Laufey’s Coachella Comedown Starts With An Icelandic Eye Patch
“I always need a little treat for the day.”
Laufey is in her recovery era. The 27-year-old Icelandic jazz singer (full name: Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir) just wrapped back-to-back weekends at Coachella, sharing the bill with headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G. Now she has a small window to breathe before her A Matter of Time Tour picks back up in Asia on May 15, and she plans to use it.
“I've been going pretty hard for a couple months now,” she tells Elite Daily. “I hope I can find moments of rest in between, and for the rest of the year as well.”
The intentional pause is a whole vibe for her right now. On May 2, the Grammy winner played an intimate show at the Americana at Brand outdoor mall in Los Angeles, hosted by modern teahouse CHAGEE. The pairing tracks: Laufey’s everyday self-care includes matcha or black tea with milk and honey. “My fans love anything that is both thoughtful and delicious, like our little daily tea drinks,” she says.
Two days before the show, Laufey hopped on a Zoom with Elite Daily to talk Coachella comedown, her favorite Icelandic skin care, and the joy of corralling her “Wasian Avengers” like Hudson Williams and Lola Tung for her mega-viral “Madwoman” music video.
Elite Daily: What are your self-care must-haves at a festival like Coachella?
Laufey: Lots and lots of water, because it's dry in the desert. I have this SOS spray from Tower 28 that I spritz on my face on flights. It wipes out the bacteria. Both my dermatologist and my makeup artist were like, “You have to use this,” and after two people tell you to use something, you really just do.
I also make sure that my skin care routine is really good. I've been using a lot of eye patches. I don't know if it makes a huge difference in how I look, but it makes a difference in how I feel. I make sure to also have a good sip of my daily matcha or black tea with some milk and honey. I always need a little treat for the day, and then, I put on an outfit that makes me feel confident.
ED: Do you have any favorite eye patches?
L: There's a brand called BIOEFFECT, which is Icelandic. I'm from Iceland, so I love using Icelandic skin care. They just know how to do it, and everything there is so clean and wonderful.
ED: Walk me through your typical morning routine.
L: I wake up and immediately wash my face. I use CeraVe’s face wash and moisturizer. Then, I brush my teeth, and usually, I braid my hair to go to the gym. I like getting a good moment of physical exercise.
After the gym, I grab a little caffeine drinkie and go on with whatever it is I have planned for the day. I also usually call my sister [Junia Lín Jónsdóttir] and family, because they're all either on the East Coast or in Iceland.
ED: Anything special for your skin pre-show?
L: Not really. I just make sure that it's prepped well, so that the makeup stays on and doesn't get crusty. At Coachella, I used the ONE/SIZE finishing spray with the sunscreen.
Once I'm on stage, it's kind of out of glam's hands. You have to pray that it stays on and stays looking good.
ED: And after the show?
L: At night, it's a race to bed for me. The second I get off stage, I'm like, “Let's go home.” I use Bioderma [micellar water] and a cotton pad to take all my makeup off. Then, sometimes, I'll go in with a cleanser, if it's really stubborn. I make sure to take my contacts out immediately too, and put a thick moisturizer on.
ED: Do you do anything different when you're going to be on camera?
L: Doing makeup for camera is a little different, because you have a little more control. There's usually a little more powder involved, and I’ll use whatever the makeup artist is using that day.
ED: What was it like uniting the “Wasian Avengers” of Hudson Williams, Lola Tung, Alysa Liu, and Megan Skiendiel from KATSEYE for your “Madwoman” music video?
L: I loved it so much. When I was younger, I didn't really have people around me or in the media who looked remotely like me. But even with how far we've moved along, I still often get compared to and mixed up with a lot of these women. So I thought it would be funny to join forces for a music video and have a lot of my doppelgängers in there. Then of course, the Wasian man of the moment, Hudson Williams.
We were hanging out the whole time in between shots. It made it so much fun.
ED: Favorite memories from set?
L: I was a little nervous going in because everyone's so amazing. I was like, “Who am I to do this?” I thought everyone was just going to be in their own little corner, but we were hanging out the whole time in between shots. It made it so much fun.
ED: Is there now a Hollywood Wasian group chat of people from the video?
L: Yes and no. Not really. It doesn't have a name.
ED: How do you like to decompress after a busy day?
L: A festival is fun, because you usually aren't playing a show again the next day. At Coachella, I loved running off to Karol G's set and watching her play. After all of those hours spent preparing, you can let loose, so that’s what I did to have fun.
ED: How do you treat yourself in your time off?
L: Recently, I've been loving cooking. I'm still learning how to be good, but I just love the process of following directions in a cookbook and trying to make something. When it works, it feels like such a magical moment.
ED: What are you manifesting the rest of 2026 for yourself?
L: Good health and some rest.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
