Being Lenny Kravitz Takes More Work Than You Think

Talking with Lenny Kravitz, even over the phone, makes your heart rate slow in response. At least that’s what I experienced when I recently gave him a call to talk about YSL Beauty Y Elixir — the newest scent in the Y line, which he’s been the face and global ambassador for since 2020 — as well as his relationships with grooming and wellness.

Kravitz says he’s focused on being as simple and natural as possible by using “everything organic” and Dr. Bronner’s, as well as a special coconut oil “made by a woman on the island.” (He’s referencing his home on the Caribbean island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.) “You can’t buy it,” he adds, and that’s enough to make me consider looking into flights. “Once I’m clean and I’m straight, then on top of that I use my YSL, and that’s it,” he says of his “very simple but very effective” routine. The musician — who likes to wear the super-concentrated, oud- and bourbon-noted Y Elixir on his neck and wrists — says he likes other grounded, intense fragrances like the smells of wood and sage burning, coffee, and a Mexican incense he burns when he’s listening to music or sometimes just when the mood strikes.

This summer, Kravitz kicks off an international tour for his new album Blue Electric Light, which comes out in May. When I ask how he plans on keeping up with wellness practices, he says he prioritizes eating well, grooming, and training, the last of which he does six days a week. “People might think I'm extremely disciplined to a point that is probably crazy to them,” he says, “but for me, that works and gives me life and helps me to stay healthy and young.” In fact, the by-the-minute scheduling of a major tour, he says, is actually as close as he ever comes to maintaining a daily routine; otherwise, the only normalcy he feels comes from making music and art daily.

Hearing that Kravitz has no “normal” routine prompts me to ask what a good day looks like for him. In my mind, I imagine the response might be something like completing a song, going to the beach, or even training. But the answer is actually much simpler. “If I have another day of life, that’s a great day and I am grateful for it,” Kravitz says. “I do my best to live it to its fullest. I don't need anything extraordinary to happen — I just need to wake up.”