How does Miles Chamley-Watson keep his appearance and energy—not to mention, his coils—sharp while on the road? It all starts with a scented candle and a “lovely” brightening face mask. Herewith, the two-time fencing world champion and Olympic medalist walks Vogue through his skin care, hair care, and overall wellness routine.
After peeling off his face mask, the British-American athlete endorses a controversial skin care step. “I’m a facial scrubber,” he says. “Some people say oh, it’s too hard on your skin”—but he begs to differ. While exfoliating with a “glob” of scrub, the 34-year-old explains the particular skin care needs of someone in combat sport. “I started exfoliating a lot more because, in fencing, we sweat a lot,” he says. “If your skin’s not clean then it’s easy to get acne, or just irritated skin.” Fortunately, that’s not the case today.
“Looking like a million dollars,” he says of his glow, before moving onto an oil cleanse with Ma:Nyo’s Pure Cleansing Oil. “Since you just scrubbed the skin, now you gotta love the skin,” he says, smiling cheekily at his poetic cleverness.
While the Korean product sinks in, the jet setter reaches for a French classic. And as he pats on Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 1970, Chamley-Watson has the City of Light in mind. “The Olympics is going to be in Paris this season,” he says. (Haven’t you heard?) “It’s going to be really lovely to be able to hopefully make history there, but also just be in the amazing culture of Paris.” Of course, he’s already participated in one of the city’s most haute traditions. “I was just in Paris with Vogue World; I was walking my thing down the runway,” the athlete remarks, giving a demonstrative sashay before applying Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Vitamin C serum.
The London native smooths on a healthy dose of Supergoop! sunscreen next, then shares the other rituals that keep his skin—and his spirit—in top form. “I got my first facial ever and I was like this is incredible, I want to go every day,” he says, adding that massages and weekly visits to the sauna are part of his regimen. “It’s very important to take care of yourself,” he notes. “I see a lot of women take care of themselves—I should do the same.” And he does.