Tracey Broadway’s story: finding room for yourself when life changes

Feel more like you · 4 minute read

By HIGHBORN London editorial team · 23 September 2026

A small, familiar pleasure can have a place when life changes: choosing a favourite colour, getting dressed for the day, or taking a moment with a routine you enjoy. You get to decide what feels worth keeping, what needs to change and what can wait.

That belief has a personal place in HIGHBORN’s story. Its founder, Tracey Broadway, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34. Her experience helped shape a brand concerned with the woman behind the routine.

The woman behind HIGHBORN

As HIGHBORN’s founder story explains, Tracey’s interest in beauty gave her an idea to focus on during treatment. That idea became HIGHBORN, with the wish to bring comfort, confidence and a sense of normality into everyday life.

Tracey was a mother of two young children when she was diagnosed. Her treatment included chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. The brand’s About Us page describes the changes to her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, and how she felt about herself.

Those are parts of Tracey’s own experience. Someone else’s relationship with appearance, illness or change may be very different. There is room for all of those experiences here.

What that means for everyday beauty

We want the Journal to make daily choices easier. You may love skincare. You may want a short routine that leaves you time for other things. You may enjoy getting dressed up one week and put comfort first the next.

The same person can want all of those things at different times.

A useful place to begin is with a small question: what would make this part of my day work better for me now? That might mean moving a mirror to a better-lit spot, keeping a favourite cardigan within reach, or giving away a makeup colour you never liked very much anyway.

Try to answer using your present day. An old photograph, a former routine or somebody else’s version of a good morning does not have to set the target.

Try the keep, change and pause exercise

Take one piece of paper and make three short lists. You can use this for a beauty shelf, a wardrobe or the way you spend an evening. Choose one area first.

Keep: Which parts do you enjoy or find useful? Be specific. “My soft blue jumper” is easier to act on than “look after myself”. “Five quiet minutes with a book” gives you a clearer starting point than “relax more”.

Change: Which parts could fit your day better with a small adjustment? Put the things you use most where you can reach them. Move an uncomfortable item out of your everyday wardrobe. Give a routine a shorter version for busy days.

Pause: Which optional parts feel like work for little reward? You can leave a beauty trend, an elaborate hair routine or a pressure to look a certain way on this list. Pausing is a decision you can revisit.

For example, an everyday wardrobe list could be:

• Keep the trousers that feel comfortable when sitting down.
• Change the shoes so the whole outfit works for the walking involved.
• Pause buying another outfit until you have tried the combinations you already own.

These are suggestions from our editorial team, rather than a description of Tracey’s personal routine. Your own list will be different.

Make room for one part of yourself beyond appearance

Add a fourth line: something I enjoy simply because I enjoy it.

It could be a crossword, a chat with a friend, ten minutes in the garden, music you know by heart or looking through a recipe book. Choose something small enough to fit the day you actually have.

If your first idea sounds like another obligation, change it. A pleasure needs no impressive outcome. You are allowed to enjoy it and leave it there.

You can tell people what helps

If conversations keep returning to your appearance when you would prefer another subject, a simple sentence can set the direction:

• “I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.”
• “Can we talk about something ordinary for a while?”
• “I’m trying a simpler routine. It suits me at the moment.”

You can also say that appearance matters to you. Wanting help with clothes, brows or makeup is a valid preference. So is wanting to leave them alone.

Where Tracey’s story leads us

For our editorial team, the practical lesson is to offer useful choices and leave you in charge of them. Beauty can be a pleasure, a creative interest or a small part of an ordinary day.

If you are receiving cancer treatment, your care team should guide any changes to skin or personal care. Tracey’s history is a founder’s experience, not evidence that a cosmetic product is suitable for everyone having treatment.

You can read more about Tracey and watch the founder film here. For today, your next step can be as small as one thing to keep, one thing to change and one thing to pause.