Serena Goldenbaum and Katja Radtke have been closely associated with cicé for many years - out of conviction and with all their heart. While Katja has built up the award-winning bellapelle cosmetics institutes in Hamburg since 2009, Serena has been a successful make-up artist for 30 years - in advertising shoots and fashion shows, for film and television as well as music tours. At the end of July, the two beauty experts met up for a Jetpeel treatment, coffee and a good chat with cicé.

Serena and Katja, you both got to a point in the last few years where everything became too much for you. How did this happen and how did you deal with it?

Serena: I think that everyone who works independently as an entrepreneur comes to this point at some point. You become successful and think: Okay, now I have to expand, I have to hire employees, maybe open a second store or a third. The phone rings incessantly and you wonder how you're going to cope with it all. And at some point, either your health tells you that you can't go on like this, or other things come up. Most people then go back to the beginning.

Katja: Exactly. Back to what you can do yourself. Back to yourself. I have reduced everything.

Serena: Me too. I gave up my store.

Katja: In my case, I wanted to prove something to myself: Katja, you can do this, you can look after yourself and your three children. Being independent in life was always really important to me. And now that I'm approaching 50, I feel that I don't have to prove anything to myself anymore. Now I want to have more peace and quiet - to work in peace. Because when I was ill last year, I realized how much I love my job! When I open my store in the morning - happy or not, refreshed or tired - and my first customer comes in, I'm in a good mood. But the organization and responsibility for so many employees and institutes was too stressful for me. That's why I kept downsizing.

What do you like about being self-employed?

Serena: At 58, you suddenly realize that your time is a bit more limited and you only really want to do what's fun: working with people. I love that. I want to still be doing that when I'm 100. Especially after major periods of stress or strokes of fate, you ask yourself: What do I actually want to do? How do I want to structure my work and for whom? As a hairdresser and make-up artist, I actually come from an artistic background. I never really learned how to be an entrepreneur. At some point, my tax advisor told me that I had to start thinking like an entrepreneur. Of course, that's only half as much fun as just walking around with a paintbrush, free and easy (laughs). But as a self-employed person, I have the freedom to decide for myself how I work and what I focus on. I set my own goals and my own boundaries. I really like that.

Katja: Yes, exactly. For me too, it's this ability to make my own decisions that I value so much about being self-employed. Deciding for myself what the studio should look like and what I offer. But I can also decide for myself to leave out things that drain my energy. Especially as I get older, I want to be able to say more often: I don't want to do it like this, I'm not doing it. Of course, that's hardly possible in an employment relationship. And I also love making quick decisions when I'm self-employed.

Were there ever moments when you longed for a permanent position?

Serena: No.

Katja: No. ( Both laugh out loud)

Serena: Next question!

Was it easy or difficult for you to combine your professional career with your role as a mother?

Serena: Children are the greatest happiness on this earth. But also the biggest challenge. That's why I don't know whether it was easy or difficult for me. It was just like that. But I often had the feeling that I wasn't doing anyone justice. I wanted to be there 100% for my child, but also 100% for my job. And then I also have a husband, for whom I would have liked to have as much time as possible. I quickly forgot about myself.

Katja: Yes, you take a step back. I always said to myself: Katja, it's not your turn now. If life is a cake that you divide into pieces, I gave everyone a piece and shared out the last one. I just love being a mother, but I also love working. But at some point I reached the point where I wanted - and had to have - a piece of cake.

People feel incredibly comfortable when they are treated or advised by you. Why do you think that is?

Serena: So for me, it all starts on the inside. I want to expose the inner beauty and highlight it with a great glow. Some women who are middle-aged and incredibly successful are constantly thinking: Am I too fat? Am I too thin? Can I still find a man? Their inner glow is on a low flame. But charisma comes from self-esteem. That's why, while I'm doing my make-up, I always teach people a lot about their own worth and how important it is to look after themselves and do something good for themselves. I see myself as a beauty coach who can release inner blockages so that the inner glow can emerge and be highlighted. That's why most of my clients come to me. They want to radiate authentic beauty from the inside out.

Katja: I love service! It just makes me happy to do something good for others. I worked as a waitress as a teenager, that was the same. There's nothing better than when a guest or customer says goodbye and thinks that it did them a world of good.

Serena: Totally! I think that too. Serving people is great. I would definitely be a great waitress too. (Both laugh for a long time)

What do you like about cicé?

Serena: What's the best way to put it - the thoughtfulness! Your products are well thought out down to the last detail. There are not five million products, but one day care and one eye care. Period.

Katja: And the lightness. I think cicé has such a lightness. I always have a cicé tip for every season or for every skin: just use the Hydromask. Or use the Peeling Serum - you can also leave it on overnight. Somehow I always feel light with cicé. The products are so easy and great to use. And no matter what skin type I have, the Cleansing Foam from cicé always works!

Serena: And I'm a huge fan of your Immune Drops. The inside is absolutely part of the beauty theme. If I'm not feeling one hundred percent, I take six squirts of Immune Drops. I'm almost addicted to them (laughs). Then a Hydromask - and I'm me again. 

Katja: And no matter what skin type I have, the Cleansing Foam from cicé always works!

Yes, the collaboration between cicé and bellapelle started with the Cleansing Foam. 

Serena: Oh yes, the Color Corrector is of course mega!

Katja: Yes, totally. I think that's exactly what people want: not real make-up, but a balancing cream. Perfect!

What gives you the most energy? The support of your families? The support from your work environment? Or is it things like sport, nutrition, yoga and meditation? 

Katja: For me, it's definitely my family, children, relationships and friends. I can switch off in my private life. I pull a lever and enjoy the time. I don't really think at all.

Serena: Unfortunately, I'm not so good at that. I worry a lot, which is why I find it hard to switch off. But my family and friends also give me stability, support and a sense of security. But time for myself is just as important to me: I meditate, I love personal development in every form, I like spiritual things. In the morning, I have my own little “program” and during this time, I first feel inside myself.

Is there anything you do differently in your job now than when you started your career? 

Katja: I've become much calmer, much more relaxed. And I let things get to me less, especially things that aren't good for me. I've found my own rhythm that I stick to, even if it doesn't match the rhythm of others. 

Serena: In my job, I'm relatively self-determined because the customer naturally dictates when and where they need me. When my son was little, that was often a problem. Now I have a completely different kind of freedom. But my way of working hasn't really changed. I always respond completely to the person, again and again. So even if I do Helene Fischer's make-up for 50 shows in a row every day, it's different every day. Because the skin, the need, the person is different every day. That has always been the case for me and will always remain so.

But you closed your store because it became too much for you.

Serena: Yes, that's true. I am downsizing. But I'm still pretty ambitious. If someone told me now that they'd like to have me on a shoot in LA for six weeks, I'd be there in a heartbeat. Immediately!

Find out more about Katja on bellapelle.de or her Instagram profile. You can find information about Serena on her website or her Instagram channel.