In conversation with Charlotte Flather, founder of Sereia Skincare

Sereia Skincare is a brand that naturally evolved out of lockdown, during a time when founder, Charlotte Flather, found herself managing many challenges and changes in her life. We wanted to understand more about the story behind Sereia, so we sat down with Charlotte to learn more about why she started the brand, what inspires her and which are her most-loved Sereia products!

Read on for the short interview...

What first inspired you to start Sereia?

After going out for a walk one night, I got home, and because I was feeling a bit down, I thought, “Right, okay. I’m going to have a really nice bath tonight.” So I had a little bit of a pamper, and I hadn’t done that in a long time, having been a single mum for over 20 years.

And it was only quick - I’m not very good at relaxing and I have never really been to a spa or anything like that, but I realised I felt a lot better for doing it, taking some time out just for me, I wondered if maybe there was something in that…

All of the products in the Sereia range can be used as part of a self-care ritual, where did that idea come from?

I have such lovely early memories of my mum when I was little, watching her brush her skin - and even though she had six of us to look after, she always took some time to do this little ritual. It was this memory in particular that kept coming to me during lockdown, when people weren’t going out, and we were actually able to spend a bit more time on ourselves. That really inspired me to start something… and that became Sereia.

Sereia products are brimming with natural ingredients from the sea, why was it important to you to use marine nutrients?

I knew straight away the Sereia range had to be packaged in aqua-coloured glass - it reminds me of the sea. The sea is my happy place - it’s so calming, and it was my thing with my mum that we used to do, spending time by the sea, so using marine ingredients was really important to me from the very beginning. It was my whole inspiration for Sereia.

You have a background in beauty, can you tell us more about that?

I worked for Clarins for a long time, and also spent some time with Clinique. I loved being in the beauty and skincare industry. I think because - before I went into it - my whole world had changed after losing my mum, and I needed to do something different, for me.

I spent a lot of time speaking to women, and I think sometimes when you’re talking to other people, you assume everyone is doing okay and having a great time, but actually when you really talk to women, you realise we’ve all got our own different concerns about something. Everyone’s busy-busy, on their own treadmill of life, whether you’re a mum, or juggling a career, no one really has time to spend on themselves.

I wanted to create something that gives women the opportunity to spend time on themselves, and help them to realise how important that is to our general health and wellbeing.

You talk about Sereia being for everyone, what’s the main thing we have in common as our skin ages?

Throughout the years, your 20s and 30s, and then when you have children, your skin changes, and then inevitably you hit peri-menopause and menopause and skin changes again - at any stage in our lives, it’s just so important to remember to take some time out to properly process what's happening to our bodies.

Hydration is the key thing, and looking after the skin on our bodies is almost always forgotten about. We’re all guilty of focusing on the ageing skin on our face, and spending lots of money on that, but we rarely think about the skin on our bodies, which is ageing in exactly the same way and requires the same care and attention.

What are your favourite products to recommend to someone just discovering Sereia?

As we’ve talked about, Sereia is all about simple, self-care rituals. They don’t have to be long or time consuming, but just adding a little bit of luxury to your day can make such a difference.

I absolutely love the Smoothing Body Mitt as it’s a bit of an all-in-one tool! You use it in the shower, and as well as cleansing the body, it helps to even out bumpy skin by stimulating the lymphatic system - great for improving the appearance of cellulite or stretch marks. It comes with one of our Body Cleansing Bars, which smell amazing and are great for exfoliation without drying out the skin. I regularly follow this with the Firming Body Oil, which is rich but lightweight, and leaves skin with a beautifully hydrated glow.

I have to also include the Summer Breeze Scented Candle - its fragrance is so special to me, it transports me straight to the beach - my happy place! It’s also named after our wedding song, so yes, that’s a really special product for me, and I hope whenever one of our customers lights one, it helps them to relax and escape for a little while - like it helps me!

For a limited time, Charlotte’s Favourites are available to shop together at an amazing discounted price of just £76 plus free standard delivery. Shop the offer from Friday 1st July.