Beauty Inside & Out: Dawn Russell

In the ultimate quest for inner beauty and outer glow, Marie Claire asks our favorite trailblazers to share intel on finding balance in their busy lives. Read it all here, in Beauty Inside & Out.

There’s nothing quite like a terrifying health scare to shift life’s plans. For model-turned-8Greens-founder Dawn Russell, it was a stage III lymphatic cancer diagnosis at age 25 that had her searching for alternative therapies. What she found was actually pretty simple: dietary greens—something she swears helped aid her recovery. And something she later discovered 87 percent of Americans were coming up short on. Five years of testing and hundreds of formulas later, her first 8Greens effervescent supplements were born. That was 2016; these days, the London-based entrepreneur and mother is all about maintaining balance for staying healthy, glowy, and strong: “I always take a midday nap if I can before [my NYC head office] opens and my kids come home from school,” says Russell. “I know this is a Spanish thing, hugely un-American, but I feel most effective by doing this.” Ahead, she shares more feel-good tips and her favorite recipe for a guilt-free sweet fix.

Inner Beauty

8Greens Daily Effervescent Tablets
“I drink them all day. I find that greens literally make my body engine work better, so a huge goal of mine is to get as many greens into me and my loved ones as possible. It’s not easy, hence why I created 8Greens, but it’s worth the effort. My brain works faster and clearer, I feel less fatigued throughout the day, and I find that both my digestion and sugar cravings are more in control.”

Acupuncture
“I went to acupuncture school and a Chinese professor explained to me that acupuncture keeps the internal system moving so the organs do not get overwhelmed. It is prevention at its best. My entire body moves better and feels lighter after a good session.”

Cupping
“Cupping sucks out all the heat and toxins in the body. Given I have a compromised lymph system, I need to help keep everything moving in my body. It’s as though my body only has half a filter system so I need to help the system I do have.”

Headspace
“The app helps both me and my boys turn down the noise in our brains at the end of the day and start to relax for sleep. I like that it’s mainstream and simple enough that my boys do not find it odd. It feels natural as opposed to meditation.”

Epsom Salt Baths
“Along with acupuncture, cupping, and the app headspace, Epsom salt baths are my essentials for life. I take one weekly and pour the entire bag into my bath. After soaking, I air dry my body by lying on top of a towel on my bed allowing the Epsom salt water to fully absorb into my skin. It is a subtle detox while I sleep.”

Outer Glow

Le Labo 31 Rose Eau de Parfumand Hand & Body Lotion
“With the body lotion, I feel like a little girl playing dress up or some elegant French woman who applies layers of scents and lotions to her body. The scent has become a signature for me. People know me by it. Taxi drivers comment on it. It has become “my thing.” I don’t really follow fashion trends or wear makeup or jewelry so I find this scent has become part of me.”

8Greens Skin + Collagen Supplement
“I drink it throughout the day. I do not remember the last time I had a facial, so this is my way of seamlessly incorporating a daily skin routine into my hectic schedule. I just know I have ticked that box and it has taken zero time.”

Klorane Dry Shampoo
“I use it to make my hair look bed-head messy. Living in Paris as a young teen, I was introduced to this French staple. I have a lot of hair and washing it too often dries it out. By spraying Klorane into my roots and then turning my head upside down and shaking the excess out, I find my hair gets better and better the second and third day before washing it again. However, when I work out, I use Klorane and wash every other day.”

Westman Atelier Eye Love You Mascara
“The Westman Atelier team live by the same efficacy, sustainability, and quality that we do at 8Greens. Gucci is a friend and I know firsthand that she will take longer to make that extra little detail top quality in her product. The more I get to know the ins and outs of the beauty world, the more I discover how rare this is.”

Recipe for Success: Russell's 8Greens Fruit Cobbler

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Choose 5-6 cups of any fruits you like, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, ripe mangoes, peaches, mandarins, passion fruits, pineapple, and/or blackberries. Russell prefers to mix a few different types together. Chop the bigger fruits into bite-size pieces.

3. Dissolve 1 8Greens tablet in 1⁄4 cup water and add it to the fruit along with 1⁄4 cup coconut sugar.

4. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup gluten-free flour, 3⁄4 cup rolled oats, 1⁄2 cup shredded coconut and 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon.

5. Stir in ½ cup melted butter and 1 tbsp. manuka honey.

6. Cover the bottom of a 9x11 inch baking pan with the fruit, then sprinkle the cobbler topping over it.

7. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until the top is golden. Enjoy warm or cold.

This story was updated to reflect five years of product testing by 8Greens prior to launch.