A day in the life of L’Oréal tech leader Guive Balooch

I’m up around 5am, even at the weekends. I’ve been that way since I was a kid. I don’t need an alarm. About once a month, though, I’ll sleep for 10 hours. Apparently, even I have to catch up eventually. First I’ll make an oat-milk latte and enjoy the morning light in my living room. I love how bright it is. And the silence too — it’s the calm before the storm.

After coffee, it’s skincare and then food. I’m a SkinCeuticals fanatic. I use AOX+ Eye Gel, either Phloretin CF or C E Ferulic, and always sunscreen. My bathroom is a test lab. If my team is working on something, there’s a good chance I’ve tried an early version at home, sometimes before it’s ready… Next I look over my calendar, removing anything that’s not absolutely necessary, and make a smoothie.

I lean toward a Mediterranean diet, with plenty of fish and vegetables, but I love trying food from across the world, especially Japanese. Breakfast is usually a green smoothie with urolithin A and NAD+, plus yoghurt and fruit. I love dark chocolate with nuts. There is always some in my bag, and my team knows where to find it. If you’re in Paris, La Pistacherie is wonderful.

Guive Balooch

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I divide my time between Paris and New York, and walking is a big part of my day; usually 15,000 to 20,000 steps, and I love walking in the Jardin du Luxembourg. I play tennis a few times a week at a club with the prettiest view of the Eiffel Tower. I take the game more seriously than my tennis deserves.

I prefer massage and steam-room to sauna or cold plunge, wear an Oura Ring and love Withings products, including its smart body scales, which track weight as well as cardiovascular and nerve health. I’m interested in sleep and changes in body composition. Sometimes I use a Dexcom (a continuous glucose monitor) to understand my glucose patterns, usually after the holidays or summer, when I need a reminder to get back on track.

My most underrated tech? I like Shark ChillPill. A quick cool-down can do amazing things for your mood.

I manage stress and mental fatigue by making room for fun. We should all laugh more, especially on the intense days. I’ve worked with many of my team for 10+ years. We have so many stories and laugh all the time. I’ve also played the piano for about 30 years and I play to unwind or reset. I don’t meditate, but does watching Curb Your Enthusiasm count? I like ending the day with a laugh.

When it comes to cognitive enhancers I’ve been trying to be consistent with creatine. I feel like it helps me focus.

“Sometimes I use a Dexcom to understand my glucose patterns, when I need a reminder to get back on track”

I’m not great at switching off, I like being connected! But I try to put my phone away when I’m with people, with varying degrees of success. Dinner with my wife, Jenny, is always phone-free.

Guy Raz’s How I Built This is my go-to podcast. He’s a great interviewer and knows how to make it about the founders. I love hearing how things got started and what happened along the way. I also read The Atlantic, Axios and The New York Times. Shoe Dog was great, too. You see how much uncertainty goes into building something, even when you know how the story turns out. It’s a reminder that people don’t have everything figured out at the beginning.

I especially admire Oprah, how curious she is about people and how she makes each conversation feel personal, even when millions of people are watching. Listening like that is quite a talent.

When it comes to sleep, consistency is key: going to bed at roughly the same time, even at the weekend. That gets harder when I’m travelling, but it’s what I come back to. The Oura Ring helps me keep an eye on my sleep, too, and I make sure to take magnesium.

Guive Balooch leads L’Oréal’s Technology and Open Innovation activities, helping turn the company into a beauty tech leader