SUMMER FRIDAYS BRAND TAKEOVER

Find out more about the brand taking over your Instagram feeds...

Welcome to RohitBagga.com! This is the second installment in my Brand Takeover Series, where I delve deeper into some of your most requested and favourite brands in the beauty industry. As well as reading my thoughts and opinions on the brands, these takeover posts will be filled with information to help you make a more informed choice before you go on to discover their products (and every single product here has been tested by me!)  I hope I’ll help you to navigate your way through these brands a little easier, because with countless new products from every corner of the industry popping up daily, it’s hard to keep up and to know if you even need to…

Launched in 2018 by Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores- Ireland, Summer Fridays had a clever and impressive launch. One hero product that went straight into Sephora. The iconic Jet Lag Mask quickly gained cult status in the routines of beauty experts, influencers and consumers around the US, gaining momentum around the globe- perfectly capturing the magic of social media and tapping into both founders trust-centered relationship with their own audiences from their blogs and social media platforms. If you hadn’t tried it, you were willing to find a way to get it.

Shortly after the wild success of hydrating mask Jet Lag, came Overtime – a enzymatic and physical exfoliating mask and this was followed by my personal favourite, R&R- a luxury polishing oil mask.

In their first year, Summer Fridays had taken over the mask category. They had three instantly recognisable, effective and coveted products that everyone wanted to know more about.

I was lucky enough to be part of the brands exclusive UK launch into Selfridges Beauty and got to hear from both Marianna and Lauren on what was coming next and why they were wholeheartedly focused on responding to their communities needs, which was apparent by their adoring crowds at the launch event in Oxford Street.

With founders of Summer Fridays, Lauren Gores- Ireland and Marianna Hewitt at the UK launch of Summer Fridays into Selfridges Beauty. 

We were all waiting to see what Summer Fridays would do next. Were they ‘just’ a mask brand? Would they do leave on skincare? and could it follow the hype of their previous products?

*enter CC Me serum*

This was an integral moment for Summer Fridays. I felt that their first product away from masks would lay the blueprint for the brands future launches and in this case- this brilliant product solidified the brands longevity and respect in the ‘serious’ skincare arena.

Showcasing versatility beyond the Beauty Industry’s ‘masking moment’, with an incredible formula, clear marketing and focusing on proven high quality ingredients meant those of us who weren’t mask obsessed started to pay closer attention.Everything that has followed since has followed the same pattern.

Read More: about CC Me serum here. 

Fast forward to 2021 and the brand have just released their 8th product, Cloud Dew Moisturiser and it is in great company with Super Amino Gel Cleanser, Soft Reset Exfoliating Solution and Lip Butter Balm. It sounds like a cliche, but every product is kinda a hero product.

Before I had tried their products, Summer Fridays did get the beauty cynic in me wondering if they were all style and no substance, because lets face it-  they get their packaging so right every. single. time. Having tried the entire (nicely curated) range and putting their brilliant formulas to the test, it would appear Summer Fridays were just out to prove you really can have it all.

Influencer brands and collaborations have been more prevalent in recent years and though they can be hugely successful, unfortunately there is a rhetoric that they are somehow lesser than any other brands- a generalisation that I tend not to subscribe to unless I am given a reason to believe it, on a case by case basis (oh and there have been some cases!).

Summer Fridays is by definition an influencer brand in that it is a brand that is founded by two influencers and there is nothing wrong with that, to my mind at least. I will add though, if you haven’t been fond of social media grown brands, Summer Fridays might be the brand to change that for you. It could very easily (and does) attract attention for it’s branding and formula alone. The products are great because ultimately social media followers cannot build a brands longevity alone- the proof has to be in the pudding (or in this case… the product).

Summer Fridays is cruelty free and vegan, they formulate all their products to be safe for pregnancy (but most products are!)

Available at the following retailers:

UK: Selfridges, Cult Beauty and Space NK.

USA and Canada: Sephora and Sephora Canada

Australia: Mecca

Online: SummerFridays.com, Revolve, Net a Porter

If you’re in the states, they also have a great recycling scheme, see more information here.

At time of posting in February 2021, Summer Fridays have released a new body cream and Jet Lag Mask has temporarily been discontinued whilst they reformulate in response to their customers experiencing sensitivity to the essential oil content- if you have, use and enjoy the original formula there doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about- but it’s worth noting that the brand responded to this situation impeccably and as they should, with their customer at the forefront of their mind.