Last week Frimley Park Hospital hosted a Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) make-up workshop for people living with cancer in the local community.

Beauty experts and volunteers Sarah, Beth and Fiona from the Look Good Feel Better charity, led a workshop for 10 women with varying types and stages of cancer, guiding them all through skincare, makeup products and application.

Everyone received a goody bag filled with donated products from partner companies – high street and luxury brands alike.

The team were particularly focussed on navigating treatment side effects such as dryness, redness, hair loss (eyebrows and eyelashes) and skin sensitivity. Sarah, a part-time make-up artist explained the importance of skin preparation before makeup application, colour correction for dark under eyes and uneven skin, and shared industry secrets to achieve a natural look with seamless application.

Beth, who owns her own health and wellbeing business alongside volunteering for LGFB, is currently undergoing immunotherapy at Frimley Park Hospital after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She was open with the group in informing them of her journey with cancer and hair loss, encouraging participants to ask her questions about her wig, hair care and her journey.

Also in attendance was Mark Flannery, CEO of the charity accompanied by Cecil Budge, senior vice president of FORMA brands and her colleague Grace McGovern, marketing director; FORMA has partnered with LGFB since 2018 and are the parent company of Morphe, a highly successful and world-renowned makeup brand.

Mark described LGFB’s makeup workshops as “accessible and socially concentrated”, as individuals gain a community of people who share the same lived experience of navigating cancer as well as cosmetic products and guidance.

Kay, 72, from Windlesham who was diagnosed with lung cancer in August last year said the workshop was “brilliant…I didn’t know what to expect, but it was amazing to do something for me and just be present, I didn’t think about my cancer or situation – it was like being taught from one girlfriend to another”.

Irene, 80, from Camberley who had also been diagnosed last year, was not an avid makeup wearer but wanted to learn more about it. She described the workshop as a “safe space”, with supportive experts who gave “hands on” support.

1 in 2 people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime, and a person in the UK is diagnosed every 90 seconds. Frimley Health’s Macmillan cancer support teams host monthly LGFB workshops in both Frimley and Slough for anyone who has been diagnosed or is receiving treatment for cancer (does not have to be an Frimley Health Trust patient).

Visit https://lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk/workshops/ to find your nearest workshop.