The Edited Counter

The bathroom counter is the first surface you see in the morning and the last at night, which makes it the best-value styling project in the house. An edited counter needs fewer things in view, a little order, and two or three pieces that are a pleasure to reach for. Here are the five moves, and the three pieces from The Gloss Shop that earn their place on our tray.

1. Clear it completely

Take everything off, wipe the surface and put back only what you use every day. Everything else goes in a drawer, a basket or a cabinet. It’s a ten-minute job, and it’s most of the transformation.

2. Decant

Hand soap into a glass pump bottle; cotton rounds into a lidded jar. Matching vessels read as a hotel rather than a supermarket aisle. The exception is anything already beautifully packaged, which is the next point.

3. One tray, three pieces

A tray, whether stone, wood or brass, turns a scatter of small things into a single composed object. Ours holds three things we use every day and would happily look at: a hair oil, a hair perfume and a brush.

Sisley Paris Hair Rituel

Precious Hair Care Oil, 100 ml

A finishing oil in a heavy black bottle, the tall piece on the tray.

Key ingredients

Moringa, shea, passion fruit and cottonseed oils.

What the brand says

Nourishes and smooths the hair, tames flyaways and gives an intense shine without weighing fine hair down. For all hair types.

How to use

Warm 2 to 3 drops between your palms and smooth from mid-lengths to ends, on damp hair before blow-drying or on dry hair to finish.

$135.00Shop now: Precious Hair Care Oil, 100 ml, $135.00, at our partner boutique (opens in a new tab)

Maison Éloure

Hair Perfume Elora, 50 ml

A hair perfume in Maison Éloure’s warmest scent, the medium height on the tray.

Key ingredients

Fragrance in a light care formula with panthenol, sunflower seed extract and cranberry extract.

What the brand says

Opens fresh and slightly spicy, then turns creamy and softly sweet; the care formula keeps hair soft and shiny and scents it without weight.

How to use

Mist over dry hair from about 25 to 30 cm.

$82.00Shop now: Hair Perfume Elora, 50 ml, $82.00, at our partner boutique (opens in a new tab)

Sisley Paris Hair Rituel

The Pocket Brush Radiance & Softness, travel size

Sisley’s radiance brush in a travel size, the low piece that lies flat.

Key ingredients

Supple bristles designed for the scalp and the hair fibre.

What the brand says

Detangles gently, helps stimulate the scalp and leaves hair soft and shiny with regular use.

How to use

One minute, morning and evening: ends first, then up to the roots; head down, from the nape to the forehead and from the sides to the crown.

$95.00Shop now: The Pocket Brush Radiance & Softness, travel size, $95.00, at our partner boutique (opens in a new tab)

4. Three heights

A tall bottle, a medium one and something low. Varied heights look deliberate; a row of identical heights looks like inventory. The same rule styles a mantel, a console or a dinner table.

5. Linen and light

A linen hand towel, folded in thirds, softens all that porcelain and stone. Add one candle or a small stem in a bud vase, and swap harsh overhead light for a warm-white bulb (look for 2700K on the box) wherever you can.

The two-minute evening ritual

When the evenings get dark early, this is how we use the tray before bed.

1. 1 minute

   Brush, one minute

   The Pocket Brush (opens in a new tab), gently: ends first, then head down, from the nape to the forehead. A good moment to stop looking at a screen.

2. 30 seconds

   Two drops of oil

   Warm 2 drops of the Precious Hair Care Oil (opens in a new tab) between your palms and smooth them over the ends.

3. 10 seconds

   A breath of scent

   One mist of Elora (opens in a new tab) over the lengths, from arm’s length. It is lovely on the pillow.