Seven Secrets of Beauty & Wellbeing - Irene Forte
As Wellness Consultant for the family hotel business and an Advisory Member of the Global Wellness Summit, Irene Forte, now 33, has always understood the importance of a holistic approach to beauty. Her own journey really took off in 2009 when she set off to explore the area of Sicily that later became Verdura Resort, part of the Rocco Forte Spa offering. That led to her spending a year working on the farm and ultimately inspired Irene to create her own range, based on a combination of natural ingredients supported by sound science. (Our Beauty Bible testers loved the Irene Forte Pistachio Face Mask, which scooped a Beauty Bible Award this year).
Irene’s Mediterranean roots sing throughout the range, with the principal ingredients sourced from the Verdura organic farm in Sicily. Yes, she’s a businesswoman - very much embodying her Italian family’s entrepreneurial spirit - but Irene sees her skincare company as much more than a balance sheet. ‘It’s part of a much wider system of people and organisations, nature and the environment,’ she says. Irene has personally committed to ‘doing the right things’ to ensure that all her products and processes are as sustainable as possible.
Here she shares how important her Italian family and food are in her own wellbeing, plus some of the secrets that keep her looking and feeling her best…
1. Family. Family is very important to me; we're a very Italian family, so we see each other all the time (at least once a week, and much more when I was working for Rocco Forte Hotels full time). They inspire me, support me and are always honest.
2. Eight and a half hours of sleep a night. I always try to ensure I get a good night’s sleep; I never jeopardise sleep for work or a social life. Good sleep is essential for our wellbeing indeed the World Health Organisation and the National Sleep Foundation both stipulate that we need eight hours of sleep per night. If you're not sleeping much or want to learn more about sleep, I highly recommend, 'Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker.
My own tips are: going to bed and waking up at the same time of day no matter what; trying not to exercise right before bed; avoiding stimulants like coffee, hot chocolate or regular tea, or hihg sugar foods for a few hours before bedtime; turning off phones, tablets and laptops so that you cut out exposure to blue light before bedtime. And importantly, create your own relaxing night time ritual.
3. A Mediterranean diet. For me, a healthy and balanced diet is vital for both mind and body. I grew up on the Mediterranean diet, with lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats, little processed or refined food, or dishes with saturated and/or trans fats. The Mediterranean diet is widely considered the healthiest and most balanced diet in the world, associated with good health and longevity. It is not about faddy trends and unsustainable eating habits. I've never been someone that has been into intermittent fasting or juicing or anything extreme for that matter.
4. Lots of movement. I’ve always been relatively ‘sporty’, and I’ve tried not to lose that since leaving school - a long time ago now! I try to work out four times a week doing a mix of high-intensity interval training classes, such as tabata, boxing or Barry’s Bootcamp. I mix this up with Reformer Pilates at Heartcore and barrework at Barrecore. On a beautiful day, I’ll run in Kensington Park Gardens. I wish I was into yoga, but I'm just not.
5. Adventures. I’m not one for sitting on a beach so when I travel for leisure, I absolutely love going on adventure holidays. I usually try to do one big adventure trip per year but of course, due to COVID, I haven't made it on holiday for a while. The last trip I did was trekking in the Himalayas in search of snow leopards. Despite having to camp for 10 days in -20•C, it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had: beautiful snowy landscapes, complete peace and freedom, with no cell reception and two snow leopard sightings. The conditions were extreme, but it was quite an exceptional wellness adventure.
6. Treatments and therapies. Having worked with spas since 2014, I'm a little obsessed with treatments and therapies. I have a monthly at-home facial with Desi Valentine, who delivers treatments via her app called Skinned App - a mobile app for advanced face and body treatments. She is amazing, and we collaborated on her Irene Forte Age-Defying facial, which integrates microdermabrasion, ultrasound and LED with my products. I have a massage at home at least once per month with Lucja Maslowska (her website is: www.myseparateworld.com). She’s fantastic, extremely experienced and qualified in a number of massage techniques, meditation and nutrition. She truly reads you and deeply connects to your body’s needs and tailors the massage to that. I love going to the Spa at Brown's Hotel in London for treatments when I can (or any of the Rocco Forte Spas I happen to be travelling to). I also love a bit of reflexology.
7. My Irene Forte Skincare Rituals. I find that my products have beautiful ‘organoleptic’ properties - that means they act through and on your sense organs - so I love my morning and evening application rituals. My staples include: the Almond Cleansing Milk, the Helichrysum Hyaluronic Toner, the Hibiscus Serum, and the Prickly Pear Face Cream or Hibiscus Night Cream. The last three are clinically proven to visibly reduce wrinkle depth, and all five are clinically approved for sensitive skin (I have quite reactive skin, so I wanted to create a line that was efficacious but also kind on the skin).
