After years of testing every single skincare brand on the market, LA-based beauty bloggers Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland decided to launch their very own brand called Summer Fridays. To say that their first product, the Jet Lag Mask, was well received is an understatement. The now-viral mask is sold out on their website and became a Sephora best-seller in record time.
Clearly, the beauty gurus know beauty and they know how to give beauty enthusiasts what they want. Here, the influencers share the inspiration behind the brand, what makes the Jet Lag mask so special, their top beauty tip, and more.
What inspired you ladies to start Summer Fridays?
LAUREN GORES IRELAND: We wanted to create our dream skincare product that we felt was missing—a hydrating face mask with clean ingredients and quick results. The Jet Lag Mask specifically was born out our jet-lagged lives. I was pregnant at the time and my skin constantly looked exhausted, and Marianna was always traveling for work. We wanted to create something effective that could be used from anywhere—whether you’re on a plane or masking from home! It goes on clear, so it’s perfect for any public place!
MARIANNA HEWITT: Our blogging has been the ultimate education. Sometimes you’re gifted a product and it just doesn’t deliver on its hype. We wanted to create a mask that really works.
What were some of the challenges you came across?
LGI: The aluminum tube was really important to us — both aesthetically and for convenience — but it took us several months longer than we had anticipated to find the right one. An aluminum tube photographs beautifully, which is important for a social-first brand. We also wanted the mask to travel easily and a tube is so much easier to toss in a bag than a jar.
MH: Everything takes so much longer than we are used to. In the world of blogging and social media, we do everything at hyper-speed. Blog posts, Instagrams and everything is so instant that we had to learn patience and that building a brand takes time.
What’s it been like working on this business as a team?
LGI: The creative process is so much more fun as a team! Our careers have really aligned over the past several years (we’re Midwesterners who went to college for broadcast journalism, and we both worked as news anchors/television hosts before beginning our blogs). We understand the amount of work and consistency that goes into building a brand. We bring different strengths to the table, and we’re both so open to change. We believe flexibility is critical to success, and we’re never afraid of changing directions if it can better the brand — neither of us is too stubborn, and we make decisions very quickly. We’re big dreamers who constantly work at making those visions a reality.
MH: We’ve been friends for so long, so it’s been such a natural fit. It’s nice to not have to rely on just yourself anymore. With the two of us, we can achieve so much more!
What makes the Jet Lag Mask so different and special?
LGI: I love the dewy texture of the Jet Lag Mask. It’s so hydrating and gives you that summertime glow all year long! The chestnut extract in the mask very lightly exfoliates dead skin, so our other key ingredients (like green tea and vitamin C) can really seep into your pores. I think what’s so special about the mask is how quickly it works. You see results after just 10 minutes of use. It doesn’t need to be rinsed off, which means you can quite literally use it on a plane or on your way out the door. We created it for the girl always on the go!
MH: We want our products to not only make you look good, but to be good for you–so we kept our ingredients short and sweet. We also wanted to create a product that gave instant results and the Jet Lag Mask works the moment you put it on your skin. You’ll visibly notice a difference. We wanted to be clean and also really effective.
How do you hope your products will make women feel?
LGI: I hope our products make women feel confident and ready to take on anything. We’re all battling a busy schedule while trying to find that perfectly imperfect work/life balance. This mask is meant to give you a little self-care every day — if even only for 10 minutes! We both really believe self-care shouldn’t be a luxury, but instead a part of everyday life. And of course, we hope everyone who uses the mask feels like they have that summertime glow happening all year long!
MH: More confident in their skin. When you look good, you feel good and you feel more confident to go about your day and achieve anything.
What other types of products can people expect from Summer Fridays in the future?
LGI: We have other masks ready for later this year, but we’re keeping the details a secret for now. You can also expect that we’ll create future products based on what we hear from our users. The beautiful part about our community is that we talk to our customers every day on social media. We’re able to ask them exactly what they want, and create products based on their needs. We’re not sitting in a boardroom guessing what our users want.
MH: We’re focusing on face masks right now but hope to crowdsource with our followers in the future to continue creating their dream products.
What’s your #1 beauty tip that everyone needs to follow?
LGI: Take care of yourself! Prioritize your health and your you time, because everything else in life feeds off how you’re feeling inside. Stress doesn’t look pretty on any of us. So make room for that solo time. And of course, lather on our Jet Lag Mask to hydrate sleepy skin!
MH: Never go to sleep without washing your face. Then, of course, apply our Jet Lag Mask afterward.
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