Evening routine: 3 habits to leave behind this autumn

Since the clocks went back on Sunday, the sun sets in Paris at about 5:40 p.m. The evening is long now, and our habits stretch with it. Three of them can stay with the summer.

Why leave scrolling in bed behind?

Because the phone never finishes. One more message, one more video, one more look at tomorrow's weather, and the feed is the last thing you hold before you switch off the lamp.

The swap: the phone across the room. Charge it on the chest of drawers, on silent, with the alarm set: you will have to get up to switch it off. Keep a book on the bedside table instead. The INSV, France's national institute for sleep and vigilance, recommends switching screens off one to two hours before bed and leaving them off until morning. Across the room is a good start.

Why not go to bed with your hair wet or tied tight?

Wet hair dries however the pillow decides: flat on one side, bent where you lay on it. A tight ponytail on a bare elastic is the opposite habit: you would not wear it that tight all evening, so there is no reason to keep it all night.

The swap: dry, then loosely tied in silk. Dry your hair before bed, or at least the lengths. Then a loose braid or a low, soft knot, closed with a silk scrunchie rather than a bare elastic: its elastic is wrapped in 22-momme mulberry silk, and hair glides over silk instead of rubbing. Medium suits a braid or fine hair, Large ponytails and buns, XL top knots and full hair.

For sizes and three night hairstyles, read Silk scrunchies: M, L or XL; for more, read seven night-time hair habits.

Why is the last step the one we skip?

Because by then the lamp is off and it feels optional. Yet a bedroom is rarely without light: a streetlamp through the curtains, a charger's standby light, a partner still reading.

The swap: the eye mask, last. Keep it next to the book, where your hand finds it without looking, and put it on once the lamp is off: it reduces the ambient light the room still lets in. Choose one that fits without pressing; our guide How to choose a silk eye mask covers fit and pressure.

What does the whole evening look like?

Four steps, fifteen minutes apart:

• 10 p.m., soft light: the lamps on, the ceiling light off.
• 10:15 p.m., phone away: across the room, on silent.
• 10:30 p.m., hair in silk: a scrunchie or a bonnet.
• 10:45 p.m., eyes covered: the mask, last.

Move the times to suit your evening; keep the order.

Where Siluxe fits

The Siluxe silk eye mask and silk scrunchies are 100% mulberry silk, 22 momme, Grade 6A, designed in Paris, in five colours: Rose gold, Gold, Bronze, Burgundy and Silver. The mask is one size, at 35 €. Darkness, softly. See the eye mask. The scrunchies come in Medium at 9 €, Large at 13 € and XL at 17 €. See the scrunchies.

For the night itself, the silk pillowcase, Standard 50 × 70 cm or Euro 65 × 65 cm, with an envelope closure, at 84 €. See the pillowcase.

Complimentary delivery from $100 on USD orders: the pillowcase and the eye mask together qualify.

FAQ

What time should an evening routine start?

There is no fixed hour. Start when you would like the day to end, and keep the same time each night: the INSV recommends regular bedtimes, weekdays and weekends alike.

Silk scrunchie or silk bonnet at night?

Either, or both. A scrunchie keeps a braid or a knot in place; a bonnet covers all your hair. Our bonnet guide compares the three shapes.

Sources

• INSV, ten recommendations (in French): screens off one to two hours before bed and until the next morning; a calm activity in the evening; regular bedtimes, weekdays and weekends.
• timeanddate.com, sunset in Paris, October 2026, cross-checked with the US Naval Observatory: 5:38 to 5:39 p.m. on Tuesday 27 October.

Each source was opened and checked on 23 October 2026.