Carme Farre

I met Carme for the first time at a lovely café in London. When she walked up to me, I could tell right away that she was a facial fitness expert. Her glowing, healthy skin and naturally vibrant smile are the best advertising for her unique method.

She began her career in investment banking, but eventually discovered that her true passion was the human body. After training with Pilates Master Alan Herdman, the “grandstudent” of Joseph Pilates himself, she learned the necessary techniques to further sculpt her career in facial fitness.

Carme felt that exercising the face was just as important as the rest of the body, and has now opened her own private studio in London, based on the methods of world-renowned Eva Fraser.

Her methodical approach to working the muscles of the face is both unique and effective. Just like the legs or stomach, the face, too, can be toned. Only a few weeks of Carme’s work will leave you looking younger and feeling healthier, naturally. Enjoy a mini face-lift, free of invasive treatments.

Carme shared a little more about her innovative massage and exercise technique with Beauty and Well Being.

YOUR INSPIRATION

For starting your business

I was fortunate to have a mum who was interested in keeping fit. At the age of 16 I started exercising with her, walking and running with her along the beach at our house in Spain. I moved to London to start my career in Finance, and would always look for the gym class closest to me after work. One day I took a Pilates class using a Reformer and absolutely fell in love with it. After enjoying it so much, I decided to make Pilates my passion and my career, and opened my own studio, Studio Carme, in 2012 to teach Pilates.

For combining body and face exercises

In the course of my Pilates training, I learned about and became a licensed practioner of Eva Fraser’s Facial Fitness courses. It just seemed so logical to me: just as exercising the body makes your appearance more youthful, the same applies when you exercise the face.

Over time, I have evolved and applied many of the Pilates principles to exercises for the face. These methods have helped my clients achieve fantastic results, and you can view them on my Instagram page.

Your mentors

I was very lucky to train with three of the most prestigious masters in the world of Pilates: Alan Herdman, Rael Isacowitz, and Eva Fraser. They have spent their lives perfecting their techniques and training a new generation of teachers like me to carry on their work.

Since opening my studio, though I have been very busy with my private clients, I believe it’s important to keep up my own training and development. I do so by having a weekly private class with Anoushka Boone. She has more than 30 years of Pilates experience, and I love her precise technique and incredible knowledge of body movement. She has been incredibly generous with her knowledge. I also have a private class with Eva Fraser to keep up with her latest thoughts about Facial Fitness techniques.

YOUR CITY

What you love most

My favorite thing to do in London is to cycle in Hyde Park with my kids, enjoying nature and the changing seasons. It is so enjoyable and we always have a hot chocolate in the Serpentine café and feed the swans. The park is magical, no matter what time of year.

Serpentine Café

Favorite afternoon café

My favorite afternoon café is called Farm Girl, on Portobello Road; the atmosphere is relaxed and the food and drinks are unique and healthy. I love sitting at a corner table sipping a Oat Mocha and chatting with my girlfriends about life.

Go-to lunch place

When I first came to London I could not find a Spanish restaurant that I liked, but now there are many to choose from. My favourite is Donostia, a proper Basque tapas restaurant. The whole family loves the place and the food is just perfect, similar to what you would find in San Sebastian.

image © Donostia

A night on the town

Going out in London is superb and so varied, but my favorite night out is a date at Ronnie Scotts, the jazz club. I love having dinner in Soho with my husband, and then spending the evening in this intimate jazz club with so much history. My favorite concert was seeing the since departed Grammy-winning singer ‘Little Jimmy Scott.’ There is so much love and pain and hope in his voice.

YOUR WELLNESS ROUTINE

Your daily exercises

Exercising is a fundamental part of my day, with Pilates being the basis of my training. I always try to work out at least one hour per day, which is not easy with a full-time practice and two young children.  I believe that everyone can exercise if disciplined in managing their time. I like alternating between Pilates, dancing, cycling, HIIT classes, and Yoga. I think variety is important to train different muscles and to avoid getting into a rut with one routine or another. I finish my day with my ten minutes of facial exercises and a short massage.

Your healthy eating habits

You are what you eat! It’s simple: you can work out super hard, but your body shape, the healthiness of your skin and your daily energy levels also reflect what you eat. I personally follow the 80-20 rule, meaning that I eat 80% of the time quite heathy – fish, chicken, fresh vegetables and fruits, and while allowing 20% for my cravings which are dark chocolate and a glass of Rioja.
My breakfast is oat milk porridge with plenty of fruits and seeds and green tea. Lunch will be grilled vegetables, quinoa salad or any super grain with fish. Dinner will be a home-made soup and grilled chicken with vegetables. My snacks will be fruit or nuts. I have also drinking either a turmeric latte or a Maca drink.

While on vacation

My family is from Tarragona, a UN World Heritage site, full of ancient Roman history along the Catalan coast, one hour South of the Barcelona airport. My parents have an apartment near the beach, and like many Spanish families, they also have a countryside house only a half-hour away, where they grow grapes used for wine production, and walnuts used for Sherry production.

Every morning I wake up and I go to a Zumba class with Luis Costa, who is the most amazing teacher ever! I alternate this with a run along the beach or in the countryside. Then I will do a minimum 30 minutes Pilates daily tonic and finish with a Face Pilates routine.

YOUR BEAUTY

Must-have skincare products

My skincare is quite simple, but having good advice is essential as my skin has changed over time. I consult with BeautyDerm in Barcelona, owned by Pablo Umbert. I clean my skin with Au Lait D’Avoine Rhealba, then I apply La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar Moisturizer and finally ISDIN 50+ sun protection.

At night I use a night cream prescribed by Pablo with active ingredients tailored to my skin’s age, something that I strongly recommend. After my Face Pilates exercises I use Argan oil to massage the muscles.

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Favorite makeup products

I barely wear any make up and I like to keep my skin breathing and clean. I wear a very light Chanel foundation mixed with my moisturizer. For my eyes I wear eye liner and mascara, and for the lips, during the day, I wear a lip balm and at night Chanel red lip stick.

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Favorite perfume

My husband gave me a perfume for Christmas which I love – My Burberry for the day and My Burberry Black for the night.

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Buy Me!

YOUR PROJECTS

Tell us more about Kobido

I believe that after a great body work out, you should have a massage. After a great facial workout,  everyone should have a monthly Kobido Facial. Kobido is the oldest and most technical form of facial available in Japan. It is built upon 48 Ancient Signature Techniques which focus on a special percussion-based treatment. These techniques involve the gentle hand-manipulation.

Your studio and Skype classes

My clients come to my studio for private classes of Pilates for the face and body. I try to give an intimate experience based on each person’s needs. Some clients like to have a more gentle class and others like a more athletic class. I enjoy passing on my knowledge and encouraging clients to challenge themselves each and every time they come.

As my clients tend to travel, or in some cases live outside the UK, I offer them a private membership with a selection of classes as well via Skype. My studio is adapting to today’s digital and fast-paced world: dynamic and flexible!

Any other projects to share with our readers?

My next project is to develop more Face Pilates exercises based on my knowledge of the body. I want to develop simple and easy methods so that people find it easy to introduce them into their daily routines without exerting too much of an effort.