Interviews / 6 February, 2018 / My Baba

How Tamara Ecclestone Has Learnt To Deal With Parenting Critics

Tamara, you’ve already conquered the hair and beauty market with your gorgeously scented SHOW Beauty products. What inspired the scent of your baby care range Fifi & Friends?

I wanted it to smell really clean and fresh, just very baby-like really! A lot of products I have used or come across previously smelt very artificial, like fake strawberries, and I really don’t want to spray that on my child. I wanted it to smell pure and innocent – like clean laundry! I just love the freshness of the fragrance.

What led you to create the baby care range Fifi & Friends?

Having my daughter changed what I was interested in and passionate about, and I always try to take on projects that I’m genuinely passionate about. I just wanted to create a range that felt ‘complete’ and had products from sunblock to baby wipes; I wanted it all under one roof and to make it easy for mums.

How did you decide what type of products went into the range? Was your daughter Sofia an inspiration to the process at all?

Again, I just wanted to cover everything and have it all available within the brand. We have the shampoo and conditioner for straight hair, which is great for Sofia, but then we also have the same products for curlier hair. The curly-haired products are so much better for my niece who has such thick, curly hair. My sister has always struggled with kid products for her daughter Lavinia, so that was the inspiration for those particular products, which I think is completely different and unique for this line.

In terms of Sofia being the inspiration – absolutely! The little girl on the bottle is basically a caricature of her. It was so fun having her involved with the shoots and obviously she was a huge inspiration for the line: it’s made it a really fun journey.

Can you tell us your must-have high-end and high-street makeup products?

I really don’t like to wear makeup on a day-to-day basis, but when I do my own makeup I always use Armani Foundation, I’m obsessed with it. I like it because I don’t have to mix the colours to match my tone; it matches so easily on its own. I also love Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Cream, and the new Fenty Lip Luminizer – I love the packaging and the size.

For high-street products, I love the Simple Kind To Skin Cleansing Wipes. Also, Waterwipes have started making makeup remover wipes; they’re a bit thicker than the baby wipes and I really like them for taking makeup off. Whenever I go to boots I also buy like 50 different lip balms, I’m a bit of a lip balm junkie.

You’re known for having a lavishly full wardrobe. How does Sofia’s compare?

It’s better. I just love buying clothes for her. Everything when it’s smaller is just so cute, and she absolutely loves clothes. She knows exactly what she does and doesn’t want to wear. Just watching her change into different outfits is just so cute; she’s such a girly girl. At the moment she’s obsessed with the Sofia Webster shoes with the little butterflies on the back, she thinks they have magical powers.

Although being in the public eye has a lot of positives, it can also bring with it some negative and unwanted attention. How do you shield yourself and Sofia against harsh media critics?

I feel like people can be really cruel, and often when people don’t feel good about themselves, they try and bring other people down. So I do bare that in mind when people say things that aren’t so nice. I definitely just feel very content and secure in who I am right now. I’m going to be 34 this year; when I was 24 maybe this would have affected me very differently, but I’ve grown up a lot and I’m really lucky to have friends and family that love me and know me.
Their opinions are all that really matter to me. You come to realise that you’re not perfect, but neither is anyone else and that’s okay!

Tamara’s World has recently hit TV screens, showing the British public a small snippet of your life. What made you decide to let a film crew into your personal life, and how have things changed since doing so?

I’ve done reality TV before. A long time ago I did that show Billion Dollar Girl and then more recently I did 7 Days With. We did that when Fifi was like 3 months old – it was just a one off for TV so I guess from that, there was always talks about doing a reality show. I knew it would be a big decision, so it’s one that Jay and I didn’t take lightly. We came to the conclusion that so much is written about us in the media anyway, so it wasn’t going to be that intrusive to our lives and at the very worst we were going to get a really nice home video! I actually really enjoyed the process, and I’ve had so much positive feedback, of course there’s been bad feedback too, but a lot of positive from mums relating to me on separation anxiety or breastfeeding. It just makes it all so worthwhile.

London or LA: which location do you prefer living in and why?

London. I love LA for the weather but I just love London. It sounds silly but I love the culture. The buildings, going to the theatre and the museums – there’s a lot to do and it’s all here. Yes, the weather can be crap, but that’s something I love about London. Also I like having seasons, I like having to wrap up in autumn!

Finally, what three words best describe your lifestyle?

Boring, happy and fulfilled. Honestly, most people would find my life pretty boring! I’m a mum now – times have changed!

The Fifi & Friends collection is available from Harvey Nichols stores and online.