Lea Michele Is Headed Back To Broadway With These Essentials

Lea Michele is headed back to Broadway. The Glee star will be joining Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher in the revival of the musical Chess this fall. Before that, though, she’s been preparing for another return when her 4-year-old son, Ever, goes back to school.

“As a mom, I'm making sure that I'm stocking up on all of the essentials, such as pencils, paper, backpacks, etc.,” she tells Elite Daily, “but I’m also making sure that I'm getting items for my home to make sure that I can help do my best to prevent the spread of germs.” The Scream Queens star doesn’t want her or her family to get sick before she’s able to take the stage.

“I'm a big self-care girlie,” she says. To stay on top of everything, the actor and singer, who recently partnered with Lysol for back-to-school season, has a supply of disinfectant spray and wipes on hand.

Below, the mother-of-two (she also has a daughter, Emery, who was born last August) shares the back-to-school essentials she thinks every college student should have in their dorm, her go-to self-care, and the wellness must-haves she keeps in her Broadway dressing room.

Elite Daily: What are the self-care products you recommend for college students heading back to school in the fall?

Lea Michele: I start my day with my Skinny Confidential face roller. It just helps me. When I'm waking up and starting my day, that feels really good. I also make a matcha when I wake up. I love Pique brand matcha.

I also love a really good electrolyte in my water. I love Needed. brand. They have amazing water electrolytes, so I have that when I'm going out or going to Pilates or doing school drop-off. And then I have my plethora of things in my shower, like a good body scrub, scalp scrub. I'm a big dry brush girl. My favorite end-of-day self-care moment is taking a bath and putting bath salts and bubble bath and all of that. Then, I love a Dr. Dennis Gross red-light mask before bed.

I'm taking care of myself the same way every single day because it's really just about me.

ED: Can you walk me through your full morning routine?

LM: I do my Skinny Confidential ice roller and then I dry brush before getting into the shower. I am a big fan of Shani Darden Skin Care as well as Dr. Dennis Gross, so I use both of their products. I love Shani's face wash. She completely healed my skin. I have really bad acne-prone skin — I have my entire life — and Shani's products saved me. I use Shani Darden's face wash in the shower, and then I use Rahua shampoo. I'll do Briogeo's hair mask as well.

Goop body scrub in the shower is also really great. Salt & Stone has a body wash that I love. I also love Necessaire's body wash. They're great. And then when I get out, I love a really good body oil. And then I do Dr. Dennis Gross peel pads. They've also really helped my skin. I follow up with his SPF and moisturizer. I'll do a little leave-in hair conditioning spray from Briogeo, and then I'm off.

ED: As you're about to return to Broadway in Chess, what are some of your dressing room must-haves?

LM: I love a SMEG tea kettle, air purifier, and humidifier. These are must-haves. Lots of tea is important. I also need my Lysol disinfectant wipes to clean my dressing room, and a framed picture of my family and my kids. A cozy blanket is important, and GoMacro bars. I keep a little jar of these vanilla bars and eat them throughout the show.

ED: Does your morning routine change at all on the day of a show?

LM: I like to live well and healthy all the time, so if I have a show, great, but if I don't have a show, I'm still doing the same thing. I'm taking care of myself the same way every single day because it's really just about me.

ED: You've inspired me because on days where I don't have anything, I just lay in bed.

LM: Listen, I get it, and that's also fine. My husband literally came into the bedroom the other night and he was like, “How do you still have more episodes of Love Island that you're watching?” He was like, “How many do they film?” I was like, “35 and I'm on 22.” I had one night away from my kids, and I got in bed at 5 p.m. and I started watching television. It's totally about balance, for sure.

ED: Who were you rooting for this season of Love Island USA?

LM: Amaya really came through. She's such a cutie. Amaya Papaya, love her. I also love Olandria so much, Chelley, and Iris. The girls this season were so awesome. Oh, and Pepe. Love him.

ED: Do you have any go-to recovery processes after a show?

LM: Every night after Funny Girl, I would drive home. I have an amazing singing coach that I work with. He also trains Ariana [Grande] and Sabrina [Carpenter], and so we do this little cool-down in the car on the way home.

And then every night, I would make breakfast at midnight. I made scrambled eggs and toast because that's my comfort food. My mom, whenever I was home sick as a kid, she would make me scrambled eggs in bed. And so, I would sit in the kitchen and make breakfast at midnight as my wind-down post-show, and it's how I would wrap up the evening.

ED: What are you manifesting for yourself the rest of 2025?

LM: I am always just trying to manifest balance. I want a good, positive balance in my life where I can be fully present with my family and feeling present and creative and inspired and energized at work at the same time.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.