In 2015, and bowling fast towards 50, Sam Harrington-Lowe made a huge decision. Unimpressed at the time by the magazines aimed at her age group, and generally being of the mind that if you want something doing, you should do it yourself, she launched Silver Magazine.
Aimed at delivering a more realistic voice and content for people over 50, it was quickly obvious that she’d hit upon something. The response was overwhelmingly positive. “We had people emailing us and posting about the magazine,” says Sam, “with comments like ‘at last! Let’s ban the beige!’ or ‘been too long a wait for something like this.’”
Silver is a magazine at the beating heart of the 50+ generation. Focused mostly on the Generation X-ers and beyond; the moon landers, the ravers and acid takers, the punks and hippies, the intrepid travellers, the foodies, fashionistas, freelancers, and fanatics – the magazine encourages its readers to stake their claim on the future. Whatever that looks like. It’s all about ditching the stereotypes.
Fast forward to 2023 and the landscape and conversation around content for the over-50s has changed enormously. The silver movement has seen seismic shifts in the way we look at those having their second ‘coming of age’, and Sam couldn’t be more thrilled. “If we’ve had something to do with this then I’m overjoyed. It’s been amazing to see such positive change,” she grins.
A serial entrepreneur with a background in journalism but also event planning and teaching, it’s natural that Sam would use Silver as a launchpad for other projects. 2023 has seen the introduction of the Silver Lifestyle brand, a wellness venture which incorporates Silver’s own skincare product line; a range of online courses; and the launch of Silver’s live retreats, coming in Spring 2024.
“The retreats are all about our second coming of age, and what that looks like. We’re offering experiences that are quite different to other retreats,” says Sam. “We wanted to offer the chance not just to escape and wind down, do some yoga and self-reflection, but also to experience some new – and potentially quite unusual – activities. We engaged in a ton of research with our audience and our Silvers said, top of the list, that they wanted to learn new things. So we’ve run with that. Our retreats cover everything from live music sessions to golf, stargazing to nutrition and art workshops.”
The skincare products, meanwhile, have “gone off like a rocket,” says Sam. “We worked very hard to make sure that we got this right. The products are designed specifically for mature skin, and they’re all cruelty-free and contain only natural ingredients. Mostly they’re vegan too, with the exception of the collagen products. That’s marine-derived collagen though, and it’s a by-product. We’re doing our best to create luxury products that are ethical – and affordable.”
This is a huge focus for the skincare range. “We have seen serums that contain pretty much exactly the same ingredients as ours, but where we’re charging a fair price of £55, these other brands are asking £300,” says Sam. “It’s shocking actually, because now I know what it costs to make this stuff, and there is no need for it to be so costly. I want everyone to be able to afford good skincare, and a touch of luxury. It’s very important to me.”
Take a look at the new Silver Skincare product range by clicking this link HERE.
And all lucky members enjoy an exclusive discount, across the whole range. Simply add the code SMA20 when checking out your cart! Enjoy!
And if you want to gift these at Christmas – sign up to the Silver Lifestyle newsletter, because that’s where other discount codes and details of special gift packs get sent out. We’re going to be creating a special gift set for the festive season, for example. Sign up here to get this sort of lovely news – CLICK THIS LINK
