Summer Fridays

Summer Fridays is a California skincare and makeup brand founded in 2018 by Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland, two beauty and lifestyle influencers who built the company around simplified routines [5]. It launched in March 2018 with a single product, the Jet Lag Mask, sold exclusively through Sephora, and has since grown into a multi-category line covering skincare, hybrid makeup and fragrance.

The brand remains active. It continues to release products, including its first fragrance, and took a majority strategic investment from TSG Consumer Partners in 2024 [6].

The two founders met through a mutual friend after each had built an online following through blogging, Hewitt with "Life With Me" and Ireland with "You & Lu," before moving into beauty and wellness content [5]. Between them, the company describes over 20 years of collective industry experience. The idea took shape while Ireland was pregnant; as Hewitt put it, "After years of recommending products that I loved, we thought it was time to create our own brand" [5].

According to the company, the first product, the Jet Lag Mask, sold out instantly at launch. Several sources place the founding in 2018, noting that the two co-founded the brand "after two years of product development" [5]. One unsourced search snippet cites 2016, which appears to refer to that earlier development period rather than the market launch.

Summer Fridays frames itself as a maker of effective skincare and hybrid makeup "that work without overworking the skin," a response to what the brand calls over-complicated beauty routines [2]. It organizes its values around three ideas it labels Gently Effective, Everyday Intuitive and Community Born. Recurring ingredients across the range include hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, tiger grass and vitamin C.

Beyond the Jet Lag Mask, the line has expanded to include the Lip Butter Balm, which debuted in 2020 [6], the Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturizer, the ShadeDrops SPF 50 Mineral Milk Sunscreen, and the Sunlit Vanilla Eau de Parfum, the brand's first fragrance. Products are sold through Sephora across North America, Europe and the Middle East, in addition to the brand's own site [6].

On sustainability, the company states that all its products are vegan and cruelty-free and are formulated without parabens, sulfates and phthalates [3]. It describes packaging drawn from aluminum, glass, and sugarcane or post-consumer recycled plastics, with cartons made from FSC-certified paperboard. The brand also reports a partnership with Pact Collective aimed at reducing packaging waste, alongside an empties recycling program.

Summer Fridays was independently held by its founders through its early years, having entered a partnership described as Prelude in 2019 [6]. In 2024, TSG Consumer Partners became a majority strategic investment partner [6]. The founders have said their long-term aim was for the brand to "live independently" of them, in the words of Lauren Ireland, as something "people love and trust for what it represents" [6].

The brand has been covered by outlets including Forbes, Vogue UK and Business of Fashion, the latter noting that Summer Fridays "struck gold with lip balm" and questioning whether it could repeat that with fragrance [4]. Editorial coverage has framed the company as an early template for influencer-founded beauty brands [5].

Summer Fridays is active as of 2026, with continued product launches, including new lip and fragrance releases, and ongoing press coverage [4]. Its distribution spans North America, Europe and the Middle East through Sephora and direct online sales.