YOUR INSPIRATION
For starting your business…
I was fortunate to have a mum who was interested in keeping fit. As a result, I started exercising with her at the age of 16, 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, and it just seemed so logical to me that in the same way you can develop a healthier and more youthful appearance by exercising the body, that you can do the same by exercising the face.
Over time I have evolved and applied many of the Pilates principles into exercises for the face and have helped my client to achieve fantastic results, which you can see on my Instagram page.

Your mentors…
I was very lucky to train with three of the most prestigious masters in the world for Pilates in Alan Herdman and Rael Isacowitz, and Eva Fraser for Facial Fitness. These are people who have spent their lives perfecting their techniques and training a new generation of teachers like me to carry on their work.
Since I opened my studio I have been very busy with my private clients, but 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 favourite thing to do in London is to cycle in Hyde Park with my kids and to enjoy Nature and the change of season. It is so enjoyable and we always have a hot chocolate in the Serpentine café and feed the swans. The park is magical, regardless the time of year.

Favourite afternoon café…
My favourite afternoon café is on Portobello Road and called Farm Girl, the athmosphere 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 which I liked, now there are many to choose from and 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.

A night on the town…
Going out in London is superb and so varied, but my favourite night out is a date at Ronnie Scotts, the jazz club. I love going with my husband, having dinner in Soho, and then spending the evening in this intimate jazz club with so much history. My favourite concert was seeing the since departed Grammy-winning singer ‘Little Jimmy Scott’ – 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, not easy with a full-time practice and two young children, but believe that everyone can do so if disciplined in managing your time. I like alternating between Pilates, dancing, cycling indoors at Core Collective or outdoors in Hyde Park, HIIT-type exercise classes like Barry’s Bootcamp and lastly 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, I 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, just 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 Face Pilates routine.

YOUR BEAUTY
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 moisturiser La Roche-Posay Pigmentclar 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.

Favourite 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 moisturiser. 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.

Favourite Perfume…
My husband gave me a perfume for Christmas which I love, My Burberry for the day and My Burberry Black for the night.

YOUR PROJECTS
Tell us more about Kobido …
I believe that after a great daily work out you should have a massage and for the face everyone should have a monthly Kobido Facial.
Your studio and Skype classes…
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 involves the bending and reshaping of the hands during application, some techniques may even appear to be a stroke, but there are still subtle changes to the shape of the
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 involves the bending and reshaping of the hands during application, some techniques may even appear to be a stroke, but there are still subtle changes to the shape of the hand

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 my knowledge and challenging them 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!

 

Watch Carmen facial fitness exercise below

 

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 routines so that people find it easy to introduce them into their daily routines without being too much of an effort.

By Clemence von Mueffling founder of www.beautyandwellbeing.com

CLICK HERE TO BOOK A FACIAL FITNESS OR PILATES SESSION WITH CARME