The brand currently creating a buzz in the skincare industry? Bakel. We caught up with founder Dr Raffaella Gregoris to find out more about the range and for a glimpse into the ins and outs of her job
With a Master’s degree in both skincare chemistry and cosmetology and having been a part of the Pharmacy faculty at the University of Milan, suffice to say, Dr Raffaella Gregoris’ knowledge of the science behind skincare is pretty hard to beat.
Working day in and day out in the lab, the skincare specialist grew increasingly tired of marketing jibber jabber and sought to create a brand that put transparency at the top of its agenda. And, out of her frustrations was born Bakel - the beauty brand currently causing a buzz in the industry - created with the aim of offering a completely transparent skincare range free of tricks and slogans and only containing ingredients that have been scientifically proven by University Dermatologists and Plastic Surgeons.
We caught up with the brains behind the brand to find out more about the company, the ins and outs of her working day and the best piece of work advice she’s ever been given.
GTG: Hit the snooze button or up-and-at-em?
RG: I usually don’t need the alarm clock at all: I automatically wake up at 6.45 and my wake-up routine is very quick since I have 3 kids!
GTG: How would you sum up what your company does?
RG: A unique skincare range made of 100% active ingredients and 0% useless substances that give real benefits to the skin.
MORE GLOSS: Anti-ageing - the time-defying ingredients of the future
GTG: Best piece of work advice you ever had?
RG: You can always learn and improve from mistakes.
GTG: Name three things in your working week you love doing
RG: Creating new formulas, going to the lab and speaking to my colleagues and studying what’s chemically new on the market.
GTG: What are the 3 things you do every day before breakfast?
RG: I wake up my kids, shouting to my super-lazy eldest daughter that struggles to get out of the bed to go to school. When they are all at school, I walk the dog and then I take a cold shower.
GTG: What do you love about your job?
RG: Research, research, research.
GTG: What’s cooking for work lunch?
RG: I do not have time to cook: Bakel’s headquarters has a Japanese restaurant nearby and I always eat there… sigh!
MORE GLOSS: 8 easy (but healthy) dinner ideas for when you’re too tired to cook
GTG: How do you stay organised?
RG: I have two diaries and a fabulous team!
GTG: Describe your working style in 3 words
RG: Creative. Scientific. Transparent.
GTG: Typical work attire?
RG: Definitively casual: jeans and white shirt or trousers and a pullover.
GTG: Heels or flats and why?
RG: Flats. I do not spend too much time sitting at my desk so I can’t wear high heels.
GTG: Worst job you ever had?
RG: Working as a hostess for a trade show in Milan. I was stuck inside all the day long without even seeing the sunlight.
GTG: Notepad or i-notes
RG: I still love to write in a notepad.
GTG: Yoga, pilates or HIIT and why?
RG: No yoga, no pilates, no HIIT. I love running outside and pushing my limits always a little more.
BAKEL is available from Space NK and John Bell & Croyden .
Follow us @getthegloss , Dr Raffaella Gregoris @raffaellagregor and Ayesha @Ayesha_Muttu .
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