(Margaux) My name is Margaux, I’m 35 years old, I have a little girl who is almost 3 years old, and I’m expecting a baby boy who will arrive soon. I manage e-commerce at Oh My Cream. I work closely with the communication team to ensure there is content on the website. There are about twelve articles per month. I’m in charge of the entire digital department.
(Marion) I'm Marion, I'm 36 years old, and I have two children, aged 4 years and 6 months. At Oh My Cream, I am the Director of Expertise and Customer Experience. I oversee the training department and also work on product formulation. I take care of all the touchpoints, both on the website and in-store.
(Jessica) My name is Jessica, I am 35 years old, and I have two little girls, aged 3 and a half and 1 year old. At Oh My Cream, I handle purchasing and the product offering.
(Juliette) My name is Juliette, I’m about to turn 35, and I am the founder of Oh My Cream. I have two little boys, aged 2 and a half years and 2 months.
Maternity and relationship to beauty
(Margaux) It’s a big upheaval for the body. With each pregnancy, you discover new surprises... What changes the most is the way we reclaim our bodies after pregnancy and how we end up perhaps taking a little more care of it.
I’ve always taken care of myself, but I focused more on facial care. After my pregnancy, I started paying more attention to my body. Maybe it’s thanks to our very holistic approach at Oh My Cream. Today, I take more care of my body, perhaps hoping it will return to how it was before, although it’s not really a source of concern.
(Marion) I agree with Margaux, it’s a big upheaval. However, pregnancy made me very forgiving with myself and other women’s bodies. I realized that before, I was a bit harsh, more incisive, without necessarily verbalizing it. I’ve always liked taking care of myself, so that hasn’t changed too much. I’ve mainly developed a sense of letting go and kindness towards myself and others.
(Jessica) I gained a lot of weight, and I didn’t recognize myself much during my first pregnancy. I had a very demanding and unkind relationship with my body and weight, both towards myself and others. I was very sad, very unhappy. I didn’t enjoy being pregnant at all. It’s not a state I like: the brain on slow mode, the nausea, feeling sad, tired... it’s not fulfilling for me. On the other hand, it was more the postpartum period after my first pregnancy that gave me a much more holistic approach to beauty. That’s when I consulted a naturopath. I realized that in order to feel good in my body and have beautiful skin, I needed to focus on the wellness aspect, like supplements for example. That’s what changed for me.
The apprehension of postpartum and body recovery
(Marion) I didn’t have a bad experience with my postpartum. I think it’s great that the conversation around postpartum is opening up, and that women have the right to say when things aren’t going well, but it should also go the other way. I think we hear less these days about the positive side of postpartum. I have a lot of friends who don’t have children and are afraid. I think today, we need a bit of a positive message. It’s really important to talk about the aftermath.
(Juliette) We are the informed generation, maybe a bit too much so. But it’s important to have all that information. If I hadn’t had half of the information I received, it would have been very hard. Also, I was raised by a mother who told me that childbirth caused the same pain as menstruation. So, needless to say, after giving birth, I saw things differently! It was very painful. As for postpartum, like Marion, I experienced it well. However, I had a tough first week, I couldn’t eat, I was depressed.
(Margaux) What I find very hard is the disconnect with the father. Today, fathers are very involved. They’re ready, very fit, while for us, it’s more complicated. In terms of postpartum, my partner and I were out of sync. That was the hardest part. I was exhausted, worried, and he was very energetic.
(Juliette) I’m a bit obsessive by nature. I had listened to all the podcasts, I was aware of everything. As a result, I was happy during my pregnancy. I gained 25 kilos, but I kept saying, “It’s the only time in my life that we don’t care!” I felt very womanly. However, I was anxious about the postpartum. In the end, after the tough first days in the maternity ward, I realized that it was going to be okay. I think the experience differs a lot from what you project. I was promised hell, so compared to that, it went well. And eventually, the more difficult moment came 12 months later. I felt great during the first year. But after a year, when he started walking, we were on vacation in a big house that wasn’t at all suited or equipped for a young child, with stairs, a terrace, and a pool. I had a horrible summer. I cried a lot. I also think that, without realizing it, I had accumulated a lot of fatigue.
(Marion) It’s the moment when you mourn vacations and rest!
(Juliette) Exactly. At first, you think it’s a sprint. You think you’ll hold on until there’s a break. But very quickly, you realize there is no break.
To say everything or keep certain things silent?
(Marion) I think we should tell everything to those who ask questions. But we shouldn’t fall into unhealthy curiosity either. It’s important to take a step back between your personal experience and the facts.
(Jessica) What made me evolve a lot between the two pregnancies was my obsession with how others perceived me. For example, when I went back to work with the 10 extra kilos, I thought everyone would assume I had let myself go, that I wasn’t paying attention. I had a few comments asking if I was doing any sports from women who didn’t have children. In the beauty industry, we’re very informed, we use a lot of beauty products, and we’re also very demanding. We pay attention to ourselves. Especially in my job, I’m often in the spotlight with suppliers. I had to work a lot to accept the judgment of others.
The relationship with work
(Margaux) We were lucky that Juliette was pregnant almost at the same time as we were. We have this incredible opportunity of being in a company that is very supportive of maternity.
(Marion) Personally, I find it harder with the teams than with the hierarchy.
(Juliette) One of my friends, Nathalie, often says "You can have it all, but not at the same time." I truly believe that. These are phases of life. I absolutely don’t feel guilty about working less for 4 months and then working at a slower pace afterward. I don’t want to leave at 8 p.m. and not see my children. It’s about organization. There is no one-size-fits-all model. You have to question what matters most to you and find your own model. Personally, I opt for maximum flexibility and an obsession with results, not the number of hours spent at the office. We can be very efficient during our working hours, take fewer breaks, and perform at our maximum during the day. Sometimes, we may have to leave earlier for our child, or on the other hand, stay later at work. And I realized that you need to let go of certain things. You need to learn to choose your battles and delegate some tasks. It’s important to take a step back. Overall, I think 75% of this comes down to organization. You need to know how to prioritize, delegate, and organize at home.
You have to accept that things might go a little slower. But it’s for something exceptional that you will only experience a few times in your life. You need to enjoy it and not miss out. You have to find the balance between professional life and personal life. At first, setting an example mattered; I was afraid of how others would see me, that they would think I was less ambitious. But in the end, setting an example is being present when there is a topic to address, staying responsible, but not necessarily skipping maternity leave or working 12 hours a day… and also showing others that it’s okay to be a mother, to love it, and to want to enjoy it fully. That too is an example to set!
(Margaux) I think since COVID, there has been an evolution in the balance between professional and personal life. Personally, I stopped sending emails after 8 p.m. I schedule them. Today, everyone receives their emails on their phone. Receiving a work email at 9:30 p.m. can ruin an evening.
(Juliette) Many women worry about the mix between career and motherhood. I think it's important to tell them that it's possible to combine both. It won’t all happen at the same time, there will be a moment when they'll focus on their child, and that’s normal. That’s also what being a team is about. Wanting to be a mother doesn’t mean you’re not ambitious or deserving. You can put your work on hold without putting it at risk. You need to find the right balance. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s easier said than done in some companies.
I think it’s always an opportunity to rethink things. Before my first child, I was juggling several topics in the same day. When I’d go home in the evening, I was exhausted. I wanted to get home a little earlier and have some time for myself and my babies once I became a mother. So, I started doing "themed days" to structure things. With this, you take a step back, you know what you're contributing to, and you organize your time better.
Motherhood also makes you very organized and gives you the necessary perspective. Some mothers are more efficient than younger women focused on their careers.
(Marion) We sell beauty products, we sell positivity, and well-being. Let's apply that to our lives.
Everyday wellness moments
(Marion) Personally, taking 5 minutes to wash my face is my moment. Removing my makeup is like the metaphor of taking off my work clothes.
(Juliette) For me, it's the manual lymphatic drainage massages at home. I'm doing a treatment to eliminate cellulite in the postpartum period. With my first child, I didn’t find the postpartum too difficult in terms of beauty because it was winter. This time, summer is coming, and I don’t really like my belly. I am more forgiving with my body, I don’t hate it, but I challenge myself. I want to feel good and beautiful. This treatment allows me to lose a little weight and feel lighter. It’s all good for me. I also do Pilates in front of my TV.
Ironically, during maternity leave, I find more time to take care of myself—doing dry brushing in the shower in the morning, and an exfoliating mask while giving the baby a bottle. That’s my goal right now: taking time to do good things for myself.
(Jessica) I’ve had a huge crush on the Atelier Nubio juices. They’re a bit tough, but they really give me the feeling that I'm doing something good for myself and staying healthy. During my second pregnancy, I had gestational diabetes, which gave me the goal of being healthy, for me, of course, and for my children.
(Juliette) I totally agree, it’s about wellness beauty more than performance beauty. When you feel good, you naturally feel beautiful. Maybe you’ll have a few extra kilos, but paradoxically, you’ll feel more beautiful. Taking care of yourself helps you feel well.
(Jessica) To be honest, I struggle with my extra weight. I gave birth a year ago, and I’m really focused on losing it. I feel that pressure. I’m 35, and it makes me really sad that I can’t wear a two-piece swimsuit because I’m self-conscious about my belly.
Through my job, I try a lot of skincare, and I find it hard to let go because I’m always analyzing. It’s become so codified. Personally, my moment for myself is 15 minutes of Pilates several times a week. I’m learning to breathe, to let go, and I see effects on my body.
(Margaux) I've always practiced yoga; I managed to do it at lunchtime because I could work in the evening. I still do it today. It saves me. The best advice I could give to moms would be to find a real moment for themselves once a week. Whether it's exercising, reading, or seeing a friend... Motherhood is about selflessness. It's important to keep a little break for yourself. What I also love about yoga is that the connection with the body is very different from other sports. There's no performance compared to others, just progress. After giving birth, I also did some "palpé-roulé" sessions. I needed to reconnect with my body.
(Juliette) My advice to moms would be to find their own model. Don’t try to copy someone else’s balance. I used to like listing what I heard in podcasts to decide what I would try. But I've created my own model. Above all, I think it’s important to listen to yourself.
(Marion) Yes, my advice to moms would be to trust themselves!
