I must say it was much more difficult, and I spoke to myself a lot in my head! 

My life partner: he is also an entrepreneur so he also really understands the kind of support that I need.  

Myself: I do regular cacao ceremonies with breathwork that really help me access answers and ideas that I already have, but that my rational brain sometimes holds back.

 

In Ayurvedic tradition it’s very important to start the new day without the “waste” of the day before still in our body. So as soon as I get up, I scrape my tongue, then I put oil in my nostrils (nourishing and protective), and I wash my eyes out well with purified water. This way the ‘entry channels’ of the body are cleansed and I can start the day fresh.

 

Then I do a little movement: yoga or fascia ball rolling, or dance. I discovered that my newborn loves being in my arms while I dance salsa! So this is our new ritual.

 

I never skip breakfast: intermittent fasting does not really suit my Ayurvedic constitution (Vata). While I eat, I burn incense and put on Indian chants to create a relaxing atmosphere – unlike the on-the-go stressful morning routine I used to do.

 

Then after brushing my teeth I use 3-4 sprays of Botanical Bouche in the mouth for its anti-inflammatory properties and to ensure fresh breath before walking out the door. 

  

After a particularly busy day I’ll always try to do an Ayurvedic self-massage technique called Abhyanga: it's calming and very grounding. I do this with body oil before I bath: to lock in the oil’s benefits. Then I take a bath with magnesium salts and candles or evening incense, followed by a face mask. 

My breakfast: it’s a consistent, positive start to my day. 

I mix oats, turmeric, cinnamon, flax seeds, chia seeds and almonds together and soak them in water overnight. Soaking the almonds activates them and makes them beautifully crunchy. Then in the morning I add goat yogurt, a prune, an apple and a spoon of homemade cacao+tahini mix. In the middle of winter I warm it up but otherwise you can eat it as it is. It's not too sweet - it's delicious. 

Sunscreen, without a doubt. And putting body oil on before I shower (not after). Gives you hydrated skin for much longer. 

At home: The Palais Royale gardens in the late afternoon. They are buzzing with all sorts of interesting people. I like to sit there with my baby daughter and people-watch. Or a session of acupuncture with Elaine-miracle-worker-Huntzinger. 

 Away: Ibiza, I love running from Cap des Falco to Salinas beach and skinny dipping in the water in the very early morning. It's Ibiza after all, a little nudity never hurt.

 

 Sri Lanka where I do daily yoga at Sri Yoga Shala, Ubud to visit Radiantly Alive where I did my yoga teacher training, or Menorca where I go hiking to the most amazing secret beaches, passing wild goats and archeological sites along the way.  

 MZ Skin - LED Light mask. Game changer.  

Susanne Kaufmann Face Fluid Line A. LOVE it. Subtle scent, texture, results. Everything. 

New Moon socks. So cute.