What Are Antioxidants In Skincare?
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A Day in the Life of: Skin + Me Co-Founder, Rachel Jones
In our ‘A Day In the Life Of’ series, we ask inspiring women to walk us through their day. Today, we’re talking to Rachel Jones, Skin + Me Co-Founder, a multi-tasker extraordinaire, mother of two and beauty expert with a skincare routine to die for.
Rachel is one of Skin + Me’s co-founders, and while she’s technically on maternity leave right now, she’s never one to switch off completely. Today, The Dose is sharing a day in her life working from home, juggling childcare and running a successful business!
MORNING
7am: I’ve got a 4-month-old baby so my day starts at about 5:30am at the moment when he wakes and starts making cooing noises in his cot next to my bed. We have cuddles until my 3 year old wakes and then we’re all in bed together having family snuggles by 7am – the perfect way to start the day. I’ll quickly check my emails and Slack for anything urgent that needs tackling first thing before preparing breakfast.
8am: We have fruit and yoghurt followed by porridge for breakfast most mornings. Coming from Yorkshire, I need a pint of Yorkshire tea first thing to kick start my day. I have very little time to myself so my morning routine needs to be fast!
I have a quick shower and wash my face with a cleanser like Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser. Once dry, I apply a hyaluronic acid serum, and an SPF50 every day without fail. At the moment I’m loving Niod Multi-Molecular Hyaluronic Complex and Beauty Pie Featherlight UVA/UVB SPF50 which is really lightweight and the perfect primer for my makeup.
In the colder months my skin can get dry so if I need some extra moisture I’ll also apply something like the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream Moisturiser before my SPF. Twice a week I’ll apply Tan-Luxe The Face tanning drops to give my face an all-year-round, healthy glow.
I don’t feel my best without makeup so I spend a few minutes on a natural makeup look, mostly using Charlotte Tilbury products: Light Wonder Foundation, Cheek to Chic Blusher, Brow Lift, Mini Miracle Eye Wand (to try and hide my tired eyes), and my favourite Pillowtalk lipstick.
I take a Pregnacare multivitamin every morning and use an additional Vitamin D spray all year round. Then I get myself and both children dressed and ready for the day!
9am: I’m working remotely at the moment whilst my son is small so I’m always at my desk by 9am. I like to start the day with the biggest task on my to-do list as I tend to have the most energy in the mornings.
10am: My job is really varied but ultimately it’s about ensuring that our customers have the very best experience possible when using Skin + Me. I can be working on anything from new product development ideas, creative ideas for new marketing materials, sourcing new brand ambassadors to work with, planning our next photo shoot, or carrying out customer research.
11am: Mid-morning I’ll have a matcha latte and have catch up calls with my team.
AFTERNOON
12pm: As Skin + Me grows we’re constantly on the lookout for amazing new people to join our team so I’ll often be reading through CVs or interviewing candidates for current vacancies.
1pm: I’ll have a lunch of a quick sandwich with the boys at 1pm before putting them both down for their afternoon naps then I’m straight back to work.
2pm: I try to leave replying to emails and Slack messages until later in the day if they’re not urgent, and I put a time limit on how long I spend on my inbox each day. I do often need to give feedback on creative, or social posts quickly, so we have separate channels set up for creative approvals that I’m checking more regularly throughout the day.
3pm: If I can then I’ll arrange one of my meetings in the afternoon to be a call where I can head out for a walk whilst I’m talking, just to get some fresh air, and try and keep any afternoon tiredness at bay.
4pm: I try to stay as hydrated as I can so I’ll have a few pints of water throughout the day whilst I’m at my desk…and probably a few more cups of Yorkshire tea!
5pm: When I’m working on a specific project we’ll often have a call in the afternoon to check in on progress and allocate the next tasks. Towards the end of the day, I always try to revisit my to-do list and reprioritise my work for tomorrow so I know exactly what I need to start the day working on.
EVENING
6pm: One of the biggest benefits to working from home is that we get to eat dinner together as a family which I love. We have 4 x Gousto meals a week, it’s a no-brainer for convenience and means that we get to enjoy a real variety of meals with very little planning.
7pm: Bath and bedtime for the children. If we’re both at home, my husband and I alternate putting each one to bed, and if everything goes to plan we have them both asleep by 8pm ready to start our evening together.
8pm: I try to fit in a bit of exercise a few times a week, although finding the time at the moment is tricky. I either go for a run first thing in the morning or do an on-demand pilates class with @LHapproach in the evening. She specialises in post-partum rehabilitation and has the perfect classes for easing back into exercise slowly and safely after having a baby.
9pm: Our perfect night is having a glass of wine together in our garden and catching up on each other’s day and then watching a series on Netflix. We moved house in December last year so I’ll usually be on Pinterest as well, planning the next room to renovate and online ordering paint, fabric swatches and trying to find good local tradespeople.
10pm: I’ll usually have a shower and wash my hair. This is my ‘me’ time, so it’s nice to make the most of not having a bathroom full of other people! I’ll double cleanse, taking my makeup and SPF off first with Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water then using the Beauty Pie Plantastic Apricot Butter Cleansing Balm.
Once my face is completely dry I’ll apply my Skin + Me treatment. As I’m no longer breastfeeding I’ve recently had a reformulation to add tretinoin back into my personalised solution and I’m already seeing the positive effects of using it again on the fine lines on my forehead and on my pigmentation, which got worse throughout my pregnancy.
For my body, I’ve been obsessed with Aesop Rind Concentrate Body Balm for years. The grapefruit scent and rich texture make it feel like such a treat to apply at the end of the day. I also use Bio-Oil on my stretch marks and c-section scar.
Just before bed, I’ll apply a night cream. I’m using Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Dream Night Cream at the moment which has a lovely scent and absorbs quickly, and then my Aesop Rosehip Seed Lip Cream which really feels like a moisturiser for your lips rather than a lip balm.
11pm: Even though I’m exhausted I rarely get to sleep before 11pm because I like to make the most of the few hours of peace at the end of the day. I love aromatherapy so I sprinkle lavender oil on my pillow and pray that tomorrow might be the day that I finally get a lie in!
