Roy Fares

Roy Fares, Mr Cake himself, is Sweden’s most famous confectioner and pastry chef. He recently opened his successful pastry concept, Mr Cake, in Gothenburg. We met over a cup of coffee to talk about his beauty routines, how sugar affects the skin and his career overall.

What’s beauty to you?

“I think many people equals beauty to something superficial, something perfect. But hey, what’s perfect? I mean, everybody looks different and has different preferences about what’s beautiful. To me, beauty is self-confidence and self-being”.

What is your favorite product from Lernberger Stafsing?

The S.O.S Barrier Repair Cream and Facial Oil, for sure. They’re absolutely magical!

Tell us about your daily beauty routine!

My daily routine needs to be simple and quick; I don’t have the time for a long routine with too many steps. I wash my face morning and evening with Gel Cleanser. After that, I moisturize the skin with Day Cream or Night Cream, both from Lernberger Stafsing. During the winter, I use Facial Oil since my skin tends to get really dry.

“To me, beauty is an overall approach to life and thinking.”

I try to eat good food with a lot of veggies and also try to drink a lot of water. I exercise on a regular basis and do facials every 4th week.

Sugar has a proven bad effect on the skin. What’s your thoughts about that since you work as a pastry chef?

Of course, sugar isn’t the best to consume for your body nor your skin, but I think that balance is key and that genetics play a big role as well. If you want to achieve and remain a healthy and good skin, you’ll need to take care of it with right products customized for your skin and it’s needs. I don’t follow any special diet, but I try to eat as much plant-based food as possible.

Where do you find your inspiration for work? What’s the key to your high ambitions?

I’ve always had an inner ambition and high goals. I guess it has a lot to do with me coming to Sweden as a 6-year-old. I had to manage myself from very early years since none of my parents knew any Swedish or anything about Sweden. I’ve never received any financial support from home, everything I have today and own is made by myself and my work only.

How do you deal with setbacks?

I haven’t had any specific setbacks within my career, but I’ve experienced it on a personal level. A while ago, I was dating a man and moved to the US to be with him. I had everything sorted out with visa, work and so on. After a short while, we broke up and I had to move back to Sweden again. My life was more or less broken into pieces, and then and there I understood I had two choices. Either I’d go under and stop living my life, or I’d hit reality and do the best of the situation – I chose to look forward and begin from scratch. The best thing I’ve ever done for myself…