At the end of the day… Halima Aden

HALIMA ADEN 22, Model

on whizzing up face masks and smoothies, meeting missandei and her mum’s soup Home is Minnesota. I love it, it’s where I’ve been since I was eight. I’m never moving to a fashion capital because I think it’s important to remain loyal to the state that has given me so much, and the community that’s done so much for me.

I love going home and visiting my mom, she makes the best Somali homemade soups. That’s really how I like to take care of myself, especially if I’m under the weather during winter. I’m really good at smoothies – strawberries, banana, blueberries, a little peanut butter, almond milk and lots of ice.

Sometimes I’m only home for 10 hours. So it’s just dump, pack, shut, and then go. I’m working with a stylist now so I don’t even have to pack a whole lot.

Travel takes such a toll on you so, when I’m home, I do my homemade face mask. That I can do really well. My mom taught me to do honey and turmeric to brighten the skin, and oatmeal for exfoliating. I really like a good skincare regimen. I use Dermalogica products and a rose water or aloe vera spray for on the go.

Working out I’m going to work on! Meditation is great, and spending time with my girlfriends, filling them in on my travels, is a good decompressant.

I’m usually good at switching off although, with fashion, there is never really a switch off. It’s a creative space. I’m always thinking about work – what happened on set, or ‘I can’t wait to try this new look’ – but it’s fun so it never really feels like you’re working.

The night before a shoot, I always try to do a little bit of homework. I look up the photographer, the magazine, and the make-up artist when I get the call sheet. The new Pandora campaign [left] was shot in Copenhagen and was the first time I met all the other muses. I was so nervous to meet Nathalie [Emmanuel] because I’m a huge Game Of Thrones fan, I’m obsessed. I was like ‘be cool’! We’re basically family now, so I think I can fan girl and say, ‘Oh my God, tell me all about Missandei.’

I’ve just binged both seasons of Big Little Lies. Meryl Streep is amazing. I also really liked Euphoria. And a couple of times a year, I revisit Legally Blonde or Mean Girls.

I’m really bad about my phone. When I’m at work, I put it away, it’s all about interacting. But when I’m at home, I’m trying to catch up with our group texts, and sometimes there’s like 400 messages from my girls. I am on my phone when I can’t sleep, but that’s probably why I can’t sleep! I always read the news before bed, last night I sent my manager a CNN article at 1.32am.

I am a night owl.

I can stay up all night. I try for seven hours’ sleep, but it depends on work – I’ve done two hours, or even no sleep, and still worked a 14-hour shoot.

I don’t wear pyjamas. If

I can sleep naked

I feel amazing. But never without covers,

I don’t care if it’s like an oven.

I’m disciplined in the morning. Nobody should ever check social media first thing. But turning on good music is a must for me. Beyoncé, Rihanna, this morning I played Baby It’s You by Jojo. It’s necessary. No music means crawling, painfully, out of bed. But then when music is playing it’s: jump out of bed, espresso shot! Halima is a Pandora Muse; pandora.net