Meet two inspiring women who are helping girls learn to read and women enter the workforce
There's so many things we're grateful for this International Women's Day.
Today we pay thanks to the suffragettes who fought for our right to vote, celebrate the success of all the wonderful world-changing women and re-live the kick-ass feminist speeches and women's marches that took place over the past year.
But none of this could happen without support. Specifically, women supporting women. So today, we wanted to shine a torch on two brilliant women who do just that, every minute of every day. Not just on International Women's Day...
Kate Stephens, Chief Executive at Smart Works
Smart Works is...
A charity that provides two-hour coaching and dressing services for unemployed women before a job interview. Each client has a styling consultation where she is given a complete interview-worthy outfit to help her look and feel fabulous. She then has a one-to-one interview preparation session so she can leave feeling confident. One in two women that Smart Works sees, gets the job.
How I started at Smart Works
I became a trustee of a charity that campaigned for affordable, accessible childcare after I became a mum. It opened my eyes to the charity sector and I couldn’t believe how dynamic and entrepreneurial it was. It got to the point where I wanted to make it my day job, rather than my side job.
A big part of my job is...
Looking after over 150 volunteers in London who give their time every week to style and coach our clients. They are the most impressive group of women, all passionate about supporting other women, all talented and all kind, good people. Our volunteers are our best ambassadors and our secret weapons.
My most rewarding moment
The first time I did a dressing with a client and saw first-hand the impact of our service. I can still remember her, and the way she changed over that hour. Whenever I need any inspiration, I go into the dressing room just to see what they're doing.
What International Women's Day means to me
A moment to celebrate our community of women and what we can achieve when we work together. We believe above all that being a woman is not anything to apologise for – we are not ashamed to be clever, capable people who also have fun with fashion and beauty. As our partners at Bobbi Brown say, we are passionate that every woman can be pretty powerful. When we look and feel our best, and when we have each other’s backs, we can achieve anything together.
All proceeds (less VAT) from the Bobbi Brown x Lulu Guinness makeup pouch will be donated to Smart Works.
Nneka Flemming, Founder of Novel Beauty
Novel Beauty is...
A clever skincare and cosmetics brand that donates 10 per cent of profits from their best-selling Poor Man’s Rose Bath and Body Set to Room To Read – a charity which supports literacy and girls education in some of the worlds most deprived countries.
How I started Novel Beauty
A few years ago Chanel started working with young creatives to produce beauty editorials. I was one of those creatives. The idea was born to create new interpretations of beauty. That experience left me wanting more. I remember in school there was the notion that clever girls don’t wear makeup. However, if you look at a lot of powerful and clever women today self care is celebrated as high on their agenda. So I created Novel Beauty – Clever Skincare and Cosmetics to tell your modern beauty story through effective natural skincare mixed with playful but sustainable luxury.
Why I chose to support Room To Read
Being able to read and write is essential. Despite the known benefits of literacy, 175 million young people in low and lower-to-middle income countries are unable to read a single sentence. That’s one out of every four children.
When a person grows up unable to read, their choices in life are limited because their access to information from health to politics is limited. They will not achieve their full potential. They will not have the choice to play. They will only work to cover up how little they know.
Retrospectively, cosmetics were used to cover up similar feelings of inadequacy. Now the tables have turned and beauty is an empowerment tool. We create naturally clever skincare, for smart people who choose to play with their beauty. Room To Read provide education and literacy for girls in the world’s most deprived countries so they can make choices too. In a world ever more connected, we want to create products that feel good and do some good too.
Novel Beauty products are house in books, with refillable 'chapters' to help save on waste.
Want more powerful female inspiration? Meet the top beauty bosses who totally changed the game in 2018...
Cashmere Nicole
Business: Beauty Bakerie
Changing the game: One cruelty-free, skin-tone-inclusive makeup product at a time. Cashmere's brand motto is 'Better, not bitter' after she decided to channel the sh*t hand life had dealt her into creating something positive. The result? A sweet-treat themed beauty line with Cake Mix Foundations and Lollipop Eyeliners.
Tiffany Matterson
Business: Drunk Elephant
Changing the game: By bringing affordable, and packed with potent-actives skincare to the UK. Marula Oil is just the beginning for this brand.
Shane Collins
Business: KOBOX
Changing the beauty game: By creating a high-intensity workout that feels more like you're out partying with friends than burning fat. It's fightclub-meets-nightclub, and it's making exercising fun (no small feat).
Loretta De Feo
Business: Dizziak
Changing the beauty game: By supplying the (often overlooked) afro, coiled and curly-haired hair type population with the deep conditioning products they need.
Sasha Sabapathy
Business: Glow Bar
Changing the beauty game: By taking wellness to the next level, with her own line of ingestible adaptogens and the ultimate feel-good destination, Glow Bar. Go for an infrared sauna, stay for the tumeric latte and shop the jade rollers and salt lamps you've been lusting for.
Susan Allen and Tara Priya Chandra
Business: FLO
Changing the beauty game: Do you know how much tampon waste contributes to our landfill? A sh*t tonne, to say the least. For this reason, Susan and Tara created FLO – a range of cotton tampons that are biodegradable, hypoallergenic, sanitised naturally and free from 'nasties' like chlorine bleach, dyes and fragrances. And as of June 2018, they've also added 'Bamboo pads' to the mix, wrapped in zero-plastic wrappers. 5 per cent of sales also goes towards fighting period poverty. Forget changing the beauty game, these gals are changing the world.
Caroline Huber
Business: Pure Skin Labs
Changing the beauty game: By creating a one-stop online shop for natural, hollistic beauty and wellness. No need to go to three different shops or spend hours reading lists of ingredients on the back of bottles. You can trust every shampoo, body wash and sunscreen on the Pure Skin Labs website is free of SLS, parabens and harmful chemicals.
Lisa Kjellqvist & Tara Derakshan
Business: Sniph
Changing the beauty game: With a curated perfume subscription service that lets you try different fragrances each month. Sample scents from all corners of the globe with expert advice until you find one that's unique to you.
