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TIMELESS PIECES TO INVEST IN NOW AND WEAR FOREVER
Hidden deep in the heart of Soho is the tranquil retreat loved by beauty insiders - SKINWORK, founded by Eilidh Smith in 2018. Starting out taking residency around the corner at Alex Eagle, the skincare brand launched it’s first solo flagship in Soho in amidst the global pandemic.
Hidden deep in the heart of Soho is the tranquil retreat loved by beauty insiders - SKINWORK, founded by Eilidh Smith in 2018. Starting out taking residency around the corner at Alex Eagle, the skincare brand launched it’s first solo flagship in Soho in amidst the global pandemic.
DF: Tell us about SKINWORK and how it came about.
ES: I’ve basically worked in the beauty industry forever. I’m not a therapist myself, but I worked in a beauty salon right back when I was at school, so I’ve been in the industry since I was about 12.
9 times out of 10, when I’m speaking to people in the skincare business, they’ve either had skin concerns themselves, or someone close to them has. And that’s what’s sparked the interest in them to work in this industry and I think it was somewhat similar for me. I had real problem skin and I had to really do my research and find out a lot about skincare in order to tackle and solve it really. I think that’s where my interest came from really.
With SKINWORK, I wanted to bring together the components of skincare and relaxation. We mention it a lot here – results in relaxation.Our number one goal is the skin results and solving the clients skin concerns, but we also want to make sure the client has a lovely experience whilst they’re here.
DF: Tell us about SKINWORK and how it came about.
ES: I’ve basically worked in the beauty industry forever. I’m not a therapist myself, but I worked in a beauty salon right back when I was at school, so I’ve been in the industry since I was about 12.
9 times out of 10, when I’m speaking to people in the skincare business, they’ve either had skin concerns themselves, or someone close to them has. And that’s what’s sparked the interest in them to work in this industry and I think it was somewhat similar for me. I had real problem skin and I had to really do my research and find out a lot about skincare in order to tackle and solve it really. I think that’s where my interest came from really.
With SKINWORK, I wanted to bring together the components of skincare and relaxation. We mention it a lot here – results in relaxation.Our number one goal is the skin results and solving the clients skin concerns, but we also want to make sure the client has a lovely experience whilst they’re here.
DF: What would you say is one of the biggest challenges that you’ve had to face in your career?
ES: The pandemic. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another answer to that question. It was everything. Partly because I was on maternity leave through a lot of it as well. Having a business that provides a service was such a huge challenge across the industry. From the team, financials, supply chain for our own products, to literally everything. We were moving into this new space here at the time as well and it was so difficult to try and get things here into this new space so that we could at least use the time to set up the space.
When 75% of your business is services and you don’t have the infrastructure for online retail as well, you just can’t compete. And that was the case with most beauty locations – salons, spas etc. We’re soon launching our own line of beauty products, but at the time, we didn’t have that in place yet either.
DF: Can you give us any sneaky hints about the new products you’ll be launching soon?
ES: Yes… They’ve been a labour of love [laughs] We’ve created some products that basically target those skin concerns of our customers without having to use a million different products basically. Trying to keep it as simple and streamlined as possible. So we’ll start with 4 products that target congestion and lack of radiance. Over the years, we’ve had so many conversations with all of our clients and these seem to be the top skin concerns across the board.
DF: What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into the beauty industry?
ES:It just really depends on what side of the beauty industry you want to go down. Obviously, the therapy side is so important and would pretty much set you up in any direction you’re deciding to go into – education, sales, marketing. One area that I think is really useful and quite underrated in the beauty industry is operations.
But I’d say it’s always a good idea to do as many internships as you can. I’d also recommend trying to get into some kind of business that’s a small start up if you can. It’s so difficult to know which area you want to specialise in at the beginning and working at a smaller start up, you get to experience all of the areas of the business and see what sorts of roles there are in the beauty industry that maybe you didn’t even know existed.
DF: What would you say is one of the biggest challenges that you’ve had to face in your career?
ES: The pandemic. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another answer to that question. It was everything. Partly because I was on maternity leave through a lot of it as well. Having a business that provides a service was such a huge challenge across the industry. From the team, financials, supply chain for our own products, to literally everything. We were moving into this new space here at the time as well and it was so difficult to try and get things here into this new space so that we could at least use the time to set up the space.
When 75% of your business is services and you don’t have the infrastructure for online retail as well, you just can’t compete. And that was the case with most beauty locations – salons, spas etc. We’re soon launching our own line of beauty products, but at the time, we didn’t have that in place yet either.
DF: Can you give us any sneaky hints about the new products you’ll be launching soon?
ES: Yes… They’ve been a labour of love [laughs] We’ve created some products that basically target those skin concerns of our customers without having to use a million different products basically. Trying to keep it as simple and streamlined as possible. So we’ll start with 4 products that target congestion and lack of radiance. Over the years, we’ve had so many conversations with all of our clients and these seem to be the top skin concerns across the board.
DF: What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into the beauty industry?
ES:It just really depends on what side of the beauty industry you want to go down. Obviously, the therapy side is so important and would pretty much set you up in any direction you’re deciding to go into – education, sales, marketing. One area that I think is really useful and quite underrated in the beauty industry is operations.
But I’d say it’s always a good idea to do as many internships as you can. I’d also recommend trying to get into some kind of business that’s a small start up if you can. It’s so difficult to know which area you want to specialise in at the beginning and working at a smaller start up, you get to experience all of the areas of the business and see what sorts of roles there are in the beauty industry that maybe you didn’t even know existed.
DF: What would you say are your top 3 skincare must haves?
ES: This is so hard to narrow down… Retinol is one. I feel like so many people are scared of retinol, but if you invest and get the right one, you can really see the difference it makes. To get the best results, you do have to use it over a long period of time, but it’s one of the few ingredients which are actually proven to treat ageing skin and acne.
Another favourite is salicylic acid. I know I mentioned already that I used to have problem skin in the past and salicylic acid is one of the ingredients which just resolved it so quickly.
And then SPF. Everyone should have a good SPF in their beauty regime.
DF: What’s one beauty skincare secret that everyone should know?
ES:Drinking lots of water and getting a good amount of sleep. They honestly make such a huge difference. I don’t get so much sleep at the moment being a new mum, but both of these will honestly make you see a difference in your skin almost straight away.
DF: We know you’re launching some exciting new products soon. Is there anything else we should keep an eye out for?
ES:We want to do a lot more with our Soho location as well. We should hopefully be getting a new area for express treatments this year, so that you can have a treatment at the same time as your friend, which will be really exciting.
DF: What would you say are your top 3 skincare must haves?
ES: This is so hard to narrow down… Retinol is one. I feel like so many people are scared of retinol, but if you invest and get the right one, you can really see the difference it makes. To get the best results, you do have to use it over a long period of time, but it’s one of the few ingredients which are actually proven to treat ageing skin and acne.
Another favourite is salicylic acid. I know I mentioned already that I used to have problem skin in the past and salicylic acid is one of the ingredients which just resolved it so quickly.
And then SPF. Everyone should have a good SPF in their beauty regime.
DF: What’s one beauty skincare secret that everyone should know?
ES:Drinking lots of water and getting a good amount of sleep. They honestly make such a huge difference. I don’t get so much sleep at the moment being a new mum, but both of these will honestly make you see a difference in your skin almost straight away.
DF: We know you’re launching some exciting new products soon. Is there anything else we should keep an eye out for?
ES:We want to do a lot more with our Soho location as well. We should hopefully be getting a new area for express treatments this year, so that you can have a treatment at the same time as your friend, which will be really exciting.
DF: How would you describe your personal style?
ES:I don’t know how you’d describe it, but I really love floaty boho dresses paired up with a sharp blazer. I don’t know how to sum that up in a style, but that’s basically it.
DF: Do you have any go-to wardrobe must-haves?
ES:I’m obsessed with jumpsuits. Jumpsuits, dresses and blazers. They are my every day default. And you can tell that even down to our SKINWORK team uniforms as well – the front of house team all wear these jumpsuits from LF Markey. I’m so obsessed with them and I have one myself as well!
DF: What are a few of your favourite fashion stores and brands?
ES:I absolutely love DÔen. And Meadows, which is the sister brand to LF Markey. And then you can’t go wrong with Frame denim. Today’s blazer is from Frame – it’s a classic.
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