Let me tell you something—after working for over a decade in the beauty industry on so many brands it takes a lot to impress me. That’s not to say that there aren’t brands that I really love, but the beauty landscape has changed A LOT! Ten years ago, there were beauty bloggers, then came beauty vloggers, now we have beauty influencers. While once there was a time when we sought out beauty blogs for information, from my vantage point the focus has shifted from the product to the personality. Now that’s cool and everything, and I’d be lying if I said that I don’t follow some of big names of beauty influencers. I do, but with after being here in this industry for a while, you really get a knack for finding the truly authentic influencers and those that at least for me are not really my bag.
A little over a year ago beauty and lifestyle influencer duo Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores-Ireland launched a beauty brand called Summer Fridays with one product—Jet Lag Mask. When I started to read about it on the various beauty outlets, I was intrigued. I think I was really intrigued because until then I actually had never heard of either one of them. However, being the beauty junkie that I am, I wanted to know exactly what this product was and how it could elevate my pretty intense skincare routine. The product claimed to be a multi-purpose skincare product that could effectively replace a few of your other products in your skincare routine. A morning or evening skincare routine mask or a moisturizer. The way the marketed this product was what really drew me in. Both of these women lived active lifestyles, whether it was jet-setting from one end of the country to the other on a regular basis or having to juggle professions and family. What was unique about it is that both women were able to relate to a lot of women in a way that was personal.
Jet Lag Mask dropped in January of 2018. I ordered it from their website and within days I had my product. I have so many moisturizers so I decided to use this as an overnight mask. Honestly I didn’t know what to expect but the next morning when I woke up my skin felt softer than it has for a very long time. My makeup applied better than it had ever applied (up until that point) so I was convinced that I was going to use this in place of my moisturizer three times a week. It was great way for me to keep my skin hydrated without it being greasy especially with my combination-oily skin. After I finished my first tube, I contemplated whether or not it would be worth it to get a second tube and I deduced that it was actually worth the price tag. Another few months past and this basically became part of my nighttime routine. Around September there was buzz of a new addition to the line—Overtime Mask. This was more of a physical exfoliant and I didn’t know how I would feel about it. I bought it when it launched and I started slow. I started using it only once a week, usually on Saturday nights just in case the apricot seed powder caused any redness. To my surprise, it did not. I usually followed up with the Jet Lag Mask on the nights when I used this and it really improved the texture of my skin so naturally I added this to my skin regimen.
Just a few weeks ago, the brand launched a third product R + R mask. At this point, I knew I was going to order it on the day that it launched. When I received this, I decided that this would be a daytime mask that I would use on alternate days when I wasn’t using the Overtime mask at night (which I am now using twice a week). The reason why I was excited this mask was it was an exfoliating oil mask packed with nourishing oils including avocado, grape seed and argan oil. This is probably my favorite product in the line. I use it twice a week in the morning and on those days I go makeup-free. My skin feels so fresh and so moisturized and the glow—I have yet to come across a product that can do what this does. I almost feel like I need to stock up on these so that I am never without it.
So there you have it, a brand that really lives up to their claims during a time when new brands seem to pop up every five seconds. Bravo, Summer Fridays, bravo!