Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Connecticut and before moving to Chicago last March, I spent my whole life on the East Coast, most recently in NYC for 10 years.

What did you do Jewish growing up?

I attended Hebrew School twice per week – my favorite part aside from the education and friends was eating the warm bagels we got almost every week! I also celebrated Shabbat dinners at home with my family.

Where did you go to school?

I went to Cornell University.

lauren rome chitribe jewish person of the week

What do you do for work?

I recently launched a clean and eco-friendly gender-neutral skincare line, called Romer Skincare. I left Wall Street behind to build a simple regimen meant to fit into the busy lives of women AND men.

What do you do for fun/to relax?

I spend a lot of time with our golden retriever Henry. My fiancé and I also love movies so you can often find us at an AMC movie theater on the weekends.

What do you do Jewish now?

For starters, we observe Shabbat and are actively exploring synagogues to join. I’m also building a network of friends and fellow entrepreneurs to develop stronger relationships expanding my Jewish community. And on the side, I’m actively playing matchmaker for any single Jewish men in Chicago who are looking for an NYC catch!

What is your favorite way to spend Shabbat?

We love to have a quiet evening at home after the long work week. And often celebrate with a delicious bottle of wine and a home-cooked meal. I cook, my fiancé cleans the dishes and Henry begs for scraps!

What is your favorite Jewish food?

Matzo ball soup!

Top three things on your Chicago bucket list?

Getting married here this May, dinner at Alinea, and to never waste a beautiful summer day here.

What is your favorite part of Jewish Chicago?

Everyone loves to eat!

When the Tribe Gathers… I’m happy.

Tell us more about Romer Skin Care?

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I was determined to create a beauty and grooming brand with the highest standards, and one with a traceable supply chain. It needed to be the best in quality and in performance, yet simple and affordable. We strongly believe in less is more approach and sought out to create three products that save people time when it comes to their daily routine. And we tested this. Based on our own research in a mixed-gender sample, we found that 90% of participants noticed their skin improved by only using our 3 steps after four weeks.

How did you get into this field?

I suffered from a variety of skin challenges – breakouts, dehydrated and dry skin, circles under the eyes and had a ton of beauty products that didn’t help. I had a bathroom cabinet filled with over 100 products – all of which did nothing to resolve my skin concerns. I was working long hours with lots of stress and was traveling on an airplane every other week. I wanted to look and feel my best but there are so many choices on the market today and so many steps that need to be incorporated, that I found myself almost paralyzed when it came to deciding what product was right for me. I decided to do something about it and tapped into industry leaders – a year later, enter Romer.

Why is clean skincare so important?

The ingredients and chemicals that certain brands are still putting in their products and selling to customers with no disclaimer or warnings is incredibly frustrating. So many brands are cutting corners, miss-marketing and greenwashing and that’s because regulation in this country has not been changed in decades. In the US, we only have 11 banned ingredients whereas the EU has banned 1,300 controversial ingredients linking to hormone alteration, potentially cancer, skin allergies, and polluting the planet. We should all make a concerted effort to watch what we put on our skin because a lot gets absorbed into the bloodstream!

Tell us your secrets for skincare, am AND pm!

Obviously, I use the Romer regimen. I cleanse my face morning and night and put on moisturizer twice per day and I often sleep in our CBD-infused Treatment Mask and drink tons of water. That said, I think it’s important to have a consistent routine whatever that means to you. And don’t be too hard on yourself when you get a blemish or your skin is dryer than normal – it happens to all of us.

How can we learn more about Romer Skincare?