Atelier Doré

Meet the lovely Carol Han Pyle, founder of Nette, a clean and sustainable candle brand! Read on to learn how this self-proclaimed type-A New Yorker centers herself throughout the day.

What is your morning beauty routine?

My morning routine is a bit intense. I tend to do all my little self-care rituals first thing in the morning, so it takes awhile! My husband is really good about leaving me to it and taking our pups to the beach for a walk so I can have some alone time. I wake up around 6:30 and immediately write my morning pages. It’s basically journaling, which I’ve been doing my on and off my whole life, but with more of a structure around it and done according to The Artist’s Way, which I’ve made a 12 week commitment to. I do three pages for about 30 minutes and it serves as my meditation. Then I throw on some workout clothes and head downstairs for an hour of Tracy Anderson Method. After I’ve worked up a good sweat, if I feel like I have some extra time, I’ll head outside for a 30 minute walk to clear my head even more and get ready mentally for the day. Those walks are when I come up with all my best ideas and really break through any problems I’m having. I never bring my phone or listen to anything, it’s just me and the trees. After that, I’ll brew some coffee and head back upstairs to get ready.

Before I shower, I scrub myself all over with a dry brush. I use Goop’s and I really like the bristles on it, they’re not too stiff, not too soft. I jump into the shower and shampoo my hair. I switch shampoos but right now, I’m using Grown Alchemist and I really like it. I wash my hair a few times a week, about every other day, AND I actually look forward to wash days! I’ve come to like the ritual of it. There’s a brand called Crown Affair that talks about this a lot and I think I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid. Speaking of, I’m using their hair mask as my conditioner and it’s so great. I leave it in for a few minutes while I do a body wash (I like Nécessaire’s) and by the time I rinse, my whole shower smells so good and my hair feels super silky.

Right after I get out of the shower, I slather on Klur’s body oil—smells like heaven. Then I use some sort of gentle exfoliator. I like Augustinus Bader’s Exfoliating Toner for daily use and U Beauty’s Resurfacing Compound for use a couple times a week. I find it to be stronger on my skin so it’s not an every day thing for me, but when I do use it, I notice immediate results. It makes you really dewy and glowy. I let that sink in while I comb my hair. I love Crown Affair’s little chubby tortoise comb for that and then I slick on about 4-5 pumps of their hair oil too.

By then, the toner or compound has had a minute to sink into my skin, so I follow that up with Victoria Beckham by Augustinus Bader serum, which feels really nourishing. It’s like nothing I’ve used before, I think the texture is quite unique. Then, I put on a layer of Victoria Beckham by Augustinus Bader’s moisturizer, which imparts a great glow. Lately, I’ve been trying out Ubuna’s newly released Balance Moisture Cream as well and it has the nicest texture. When I need a little extra glow, I’ll dab on some of Saie’s Glowy Super Gel.

After my skin is prepped, I do a short five minute make-up routine—it’s just mascara (Jones Road Beauty lately), Victoria Beckham eyeliner in Cocoa, Saie brow butter in medium brown, Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks in Petal, and a spritz of Perfumer H Rain Cloud. After alllllllll that, I’m ready to start my day!

What products do you use throughout the day?

Nette candles all day every day! It’s become such a nice ritual for me to pour a cup of coffee, light a candle, and settle in for the day at work. I love lighting Another Life on weekdays. It’s a really soothing, warm scent. Super comforting for when those stressful workday moments hit. I’m also a fan of Augustinus Bader’s lip balm, I reapply that stuff constantly.

What is your evening beauty routine?

My evening routine is a lot shorter than my morning one! I’m not a night owl, so by the time bedtime rolls around, I want to get into pajamas and into bed as soon as possible. I generally just brush and floss, wash my face, and slather on more of my Victoria Beckham Beauty by Augustinus Bader serum. A couple times a week, I’ll also layer on Saturday Skin Yuzu Vitamin C sleep mask for extra moisture.

I wear Hill House nap dresses to bed every night—the coziest! I love the short Katherine style for sleeping. I usually fall asleep reading a book and try not to look at my phone. On nights when I’m successful with that, I notice a difference in my quality of sleep.

When do you feel most beautiful?

When I’ve created space for myself to just be. I’m a classic Type A New Yorker who has spent her whole life working and producing at a crazy pace. It’s hard for me to just exist and do nothing for any substantial amount of time. Stagnancy is my nightmare and can cause real anxiety for me. This way of being isn’t sustainable 24/7, though, and I’ve come to realize that over time. I definitely fall back into those mindsets easily, but when I can consciously take a step back and engage in rituals that slow me down and refocus my attention internally, that’s when I feel most beautiful and at peace. That includes making time daily to meditate, journal, sweat, take walks, play with my dogs without looking at my phone, read, and cook delicious dinners.

What inspired you to launch Nette and how is it different from other candles?

I’ve loved candles my entire life—my mom owned a candle shop on the water in Sausalito when I was little and some of my first memories are of hanging out there watching her hand dip and carve the most beautiful pillars. Candles have always been in my DNA. Flash forward to present day and I was watching this incredible movement happen in the beauty industry towards clean and sustainable brands and products. It was so inspiring, I retooled my entire beauty cabinet with a focus on clean, founder-led brands. The home fragrance industry seemed to be lagging behind, though. I couldn’t find a super clean candle with total ingredient transparency that had proven sustainability practices and was also really chic. So, I decided to make one. At Nette, we put every single ingredient that’s in our candles on our site, use recycled paper boxes printed with seaweed ink and a 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton wick, have our glass hand blown by artisans in Italy, and formulate our fragrances with master perfumers using all naturals. We pay attention to and take the utmost care with every single detail so that our amazing “Nettework,” which is what we call our fans and customers, can burn our candles feeling really safe and well taken care of.