How Tower 28 Beauty Founder Amy Liu Spends the Lunar New Year

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Welcome to 24 Hours With, the series that takes you inside the daily lives of celebrities, tastemakers, founders, and experts. Read on to learn their daily beauty rituals, go-to meals, and favorite ways to unwind, from the moment they wake up until their head hits the pillow at night. For this Lunar New Year, which fell on February 10, we asked Amy Liu—founder and CEO of beauty brand Tower 28—how she’ll spend the day.

5:00 a.m. On Lunar New Year, I will ideally wake up to a clean house. It’s believed that how you start your first day of the new year is indicative of what the rest of your year will bring, so it’s important to start fresh in every way: Deep-clean your house (and in doing so, “sweep” away bad energy), get a haircut, have your clean clothes picked out and ready to go. It’s a beautiful tradition that also acts as a sort of reset. I try to get at least seven hours of sleep. I wake up every day between 5:00 and 5:30, and Lunar New Year will be no different!

5:30 a.m. Early morning is a cherished time for me, as between work and family, it’s really the only time I’m alone. To me, that’s indulgent. I’ll take a walk on the beach, listen to my favorite music, and get a slow start to what is sure to be another busy day.

6:00 a.m. Going back to that idea of a reset, I definitely won’t be skipping any steps in my [skincare] routine! I typically don’t wash my face in the morning; I start with a cleansing spritz, using our SOS Rescue Spray. Then I use SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic or Mother Science Vitamin C, followed by our SOS cream. My makeup routine on LNY will be similar to my everyday makeup, but I’ll make sure to wear a red lip, like our ShineOn Lip Jelly in Spicy. We also recently released a limited-edition collaboration with upcoming movie Kung Fu Panda 4, which included our BeachPlease Cream Blush in Dumpling Hour, a beautiful, sun-kissed red shade. I’ll definitely sport that today. I skip fragrance—I actually never wear it, because I’ve found it doesn’t agree with my temperamental, sensitive skin.

6:15 a.m. My outfit focuses on only one color: red! Wearing red on LNY is thought to bring good fortune and prosperity. I actually only own one red sweater, so that will come out of the closet for the day. My kids will be sure to wear red as well! My dad lives in China, and he’ll often bring back traditional Chinese clothes, which they wear for Chinese New Year.

7:00 a.m. I will pack tangerines for my kids’ lunches on LNY, and there are certain foods you “should” eat throughout the day that are indicative of good fortune—things like whole fish, dumplings, and spring rolls.

8:00 a.m. Every year, I visit my daughters’ classes on LNY. I bring a book to read to the class that explains the holiday, teach them a few words in Chinese, and do a craft together. Something fun I like to do is give each student bubble wrap, and then we all twist it or step on it at the same time to sound like fireworks!

12:00 p.m. For lunch on LNY, I will probably do something special for my team. During LNY—and actually in Asian culture in general—food is very symbolic and is meant to signify community and a sense of coming together. So, for instance, I might take my team out for hot pot; everyone eats from the same bowl, so it’s that idea of being together, and sharing the experience of food.

2:00 p.m. I’ve gotten into the habit of having one matcha and one coffee a day, although some days it’s tempting to have more. We are actually planning to launch a specialty drink with [Szechuan market] Suá Superette here in Los Angeles soon—it’s an iced strawberry matcha that is seriously delicious.

3:00 p.m. I like to spritz SOS Rescue Spray throughout the day. It’s a nice resetting moment, and it keeps my skin happy, no matter what the day brings!

6:00 p.m. My sister and I will both cook dinner on LNY. We try to make the dumpling filling ahead of time, and then get together and assemble them with the kids. We also love making nian gao, which is sort of a sticky rice cake. It’s a common tradition to have it for the new year, as it’s believed that if you eat something sticky, good luck and fortune will stick to you! Lunar New Year is a very social holiday, and it really energizes me.

7:00 p.m. My kids and I clean out our closets, trying to donate things and get organized and settled before the new year. When I was a kid, the tradition I was most excited about was definitely the red envelope, which is when you give friends and family envelopes filled with money, to symbolize giving good wishes and luck for the year ahead. We typically open them during dinner.

9:00 p.m. The last thing I do before bed is clean the house, get the kids to bed, and make sure my mind is settled and ready to welcome a fresh new year.

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