Always A Good Hair Day

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Good Hair Day

Is your workout ruining your hair? Probably. Scrunching it up in the same style each day certainly causes breakage. But don’t let that stop you from working out. Mix it up a little and invest in some aftercare.

Enter ghd… The market leader in hair straightening irons and styling tools, sold in over 50,000 salons worldwide. We catch up with the brand’s Head of PR, Mary Shields, who describes a typical day, balancing work with workouts.

It goes without saying, every day is a good hair day…

What time does your alarm go off?

6.45am… Then I snooze for 15 mins before getting up at 7am.

First thing you do in the morning?

I put the kettle on to make a cup of hot water and lemon. It’s my new year’s resolution to cut down on coffee.

Breakfast at home, at work or on the go?

Breakfast is always one of two things; at work or at a restaurant for a client meeting.

When I’m at work for breakfast, I bring home-made bircher muesli with me. I look at my diary for the week on a Sunday and then make the right amount to last me for the week, depending on what my diary looks like. I add different types of fruit to mix it up so that I don’t get too bored of eating it regularly.

When I have breakfast meetings with journalists (my favourite way to start the day) I usually go to Soho House or Dean St Townhouse.

Every time I try not to order the avocado on toast with poached eggs…but every time that is what I order. It’s my favourite breakfast and it fills me up for the day so I can never resist it when it’s on the menu. I have a green juice on the side as well.

Describe a typical day…

My days are filled with back to back planning meetings as we are working on ghd’s SS17 global campaign. There is a lot of planning to be done and a lot of conference calls with each of our global markets to run through plans and sign off on everyone’s campaign ideas.

When I’m not in meetings all day, I tend to start by reading the daily newspapers and any new magazines at my desk. When doing so I am scanning the pages for opportunities where ghd could feature in the future and look to see what beauty journalists are writing about.

I check my emails as soon as I leave my house and answer any urgent ones on the tube. Once the papers are read I crack on with any new emails and ensure that all journalist enquiries are responded to.

My team and I will catch up on our priorities for the day/week and I’ll check in with the team to see how plans are going for any upcoming press launch events. There is always an event on. Everything is planned right down to the minute details, including the colour of cutlery!

For a PR launch, the event details are very important. I tend to meet a journalist for lunch to show them our newest collection and to update them on any upcoming launches. In the afternoon I will catch up with our ambassadors to get some quotes for press releases and features. Then catch up with the marketing team to ensure all of our plans are aligned.

How many e-mails do you get a day?

I’ve never checked this but I received 103 emails today. I feel like I am forever replying to emails, either at my desk or on the go.

What campaigns are you working on right now?

I can’t give too much away but I’m working on the ghd SS17 campaign at the moment. It’s a new collection of limited edition styling tools in amazing new summer-inspired colours and patterns and it links to 4 summer hair trends.

It’s quite a digital focused campaign which will encourage people to get involved and share images of their hair throughout the summer. The campaign launches in April so keep your eyes peeled!

I’m also planning a campaign for the 16th birthday of ghd which is in June. Can you believe it was 16 years ago since ghd launched?!

How many meetings in an average day?

On average, 5-6 meetings. Mostly internal meetings and then usually 1 or 2 meetings with a journalist or blogger.

Is exercise a part of your daily routine? If yes, what?

Yes it is. I exercise every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. They are the dates that I commit to exercising and if I can squeeze in another one of two workouts a week I will do so.

I tend to do a Reshape or Rumble class at 1Rebel on a Monday, a bootcamp which my work provide on a Tuesday and Reformer Pilates at Ten Pilates on a Wednesday. If I can squeeze in a spinning session at Boom Cycle I’ll do that also.

I am getting married in June so exercise is very important to me at the moment!

What does lunchtime look like?

Lunch time is a journalist meeting and a salad. Or a salad from Vital at my desk. Lots of people in my office have Leaf cards so we get 2-4-1 on Vital salads. Get a Leaf card if you don’t have one, they’re great!

Work day over. Are you going home or going out?

Monday – Wednesday I go to the gym and work out. Unless I have a work event or dinner and then I move my workouts to the morning. Then on Thursday and Friday I will see friends or my fiancé for dinner and drinks. Seeing friends for dinner is often the only time I get to catch up with them now so I often have dinner plans with friends later in the week.

Do you work when you get home or is life digital free at that time?

I try not to work when I get home as I prefer digital free time. I can’t do a total digital detox at home as I need to check my emails every now and again but I try to leave my laptop at the office on most evenings so that I can fully relax and have some me-time in the evenings.

I spend as little time as possible on my phone in the evenings as I find that I can so easily waste hours of my life scrolling through social media looking at things that I’m not even interested in. Most of the time I have my phone in a different room and just check my emails every now and then.

Dinner is typically where?

At home with my fiancé, most days of the week. We usually have fish and vegetables for dinner. It’s not very exciting but with the wedding coming up we’re trying to have a clean diet.

Do you drink alcohol every day?

No I don’t drink alcohol every day. I try not to drink alcohol during the week. I tend not to drink at home and I’ve cut back on drinking at work events and work dinners as I found that I often would end up drinking every evening without thinking about it if I had a busy schedule of work events to go to.

I always feel a bit sluggish the next day after drinking and I can see the difference in my skin so I am cutting back on alcohol and choosing sparkling water when possible. Then nobody can tell that I’m not drinking so I don’t get peer pressured into it!

Favourite tipple of choice?

Gin and tonic is my all time favourite. With fresh lime and lots of ice. Yum!

Lights out at what time?

Lights out at 11pm, or 11.30pm latest. Any later and I struggle to get up the next morning. I love my sleep and need 8 hours to properly function.

One thing you’d like to change about your average day?

I’d like to take a lunch break every day. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes to walk around and get some fresh air. I think it’s important to have that time away from the computer screen.

Weekends are spent how?

Brunching with friends (my favourite weekend activity!) Wedding planning, having a beauty treatment (facial, mani or pedi), celebrating a friend’s birthday/hen do/baby shower, or visiting family in Herfordshire for some country air and time out from London!

If you weren’t in beauty PR, what would you be doing?

I’d be a wedding planner. I love planning events and planning my wedding at the moment is so much fun. I am obsessing over every detail and loving every moment of it. Or I’d be a travel blogger – travelling the world, staying in the best hotels and taking picture on different beaches every day. That is the dream job!

Visit the ghd website 

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