WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY: Recent Episodes
Jodi Katz
The beauty industry's top talent share their wisdom, advice and authenticity with our WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ listeners every week. Topics include: work/life balance, how to hustle and how to handle challenges - all discussed with great honesty and humor. Conversations humanizing the beauty exec experience. Hosted by Jodi Katz, Founder and Creative Director of Base Beauty Creative Agency.
2022 is the year of milestones: 15th Anniversary of BBCA, the marketing agency that inspired the podcast, 5th Anniversary of WBMB Podcast & starting the year with our 200th episode.
We will be LIVE streaming episode recordings on our Where Brains Meet Beauty Youtube page. Subscribe to our channel to get alerts. New episodes launch every Wednesday! Episodes can be found on all streaming platforms and our website www.wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com Follow us on Instagram @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast for announcements, BTS, and more!
For inquiries about the show, please email aleni@basebeauty.com.
In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty with Jodi Katz, we explore how legal and financial experts fuel the growth of beauty and wellness brands. Guests Kara Posner, Partner at Gianuzzi Lewendon and Thomas Cunningham, Director of Business Development at Physician Growth Partners share how they help founders navigate funding, scale strategically, and prepare for exits.
From childhood dreams of animation and pro sports to careers in law and investment banking, Kara and Thomas reveal how early passions shape their approach to high-stakes advisory work. They dive into what it means to be true partners to entrepreneurs, offering not just strategy but empathy, creativity, and commitment.
Expect insights on M&A, fundraising, managing strong personalities, and why real human connection still beats any app. A must-listen for anyone building a beauty, wellness, or med spa business.
Thank you to our sponsor Beauty Connect - Get 10% off tickets with code WBMB.
In Episode 292 of Where Brains Meet Beauty, host Jodi Katz sits down with Sarah Foley, Managing Partner at InviNext Growth Partners and Caroline Chiaroni, Vice President at TJC for a compelling conversation at the intersection of private equity, consumer brands, and personal passion. From childhood dreams of veterinary clinics and art galleries to managing multi-million-dollar investments in beauty and wellness, these two trailblazers share how creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking shape their careers.
They discuss the evolving role of technology in finance yes even AI, while emphasizing the irreplaceable power of human connection in brand building. You'll hear behind-the-scenes insights on spotting breakout brands, nurturing founder relationships, and balancing data with instinct. Whether you're an investor, entrepreneur, or just brand-curious, this episode delivers a refreshing look at the heart behind high-growth consumer investing.
Bonus: Don’t miss the fun wrap-up game as Sarah and Caroline reveal their favorite art picks in a game of “museum tour, this or that.”
Thank you to our sponsor Beauty Connect - get 10% off tickets with code WBMB.
In Episode 291 of Where Brains Meet Beauty with Jodi Katz, the spotlight turns to two investors redefining what it means to back beauty and wellness brands: Kara LaForgia, Founder & Managing Partner at Hive Ventures, and Rich Gersten, Co-Founder & General Partner at True Beauty Ventures. Their paths to venture capital could not be more different, yet both reflect the persistence, gut instincts, and passion that this industry demands.
Kara’s story is one of constant reinvention. A lawyer by training, she started her career as an NFL sports agent, worked with Birdman and Lil Wayne at Cash Money Records, and went on to become the first employee at multiple startups before launching her own consulting business. From there, she began investing off her balance sheet, eventually managing capital for others and institutionalizing her approach under Hive Ventures. She describes herself as hands-on, gritty, and opportunistic, never afraid to step into an unfilled role or claim an open lane. For her, the ideal founder to back is someone who “eats, breathes, sleeps” their company, often an operator with deep experience at an early-stage brand who impresses her enough to think about them long after a meeting ends.
Rich’s trajectory looks more traditional, but with its own twists. After business school, he entered private equity as a generalist, covering consumer companies across food, supplements, and retail. More than 20 years ago, he stumbled into his first beauty investment, Avalon Natural Products, followed by DDF Skincare. What began as an assignment from the founder of his firm “spend half your time on beauty” became a lifelong focus. Though initially skeptical, Gersten came to see beauty as uniquely resilient and endlessly dynamic. He recalls attending his first Women’s Wear Daily CEO Summit as the only private equity investor in the room, a stark contrast to today, where investors and bankers crowd those events alongside brand leaders. Five years ago, he co-founded True Beauty Ventures, a sector-specialized fund that now manages 20 brands across categories, channels, and geographies.
Together, their perspectives reveal how beauty investing blends strategy with soul. The capital matters, but so do the founders, the vision, and the consumer connection. Both Hive Ventures and True Beauty Ventures may run lean teams, but they bring something more valuable than scale: deep expertise, empathy for founders, and an insider’s feel for where consumer trends are headed. As Gersten puts it, to invest successfully in beauty, you have to love it. Anything less just doesn’t stick.
Thank you to our sponsor Beauty Connect. Get 10% off tickets with code WBMB.
In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty we meet Kevin Kim the Director of Beauty & Personal Care Investment Banking at Raymond James. His career journey didn’t begin with balance sheets and deal rooms it began with medicine.
As the oldest son of two psychiatrists, Kevin grew up assuming he’d follow in their footsteps. But by late high school, he realized his path needed to be his own. Drawn to a more global career, he pivoted from pre-med aspirations to business, ultimately landing in investment banking.
His early years at Houlihan Lokey provided a crash course in analytics and resilience. But financial services M&A, mortgage servicing rights and insurance deals left him craving work that was more dynamic, more connected to culture. That pivot came when he joined boutique bank Financo in New York, where a chance partnership with beauty M&A legend Vennette Ho introduced him to founder-led brands and the artistry of storytelling in finance.
From helping Lily Gordon of First Aid Beauty raise early capital, to later selling the brand to P&G, Kevin learned that beauty transactions are never just about numbers, they’re about people. Founders bring vision, quirks, and dreams to the table, and he leaned on skills inherited from his psychiatrist parents: listening deeply, decoding motivations, and helping brands show up as their best selves when it matters most.
Today at Raymond James, Kevin has worked on more than 25 beauty deals, guiding brands through capital raises, acquisitions, and exits. He and his team specialize in founder-led businesses, translating brand “sparkle” into financial value while advising buyers on how to preserve the magic post-acquisition. His lens is global covering fragrance booms in Paris, K-beauty trends from Seoul, and indie darlings in Sephora aisles.
His leadership style reflects the same ethos: hands-on, people-first, and rooted in immersion. New analysts join him on “Sephora field trips,” learning that to advise in beauty, you must love the category, feel the consumer pulse, and respect its nuances.
For Kevin the real thrill isn’t just closing a deal it’s knowing that a beloved brand has a shot at its next chapter, that founder visions are honored, and that beauty continues to evolve as a global language.
Thank you to our sponsor Beauty Connect - get 10% off tickets with code WBMB.
What do NASA and luxury beauty have in common? In this stellar episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, Jodi Katz sits down with Lindy Firstenberg, Senior Vice President, Beauty & Luxury at Alix Partners and Catherine Nekavand, Partner at Alix Partners - two powerhouse leaders who traded space suits and oil rigs for silk scarves and fragrance launches.
Lindy, who once tested satellite mechanisms at NASA, shares how her journey took a glamorous turn at Louis Vuitton, where she helped launch the brand’s fragrance line. Catherine, a petroleum engineer who’s worked everywhere from Chad to Norway, reveals how she pivoted into the world of Tiffany & Co. and luxury retail, armed with a global perspective and an MBA from HEC Paris.
Together, they unpack the art of transformation in luxury consulting, preserving brand heritage while using data and strategic insights to drive growth. They also share their leadership philosophies, tips for navigating career pivots, and how they keep the “magic” alive during mergers and acquisitions.
And yes, we play a little game of “Beauty in Zero Gravity” because who says astronauts don’t need great moisturizer? Whether you're in the boardroom or dreaming of the stars, this episode will inspire you to embrace your path, even if it's not linear.
A huge thank you to our partners at Beauty Connect Series - grab your ticket today at beautyconnectla.com and use code WBMB for 10% off!
In this high-energy finale of our Health Compass: Navigating Careers in Wellness theme, host Jodi Katz welcomes Lisa Rossmann, Chief Concept Officer at Hand & Stone Spa and Bryan Appio, CEO of Drywater for a dynamic conversation about leadership, career pivots, and hydration.
Lisa shares her journey from aspiring spy to beauty industry executive, while Bryan reflects on early entrepreneurial ventures and a drive to succeed shaped by his upbringing. Together, they explore what it takes to lead with empathy, build trust, and focus on internal excellence rather than external competition.
Both Lisa and Bryan have learned to tune out the noise. In industries where competition is fierce and trends evolve daily, they’re not chasing comparisons—they’re doubling down on clarity. Instead of reacting to what other brands are doing, they focus on what truly matters: building strong teams, creating meaningful products and experiences, and staying aligned with their values.
Their stories are proof that leadership today looks different than it did even a decade ago. It’s not about titles or traditional benchmarks—it’s about showing up with vision and the willingness to do things differently.
The episode wraps with a fun and insightful hydration quiz, revealing surprising truths about water, wellness, and skin health. Whether you're a beauty industry insider or a leadership junkie, this episode is a masterclass in resilience, authenticity, and staying hydrated - inside and out. Tune in and drink it all in literally and figuratively. Check out more info on both companies at Handandstone.com and Drywater.com.
Preventative care meets powerful branding in this electric conversation with Dr. David Kim, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Lightsaver and Vicente Vasquez, Global Senior Brand Design Manager at Colgate-Palmolive.
We explore the emotional and behavioral roots of beauty rituals — and what it really takes to shift them. From daily sunscreen to oral care routines, they reveal why so many people know what to do, but still don’t follow through.
Vicente brings a sharp creative lens, shaped by a lifelong love of mixtapes, theater, and storytelling. That background fuels the emotional resonance behind the design work he now leads for one of the world’s biggest personal care brands.
Dr. Kim shares the kind of insights that make you rethink your own habits — like why most people skip sunscreen (even when they have it), and how products feel, tone, and texture could be the key to long-term skin health. His take on beauty as preventative care is both science-based and deeply human.
Together, they explore what makes a brand unforgettable, how to navigate creative critique, why timelessness beats trend-chasing — and yes, the best egg sandwich ever eaten during an interview.
Host Jodi Katz sat down with two women at the forefront of redefining health care as we know it: Liz Josefsberg, Founder & CEO of Target 100 Inc and Sarah Pesce, COO of stealth-mode wellness startup Radence.
Despite wildly different paths—Liz went from Broadway star to Weight Watchers executive, while Sarah pivoted from nurse practitioner to health-tech builder—both share a mission: to help people move from “sick care” to well care.
Liz's early career was center stage—literally. She spent years performing in Showboat and Les Misérables, all while privately battling weight fluctuations. That struggle led her to Weight Watchers, first as a member, then as a team member, and ultimately as their Director of Brand Advocacy. She helped build programs, consulted for the CEO, and guided celebrities like Jennifer Hudson and Charles Barkley through their own wellness transformations.
But Liz wanted more than just the Weight Watchers playbook. She authored Target 100, a behavioral weight loss book that evolved into an app platform connecting hydration tracking, biometrics, and movement. Her mission? To give people a simple, evidence-based way to understand their bodies—and stay in the game without guilt or shame.
Sarah began in cardiology, treating patients already facing chronic illness. It didn’t sit right. She saw an opportunity to move upstream—to build better systems for prevention. That led her to advanced degrees, hospital innovation work, and eventually to launching wellness labs that deliver “digital twins” of users through biomarker testing, wearables, and environmental data.
Now, at Radence, Sarah’s team is developing a member-based preventative screening experience backed by a powerhouse science team. Her focus? Making cutting-edge longevity care accessible, personalized, and understandable—without needing an advanced medical degree to interpret your own labs.
Liz and Sarah agreed on nearly everything: that bio-data is only helpful if it’s explained clearly. That technology is outpacing consumer understanding. That shame is a sales tool used too often—and that emotional support is what most health programs are missing. Whether it’s using AI to build “Liz in your pocket” or designing a membership that meets people where they are, their north star is clarity, context, and compassion.
As Liz put it: “No woman has ever come to me and said she doesn’t know an apple is better than a Snickers. The problem isn’t information. It’s behavior—and how we stay in the game.”
Jodi Katz sat down with two powerhouse women making waves in personal health: Taryn Shockley, USA Sales & Education Manager at AlumierMD, and Kelly Murphy, General Manager at Lola. What followed was a deep, human, and often hilarious look at ambition, imposter syndrome, reinvention—and the workouts that keep them grounded.
Taryn’s story starts on the balance beam. A gymnast from age two, she was competing at elite levels by ten and earned a full ride to ASU. But when an injury ended her collegiate career, she made her first major pivot—into skincare. What began as a passion for facials turned into a sales role that demanded she master the art of influence in highly clinical, physician-led spaces. Today, she's navigating a category that’s equal parts science and sales—and getting real about how to stay resilient when your numbers (or your self-worth) are on the line.
Meanwhile, Kelly dreamt of being editor-in-chief of Seventeen Magazine—a goal she nearly touched when working at Penguin Books. But the realities of New York rent pushed her into digital marketing, where she built a versatile toolkit across SEO, UX, and data strategy at top agencies like Publicis and Havas. Now, she’s steering the ship at Lola, a pioneer in clean period care, and facing challenges every modern marketer knows too well: a saturated market, rising media costs, and a pressing need to evolve the brand story. Her secret weapon? Relationship-building. Whether managing a 20-person team or advocating for upper-funnel investment, Kelly leads with connection—and a healthy dose of what she calls “female rage.”
While their paths are wildly different, Taryn and Kelly share a trait we see often in the Where Brains Meet Beauty community: the willingness to leap. Whether it’s changing industries, stepping into roles they weren’t quite ready for, or pushing back on outdated business norms, both women prove that reinvention isn’t just possible—it’s powerful.
Yes, we had fun. From underwater spin classes to soundscape-enhanced yoga, Taryn and Kelly gave us their go-to workouts and how they use fitness as both therapy and mental reset. (Spoiler: one peed on a trampoline, one has a Fuze House membership in every city.)
Their stories are packed with honesty, hustle, and the kind of lessons you only learn by leaping before you're ready.
What does a TikTok-famous hand surgeon and the descendant of mushroom farmers in France and have in common? Purpose—and the courage to follow it, even when the path looks nothing like the plan.
Jodi Katz sat down with Dr. Erin Nance, founder of FeelBetr Health and Sonia Gaillis-Delepine, founder of Verdoie. While their companies serve different corners of the wellness space, both women share a mission: to help people better understand their bodies—and to redefine what care really looks like. Their stories of resilience, purpose, and transformation show how following your passion can lead to powerful change, even when the path takes unexpected turns. We end with a fun game of TikTok trends and what these start ups will pick to promote their brands.
Want to try Verdoie - Use Promo Code BeautyBrains20 for 20% off your first order of Clinical skincare powered by mushrooms at Verdoie.com. And Join the waitlist for FeelBetr Health at feelbetr.health/subscribe-to-feelbetr
We sat down with two trailblazers in women’s health Claire Coder, founder and CEO of Aunt Flow and Smita Asrani, VP of Partnerships at UE Life Sciences. The episode opened with childhood dreams—Claire reminisced about staging Britney Spears concerts in her closet, while Smita shared her early love of horses. Neither imagined a future in healthcare, but both ultimately found themselves tackling some of the most overlooked (and long overdue) issues in women’s wellness.
Claire shared her journey from being a Party Princess to becoming a purpose-driven entrepreneur, a path sparked by a frustrating moment on her college campus that inspired the creation of Aunt Flow. Smita talked about her pivot from a career in finance to one focused on health innovation, where she now works to expand access to early breast cancer screening for women under 40.
Their conversation delved into the challenges of career pivots, the weight of imposter syndrome, and what it’s like to lead in industries still dominated by men. They explored the impact of advocacy too—Claire’s work has helped bring period products into schools in 28 states, while Smita is helping to bring lifesaving tools like iBreast Exam to underserved communities.
The episode wrapped on a fun note with a game of “real vs. fake legislation,” revealing how surprising—and sometimes downright inspiring—health policy can be.
At its heart, this episode was a reminder to speak up, stay curious, and ask the tough questions. Because more often than not, real change starts with one brave voice.
A must-listen for anyone passionate about innovation, equity, and the power of personal stories to drive public impact. Check out more info on both guests brands at GoAuntFlow.com and UELifeSciences.com.
In this raw and honest conversation, leaders Cara Kamenev, President of Stripes Beauty and Sharon del Valle, General Manager of Kose America Inc, break away from the typical leadership talk to share real, unfiltered truths about navigating life and leadership. In this episode, they dive into the power of self-trust, the importance of listening to your inner needs, and the strength found in vulnerability.
Cara opens up about how making decisions based on what you truly need—not just your goals—leads to more authentic leadership. Sharon reflects on how her framework for life evolved as she learned to adapt to shifting priorities and the importance of offering yourself grace. The conversation weaves through themes of ambition, fear, and the delicate balance of intuition and data in leadership, all while reminding us that growth isn’t about having everything figured out, but about evolving with intention.
They also explore the complexities of relationships, the importance of leaning on others, and how real leadership comes not from a title, but from alignment and authenticity. This episode is for anyone looking to embrace the journey, evolve without pressure, and understand that not having it all figured out is, in fact, part of the process.
Tune in to this powerful episode—you’ll leave with insights, but more importantly, you might walk away feeling seen. Sharon also sent us a promo code it’s WBMB20 for 20% off any of the KOSE portfolio of products found at: Decortecosmetics.com, Sekkisei-usa.com and AddictionTokyoBeauty.com.
What if the key to exceptional leadership isn’t commanding authority but leaning into vulnerability? What if the moments you feel most uncertain are the ones that hold the greatest growth opportunities?
In this week’s episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, host Jodi Katz delves into these questions with Henry Davis, CEO of Sakara Life, and Debbie Perelman, a partner at InviNext Growth. Together, they explore how leading with radical candor, authenticity, and empathy can ignite team transformation.
Debbie opens up about how Kim Scott's Radical Candor changed her perspective on leadership through behavior. Instead of fearing difficult conversations, she learned to approach them with honesty and care. For Henry, navigating leadership with ADHD has further shaped his belief that vulnerability isn’t a weakness—it’s a superpower. When leaders are transparent about their challenges, they create environments where teams feel empowered to do the same.
But what does radical candor look like in practice? For Debbie, it’s focusing on recognizing each player’s strengths and guiding them toward a collective goal. Henry emphasizes the importance of continuous feedback, creating space for authentic dialogue that drives accountability and growth.
Throughout this conversation, the group explored how even small shifts can transform leadership. Jodi introduces the idea of walking meetings—a simple yet powerful change that fosters open dialogue. Both Henry and Debbie swear by the clarity that comes from moving side by side, whether along the Hudson River Greenway or through Prospect Park. There’s something about the rhythm of walking that breaks down walls and sparks honest reflection.
And it doesn’t stop at the workplace. Debbie’s advocacy with the Child Mind Institute, inspired by her daughter Maya’s journey with anxiety and selective mutism, exemplifies leadership in action. Her commitment to mental health advocacy serves as a reminder that strong leaders don’t just drive business results—they champion causes that matter.
Mentorship also takes center stage. Henry reflects on the mentors who shaped his path, offering not just guidance but unwavering belief. Debbie emphasizes the responsibility of paying it forward, encouraging today’s leaders to nurture the next generation with genuine support and actionable feedback.
So, what’s the biggest takeaway? True leadership isn’t about knowing all the answers. It’s about showing up, asking the hard questions, and creating space for others to grow.
Ever wondered how a casual compliment or a brief conversation could shape your career? Networking isn’t always about grand gestures or polished pitches—it can be as simple as noticing someone’s shoes, discussing the weather, or striking up a chat with the person standing by themselves in a crowded room. Sometimes, the smallest interactions can spark the most meaningful connections.
In the latest episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, host Jodi Katz sits down with Nancy Berger Founder of Start With a Good and Jennifer Parrott CEO of Locks & Mane for an inspiring discussion about the power of authentic relationships. Together they explore how genuine connections—built on generosity, shared stories, and a sense of community—drive success in business and beyond.
Success as they reveal throughout the conversation isn’t always linear. Nancy once dreamed of being a special education teacher before she found her true calling in publishing, where she helped launch the iconic ‘Allure Best of Beauty’ seal. Jennifer’s career journey took a few unexpected turns, from being a blackjack and poker dealer to selling door-to-door before she discovered her passion for hair extensions and helping others.
Each of their stories reveals a powerful truth that discovering what doesn't align with your purpose can be just as transformative as finding what does. Whether it’s Nancy’s pivotal meeting with Glamour’s publisher Kathy Leventhal or Jennifer’s unexpected financial rescue from a Home Shopping Network order, they’ve learned that resilience and adaptability are essential in overcoming challenges.
One of their biggest takeaways? The jobs that don’t work out are just as important as the ones that do. Recognizing when something isn’t the right fit can be a powerful guide toward discovering your true purpose and when financial setbacks arise, quick thinking, strong relationships, and the ability to pivot can transform potential disasters into opportunities for growth.
Throughout this heartfelt episode, Jennifer and Nancy both emphasize the importance of patience and positivity, recognizing that success often takes longer than expected. The key they agree, is to keep moving forward—even when the path ahead feels uncertain.
Ready to learn how genuine connections and resilience can propel you forward?
How do childhood dreams translate into powerhouse careers? What happens when your path turns unexpectedly and leads to something even bigger?
In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, host Jodi Katz sits down with Dawn Hilarczyk, COO of Borghese and Vimla Black-Gupta, former CEO of Ourself, to uncover the unexpected twists, bold pivots, and defining moments that shaped their journeys.
Vimla was once voted “Most Likely to Own a Spa” in high school, a prediction that eerily foreshadowed her path in beauty and wellness. Meanwhile, Dawn had two vastly different dreams: becoming a veterinarian or a Fly Girl on In Living Color. So how did they both end up leading major beauty brands?
As they climbed the ranks, they learned that success isn’t just about talent—it’s about seizing the right moment, making fearless decisions, and trusting your instincts. From navigating corporate shake-ups to launching startups, leading legacy brands, and surviving industry disruptions, they share the behind-the-scenes realities of making it in beauty and business.
Of course, there were risks—big ones. Dawn recalls a career-defining moment that involved champagne, a leap of faith, and never looking back. Vimla talks about the power of gut instincts, the relationships that shaped her career, and the unexpected industry shift that changed everything.
What’s next for these powerhouse women? Vimla is diving into the world of wellness, consulting, and shaping the future of World Springs, a luxe mineral hot springs destination. Meanwhile, Dawn is on a mission to transform Borghese from an iconic Italian skincare brand into a modern must-have
And to top it all off, we’re playing a foodie game to pick some fun NYC dining spots, wine bars, and unexpected culinary cravings you’d never guess!
What does it take to lead with authenticity, embrace career pivots, and champion a mission that blends wellness and beauty?
In the latest episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, host Jodi Katz sits down with Maria Warrington, CEO of Beacon Wellness Brand, for an insightful conversation on leadership, authenticity, and the evolving role of wellness in our lives.
Maria’s journey is anything but conventional. As a young student, she was laser-focused on becoming a pediatrician, drawn to the precision of surgery and the world of medicine. But life had other plans. A shift toward business and finance set her on a new trajectory—one that led to a 13-year tenure at Wolverine Worldwide and, ultimately, the helm of Beacon Wellness.
As Maria shares her story, a theme emerges: the power of adaptability. From navigating corporate finance to stepping into the sexual wellness space, she embraced each challenge with curiosity and confidence. Her move into the sexual wellness and beauty industry wasn’t just a career shift—it was deeply personal. A passion for health and wellness led her to a company dedicated to normalizing conversations about self-care.
Leading in an evolving industry takes more than business acumen—it requires authenticity, a steady hand, and a data-driven mindset. Maria shares how she stays grounded in high-pressure moments, why hiring the right people is key, and how she fosters a culture where personal wellness is just as important as professional success.
Maria also highlights the power of mentorship, shaping the next generation of leaders through guidance and support. Maria’s journey is a testament to resilience, leadership, and the power of embracing change—proving that every career pivot can lead to something greater.
If you’re looking for an episode that explores career pivots, leadership in wellness, and the importance of staying true to yourself, this conversation is for you. For more updates and exclusive content, connect with us on LinkedIn @BaseBeautyCreativeAgency or @JodiKatz. If you'd like to try any plusOne products use code WBMB20 for 20% off at checkout.
What happens when two powerhouse women sit down to talk about leadership, resilience, and the courage to embrace the unknown? You get an episode you can’t afford to miss.
In the latest episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, host Jodi Katz brings together Danessa Myricks, Founder and CEO of Danessa Myricks Beauty, and Anncy Rowe, Chief Commercial Officer of Rodan + Fields, in front of a live studio audience for a conversation that’s equal parts inspiring and thought-provoking.
As the conversation unfolds, we uncover a shared thread in both women’s lives: the innate desire to teach and lead. Danessa takes us back to her childhood, where she organized mock classrooms and dreamt of guiding people up mountains—a metaphor that perfectly captures her lifelong mission to inspire. Anncy reflects on her upbringing as the eldest sibling, where leadership wasn't just a role; it was part of her identity.
Anchored by the quarter's theme, "Power Moves: Excellence in Leadership," the discussion dives deep. Anncy shares insights from Sarah Jakes Roberts’ book Power Moves: Ignite Your Confidence and Become a Force, discussing how personal power can shift depending on our environment and how crucial it is to activate that power with intention. Danessa opens up about her journey—from feeling powerless to recognizing her strength. Her mantra? Do the things that scare you. It’s a challenge she embraced over the past year and one she’s carrying forward.
Leadership styles and the impact of feedback also take center stage. Danessa reflects on her evolution from leading solely with empathy to understanding the necessity of clear expectations and constructive feedback. Anncy candidly shares her shift from leading through fear to fostering joy and meeting individual needs. Both emphasize the importance of creating safe spaces for honest communication—a key to authentic growth.
What makes this episode stand out isn’t just the remarkable achievements of these women—it’s their vulnerability. They talk about self-doubt, the power of no, and resilience's importance. It’s a raw, authentic look at what it means to grow, lead, and own your power.
If you’re looking for a dose of inspiration, strategies for personal growth, or simply a reminder that even the most successful leaders have moments of uncertainty, this episode is for you.
For more updates and exclusive content, connect with us on LinkedIn @BaseBeautyCreativeAgency or @JodiKatz.
We’re thrilled to honor the 2024 Listen Again Award winners in this special Where Brains Meet Beauty episode. Join us as we celebrate the transformative journeys of Emily Culp, Selena Cox, and Jeanine Lobell—three extraordinary women whose resilience, innovation, and leadership have driven remarkable success.
We invite you to unplug and journey through their awe-inspiring stories, rich with dynamic insights and captivating perspectives. These pioneering women guide us into a world where taking risks, embracing the unknown, and embodying resilience open the door to life-changing success.
Emily Culp’s journey as the CEO of Cover FX exemplifies integrity-driven leadership and adaptability. From her coffee-fueled, high-energy days balancing creativity, financial acumen, and family life to her evolution from CMO to CEO, Emily reflects on the importance of fostering supportive environments and embracing growth. Her episode is a masterclass in navigating a fast-paced career while staying true to your values.
In Episode 265, part of our ‘Artistry Wisdom’ quarter, celebrity makeup artist and founder of Neen, Jeanine Lobell shares her transformative journey. From dreaming of joining the circus to becoming a beauty industry icon, Jeanine reflects on building groundbreaking brands like Stila from the ground up. She explores the power of intuition, and creativity, redefining beauty standards, and offering decades of insight into entrepreneurship.
From selling candy bundles as a child to shaping retail beauty as the Executive Director DMM of Beauty at CVS, we loved diving into Selena Cox’s inspiring career journey in Episode 275. Selena throughout her career has paved the way for beauty inclusivity, revamped shade ranges, and created tools for individuals with disabilities. She’s empowered her team and forged meaningful connections nationwide, proving that small wins and human connections can spark extraordinary change.
Each of these remarkable women has carved their path, overcoming challenges, embracing change, and empowering others along the way. Their stories inspire us to take risks, stay true to our values, and never underestimate the power of persistence. As we celebrate their achievements, we’re reminded that extraordinary change begins with a bold vision and a commitment to making a difference.
Tune in, be inspired, and celebrate the power of innovation with this episode, out now.
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What if the small moments in life held the biggest power to transform? In this milestone episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we sit down with Selena Cox, Executive Director DMM of Beauty at CVS, to explore her career journey, innovative retail leadership approach, and how she champions beauty accessibility and inclusivity.
As a self-proclaimed dreamer and a dedicated collaborator, Selena’s career has been defined by a knack for connection and her ability to turn everyday challenges into meaningful opportunities. From her early days selling candy bundles as a child to holding 11 roles in 10 years within Macy’s, Selena shares the valuable lessons she’s learned about adaptability, empathy, and the importance of embracing diversity in every sense.
Now at CVS, Selena’s work goes beyond beauty products, helping customers find joy in everyday moments—from a great mascara to a life-changing foundation match. She highlights her innovative achievements, such as reorganizing shade runs from dark-to-light to better serve a diverse customer base and creating inclusive tools for individuals with disabilities. Her ability to empathize with the customer experience has transformed the way CVS connects with its communities nationwide.
Selena’s story is a testament to the power of small wins, human connection, and dreaming big while staying grounded in purpose. Tune in to discover how she leads with heart and inspires her team to make a difference.
For more updates and exclusive content, follow us on Instagram @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast.
What happens when rejection becomes the catalyst for greatness? In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we sit down with powerhouse Dr. Naana Boakye, a board-certified dermatologist whose journey is a testament to resilience, innovation, and a deep commitment to holistic skin health. From overcoming medical school rejection to consulting for A-list celebrities and launching two of her own skincare lines, Dr. Boakye shares the remarkable path that has defined her career.
As the firstborn of two Ghanaian doctors, Dr. Boakye’s interest in dermatology blossomed at a young age. Her passion for medicine was clear early on, but her path to success was anything but linear. After facing a devastating medical school rejection that could have shattered her dreams, Dr. Boakye chose to rise and persevere. She earned a master’s in public health before specializing in dermatology, where she combined her medical expertise with a focus on wellness-driven skincare. This unique approach set her apart and led to high-profile consulting opportunities during the pandemic. Working with clients and celebrities like Naomi Osaka, John Legend, and the Wade brothers, Dr. Boakye developed custom skincare formulations tailored to their individual needs, solidifying her reputation as a sought-after expert in the field.
Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Boakye has launched two successful skincare brands of her own: Karité, a family-founded line inspired by her Ghanaian roots, and Dr. Naana Beauty, which emphasizes maintaining skin pH and addressing hyperpigmentation. Her story is one of persistence, passion, and purpose, offering invaluable lessons for anyone navigating challenges in their journey.
For more, follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive content!
What started as a two-week pop-up experiment quickly grew into a global clean beauty revolution. In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we dive deep into the career journey of Romain Gaillard, Founder & CEO of The Detox Market. What began as a curiosity-driven concept soon blossomed into a movement that reshaped the beauty industry.
Romain shares his 15-year journey of transforming The Detox Market from a space for discovery into a global brand recognized for its commitment to sustainability and innovation. From navigating the challenges of retail to making bold moves in e-commerce, he reflects on the lessons learned along the way. The brand's success was solidified when WWD named it one of the world’s best concept stores, followed by expansion to six vibrant locations and a loyal customer base that has supported the brand from the start.
While he reflects on the simplicity of those early days, Romain emphasizes the importance of growth, evolution, and resilience. Passion for his work has kept him going, but it’s the power of strong teams and learning to take breaks that have allowed him to balance both life and business. With sustainability now at the forefront of consumer demand, Romain continues to tackle the challenge head-on, diving deep into product life cycles to reduce environmental impact.
This episode offers a masterclass in perseverance, creativity, and innovation, with Romain’s insights providing invaluable lessons for anyone navigating the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship and clean beauty.
Don't forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
Picture this: Your sugar cravings aren’t about willpower but a complex neurological battle happening deep inside your brain. This week, we’re uncovering a revolutionary approach to wellness with Dr. Nicole Avena, the neuroscience maverick set to change everything you thought you knew about health.
As an Associate Professor at Mount Sinai and bestselling author of Sugarless, Dr. Nicole has revealed a shocking truth: Sugar activates the same dopamine pathways as cocaine, locking millions in a relentless cycle of cravings and consumption that wreaks havoc on their health.
But here’s the game-changer: Dr. Nicole isn’t just identifying the problem—she’s offering a radical solution. In this transformative episode, she brings her unique blend of clinical expertise and holistic insight to challenge us to move beyond quick fixes. Instead, she invites us to embrace a deeper understanding of what our bodies and minds genuinely need.
This isn’t just another conversation about health. It’s a call to action—a shift from traditional healthcare to a more intuitive, self-aware approach to living. Dr. Nicole blends cutting-edge science with time-tested wellness practices, showing us how to truly listen to ourselves and unlock a healthier, more balanced life.
Don’t miss this powerful episode with one of wellness’s most insightful minds. Follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
What happens when you realize the walls that have protected your success might also be limiting your potential? In this captivating episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, Kelly Fanning, SVP and General Manager of Clinique North America, reveals the moment that changed everything – a simple lunch with friends that forced her to question whether her success was truly her own or simply a product of her environment.
After fifteen years of climbing the corporate ladder at Johnson & Johnson, Kelly found herself at a crossroads during her maternity leave. While her peers had navigated multiple career shifts, she had flourished within the same corporate walls. It took the perspective of motherhood and a dash of courage to make her ask the question many successful leaders fear: "Is it me, or is it the system that's made me successful?"
In this intimate conversation, Kelly shares the three pillars of leadership that shaped her own success: true empowerment, active coaching, and helping others envision their future. Her story reminds us that sometimes the bravest thing we can do is step outside our comfort zone, even when – especially when – we're at the top of our game.
Kelly’s journey serves as an important reminder that leadership is not about self-preservation or staying safe within the confines of past successes. It's about taking calculated risks, mentoring with purpose, and empowering others to see beyond what they think is possible.
Tune in to this episode for an inspiring conversation about leadership, growth, and the courage to step beyond the familiar. And don’t forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more!
When you’re committed to a path, what does it take to rise to the top? In this heartfelt episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we sit down with the remarkable Dr. Dendy Engelman, an award-winning dermatologist who shares her inspiring journey of dedication and compassion in the world of dermatology and aesthetics.
Dr. Dendy’s story begins with a simple school field trip alongside her physician father that ignited her passion for medicine. From that moment, she dedicated herself to years of hard work, focus, and perseverance, ultimately becoming a respected voice in aesthetic dermatology. She beautifully articulates how science, psychology, and wisdom blend to create life-changing experiences for her patients, highlighting the profound impact of a thoughtful and patient-centered approach.
In this intimate conversation, Dr. Dendy opens up about the emotional complexities of her field, emphasizing the importance of balancing the enhancement of her patients’ appearances with the safeguarding of their emotional well-being. She believes that true transformation transcends surface-level changes, touching the very core of self-acceptance and confidence.
As a working mother of two and a sought-after voice in the industry, Dr. Dendy candidly discusses the challenges she faces in balancing her thriving career with family life. Her insights remind us that growth is about more than just ambition; it’s about the patient commitment to excellence, the strength to keep pushing forward, and the courage to embrace every step of the journey.
Her story is a powerful reminder that true success comes not from shortcuts or the pursuit of fame, but from a relentless dedication to one's craft and the genuine desire to uplift others along the way.
You won’t want to miss this episode. Don't forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
What does it take to give up a normal life to style A-list celebrities? Have you ever wondered if fame and fortune are worth the sacrifices? In Episode 269 of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we wrap up our ‘Artistry Wisdom’ series with celebrity hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons, founder of Andrew Fitzsimons Hair. Andrew opens up about the highest highs and lowest of lows of his journey to becoming a household name in Hollywood.
Join us as Andrew takes us on his remarkable journey from his humble beginnings in Ireland to becoming Hollywood's go-to stylist for icons like Kim Kardashian, Bella Hadid, and Madonna. Known for his fearless artistry and passion for beauty, Andrew shares how he turned his dream into reality, navigating the pressures of the fashion capitals of Paris, New York, and LA.
Through this candid conversation, we explore Andrew’s early influences, his challenges growing up as a creative in a small, less accepting environment, and how he made his escape to the global stage. Andrew’s personality shines through as he opens up about self-doubt, ambition, and building a career that thrives on self-expression. This episode is not just about hair tips—it’s about Andrew’s inspiring career journey, how he’s used his talents to lift others, and the lessons he's learned along the way.
As Andrew opens up about the sacrifices he's made, he leaves us with a thought-provoking question: Is it worth it? How do you reconcile your desires with career ambitions? Tune in to hear Andrew’s surprising take on how he navigates this crossroad, and how, in the end, success is not always what it seems.
From small-town dreamer to skincare maven for the stars, Angela Caglia's journey is a masterclass in turning passion into empire. This captivating 'Artistry Wisdom' episode of "Where Brains Meet Beauty" unveils the remarkable ascent of a celebrity esthetician whose hands have perfected the complexions of Hollywood's elite, including Barbra Streisand and Sting. With 28 years of experience, Angela's tale is a riveting odyssey of grit, glamour, and innovation in beauty. Her path from a farming town to the glamorous streets of Paris and New York showcases the power of ambition and adaptability. Angela's story includes studying international business, discovering her passion for skincare in Paris, and eventually making her mark in Los Angeles.
This episode explores Angela's pivotal experiences, including her time at Ole Henriksen's spa and the launch of her groundbreaking skincare line, Angela Caglia Skincare. Listeners will gain insights into balancing hands-on esthetics with running a global skincare brand, and the challenges of entrepreneurship in the beauty industry.
Angela shares her unique approach to skincare, describing herself as a "blind artist" who uses touch and intuition to understand and treat skin. She emphasizes the importance of trust when working with high-profile clients and staying connected to customers' needs while innovating in product development.
Her story offers valuable insights and inspiration for aspiring estheticians, beauty professionals, and entrepreneurs alike. Tune in to Episode 268 to hear how Angela Caglia has carved her niche in the beauty world, blending hands-on expertise with innovative product development. Check out her products at angelacaglia.com and remember to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
This episode features Tina Uzzardi, founder and CEO of Cheeks + Co, in an inspiring exploration of artistry in the beauty industry. Tina's journey from aspiring entrepreneur to successful spa owner showcases the intersection of business acumen and skincare artistry.
We delve into Tina's career journey from operations at clean beauty brand ILIA to founding Cheeks + Co. Inspired by her struggles to find advanced skincare guidance in a spa-like setting, Tina decided to create the experience she craved. This led her to become a licensed aesthetician, blending her business savvy with hands-on expertise. Her commitment to continuous learning and improvement shines through as she discusses her training methods and plans for expanding education within her company.
Listeners will be inspired by Tina's journey from a self-proclaimed "jack of all trades" to a master of her craft. Her story exemplifies how artistry in skincare goes beyond mere technique, encompassing business strategy, customer experience, and a deep understanding of individual skin needs.
Tune in to Episode 267 to hear how Tina Uzzardi is revolutionizing the facial experience and building a beauty empire on her own terms. Tina also gave us a promo code - WBMB20
good for 15% off any products at cheeks.co - We love that they partner with female founded brands and have curated choices that reflect their ‘clean’ commitment to healthy skin.
From Hollywood screenwriter to beauty industry innovator, Sahara Lotti's journey is a testament to the power of passion and perseverance. In this electrifying 'Artistry Wisdom' episode of the Where Brains Meet Beauty podcast, we dive into the world of Sahara Lotti Lashify’s founder and CEO, whose relentless drive has revolutionized the beauty landscape.
Sahara's story begins in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, where her screenwriting talents caught the eye of major studios. However, her keen eye for innovation led her to identify a gap in the beauty market, propelling her to invent the world's first DIY lash extension system. With over 600 patents, Sahara has become the undisputed queen of lash technology.
Her high-octane energy is palpable as she recounts the twists and turns of her entrepreneurial journey. From the early days of Lashify to its current status as a game-changer in the beauty industry, Sahara's artistry and inventive spirit shine through. She reveals how makeup artists have been crucial to advancing her innovations, and how her passion for people and connection fuels her success.
This episode delves into Sahara's unconventional methods, from her meticulous patent strategies to her refreshing take on team building. Listeners will be inspired by her raw honesty about the challenges of scaling a business and the importance of staying true to one's vision. Sahara's story exemplifies the art of thinking differently in a saturated market.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or simply curious about the intersection of beauty and innovation, this episode promises insights that will leave you both enlightened and entertained.
Tune in to Episode 266 to hear how Sahara Lotti writes her own rules and redefines beauty on her terms. Listen wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts, and don't forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
Sahara sent us a discount code for new customers,
25% off at checkout with code: BEAUTYBRAINS at lashify.com
Celebrity makeup artist and founder of sustainable beauty brand Neen, Jeanine Lobell once dreamed of joining the circus—a far cry from enhancing the beauty of stars like Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Nicole Kidman. In this ‘Artistry Wisdom’ episode of the “Where Brains Meet Beauty” podcast, we explore the journey of one of independent beauty's true pioneers. From embracing mindfulness to cementing her status as an icon in the cultural zeitgeist, Jeanine shares valuable insights and reflections on her remarkable career.
With over two decades of experience, Jeanine has expertly navigated the “circus” of life, artistry, and entrepreneurship, gracefully balancing and leaping through the ups and downs of her career. Her natural ability to "tune out the noise" early in her journey, coupled with a strong intuition and a deep recognition of her artistic talents, has led to a remarkable trajectory. Her work has graced the covers of Vogue, W, Vanity Fair, and Harper’s Bazaar, cementing her status as an industry icon. Yet, beyond her professional achievements lies a rich life and a sense of identity that transcends her work.
This perspective and outlook on life inspired the creation of her brand Stila, founded in 1994. Stila revolutionized makeup by championing it as a vessel for culture and community with its innovative paper packaging and formulas. The brand's acquisition by Estée Lauder Companies in 1999 was a monumental achievement for Lobell’s independent vision.
Today, Jeanine continues to break new ground with Neen, her sustainable, subscription-based beauty brand that challenges conventional beauty standards. In an industry that never stops, Jeanine truly embodies the role of ringleader in her own circus and we loved learning more about her journey!
Tune in to this week's episode on your favorite podcast platform to hear more. If you want to try any of Jeanine’s products she gave us an exclusive code - WBMB15 for 15% off site wide on weareneen.com Valid for this week from 9/4 - 9/11
Don't forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
WBMB #JeanineLobell #CelebrityMakeupArtist #CareerJourney #FemaleEntrepreneur
From growing up with a dream of becoming an artist, captivated by the world of interior design, to channeling her passion into a successful career in sales, East Area Vice President at Merz Aesthetics- Patricia Jones earned her seat at the table.
Patricia's love for artistry never waned; instead, it found a new and profound expression in the world of aesthetics. Throughout our discussion on this week’s episode, Patricia reflects on how in the former male-dominated industry, she continued to trust in her work-ethic and leadership skills to be a strong voice and uplift those around her. Her journey is a powerful story of leadership, resilience, and finding the joy in being a strong supporter for others. Patricia’s career journey exemplifies how women can evolve their paths in beautiful, unforeseen ways while empowering others to “work hard and do the right thing”.
Patricia Jones embodies what it means to be a strong female leader, showing that with passion, resilience, and empathy, women can not only succeed but also lead with grace and strength in ever-evolving industries.
Thank you, Patricia, for sharing your story and for being a trailblazer in the world of aesthetics. Tune in to this week’s podcast episode to hear more about Patricia’s inspiring journey and her insights on leading with purpose.
Follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Where Brains Meet Beauty Podcast is proud to announce its third Listen Again Awards! These awards recognize past guests whose episodes have made a lasting impact and inspire us to “listen again”! We’re dedicating this episode to the Listen Again Award recipients: Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, Rachel Liverman, and Chris Collins. Highlights from these great conversations and short remarks from the winners are included in this episode.
In Episode 220, Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, Senior Director at Procter and Gamble, received the Listen Again ‘Archive’ Award. Beyond product creation lies a profound commitment to transparency and education, as Dr. Wilkerson advocates for humanizing the beauty industry.
In Episode 254, Rachel Liverman, Founder and CEO of Glowbar, received the Listen Again ‘CEO Wisdom’ Award. Rachel's passion for esthetics and her entrepreneurial spirit transformed Glowbar’s 30-minute facials into a sensation since its 2019 launch.
In Episode 257 Chris Collins, CEO and Founder of The World of Chris Collins, received the Listen Again ‘Influencer Wisdom’ Award. From modeling for Ralph Lauren to creating captivating perfumes, we travel through Chris’s journey emphasizing seizing opportunities and mentorship.
Thank you to all our guests for sharing your career journeys with us, and congratulations to the Listen Again Award recipients! We hope you enjoy these episodes as much as we do!
On July 17, Base Beauty Creative Agency presented an expert panel featuring industry leaders from the beauty, wellness, and personal care sectors to discuss empathy's impact on business growth. “The Empathy Effect: Unlocking Explosive Growth in Beauty, Wellness, and Personal Care Industries,” the panel moderated by Jodi Katz, CEO and Founder of Base Beauty Creative Agency. The powerful lineup included John Dioso, Editor of Ad Age Studio 30; Alan Cohen, Executive Coach and Emotional Intelligence Expert; Echo Sandburg, Chief Brand Officer at CP Skin Health Group; and Jerry Wu, CMO of Grande Cosmetics.
Don’t miss the chance to hear invaluable insights and actionable knowledge from these prominent industry leaders. Listen to the webinar now on the Where Brains Meet Beauty Podcast feed or our website basebeauty.com/events-and-education/. Additionally, you can read the white paper at adage.com/white-paper/empathy-effect.
ADAge #Beauty #Wellness #Personalcare #IndustryExperts #EmpathyEffect
Ever wonder what really happens on the Where Brains Meet Beauty After Show? This week, we're ditching the script and bringing the electrifying energy of our exclusive IG Live after show straight to your podcast feed! Get ready for this one-of-a-kind episode packed with games, laughs, and juicy secrets straight from some of our favorite quests!
We've assembled a unique line-up– from powerhouse CEOs to inspiring influencers - and let loose for a free-for-all of fun. These epic games hit on everything from holy-grail makeup products to dream home interiors, with detours into ‘true or false’ around traditional Chinese medicine and even crafting the perfect date night (spoiler alert: it’s never too late to start over!).
But the games don’t stop there! We're diving into unfiltered insights and practical advice on everything from the best of YouTube trends to navigating the world of A-list travel.
Suit up for an action-packed episode, straight from the sources. Grab your headphones, and get ready to laugh along as this podcast experience recreates the buzz and excitement of our Live After Show! You won't want to miss this.
2024 guests so far included Chris Payne, Lance Patterson, Erica Metzger, Michelle Larivee, Devin McGhee Kirkland, Rachel Liverman, Brittany Lo, Serena Pitt, Chris Collins, Sean Garrette, Allison McNamara, and Adelina Winfield. Tune in to this week's episode on your favorite podcast platform to hear more.
Imagine facing the most turbulent time of your life: your career is in flux, you're going through a divorce, your children have left the nest and menopause is hitting hard. This was Adelina Winfield's reality. Yet, instead of succumbing to these overwhelming changes, she made the bravest decision of her life to pack up everything and leave the familiar streets of Brooklyn, New York for a fresh start in the creative city of Austin, Texas. What followed was a profound journey of self-discovery, new friendships, and reinvention, proving that it’s never too late to start over and that age is just a number.
In continuation of our 'Influencer Wisdom' series, we uncover Adelina’s steadfast confidence in embracing her natural gray hair—a powerful symbol of her inner strength and wisdom. She transitioned from a successful fashion career to becoming a trailblazing influencer with over 100k followers on Instagram. Her breakthrough came in 2019 when she started connecting deeply with women just like her—women navigating the complexities of love, life, and aging with grace and authenticity.
Amidst all these transformations, Adelina also experienced a profound love story that blossomed later in life, defying stereotypes about finding love again after 60. Her journey is a powerful testament to the resilience of life’s seasons and the boundless possibilities that await those who embrace change and remain true to themselves.
Thank you, Adelina Winfield, for sharing your inspiring story with us! Tune in to this week's episode on your favorite podcast platform to hear more. Don't forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
A trip to Istanbul sparked what would soon be a major pivot in Allison's career journey. After spending years in front of the camera, interviewing A-listers like Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, and Khloe Kardashian, and working as an entertainment reporter and content creator for major networks like MTV and PopSugar, Allison McNamara found herself at a crossroads when her hit show on PopTV co-hosted by 90210’s Sinead Grimes was canceled in 2016.
In this episode of WBMB, we explore Allison’s extraordinary journey from the spotlight to becoming the founder of a unique skincare brand, a transition that showcased fearlessness and hard work. Harnessing years of experience and a star-studded network, Allison courageously embarked on a journey into the uncharted realms of the beauty industry, daringly pushing past her comfort zone to chase her dreams.
As we dive into Allison’s journey, we not only discover her unexpected breakthrough into the beauty industry with the 2018 launch of MARA—an award-winning line of algae-infused skincare and wellness products—but also learn about the transformative power of influencing and how it plays a role in propelling her brand to success.
Thank you, Allison McNamara, for sharing your inspiring story with us! Tune in to this week's episode on your favorite podcast platform to explore more.
Don't forget to follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeauty on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content
AllisonMcnamara #MaraBeauty #WBMB #CleanBeauty #FearlessLeader #AngelinaJolie #BrittneySpears #KhloeKardashain #RedCarpet #MTV #PopSugar
From sleeping on his friend's couch in LA to becoming one of the first brand ambassadors for Fenty Beauty by Rihanna, Sean Garrette's story is anything but linear. Discover the power of perseverance in chasing your dreams on this week’s WBMB episode with Esthetician and Dior Skincare Expert, Sean Garrette.
Sean's entry into the beauty industry started amidst the aisles of his first job at Ulta, which ignited his fascination with makeup and skincare—his time there sparked a passion to pursue his dreams of becoming an esthetician and managing his very own spa. But Sean's journey wasn't without its challenges. Like any pursuit of passion, there were moments of doubt and setbacks along the way.
As we sit down with Sean and dive deeper into his journey, we uncover the warmth of his positive spirit and the authenticity that defines his success. Whether helping a client find the perfect product or sharing skincare tips with his nearly 130K followers across Instagram and TikTok Sean’s genuine passion for what he does shines through.
SeanGarrette #Fenty #Dior #Skinfluencer #CareerJourney #Esthetician #SkincareExpert #ProSkincare #SkinTherapist
From modeling for Ralph Lauren to crafting intoxicating perfumes that weave tales of their own, Chris Collins, CEO and Founder of the World of Chris Collins, certainly knows what it takes to be the narrator of your own story!
This week we’re so excited to sit down with Chris and dive into the significance of seizing opportunities, seeking mentorship, and unwaveringly following your dreams.
From London, to New York Chris Collins is no stranger to making bold leaps of faith. As we unravel the threads of his journey, from a childhood steeped in a passion for sports to navigating the world of social media, it becomes clear that Chris is not just a narrator but a maestro.
Chris illuminates the winding road that led him to the fragrance industry - a path filled with serendipitous encounters and unforeseen twists that ultimately revealed his true calling.
For more on Chris Collins' inspiring journey, tune in to this episode on your preferred podcast platform!
Thank you Chris Collins for sharing your career journey with us! Follow us @wherebrainsmeetbeauty on Instagram for updates on new episodes and exclusive off-air content.
RalphLauren #Fragrance #TheWorldOfChrisCollins #MetGala #Entrepreneurship #Influencer #Empathy
As reality television super fans, we were very excited to continue our Influencer Wisdom Quarter with Serena Pitt. Serena was a contestant on The Bachelor Season 25 and won Bachelor In Paradise Season 7. Since her reality TV days, Serena is the Founder of @reset_ thelabel and is the host of the Bachelor Happy Hour Podcast.
After studying communications in college and a stint in the world of PR, Serena entered the world of reality television where she met her husband Joe. Deciding what and what not to post is an ongoing conversation: when the whole world saw your love story unfold, how much access should they be permitted? While some influencers are comfortable posting every aspect of their lives to social media, Serena doesn’t feel the need to post every moment to the grid.
As an avid traveler, Serena was inspired to create her own brand, RESET, from the need for pieces that are fashion-forward but don’t sacrifice functionality.
To learn more about Serena’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
SerenaPitt #TheBachelor #BachelorInParadise #RESETTheLabel
We were thrilled to kick off our Influencer Wisdom Quarter with none other than Brittany Lo. Brittany is a beauty expert and influencer that has collabed with brands including Sephora and American Express and is the Founder and CEO of Beia and Beautini.
Though Brittany’s plan was always to start her own beauty line, (and even had her own mascara line in high school!) her path to being a founder and CEO was anything but predictable.
After a college internship at L’Oréal, Brittany was on the fast track to the corporate world, but when a TV producer reached out to her about joining the cast of a dating show, she answered the call!
Brittany may not have met Mr. Right on the short-lived show Coupled, but she did gain a loyal social media following. With her business acumen and her passion for beauty, Brittany developed Beia as a vegan skincare brand built on boosting sensual confidence in the bedroom and beyond.
To learn more about Britany’s career journey and to hear about the books that Brittany (and our host Jodi) recommend to entrepreneurs, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
Episode Reading List:
Traction by Gino Wickman
10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan
Built To Sell by John Warrillow
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
We couldn’t think of a better way to close out our C-Suite Wisdom Quarter than chatting with the Founder and CEO of Glowbar, Rachel Liverman! Rachel has wanted to be a leader since her early days playing “store” with her stuffed animals, so it’s no surprise that Glowbar’s signature 30-minute facials have reached cult status since opening their doors in 2019.
Rachel always knew she wanted to lead, but she surprised herself when she ended up in the family business. That’s right: Rachel is a third generation esthetician. Growing up in a skincare family, she recalls seeing her mother wax people’s legs and being fascinated by the before & after transformations that occurred. Rachel even started a small leg-waxing business in elementary school! Mom was there to supervise, of course.
Fast-forward and Rachel found herself looking for a source for convenient, trustworthy, effective facials and realizing no such place existed. Rachel wrote an email to herself manifesting her business model in 2017 and in 2019 Glowbar opened its doors. Okay, we just gave ourselves chills.
For more of Rachel’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
When Deon Libra Co-Founder and CEO Devin McGhee Kirkland’s father passed away in 2018 from a stress-related heart attack, she realized she had to make some lifestyle changes to deal with her own stress. After diving head-first into the world of natural stress remedies, Devin developed Deon Libra in 2020 as a way to combat the effects of chronic stress on Black bodies.
In her research on natural stress solutions, Devin learned about the healing powers of adaptogens - non-psychedelic mushrooms and was impressed by how much her sleep and anxiety improved. She couldn't help but wonder why these natural alternatives weren’t more widely accessible. Devin decided she could step up and be the one to bring both education and healing-products to her community.
To hear more about Devin’s career journey and Deon Libra’s mission, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
DeonLibra #WBMB #CareerJourney
We continue our C-Suite Wisdom theme this episode with Founder & CEO of WTHN, Michelle Larivee! We were fascinated to learn about Michelle’s career journey from the world of International finance to the world of Eastern medicine.
So how does someone who worked in consulting with the World Economic Forum become the founder of a modern wellness company? Michelle tells us that she had tried everything from painkillers to physical therapy to cope with her chronic pain and couldn’t find relief. When a doctor recommended acupuncture, she was shocked at how incredible and immediate the results were. With this first exposure to Chinese medicine, it was if she’d been introduced to a tool kit she had no idea even existed.
But with this new discovery came an issue all too familiar in healthcare: accessibility. People either couldn't afford acupuncture or it could take months to get an appointment! Michelle saw an opening for a business and made her move…
To learn more about Michelle’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
WTHN #Acupuncture #ChineseMedicine #Cupping #CareerJourney #WBMB
We were so excited to sit down with Founder & Editor of The Beauty Loop Newsletter & Virtual Beauty Closet, Erica Metzger! With over 19 years experience in print and digital media as the Beauty Director at Ladies' Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, Erica wanted to create something of her own. The Beauty Loop was born as an online newsletter to help facilitate community between PR execs and beauty journalists in our ever-changing community.
From starting off in the beauty industry as an intern at W Magazine to Editor of her own newsletter, Erica Metzger’s career journey is proof-positive that we are the only ones in charge of our own career journeys.
To hear more of Erica’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
BeautyLoop #WBMB #CareerJourney #VirtualBeautyCloset #BetterHomesAndGardens #LadiesHomeJournal #WMagazine
We are absolutely loving these chats from our C-Suite Wisdom quarter and today’s episode is no exception. We sat down with Lance Patterson, new CEO of Juice Beauty, a senior executive with over 20 years experience across the luxury retail and digital sectors including Kate Somerville and Peter Thomas Roth clinical skincare.
Lance’s career journey had humble beginnings and saw him working an entry-level job at a department store. Through grit and perseverance, Lance talked to the right people, got an interview to be a buyer, and landed the gig.
Fast-forward and Lance has discovered his niche in founder-owned brands. In being entrusted to uphold a founder’s vision for their brand as CEO, he’s being handed the keys to the castle.
To hear more of Lance’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
JuiceBeauty #WBMB #CareerJourney
We are thrilled to be kicking off 2024 with our C-Suite Wisdom theme! On today’s episode, we’re taking a peek behind the curtain of the career journey of Chris Payne, CEO of clean beauty brand @janeiredale, best known as the “skincare makeup”.
Chris’s career journey originally saw him following in his father’s footsteps of being a doctor. Though working in medicine wasn’t his path, it was clear that Chris wanted to help people, and his work at @janeiredale is clearly a perfect fit. In his role as CEO, Chris works to uphold Jane Iredale’s mission of making clean, skin-safe makeup accessible to everyone.
To learn more about Chris’s career journey and hear about the real-life Jane Iredale (who has a fascinating journey, herself!) tune into this episode wherever you get your podcasts.
WBMB #careerjourney #janeiredale #cleanbeauty
In honor of the Where Brains Meet Beauty Listen Again Awards, we’re dedicating today’s episode to none other than the Listen Again Award recipients themselves: Shontay Lundy, Neil Scibelli and Ron Robinson!
We created these awards to celebrate the episodes that resonate with our listeners so much, they want to listen again! Like Episode 208 with Shontay Lundy, Founder & CEO of Black Girl Sunscreen. When she moved to Los Angeles, Shontay had no idea where she was headed next. Cue 4 months of hiking, reflecting, and dreaming — a transformative period that birthed the idea for her life-changing brand, Black Girl Sunscreen. From not knowing where she would live, to becoming the creator and founder of her own brand, you never know where that next big risk will take you!
In Episode 237 we spoke with Makeup Artist & On-Air Beauty Expert Neil Scibelli, who we know from his many on-air appearances at Good Morning America, and learned how everyday is different in the entertainment industry. In his episode, he tells listeners that as a freelancer you have to always show up for yourself because you don’t know where the job will take you next.
Ron Robinson, CEO & Founder of BeautyStat Cosmetics, chatted with us in Episode 244 as a part of our Health Innovations Quarter. Ron created BeautyStat first as a blog and then as a successful skincare line. But what touched us most about Ron’s career journey was how he became an innovator within his own family when he pursued a career in cosmetic chemistry.
A huge thank you to all of our guests for sharing your career journeys with us and congratulations to the recipients of the Listen Again Awards!
We hope you enjoy these episodes as much as we do!
As long-time fans of reality television, we knew this episode’s guest Dr. Jason Diamond from his appearances on programs such as Dr. 90210 and The Celebrity Plastic Surgeons of Beverly Hills, so we were thrilled to get a chance to speak with him about his career journey to becoming a world-renowned plastic surgeon and founder of The Diamond Face Institute.
Tending to the faces of Hollywood A-listers wasn’t always the plan for Dr. Diamond; he recalls a childhood dream of playing professional baseball, and facing his first feelings of rejection when he was cut from his freshman team. But this early disappointment proved to be something much bigger: it provided a “chip on the shoulder” that Dr. Diamond still uses as a motivator to this day, pushing him to be the best version of himself.
This mentality has served Dr. Diamond well over the years as he has built a successful plastic surgery practice that has taken him all over the globe-he’s so in demand that it’s not uncommon for clients to fly him to their homes in Dubai when they need a touch-up! But Dr. Diamond found that not everyone is able to fly him to their homes (or movie sets!) and wanted to make his much-lauded “Insta-Facial” more readily available to those who couldn't always visit him in-office. Thus, Dr. Diamond’s Metacine was born as a way to address the skin on an expert level. If anyone’s curious what’s on our holiday wishlist…
For more of our talk with Dr. Jason Diamond, be sure to tune into this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We are beyond thankful that we got to sit down for a chat this week with Lisa Lundy, Co Founder & CEO of Complex Creatures. Lisa comes from a career in fashion - Tommy Hilfiger and J.Crew jump out from her resume - even working with Bravo star and fashion icon Jenna Lyons back in her J.Crew days! But it was her sister’s breast cancer diagnosis that set Lisa on a trajectory that she likens to a calling.
When Lisa’s sister was diagnosed at the age of 37, it was an eye-opening experience; from learning how to properly administer a self examination, to hearing about the effects of radiation, to finding out about the nature of hereditary breast cancer (there was no history in Lisa’s family of breast cancer), Lisa realized that up until this point, her own breast health had been an afterthought. And if that was true for Lisa, the same must be true for many other women. So Lisa took action.
Lisa and her sister Tara created Complex Creatures as an online community for breast wellness. They provide breast-related knowledge via their Instagram which also dives deep into topics like menopause and perimenopause, which are often censored and even avoided in the wellness space. Lisa mentions that Complex Creatures often gets censored because it’s still not okay to show women's nipples on the platform-mens nipples are of course fair-game, though. Insert eye-roll emoji…
Lisa recognizes that there is still clearly work to be done in bringing awareness to breast health, but as an activist at heart, she’s in it for the long haul. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Lisa and Complex Creatures. Be sure to check out this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We couldn’t wait to speak with Komel Caruso, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of HerMD, a comprehensive women's healthcare clinic that’s creating a safe, inclusive space for patients. We were particularly interested in HerMD’s mission in breaking the shame-cycle so often surrounding issues like menopause and sexual health. Komel founded HerMD with her sister Somi, inspired by their mother’s experience of being repeatedly dismissed by doctors when she was experiencing pain. While Somi had experience working as a doctor for 15 years, Komel had never worked in the medical field. What she did have was a desire to make an impact in women's healthcare and experience in marketing and social strategy with 16 years of working for Kaplan under her belt.
The sisters noticed a trend in women not being believed (about their own bodies!) and wanted to fill this great void in women’s healthcare. One thing that makes HerMD stand apart is that all of their obgyn’s are trained in menopause and sexual healthcare, which should sound like a given, right? Unfortunately, it's not. Only 20 percent of obgyns are trained in menopause and sexual health care. No wonder there can be such shame and stigma in talking about this stuff!
What started with one office quickly grew when Komel noticed patients were traveling to HerMD’s soul location from 35 states! Clearly the void was even greater than she or Somi had realized. Thanks to Komel’s background in business, what started out as helping her sister with a passion project became Komel’s full time job, and a saving grace to women all over the country.
To hear more of Komel’s career journey, tune in to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
As far as Health Innovators go, Ron Robinson has cemented his place in the ever-shifting beauty landscape as a go-to-guy for all things skincare. He created BeautyStat first as a blog, and now as a successful skincare line. Along with BeautyStat, Ron has a social media following where he helps his audience navigate which ingredients work and which ones don’t. But looking back, Ron tells us his career journey wasn’t always a given to those who knew him from the beginning.
Growing up, there were two options in Ron’s family: be a doctor or a lawyer. When Ron strayed from the path that had been laid out for him, he became an innovator within his own family. Rather than pursue a career in medicine or law, Ron found that cosmetic chemistry blended his knowledge of science with his passion for creating new things. When Ron was hired at Clinique in 1990 (on the spot, we might add) he broke into the beauty industry and never looked back.
To hear more of our chat with Ron Robinson, including the heart-warming full circle moment of when his mother finally “got” his career choice, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We are so excited to be diving deeper into the Health Innovations theme with Dr. Jennifer Linder, board certified dermatologist, Mohs Skin Care Surgeon and founder of Linder Health. As a military kid, Dr. Linder was keenly aware that life can change in an instant, so she learned how to adapt. Science became a huge part of her life, leading her to study engineering in college which scratched a problem-solving itch. The next piece of the puzzle was helping people. Well, living people…
Dr. Linder took a physiology class where she worked with-wait for it-cadavers. Did someone say spooky season? But Dr. Linder saw a learning opportunity where others (this writer) might not. She describes working with the human body as “magic” and this fascination set her on a path towards surgery and dermatology.
Dr. Linder has since completed a fellowship in skin cancer surgery and is now a Mohs Skin Cancer Surgeon. She has even developed her own skincare line-an idea she came up with while on vacation!
To hear more of Dr. Jennifer Linder’s career journey, including her hard and fast breakdown of hyperpigmentation, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our Health Innovations Series than with Alan D. Widgerow, Chief Scientific Officer at Galderma and Head of Innovation at Alastin Skincare. Alan began his career in South Africa, where he was in private practice for over 20 years. He is currently Division Chief of Research at UC Irvine Medical Center and it’s evident from speaking with him that his passion lies in the laboratory. But interestingly enough, he might have never ended up there if not for a fateful phone call…
Alan was all set to go into a career in dentistry when a phone call quite literally changed the trajectory of his life. A voice at the other end of the line encouraged him to follow his passions towards medical school and plastic surgery and Alan never looked back. Alan describes plastic surgery as an “amalgamation of creativity and science” and that no two cases are the same. It’s easy to see what drew him to such an-ever evolving field and how he’s still fascinated over 20 years later.
To hear more about Alan D. Widgerow’s career journey and to hear what book he’s currently reading, tune in to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We know and love our latest guest Ian Michael Crumm from his podcast BeautyCurious, so we couldn’t wait to dig into the career journey of this esthetician and fellow podcaster. Ian first took an interest in skincare as a teen when, struggling with his own skincare concerns he sought out the help of a dermatologist and eventually subscribed to an online dermatologist’s journal. Ian started an “online journal” of his own in high school when he began blogging. By the time Ian was in college, his lifestyle blog had taken off: Ian was getting subscribers of his own and even seeing paid advertisers.
Having a platform is one thing, but knowing how to use it is what separates the skin-fluencers from the scam-fluencers. Ian knew from experience that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to skincare, and wanted to be able to speak from a place of authenticity when it came to recommending skincare brands and treatments. With that in mind, Ian made the decision to get his esthetician’s license.
What’s next for this go-getter? Ian is never one to shy away from a challenge and thinks that a cosmetic chemistry class could be next. Whatever it is, we can’t wait to see (and hear) what Ian Michael Crumm will do next.
To hear more about Ian Michael Crumm’s career journey, his podcast BeautyCurious, and the fabulous nickname he has for his grandmother (trust us), listen to this ep wherever you get your podcasts!
Growing up in a family restaurant, Giovanni Vaccaro was accustomed to the hospitality industry, but at a young age he realized that he was destined for a different type of hospitality. An experience at a hair salon watching the transformation women underwent in the chairs from slouching to smiling after a beauty treatment left him feeling that this was a world he needed to be a part of.
While Gio knew where he wanted to be, how to get there was a different story. Gio tells us of a moment that changed everything: a recruiter from a top salon had come to his cosmetology school-here was an opportunity staring him in the face. He knew that putting himself out there would be risky, uncomfortable even, but the pay off? That could be huge. So he went for it, he asked for a job. And it worked! Gio landed a job as a shampoo assistant at renowned salon Frederic Fekkai & Co and showed that he was willing to start small and work hard.
Fast-forward and Gio knows the business inside & out and saw that the industry was changing, but not in a way that supported the beauty pros. He thought “why not treat the beauty professional like the client?” From there Gio and his partner David Goldweitz built Glamsquad to be a hospitality-first brand for beauty professionals to book opportunities for events, fashion weeks, shows, photo shoots and more.
For more on Gio’s career journey and to find out the beauty of the “bro-walk” listen to Giovanni’s episode wherever you get your podcasts!
Most kids dread going to get their first haircut. There’s usually a bribe involved, maybe some tears, definitely a worn-out stylist by the end of it all. Ian Mayer-Marszalek, Lead Colorist & National Corporate Trainer for Schwarzkopf Professional on the other hand, looks back on those childhood trips to the salon fondly. Ian remembers feeling special sitting in that chair, like he had found a place he fit right in, knowing this was something he wanted to be a part of.
Ian was a natural at beauty school-where there may or may not have been some perm rod fights-but knew for certain that he was in the right place. He even had some regular clients while he was still a student!
One thing Ian realized that has helped him gain a competitive edge on his career journey, was his ability to carve out a niche for himself in the industry. Ian became an expert colorist, and has since become a National Trainer for Schwarzkopf Professional where he travels the country training other hair colorists.
To learn more about Ian’s career journey, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
When Kia Ragland says she has “the perfect eye”, she’s not kidding. Kia has been tested for nuances in the way her eyes detect color, and it should come as no surprise that the Director of Product Development at Kylie Cosmetics is a shade above the crowd when it comes to spotting the differences in say, Ruby Woo and Dior 999.
Kia tells us she got into the beauty game early on, but it was slightly out of necessity. As a bi-racial woman in a predominantly white area, she learned how to do her own hair and makeup in the 4th grade, and from there an interest grew in learning how the products she was using were created, eventually resulting in Kia becoming a cosmetologist by her senior year of high school. Okay, so when we say “interest”, we’re clearly under-selling-Kia has ambition for miles and even tells us that during college, she was known to work 2-3 internships at once!
This ambition has clearly served Kia well with stops along her career journey at Stila and SmashBox Cosmetics where she created one of the products she is still proudest of to this day: “Punked” a purple-grey lip color that was so well-received it not only sold out and turned Kia into an award-winning creator.
To hear the whole story of how Kia trusted her gut all the way to winning Fashion Group International's Rising Star Award and more of how she takes products from concept to market, listen to this ep wherever you get your podcasts!
When Makeup Artist and On-Air Beauty Expert Neil Scibelli says that he feels like he has already lived several lifetimes, we can understand why: from hosting a radio show in 3rd grade, auditioning for Tony Bennett in junior high school, to talking his way into a job at Fresh Skin Care- he has clearly shown persistence and a passion for the entertainment and makeup industries.
We loved chatting with Neil about his journey to becoming a well-respected on-air personality at Good Morning America- where one of his earliest gigs was doing makeup for Beyoncé’s dancers and band! But every day is different in the entertainment industry and Neil makes a great point when he talks about always showing up for yourself because as a freelancer, you don’t know where the job will take you next.
To hear our chat with Neil (which we think needs a Part 2!) listen up wherever you get your podcasts!
Ndeye Peinda didn’t start her career journey with “digital creator” in mind. In fact, after majoring in political science, she got a teaching job in the South Bronx. Hearing her reminisce about her time teaching, it’s easy to see how she easily bridged the gap between teaching and Influencing. Knowing that each of her students were unique individuals with differing opinions and emotions, Ndeye welcomed hard conversations in the classroom.
We can see why she is able to make such a connection with her audience- she even still personally responds to her DMs! Ndeye was actually still teaching when she received her first big brand offer from The Lip Bar - she literally dropped her phone when she got the news!
Nowadays, Ndeye has more than a few offers to sift through and more than a few thoughts on where the fashion and beauty industry can still improve; namely, accessibility and tokenism.
To hear Ndeye speak on how the industry has progressed, but still has work to do, listen up wherever you get your podcasts!
One of the things we’re learning throughout our Influencer Journey Quarter is the focus Influencers place on education. All of the Influencers we’ve spoken with have been so passionate about educating their audiences and that brings us to none other than Monae Everett: Celebrity Hairstylist, Author, & Diversity, Equity Inclusion Consultant.
Monae’s career journey has led her from newcomer to the world of cosmetology to becoming an industry leader. Not only does Monae have over 20 years of experience, she is the founder of the Monae Life Academy; an online academy teaching how to style for all hair textures and The Texture Awards; a competition for hair stylists centered around diversity and inclusion helping hair stylists and their clients see the beauty in all hair textures.
To learn about Monae’s career journey from cosmetology school to starting her own online school, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We were so thrilled to welcome skin and hair obsessed influencer Amy Chang to the podcast to discuss her career journey. As Amy’s 1.6 million TikTok followers know, Amy is refreshingly candid about everything from her skincare routine, motherhood, to her own adoption journey - she’s even an ambassador for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption!
WBMB listeners at all stages of their careers will appreciate hearing Amy’s path from being in her 20’s, from not knowing what she wanted to do with her life to getting on social media, teaching herself photography, editing, lighting and slowly but surely connecting the dots: “I needed to go out there and make a lot of mistakes…piece together what I like and don’t to shape my future.”
To hear more of Amy’s career journey, including her thoughts on what it means to “find yourself” listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Here at Where Brains Meet Beauty, we’re always fascinated by multi-hyphenates; those who do it all. So we couldn't have been more excited to speak with Madison Headrick, Model, Influencer, Founder & CEO of care.e.on. Discovered at a Walmart in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina by a talent scout, Madison has been working as a model since she was 14 years old. She even had to put college on hold for fashion week! But after years of jet-setting around the globe, Madison noticed something was missing: clean, travel-sized skincare.
“I pack the night before a flight and skincare is always the last thing going into the suitcase. The travel-size stuff wasn’t the greatest quality. My skin wasn’t good when I was on the road.” Madison took things into her own hands and created care.e.on; eco-friendly, travel-sized beauty kits.
To hear more about Care.e.on and Madison’s journey from model to mogul, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
We couldn’t imagine a better guest for Mental Health Awareness Month than Amy Keller Laird: Founder & CEO of Mental. We sat down with Amy to ask about her career journey from Editor in Chief of Allure Magazine to founder of the first digital mental health & lifestyle brand for women.
As someone who had worked in the beauty and wellness space as Editor in Chief of Allure, Amy had seen the world of mental health talked about, but not in the way she had personally experienced. Amy has lived with OCD, anxiety and postpartum depression and found that she wasn’t seeing her lived experience being reflected. We really admire how Amy married her experience in magazines and her journey with mental health to create something truly authentic: “I wanted to say, "Where's the publication that would speak to me?”
To hear more of Amy’s career journey and her thoughts on how we can break the stigma of talking about mental health in the workplace, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
As a career journey podcast with a passion for all things skincare, Dr. Dustin Portela is pretty much our dream guest. Dr. Portela is a dermatologist, skincare Influencer with over 2.4 million followers on TikTok, and we were thrilled to speak with him about how he balances his social media platform with day to day life as a father of three.
Dr. Portela has a love for education which he credits to his father, a teacher, who distilled in him a love of science early on. While Dr. Portela maintains a successful dermatology practice in Idaho, he got into social media to combat misinformation during the pandemic, and his audience has grown like wildfire - it seems that smart skincare is more than just a trend.
“If I had been a garbage man, I would be on TikTok as a garbage man, showing people the crazy things that are thrown away.” Clearly no matter the subject matter, Dr. Portela aims to empower people with knowledge. He tells us that his vision with social media is to be an educator, to “take social media to under-served people.”
For more of our chat with Dr. Dustin Portela - including a story about a fortune cookie that will seriously give you chills - tune into this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
I was so excited to kick off our Influencer Journey Quarter by speaking with Teni Panosian, content creator and Co-Founder of skincare line Monday Born.
Teni and I kicked off our convo chatting about her first job working in a theater box office, where she learned an important lesson that she carries with her to this day: “Early is on time, On time is late.” Is it just us or do most successful people tend to be early birds?
We asked Teni what advice she would give to aspiring influencers and her answer was just as real as the woman her followers have grown accustomed to seeing on her feed: “bring forth your authentic self and don’t try to replicate what you’re seeing out there”.
For more wise words from Teni including the latest on her very own podcast, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
Making the jump from a childhood spent working on a farm dreaming of being a paleontologist to founding a vegan hair care line might sound out there at first, but for Vegamour Founder & CEO Dan Hodgdon, it all comes down to a passion for our planet. “How do we create something that’s not going to hurt the earth?”
During our chat, Dan explained to us how growing up on a farm inspired him to create products using only clean, natural ingredients in addition to “eco-friendly sustainable jobs, creating a fair living wage, and letting people participate in the businesses success.”
A true environmentalist, Dan knows that we’re all sharing this one planet and notes that “We reinvest profits back into communities.”
To hear more of how Dan and Vegamour are keeping hair care holistic, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Sneha Narahalli Head of Product at Sephora who shared her thoughts on effectively managing her time as well as her thoughts on the biases women face on their career journeys.
Sneha revealed to us that she has trained her brain to think in the currency of time: “Why do we need to do this? Why now? And is it more important than other things that we're doing?”
Sneha and I also dug into what more can be done to move the needle forward for women entering the tech world: “We should look at personalizing our own individual journeys, knowing that ‘I have done this, how can I share this with others so that people don't have to go through the same things that I have.’”
To hear more of my chat with Sneha, including her advice for someone getting into the tech space, listen wherever you get your podcasts!
I recently had the opportunity to chat with former KPOP star and current CEO of Matter of Fact, Paul Baek about his inspiring career journey that has taken him from the Deep South to South Korea and beyond!
In this episode, Paul tells us about the tenacity that took him from his childhood home in the South to an internship in Korea pursuing a music career in KPOP! “I was like a moth to the flame. I needed to get closer to this music that meant so much to me.”
Talking to Paul it’s clear that his passion, whether it be music or skincare lies in the creating; “I love being in the lab making things. There’s a more lasting satisfaction that comes from creating things and being creative. The process of creating that can sometimes lead to success is much more satisfying in the long run.”
To hear more about Paul’s fascinating career journey, listen to this episode on your favorite podcasting platform!
Milani Cosmetics CEO Mary Van Praag was born with an entrepreneurial spirit that has served her well. We chatted with Mary about everything from her journey “selling Avon on the locker block” to being a leader who listens.
“Sales teaches you to find the win/win in most situations…when you get a no, how do you find the win in those situations?” Mary’s positive attitude about turning the dreaded “no” in sales into a teaching moment is a refreshing take. “I try to listen. How do you get that person to be on the same path as you?”
Mary’s winning attitude may have led her to a leadership role, but she doesn’t let that get to her head. “My job is to get the best out of everybody, CEO happens to be what my title is.”
“I’m one of those leaders who likes a good turnaround story. I thrive when I see other people’s success. I believe in building relationships and fostering this growth together.”
What does Mary think of the #quietquitting trend? How does she see the upside when hearing “no'' during a sale? And should you move to a new city for that job? To hear Mary’s answers to these questions and much more, check out the full episode!
In this engaging episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, I had the pleasure of interviewing Denis Asamoah, the Co-Founder of FORVR Mood, a luxury lifestyle brand he launched with his fiancée and influencer, Jackie Aina, in 2020. At FORVR Mood, Denis and his team strive to make self-care more accessible to consumers while emphasizing that quality products shouldn't come at a high cost. At the start of our conversation, we touched on Denis's childhood dream of becoming a soccer player and how he discovered his natural sales talent when he started selling sweets in school. We also delved into his early career journey, including his experience working in investment banking, which equipped him with valuable skills and knowledge that have helped shape his approach as a successful entrepreneur at FORVR Mood. It was intriguing to hear how each experience contributed to his overall leadership style, work ethic, and company culture. Our discussion covered various topics, including the significance of leadership and networking, creating a solid company culture, effective hiring strategies, and prioritizing results. Tune in for a fascinating conversation with a driven and insightful entrepreneur.
In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, I had the privilege of sitting down with Jill Scalamandre, a seasoned industry expert with over two decades of experience in leadership positions at renowned companies such as Revlon, Shiseido, Prada, Coty, Fekkai, and Bare Minerals. As the current CEO of Beekman 1802, the world's largest goat milk body-care brand, Jill shared her journey and insights on the beauty industry. During our conversation, she talked about how her passion for fashion evolved into a thriving career in the beauty sector, the importance of having a "champion" in the workplace who supports and provides growth opportunities, the benefits of pursuing your passion over just a job title, and more!
As a young girl living in Korea, Yanghee Paik dreamt of becoming a K-pop star. As time went on, she discovered she also had a love for business. Yanghee eventually found a job that fulfilled both aspirations as an entertainment executive at Disney. She enjoyed her position there, but it wasn’t until she had lunch with her now co-founder that she realized it was time to change her career path. The topic of discussion was how difficult it was to find natural and organic feminine care products. After much research, Yanghee and her co-founder realized that the feminine care industry was dominated by big brands that offered no options for high-quality, high-performing, sustainable feminine care products. And that is how her company Rael came to be! In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss how Yanghee integrated South Korean technology to differentiate Rael from other brands, what she learned from working at Disney and how that has helped her, how Rael is expanding, and so much more!
In 2015, David Gaylord graduated with a degree in Digital Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. During his early years in the marketing world, his dad insisted on him using his technical skills to help the family business (Gaylord Hardwood Flooring) and create a website. David decided that a smart move for his family business would be to become a Shopify merchant. This ended up being a great move for the family business and eventually David started working for Shopify to learn more about e-commerce and marketing. It was a short while after when a co-worker of his, after his honeymoon, came to him with a fresh (literally and figuratively) idea! Natural products to treat your sensitive areas. With his digital marketing background and everything he learned at Shopify, David saw an opportunity and recognized a white space in the market for these products. Bushbalm was officially created. A skincare line specifically but not limited to targeting areas that are commonly ignored. In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss the inspiration behind Bushbalm, his career journey, how David built a successful skincare company, and of course, his definition of success.
When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Echo Sandburg responded, “an astronaut.” Since she was a little girl, she knew her dreams involved traveling far and wide. While her career path didn’t steer her to space, it took her to places such as California, Hong Kong, Texas, and Arizona! Today Echo Sandburg is the Chief Brand Officer of Colgate-Palmolive Skin Health. She is a talented marketer and industry leader who guides growth efforts for EltaMD and two other well-known skincare brands (PCA Skincare, the leader in peels, and Filorga, an innovative luxury skincare brand from France). In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to get further in your career, the value of being adaptable and flexible, and the importance of embracing the present. We also get on a more personal note with Echo, discussing her goals, her passion for skin health, her family, and more!
In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, I talked with Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, Senior Director at Procter and Gamble! She has worked with many notable brands, such as Olay, Secret, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, and My Black is Beautiful. Dr. Wilkerson is responsible for working behind the scenes with dermatologists, clinicians, and P&G beauty scientists to develop and report on the latest and emerging skin and hair technologies in the industry. As a young child, Dr. Wilkerson experienced the trials of not feeling positive about her own hair or skin. That is why today, she has such a passion for helping others with their hair and skin journey. While creating these products is her job, she reminds us that the people behind the scenes are consumers as well, therefore humanizing the industry. Please tune in to hear about her career journey, the importance of educating and being transparent regarding products, what she wants to see more of in the industry, and of course, her definition of success!
In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we get into it with BioHack-HERS, Lauren Berlingeri and Katie Kaps, Co-Founders of HigherDOSE. Their company has cultivated the hottest at-home wellness tools using nature inspired technologies to release feel-good chemicals such as Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins and more! Originally they were put on the map for their infrared Sauna Blanket and celebrity favorite PEMP Mat. They also offer a collection of ingestibles and topicals that boost the benefits of their devices. Tune in as we discuss with these business partners and best friends their career journeys, new products, how they define success, how different treatments and technologies can push you to perform at a higher level, their favorite wellness procedures, and more!
From a young age, Board Certified Dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry knew she wanted to be a Physician. Her interest in the field was piqued when her mother, a nurse at the time, brought her to a "Take Your Daughter to Work" day. All it took was a little white coat and stethoscope for young Michelle, and that was it; her path was set. Today Dr. Michelle Henry is a Harvard-trained Mohs Surgeon and owns a practice, The Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan. In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, Dr. Michelle Henry and I discuss the theme of artistry regarding aesthetic medicine; How one millimeter can really change the way one walks through the world. She discusses the importance of recognizing that there isn't one type of beautiful only "your kind of beautiful." We also chat about her favorite treatments, the importance of learning to say "No", how she proactively schedules to make time for work and personal life, and of course, her definition and way of dealing with success.
wbmb #careerjourney #dermatologist #seductionofsuccess
Both being in the hair industry, it was inevitable that Chris Appleton, Celebrity Hairstylist/Global Creative Director of Color Wow, and Gail Federici, CEO of Federici Brands, would eventually cross paths. With his creativity/knowledge about products and her marketing vision/innovative thinking, there is no stopping them. Together they have created professional, quality products that have become the solution to many everyday hair care troubles. In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss how they became power partners, their rise to the top, and how important it is to stay present, grounded, and grateful despite being in the limelight.
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From Poland to New York City, Esthetician and Founder of her own skincare line, Joanna Czech has had quite the career journey. She has had over 35 years of experience in the industry and her treatments are a mix of timeless techniques and innovative technologies. To top it off, she has a very impressive list of notable celebrity clients. Tune in to hear how her athletic background and competitive nature in Poland helped her get to the top of her game here in the United States, how she personally defines success, and how she makes time for the things that are important to her outside of work. Her bubbly persona, wisdom of the industry, and motivation is something that you do not want to miss out on hearing!
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On this episode, we sit down and talk with CEO of GRIN, Brandon Brown! This episode is extra special because GRIN is our podcasts summer sponsor! GRIN is an all-in-one creator management platform meant to help e-commerce companies build more valuable brands. On this episode we discuss Brandon’s career journey, how one must always push forward even if it’s scary, the drive towards unlocking one’s full potential and the importance of separating self-identity and self-worth from work.
Join us as we chat with Jamie Norwood, co-founder of Stix, about how she went from college journalism into the world of start-ups. We spoke about how the size of a start-up allowed Jamie to see how companies are built as well as taught her to learn how to problem solve in the most hands-on way possible. The themes of the show touch upon the importance of having a job that inspires you to prioritize it. The passion Jamie has for Stix is the combination of both a passion for a cause as well as the desire to change the world.
Celebrity makeup artist, Spokesperson, Mother, Salesperson, Entrepreneur, soon to be Author, oh my! Mally Roncal has done it all! In this episode of Where Brains Meets Beauty, Mally discusses how she has fulfilled and juggled all of these various roles throughout her career journey. Her well known optimistic energy shines through as she talks about making it through hardships, trusting her journey, learning from her mistakes and coming out a stronger version of herself because of it. Tune in to hear how her perseverance has turned every “you can’t” into “I can”
We were so excited to welcome Gina Kirschenheiter to our live recording and launch party for Facing the Seduction of Success, the recently released book inspired by our podcast. While the situations Gina faces on The Real Housewives of Orange County are obviously contrived, throughout her starring role on the show Gina has managed to face them in an open, vulnerable, and authentic way that clearly resonates with the show’s viewers. Now also a skincare entrepreneur with her CaraGala line, Gina generously shares the challenges of celebrity, single parenthood, hands-on entrepreneurship, and staying true to yourself.
Join us as we welcome Rebecca Boston, chief marketing officer of True Botanicals, who shares reflections on her multifaceted journey. Themes touched on include leading by nurturing talent as a cheerleader rather than a critic, embracing opportunities whenever they’re presented, and giving 110% to any task, even If it’s just getting coffee. She also shares how, as the mother of three young sons, the work that takes her away from them every day must be meaningful and bring her joy. Listen to hear how she accomplishes all of the above.
It sounds simplistic to say we should all just do what we love. Well, duh! But it’s not that easy. Yet Lindsay McCormick was somehow able to shut out all the voices telling her to make money or seek security, and she just kept doing what she wanted to, changing focus and jobs a lot. To learn how one of those experiences became the springboard for her zero-waste personal care products company, make sure to tune in.
WBMBers, podcast listeners, beauty junkies, and bookworms alike, I have some exciting news to share. My new book, Facing the Seduction of Success has just been released! It brings together poignant insights from many of my podcast guests, taken from over 200 episodes with beauty industry leaders. The focus is how we strive to find a healthy work-life balance that works for each of us. It’s comforting to share the struggle and realize that you have many fellow travelers on the road to success.
Curious? Have a peek at: https://www.seductionofsuccessbook.com/
Facing the Seduction of Success is available at https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Seduction-Success-Inspiring-Business/dp/1957651105/
When she decided to move to LA, Shontay Lundy had no idea of where she was headed next. Cue 4 months of hiking, reflecting, and dreaming — a transformative period that birthed the idea for her life-changing brand, Black Girl Sunscreen. From not knowing where she would live, to becoming the creator and founder of her own brand, you never know where that next big risk will take you!
Have you heard? My upcoming book, ‘Facing the Seduction of Success’, is scheduled to launch on 6/7/22! The road towards success can be winding, tiring, and all too confusing. In this book, you’ll find anecdotes and advice from some of the industry’s top leaders on how to better navigate this challenging (and rewarding!) journey.
Make sure to pre-order it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Seduction-Success-Inspiring-Business/dp/1957651105/
For more information visit https://www.seductionofsuccessbook.com/
Leading a balanced life looks a little different for everyone, but for Shannon Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Izzy Zero Waste Beauty, balance looks like making sure your cup has enough water for you to drink from. An empty cup is just as useless as working a job you hate. She’s living out her passions, while also working hard at creating more sustainable options for beauty brands — all while have fun along the way!
My book, ‘Facing the Seduction of Success’, is scheduled to launch on 6/7/22! The road towards success can be challenging.. and intoxicating. Between these pages you’ll find helpful, uplifting and inspiring anecdotes from some of the beauty industry’s leading professionals.
If you’re as excited as I am, make sure to pre-order it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Seduction-Success-Inspiring-Business/dp/1957651105/
For more information visit: https://www.seductionofsuccessbook.com/
Alisa’s got a piggy bank full of pennies, collected for the realization of her biggest goals in life. At every step of her career journey - from working at a grocery store, to working as the Chief Commercial Officer at Rion, she’s made sure to evaluate whether these decisions contribute towards a bigger picture. She’s had to work hard to get where she is now, and part of that is making sure that each piece fits inside her life’s puzzle.
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Have you heard? Jodi is releasing her first book, ‘Facing the Seduction of Success’ on 6/7/22!
Tera Peterson is a master collector. Starting in childhood, Tera began to pick up important skills from her mother, and then from her first job, which paved the way towards her entrepreneurial career. She saw an opportunity to introduce a new product into the world of skincare, and with her mother and sister by her side, co-founded their handheld microcurrent brand, NuFace.
What happens when you decide to take your future into your own hands? Sinead Norenius-Raniere, VP of Product Management at Cision, did just that — and she’s all the much better for it. Working with social media influencers to help grow their platforms, Sinead is committed to innovating the landscape of content creation and branding on the internet. At first, her vision wasn’t understood, but she didn’t let that stop her from chasing what she knew to be a success.
Brands/People Mentioned:
Kevyn Aucoin - @kevynaucoin
Clinique - @clinque
Glossier - @glossier
LinkedIn - @linkedin
HSN - @hsn
Instagram - @instagram
BuzzSumo - @buzzsumo
Falcon. io - @falconio
Brand Watch - @brandwatch
She wants to see a change in the world and she isn’t going to wait on anyone else to do it. Using her passion for biology and stem-cell engineering, Carolina Reis Oliveira aims to develop products aimed at eradicating the harmful effects of biological aging. Harnessing the power of science to improve human health is of the utmost importance to her; a vision she realizes through OneSkin.
Brands/ People Mentioned:
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@IndieBioNY
@OneSkin.co
If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught Amy, it’s the power of finding joy in whatever you do. Founder and CEO of Madison Reed, Amy strives to find shades of joy in her life — beyond the stuff you put in your hair. Gratitude, falling for your work, and becoming friends with failure are all important ingredients on her list for success.
Brands/ People Mentioned:
Brownies - N/A
Girl Scouts - @girlscouts
LinkedIn - @linkedin
Wharton - @whartonschool
Clairol - @clairolcolor
L’Oreal - @lorealusa
Dollar Shave Club - @dollarshaveclub
Mommy & Me Gymnastics - N/A
Venmo - @venmo
Building a business with longevity is a very fruitful yet challenging endeavor. Through Candid, Nick has managed to use his innovative eye to construct a brand that rethinks the way we view orthodontics. Learning from failure has been instrumental in his journey to helping build (and re-build) brands that push the envelope. Innovation is key.
Brands/ People Mentioned:
Youtube - @YouTube
Watch What Happens Live - @bravowwhl
Andy Cohen - @bravoandy
Bravo - @bravotv
Candid - @livecandid
Space Camp - N/A
Zimride - N/A
Lyft - @lyft
Michael Jordan - @michaelbjordan
Instagram - @instagram
TikTok - @tiktok
Invisalign - @invisalign
Smile Direct Club - @smiledirectclub
Tesla - @teslamotors
Oprah Winfrey - @oprah
Elon Musk - N/A
Sarah Blakely - N/A
Stan Lee - @therealstanlee
Planned Parenthood - @plannedparenthood
Philips - @philipssonicare
Ramp - N/A
Paribus - N/A
John Zimmerman - @11zimzam11
and Logan (Founders of Lyft) - N/A
Kira Wobbler - N/A
Redesign Health - N/A
Eric Lyman - N/A
Jasper - N/A
He’s a dermatologist-in-training and a rising internet sensation. Everyone knows him as the very special Dr. Shah, but there’s more to the man behind the lab coat. Bouncing between residency and social media stardom, Dr. Muneeb Shah’s busy, yet fulfilling, schedule leaves him little time to do much else. Yet, through his hard-working and generous spirit, he’s still able to keep up with his patients — both on and off the screen.
She was determined to achieve her goals, and that she did. Summer Terry, Program Success Manager at Base Beauty, believes that anything can be achieved with enough tenacity, passion, and bold self-confidence. Very often, life requires you to be your own biggest cheerleader!
Working with the client to realize their vision, Anna Yoshida, the Program Success Manager at BBCA, has plenty of experience working the frontlines of customer service. Her career experience has strengthened her conviction that quality customer care and service are integral to building meaningful connections and successful business.
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Former intern at BBCA, Emily Horrego has set a new standard for working your way up. Now acting as the Senior Manager of Digital Marketing, Emily aims to inspire other interns to gain experience and confidence in the field. All experience, whether good or bad, is valuable experience!
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Samantha Bergmann and Christopher Carl are planning to expand and revolutionize the male skincare market, by promoting skincare as an act of self-care. From leadership styles, to purposefully stepping into your passion, Sam and Chris share their experience as co-founders of HETIME.
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There’s a method to the madness! Melissa Sperau’s rebellious attitude and need to be independent may have been a pain to some, but it allowed her to work her way up her own ladder by doing what made her happy, on her own terms. Learn how her drive and self-reliance propelled her into her role as the President of US Shiseido Americas Corporation.
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How much of success is composed of luck? Stephanie Morimoto’s luck has certainly been of help, but it is not the only factor in determining success. In the few years that she’s worked with Asutra, she’s managed to secure a celebrity partnership, as well as relaunch the brand and its story – elevating it to another level.
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Evelyn Subramaniam has mastered resilience. After a career in modeling, she’s learned how to take every ‘no’ in stride and build a ‘go for it!’ attitude. Learn how this quality, amongst others, helped inspire her brand Bija Essence.
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Sara Happ's love for beauty, media and entrepreneurship is inspiring, and it led to her taking a groundbreaking idea into fruition. Through the founding and management of her lip brand, Sara Happ Inc, she was able to see her vision come to life!
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CEO of Face Reality, Jeremy Soine and I discuss working in places that recognize your humanity and what this means when developing a company culture that emphasizes collaboration over competition. When you do what you love, you’re not really ‘working’. You’ll want to listen to this inspirational leader and what he had to say!
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After becoming acquainted with one another through their day jobs at L’Oreal, Christine Chang and Sarah Lee founded the wildly popular Glow Recipe. Dive into this episode to get inspired by their clear vision for K-beauty and how their leadership style impacts the brand's success.
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I’m fortunate to have been able to get a moment to speak with the very busy Emily Perez, Director of Safety, Regulatory Claims, Micro Acquisition, and Integration at L’Oreal and the Founder of Latinas in Beauty. Oscillating between her many different jobs, Emily becomes a great example of how far your passions can take you.
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We’re going back to the basics with my guest this week, Robyn Watkins. Starting her journey as a prospective makeup artist turned product developer, Robyn always had a knack for beauty. After being mentored by some of the greats, she set her sights towards developing products the classical way, and eventually towards launching her own company, Holistic Beauty Group!
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Aspiring fashion designer, turned film director, turned business-woman, Sarah Willersdorf shares with me her challenges being a full-time mother and employee, as well as adapting to life post-COVID. She also helps to define what ‘luxury goods’ really means in today’s age of democratized beauty. Have a listen!
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A love of beauty, trusting in her mentors and a willingness to learn led my guest, Joan Sutton, to co-creating 707 Flora. From a start at Lancôme, to a luxury spa in Beverly Hills, Joan followed in the footsteps of her mentors as she went from the world of retail beauty, to beauty treatments in spas, and finally to owning her own brand! What she learned was incredible.
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She has beat the fear, and now she has the brand to prove it. Learn how Jenna’s start as a radio host paved the way towards her founding of Fitish CBD Skincare, as she dared to give in to dissatisfaction. This change, alongside many other bold risks, allowed her to go from the world of entertainment to the world of beauty — all on her own terms.
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How does learning more about ourselves translate into real-world success? Can the power of your thoughts (both positive and negative) shape the success of a business? Join me and my guest Amy Gordinier, Founder and CEO of SkinFix for her insights on the power of being authentic and learning more about oneself, what success means to her, as well as some tips on attracting abundance into your life!
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Committed to a high-pressure, 24/7 job, Dana Jackson experienced a deep level of burnout that led to a life-threatening illness. Hear how her recovery and her search for beauty products that would support her on her road back to health released the latent entrepreneur within her, while teaching her important life lessons about balance, perspective and when to ask for help.
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Geltor, the company co-founded and led by Alex Lorestani, is doing nothing less than making non-GMO proteins that have zero animal-based ingredients, proteins that could ultimately pop up in just about every consumer product in the beauty, wellness and food industries. How this will positively impact human health, animal health, the planet’s health and everything from the way food is produced to the way antibiotics are used—and overused—is the focus of this crucially important episode.
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On the front lines of improving the safety of beauty and personal care products, Alissa Sasso is in a unique position, as part of a global non-profit working with many oh-so-profitable skincare, cosmetics and personal brands. No one could do it better, as she navigates the challenges in a totally non-adversarial way. It’s a tough job and Alissa does it with sensitivity for all the stakeholders, which is the only way to make progress in such a vast undertaking. Don’t miss this important discussion on a topic that affects us all.
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Two big ideas weave in and out of this episode, as Leslie Harris shares her journey and her approach to work. One is the concept of risk: how much one is willing to take to move ahead and the delicate risk-reward balance, different for each of us. The other is how to find meaning in your work, whether your own tiny startup or a mega corporation, a goal that was crucial in Leslie’s career choices. Listen to this lively discussion of these universal themes.
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Lots to unpack in our talk with Kilian Hennessy, starting with how he turned his back—mostly—on his famous family’s Cognac business to create his own legacy of luxurious liquids with his elegant and eclectic perfumes. He talks about the scents from his childhood and how he blends those powerful memories into his “overdose” fragrances. Listen in on this very personal journey from heir apparent to rock star entrepreneur.
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There are many life lessons in the story of this week’s guest, Indie Lee. A terrifying medical diagnosis (and full recovery) motivated her to launch her truly green skincare line, Indie Lee, defined by clean ingredients and full transparency on what’s in, what’s not and where it all comes from. Tune in to hear how this beauty entrepreneur used one of the biggest challenges anyone can face to forge a new path and make her world—and everyone’s skin—healthier.
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Life slapped Soyoung Kang in the face pretty early on, when her father’s sudden death meant she’d have to give up her lifelong dream of becoming an architect and choose a more financially stable path. How she faced her disappointment and found a new road that landed her (happily) in the beauty C suite are central themes of this moving episode.
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Growing up on a cattle farm in Ohio, Michael Bumgarner always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. But he had no idea that desire would someday lead him to the beauty industry. The founder of Cannuka walks me through his journey into cannabis-based skincare, and how he believes the incredible, versatile hemp plant can change the future of American farming for the better.
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Nicknamed 'Rosy' by her family for her positive outlook on life, this NY Times Best Selling-Author, Entrepreneur, Actress, Wife and Mom sees the world through rose colored glasses! In this episode, Suzanne Somers, Founder of Suzanne Organics, shares her secret to lifelong optimism and how the challenging parts of life are the ones we can learn the most from.
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Dr. Zahir Dossa is an unexpected beauty entrepreneur. He pivoted his dreams of outer space to the beauty industry after a meandering career journey here on earth. Now the CEO + Co-Founder of Function of Beauty focuses on sustainability and individuality, reminding his customers that beauty is about them, not what's in the bottle.
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Casey Georgeson says that building her business has been like building the plane mid-flight. While many entrepreneurs have hesitated to set sail on the CBD wave because of tough headwinds, the Saint Jane CEO and Founder believes it's provided an opportunity for her brand to succeed.
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After nearly a year of discomfort, an ancestral vision provided Beatrice Dixon with the recipe to resolve her bacterial vaginosis - and the inspiration for a first-of-it's kind business. Bea provides women with the tools to safely and naturally care for their "honey pots" with the first plant-based feminine care system that cleanses, protects and balances the vagina.
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When mother-daughter duo Mila & Ada Juristovski lost their husband and father, they transformed their grief over intense loss into a drive to create something focused on health and wellness. Nala combines Mila's expertise in biotech and Ada's mastery of marketing to bring a free-from, natural and effective deodorant to the market.
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It was friends at first sight for besties and business partners Kayla Bertagna and Lisa Ballstaedt. The Co-Founders of Soon Skincare named the brand for Lisa's Korean Grandmother, keeping in mind the meaning of the word in Korean - smooth and pure. The pair aims to bring the world the excitement and innovation of Korean skincare with an unsurpassed user experience (and do it with a lot of laughs along the way).
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Anisa shares insights that every leader should hear - from the attitude that keeps her calm, to how she delivers authenticity through compassion. Tune in for an episode that's as honest as it is informative.
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As the CEO and Founder of Kreyol Essence, Yve-Car Momperousse is changing the way people see Haiti and challenging the beauty standards that have traditionally taught women that natural hair isn't beautiful. She's passionate about making a tangible mark in the world, creating a blueprint for poverty alleviation through sustainable work, starting in Haiti.
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Priya Rao has worked at nearly every beauty and fashion magazine out there. After starting her career in banking, a sitcom worthy roommate situation opened her eyes to the world of creative pursuits. She realized if she was willing to journey off the beaten path, she could lead a more exciting and creative career - so she did. Listen in to this week’s episode as Priya and I connect on networking discomfort, the many manifestations of feeling like an outsider, and how she got where she is today.
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Dr. Michelle Koo wants to bring out the best in you. As a plastic surgeon, she creates symmetry and optimal aesthetics in her clients through surgical options, but she also delivers results as a skincare expert. Her luxury skincare brand, Dr. Koo Private Practice Skincare, designed to provide plastic surgery results without plastic surgery, was patiently developed over two decades of research and development.
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Jess Weiner isn’t just any expert, she’s a cultural expert. Throughout her 15 years in the business of consumer relations, Jess realized that having a strategic marketing and consumer engagement is quite different from actually engaging with the consumer and understanding their needs. To be successful in today’s business world, you need more than just a big name, you need to stand for something - and mean it! This episode focuses on the need for change within the business world’s reactive plans in times of crisis and the corporate responsibility of businesses to engage in ongoing socio-economic conversations.
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Like many entrepreneurs, Pam Zapata saw a need and decided to fill it. As an expert in influencer marketing and the CEO at Society Eighteen, Pam is passionately bridging the gap between what's been historically referred to as 'multicultural marketing' and 'general marketing', helping companies reach diverse influencer partners, and vice versa. This episode focuses on important topics of tokenism, diversity, and racial inequality.
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Travel may be on pause, but Veronique Gabai believes fragrance can transport us on a journey to somewhere else. Her namesake fragrance, jewelry and beauty product company is inspired by her birthplace and the place of her childhood, the French Riviera. After growing up surrounded by beautiful sensation, she wanted to put nature directly into her products, to help people feel better - more joyful, beautiful and confident - and express themselves more authentically. She made the switch from corporate America to indie beauty when the risk of ignoring that little voice telling her to leave became greater than the risk of leaving the corporate pool, and hasn't looked back.
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Dr. Susan Taylor, Skin of Color Society Founder, always wanted to grow up and be a doctor, but she didn’t know she’d become a dermatologist. She created @skinofcolorsociety when she realized that many dermatologists were not well-versed in treating darker skin tones, and even afraid to perform procedures on brown or black skin. Tune in to this week's episode to hear about how Dr. Susan Taylor started SOCS, and the ways they help promote awareness, research and education on treating skin of color, and provide mentorship and networking opportunities to aspiring dermatologists.
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Thirty years ago, Sonya Dakar was taking polaroid photos of clients in her esthetician office, fondly referred to as skin boot camp. Today her namesake skincare line is recognized worldwide. As a skincare expert, Sonya is renowned for building a brand dedicated to educating consumers and treating the skin with clean, effective ingredients. Her iconic clinic in Beverly Hills serves as a center for innovation where clients come to transform their skin concerns into a healthy, glowing complexion through proven, non-invasive treatments.
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After being fired from a fast-paced banking biz position in London, Maria Hatzistefanis, Founder of Rodial, took months before making her next move. That move eventually combined her business savvy and experience in the finance world with her long-time love of the beauty industry. This episode reminds us to keep calm and find the beauty in every road block, rejection and set-back.
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What’s it like to be the first African American woman to hold a patent within a space? In this week’s episode, we hear from Gwen Jimmere, Naturalicious CEO & Founder and the journey that took her from dreams of being a singer, to a swanky corporate position at Ford, and eventually starting a natural hair care company. Gwen is as raw and honest as she is determined, taking this episode through some heavy topics like domestic violence and racial inequality. Gwen's courage and resilience shines through as she explains the extraordinary journey that led her to becoming the first African American woman to hold a patent for a natural hair care product.
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Steve Weigler is a mastermind when it comes to protecting your brand. After many entrepreneurial pursuits of his own, he's come to understand more than just the legal side of building a business, giving him a unique perspective in helping his clients keep their brands safe from knock offs and other legal woes. The EmergeCounsel Founder explains in this episode how a small investment at the start can garner big returns in the long run, and prevent future (expensive) issues. If you're a Founder, CEO or entrepreneur, the information in this episode is invaluable to building, growing and potentially selling your brand.
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Dara Levy, Founder of DERMAFLASH, leads with grace and gratitude. She’s made it through the past several months, as well as many difficult years, by channeling kindness and positivity. Like many entrepreneurs, her career journey has been far from linear, but for Dara, it all seems to have fallen into place. Perhaps it’s her power to manifest good things through gratitude and positive energy. Listen to this inspiring episode and decide for yourself whether the Universe, hard work, or an incredible combination of both brought success to Dara.
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When Fiona Stiles went to college to study photography and fine art, she never imagined that her canvas would be a face! As a celebrity makeup artist and CEO of Reed Clarke, she loves the unpredictability of her job and the challenge to create new looks and appearances. Growing up in the 70s and associating makeup with “the opera and maybe movies and special effects” it was after she moved to New York City that she discovered the realm of makeup and creativity. Hear the rest of Fiona’s stories, from working as a makeup assistant to being resilient in the face of life’s challenges.
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Joy Harari, Founder and CEO of Shore Magic, pulled from her own childhood experiences when building her brand. She is a certified holistic health coach and created a digestive collagen supplement from fish skins that is not only effective and healing, but also helps you look good from the inside out. She first discovered the powers of marine collagen while working with children suffering from ADD and autism. Tune in to this week’s episode to find out more about her journey and how she makes age feel like just a number.
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Life is all about finding the beauty hidden within the imperfections. In this episode, Dr. Ava Shamban, dermatologist and founder of SKIN FIVE by AVA MD, shares her journey through the societal norms of beauty and how they helped her find her calling of being a medical and cosmetic dermatologist. She’s managed to help people find their own beauty through their signature feature, rather than trying to make them look like someone else. Tune in to see how paying attention to opportunities and taking action despite fear has helped Dr. Shamban construct her beautiful and successful career.
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Doreen Bloch, Executive Director of the Makeup Museum, has embarked on a journey back to the world of the 1950s makeup and beauty. She created a time capsule of artifacts and nostalgia that includes not only actual makeup bottles belonging to celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, but also submissions from people who lived through the 1950s to today. In the midst of a pandemic that delayed the launch of her novel idea, she’s maintained composure and positivity.
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Grit and grace come naturally to Alicia Grande, founder and CEO of Grande Cosmetics. At a young age, she learned the importance of hard work and sacrifice, fueling her desire and passion for business. Since 2008, Alicia has grown her brand from a single product sold at a tradeshow, to a best-loved brand of over forty products that help enhance the natural beauty of her customers. For her, it isn't about the money - success is measured in goals.
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In many ways, Manon des Sources CEO Manon Crespi's journey to a beautiful head of naturally silver hair is representative of her winding path through the beauty industry - long, flowing, and sometimes challenging. After a year of literally 'getting back to her roots' while she grew out dyed and damaged locks, Manon realized there was white space (or shall we say grey space?) in the beauty industry for a haircare line made specifically for naturally silver hair. And so Manon des Sources was born. I am inspired by her winding journey, philosophy and her story - and I think you will be too. Give it a listen!
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Here’s a reminder that we’re all in this together. Even seasoned business owners, innovators and entrepreneurs are navigating uncharted waters as we shift the way we connect with our teams and our customers. Frédéric Fekkai, Founder and CEO of Fekkai shares in this episode how he and his team are working through a time of change, and how through many changes over the past several years, he’s managed to stay connected - to his home, his customers, his team, and his name. Entrepreneurs, this one is for you.
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Here’s a reminder that we’re all in this together. Even seasoned business owners, innovators and entrepreneurs are navigating uncharted waters as we shift the way we connect with our teams and our customers. Frédéric Fekkai, Founder and CEO of Fekkai shares in this episode how he and his team are working through a time of change, and how through many changes over the past several years, he’s managed to stay connected - to his home, his customers, his team, and his name. Entrepreneurs, this one is for you.
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The name is catchy but it’s much more than that. It reflects an entire business ethos that revolves round clean ingredients, honest marketing, respect for customers and smart internal practices, i.e. no b.s (bullshit or bad stuff, whichever you prefer) in any of it. Learn how Diana Briceno, CEO of No B.S. Skincare, developed the “b.s. meter” that she and her team use every day as they make decisions, assuring that none of the bad stuff creeps into anything they do.
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When you first read the name, Thrive Causemetics, you know that this is a different sort of beauty company. A former makeup artist, founder and CEO Karissa Bodnar launched her company with dual purposes: to create quality, vegan, skin-loving makeup and skincare and to support organizations that help women. Both missions have equal importance—for every product sold, another is donated. The inspiration for this makeup/ movement is a poignant personal story of love, loss and resilience.
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Like so many beauty leaders in this moment, Natasha Cornstein, CEO of Blushington, has had to rewrite the playbook from scratch, as they’ve closed their brick-and-mortar beauty lounges and have had to pivot overnight from one-on-one, in-your-face makeup applications to an emphasis on ecommerce and their curated selection of independent female-founded beauty brands. No mean feat. Hear how this smart, resilient exec is trying to keep her company afloat, planning a future that is un-plannable and cherishing and supporting her team every day.
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Jhoana Heras, PR manager at Base Beauty Creative Agency, was headed for a career in accounting when a PR internship serendipitously came her way. She thought it might be an interesting summer diversion but it turned out she really loved it and discovered that she absolutely did not want to be an accountant. Good to know! Listen to her full story, including her truecareer goal, being on The Real Housewives.
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After a five-minute career on Broadway, David Pirrotta, founder and CEO of David Pirrotta Brands, discovered his passion for the beauty world and his talent for scoping out and launching fledgling brands. He also realized he was still fulfilling his desire to perform but on a different stage, as he stood front and center promoting and presenting young brands to the beauty marketplace. With over 80 launches in his portfolio, this “brand whisperer” offers wisdom for brands of all sizes.
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Inessa and Alina Vike have a collaboration that started in utero. These ultra-confident twins have used their award-winning influencer platform as a launchpad for an innovative product that they plan to grow into a global makeup brand. Their family story—including how they are striving to give back and honor their refugee parents’ sacrifices and dreams—is poignant, heartfelt and not to be missed.
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Leetah McGee, account manager at Base Beauty Creative Agency, was destined for a career in fashion like everyone in her family. But after graduating from FIT, she wasn’t loving what she saw ahead and took a year to figure out what was next. Lessons learned: It’s okay not to know. It’s okay to change your mind. Hear all about Leetah’s career pivot and how this remarkable young woman made her way to Base Beauty’s door.
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It took a long time for Deborah Lippmann, celebrity manicurist and founder of Deborah Lippmann, to finally realize how much she loved nail care and her work as manicurist to the stars. Her first love was music and she originally learned the manicurist’s trade to support herself while pursuing her singing career. Now that she’s created her eponymous nail line and singing has become her side hustle, she has lots of sage advice and gentle nudging for those ready to zig and zag towards their own dreams.
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Listen in as Sasha Plavsic, founder of ILIA Beauty, confesses how difficult it was to rebrand the business she had conceived and given birth to nine years ago. It was time for the update, for sure, but it also involved letting go of a lot of her past…and it felt like losing an old friend. You’ll want to hear Sasha discuss this painful but necessary part of growing a business and how she’s getting comfortable with the next phase of her “baby’s” journey.
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When Amy Carra, Sr. Director of Brand Innovation and Universal Beauty Products, Inc., was working for Air France and traveling the world, she never imagined a career in beauty. Her love affair with the beauty industry began with a position at Revlon, where she saw colleagues “playing” with makeup as part of their jobs and thought, “Hmm…this could be fun.” Hear the rest of Amy’s story, from more jobs in big beauty to developing her own innovative skincare line as a “corporate entrepreneur.”
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Sarah Kugelman’s catalyst for creating the skincare line skyn ICELAND was her personal story of stress and illness, a story far too many of us—especially women—have experienced as we try to juggle our complex lives. As she healed herself, the CEO and founder focused on the toll modern life takes on skin and decided to do something about it. Tune in to hear all about Sarah’s amazing journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship and her path to health, wellness and beautiful skin.
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Starting her career in advertising, Wende Zomnir, Founding Partner of Urban Decay Cosmetics, figured out pretty early that writing cat food copy was not going to cut it for her. A serendipitous call connected her to the partner with whom she would launch Urban Decay, the ultra-disruptive brand that took the girly, sugary makeup of 25 years ago and turned it on its head, offering looks for women who didn’t fit—and didn’t want to fit—the conventional beauty-consumer mold. Wende shares her story, including thoughts on empowering the women around her while doing the same for herself.
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In our episode with Emily Culp, CEO of Cover FX, this beauty heavyweight shares her leadership style which is much more people-centric than that of many of her C-suite peers. For Emily, empowering her team by creating a business environment built on respect, diversity, transparency and humanity is where the fun is. She also loves shepherding an amazing brand that reflects some of these same values with its clean, customizable, effective products. Her impressive experience both inside and outside the beauty world gives Emily a perspective that will resonate far and wide. Make sure to catch this episode.
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There’s enough wisdom in our podcast with Stephanie Kramer, SVP Global Marketing and Product Innovation at SkinCeuticals, to fill four episodes. The heart of our conversation is about surviving and thriving within the massive, regimented corporate culture. Stephanie calls herself an interpreneur for the way she has carved out a sweet spot, figuring out how to use the resources, get the projects, find the colleagues to partner with and nurture the talent just like an entrepreneur would but within L’Oreal, one of the world’s biggest beauty companies, all while climbing the ladder and being a caring parent and partner. Don’t miss a word.
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One day when she was on set, doing makeup for one celebrity or another, Rea Ann Silva became frustrated by the angled edges of the only makeup sponges available, which left tiny ridges and streaks picked up by the newest HD cameras. “Hmm,” she thought, and grabbed a scissors to snip and soften the shape for a totally smooth application. The rest is history…or at least the key to Beautyblender, her amazing beauty business that offers an array of blenders, tools and makeup. Rea Ann’s personal journey is as compelling as her business smarts. It’s all here…so make sure to listen.
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While he might look like a serial entrepreneur, Dr. Marc Ronert never set out to be one. He just wanted to accomplish a few things in the beauty and wellness space and each of them became a different enterprise. These include Image, a science-based skincare line created with his wife, his authorship of an amazing book on aging, “Age Later,” written during a sabbatical boldly taken as Image was blossoming, and his wellness company Hush & Hush that takes a holistic approach to being your best at any age. In this episode, the board-certified plastic surgeon shares how each evolved from the other, the importance of taking time to step away and look at what you’re doing from a distance and how lucky he is to have found his soulmate and business partner in one person. Do listen!
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Early on in her work with her nutrition patients, Tanya Zuckerbrot, CEO and Founder of F-Factor, discovered an essential truth: traditional diets don’t work because dieters feel deprived and hungry. She knew that the key to weight loss and wellness lay in a program that offered freedom, flexibility, plenty of fuel, room for dining out and having a cocktail, and a smarter, not longer, exercise routine—in other words, a program that was sustainable. And she knew that fiber was the key. This rock star in the world of nutrition went on to create the F-Factor Diet that’s been reshaping bodies and improving health for years. Hear about her science-based, easy-to-live-with approach and her journey to this amazing, multifaceted business.
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Launching her business, Fur, at about the same time she was having a baby, Laura Schubert harnessed her background as a strategic management consultant to figure out how she could do it all. She developed a system she calls “ruthless prioritization” which involves constantly asking herself if what she is working on is the most pressing thing she should be working on. It sounds simple but it’s not—when you’re wearing all the hats, distraction is everywhere. She became fierce at focusing, whether it was on her strategic plan for Fur or her babysitter’s schedule. A couple of things her experience has shown her: working mothers make amazing leaders and it’s possible to create the culture you want with work/life balance for yourself and your team. Listen in to hear lots more wisdom from this remarkable mompreneur.
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It truly bothered Kirsten Kjaer Weis when, as a professional makeup artist, models would point to the conventional brands in her makeup kit and say, “Oh don’t use that, it makes me break out,” or “That one is so drying.” She also knew that women crave beautiful packaging. In the early 2000s, there were virtually no makeup lines that combined healthy formulas with stylish colors and luxurious packaging that also spoke to sustainability. So she made one. Her eponymous, refillable makeup line is creating lots of buzz as it accomplishes what so many brands could not. Listen in for the details of how this of-the-moment line came to be.
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The first thing we spoke about in my conversation with our Base Beauty publicist, Morgan Krause, is how fast she talks…even faster than I do, which is saying something. For the reboot of our original super-sonic session, Morgan consciously tried to slow down, which she realizes was a really helpful exercise for her. Morgan shared how she found her way to New York and to Base Beauty through her work with one of our clients, Au Naturele Cosmetics, a clean beauty brand based in her hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin. A company that also lobbies for stricter regulations to make beauty products less toxic, Au Naturele appealed to Morgan’s interest in global health. She spoke thoughtfully about the importance of using our consumer dollars to affect change and how she’s observed that responsible brands are slowly becoming more affordable and accessible. I hope you’ll join us to hear my full conversation with Morgan, delivered with her usual high energy but at a more reasonable speed.
Hair industry veteran John Costanza knows his stuff. A marketer in his salad days, his first job in beauty was with Joico, going from salon to salon in his native Toronto to build relationships for the brand with the salon owners and stylists. His story is one with lots of twists and turns and a steady rise to the C-suite. While always anchoring his career decisions with his dedication to his family—a quality that was not always looked on favorably by the higher ups when John was starting out—he has developed the ability to stand back from the day-to-day speed bumps and crises that any business faces and focus on what’s really important in life, beyond shampoo and conditioner. In this episode he shares his path and some of the consequences he faced as he navigated through the waters of his various opportunities...and how he learned that balance is a crucial part of leadership. It’s fascinating and informative listening from a seasoned and compassionate pro. Make sure to catch the entire podcast.
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Victoria Watts had a lot of skin concerns and none of the products she tried were addressing them. So in true entrepreneurial style, she decided to make her own, mixing, blending and formulating in her kitchen.That’s how Victorialand Beauty was born. She launched with products that truly improved her hyperpigmentation and the overall look of her skin, using natural botanicals and essential oils to get to a place where she could “go naked” without makeup. But just as the company was off and running, an even greater challenge appeared and changed everything about her business and her life. And a new mission evolved, to help her vision-impaired infant son learn to navigate the world. Hers is a story from the heart you won’t want to miss.
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When Jodi sat down with ClaireBrzozowski, Base Beauty’s Coordinator for Paid Influencer Programs and Social Media, it was cool to hear what was behind some of the career decisions she has made. Switching from a major in psychology to one in communications and media arts, Claire was aware of the connections between the two disciplines, observing how much psychology goes into effective social media marketing. Even at her young age—or perhaps because of it—Claire can smell inauthenticity across cyberspace. It is fascinating to learn from someone who has essentially grown up with social media how she views it today and sees it evolving. Join us to hear Jodi's conversation with the Jersey girl who is the newest member of the Base Beauty team.
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From a performer who did her own makeup to the Chanel beauty counter in San Francisco’s elegant I. Magnin, to running her own brow and facial salon in Maine and New York and developing her own skincare line, makeup artist Jessica Johnson has learned a lot in her 30 years in beauty. She emphasizes the “artist” in makeup artist, working with a living canvas (that moves and sweats and sometimes sags!). One of her goals has been to declutter and simplify the beauty experience and reclaim the glamour, the pampering and the one-on-one connection between a customer and her stylist. Tune in to hear how she’s doing it…and the wisdom she’s acquired along the way. Hers is an inspiring entrepreneurial journey. Catch this episode.
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When Cheryl Foland was working too hard and running too fast, living up to the Manhattan overachiever standard, she happened to mention to her colleagues in beauty marketing that she thought the company should focus on developing business on the West Coast. “Good idea,” they said, “You go.” So she did, reluctantly becoming bi-coastal for a while, having a crash-and-burn moment, then bouncing back to embrace the laid back California lifestyle fulltime. It not only saved her, it planted the seed for lilah b., her beauty line that’s all about paring down, using less and creating simpler beauty routines around multitasking products. Hers is an inspiring story of resilience and reinvention, California style. Plan to listen.
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Brand builder extraordinaire Allison Slater Ray, President of Memebox, has made an impact everywhere she’s been, from her start learning the ropes of marketing and media buying on the Chanel account at DDB to Sephora in its early days as a brand incubator to her marketing position at IT Cosmetics. But entrepreneurship—the desire to build something from the ground up—is in her DNA so she’s just taken the reins at Memebox, a startup group of Korean makeup and skincare brands that she’s looking to put on the map as she’s done for so many others. Listen as she shouts out to those who have helped her on her journey and dives into this new adventure. You’ll love this episode!
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The seeds of a business are often sown through a frustrating search for a product or a solution to a problem. Such is the case with Heather Reier, Founder and CEO of Cake Beauty. Well before natural, vegan, cruelty-free beauty was a “thing,” as Heather sought healthy skincare products, the ones she found smelled terrible, had awful packaging and were totally unappealing. She hit the kitchen, started mixing and created a line of natural, nourishing skincare and haircare products that are as fragrant and effective as they are girly and fun. Listen to Heather’s WBMB podcast to hear how she launched, grew, sold and currently runs Cake, and share all the entrepreneurial lessons she has learned along the way.
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Gabrielle Ophals, co-founder of Haven Spa, doesn’t want to step on anyone’s dreams. As someone who took over a tiny spa on Bleecker Street in New York over 20 years ago and has been moving, tending and growing it ever since, she believes in reaching for the stars. She just thinks some aspiring entrepreneurs get caught up in “it-would-be-cool-to-run-my-own-business” thinking without really considering what’s involved. She believes in following your bliss while keeping your eyes open and having a great team of professionals at the ready, from accountants to plumbers. Lots of wise stuff here. Be sure to listen!
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When Sue Nabi left her position as worldwide president of L’Oreal and Lancôme to start her Orveda Skincare line, one key question kept popping into her head, a question she had never really thought about in the C suite of one of the world’s largest beauty companies: do millions of Instagram likes actually translate into sales? As she grows Orveda, she’s looking for the answer. She knows one thing: people in business are becoming number obsessed. She looks for meaning in those numbers…how many products have been sold…how many products are people buying again…and, most importantly, what customers like (or don’t like) about the products they are buying. Sue is constantly applying her corporate experience to her own business but in a much more personal way, remembering one especially crucial lesson from her early days as a brand manager peddling L’Oreal products door to door: keep listening and your customers will tell you what they want. Sue shares other wisdom from her dazzling career in beauty in our full WBMB conversation. Don’t miss this episode!
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If there’s one overarching message or pattern from our incredible array of WBMB guests—and one piece of advice for our listeners—it’s that you never know where your path will lead and you don’t have to panic if where you are at the moment is not your goal. Our guest Bart Kaczanowicz, founder and influencer-in-chief of the skincare blog OMGBart.com is a perfect example of this “you never know” approach to work and to life. Born in Poland, studying in California, translating in Brooklyn and with other way stations en route, it took Bart years to discover his passion and talent for curating skincare products.Today his wildly popular blog is trusted by brands and fans for his authentic, no BS evaluations of high-end products. In this episode, Bart shares his story of finding, then following his bliss. Make sure to join us to hear all the details in his own words.
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Base Beauty’s Social Media Manager, Becca spent 16 years of her early life in the high-intensity, ultra-disciplined world of competitive gymnastics. After all those 360s, she made a 180-turn away from that world which became a little too narrow for her expansive interests and easily-bored personality. More twists and turns eventually brought her to us, via a resumé of gigs that are as cool as they are quirky and are perfectly aligned with how valuable she is to the Base Beauty home team. Anyone on a winding path, destination unknown, will connect with Becca’s story…and the delightful way she tells it. Give a listen.
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Julie Wald, Founder, CEO and Chief Wellness Officer of Namaste New York, manages the challenges of running her business…and her life. She speaks about how you approach the inevitable highs and lows—especially the lows which can take the wind out of your sails in a flash, in any business or any situation. Julie has a wise acronym that she could one day make into a cross-stitched sampler (if she ever had the time): AFGO—Another F*cking Growth Opportunity. Listen to our full conversation and learn about how Julie keeps her mind and body aligned (mostly) and gracefully navigates the inevitable speed bumps, always reminding herself that each one is an AFGO.
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Founder of the eponymous fragrance line and his floral design company in Los Angeles, Eric Buterbaugh sat with host Jodi Katz as part of our Podcast-in-Residence program at Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship store in New York. In front of a wonderful audience, Eric traced his path toward his passions which can be summed up with F words: fashion, fragrance and flowers. We could also add flamboyant, a word reflected in Eric’s sparkling personality. Eric turned his lifelong love of beautiful smells into a business, putting those beautiful smells in bottles and vases.
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When our guest, Elise Joy, a network news producer, was blindsided by a painful and mean-spirited layoff, she picked herself up and turned it into an opportunity. Actually, it was her two teen-age daughters who helped her write her next chapter. Volunteering at a food pantry, the three of them were shocked to learn that food stamps could not be used for personal hygiene products. The girls put two and two together and realized that they had classmates who were missing school a few days each month because they couldn’t afford the supplies they needed. An idea was born and a foundation was started, Girls Helping Girls. Period. Their remarkable teen-powered story of reaching out with something so simple yet so essential is an important one. Join us for the full episode.
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Any entrepreneur, me included, will tell you that your brand is your baby. So when you go to sell it, whether willingly and lucratively or not so much, you’re losing a bit of your soul. Our guest, Dr. Gregory Brown, Founder of RéVive Skincare, has lived through this more than most, as his company was bounced around from owner to owner. Along the way, he faced personal challenges that would have flattened most of us, including getting sober and living an authentic, open life. Listen to our full conversation, inspiring for every entrepreneur...and everyone else!
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You never quite know where that BIG IDEA is going to come from. Jacqueline Gutierrez, Founder of Beauty Backer, says it was her inventor’s mindset... which she first recognized as a teenager... that inspired her concept for the beauty-centric crowdfunding platform. When she was all grown up and trying to launch her own beauty business, she experienced the founder’s perpetual stumbling block: lack of early-stage money. That’s when her let’s-solve-this attitude took over and the rest is soon to be history as she launches Beauty Backer in just a few weeks. Enjoy listening to this conversation with an amazing woman who just might change the game for beauty start-ups.
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While our guest, Kristen Wiley, was working full-time at an SEO and content marketing agency, she was pursuing her influencer interest on the side, blogging on food and crafts. As the agency started getting requests for influencer marketing from clients, they turned to Kristen who was the only one within the relatively small firm with influencer experience…or really any professional social media experience. So they gave her a budget and told her to run with it. As she did, she noticed a pattern that turned into an opportunity: while the platforms were mostly catering to the larger influencers, it was actually the smaller influencers who were having the biggest impact. But how to reach them effectively was a challenge. This disconnect between brands and bloggers planted the seed for Statusphere, the micro influencer agency Kristen started to get the right brand to the right influencer. Join us to hear her full story on how she filled this essential marketing need.
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When our guest, Jane Larkworthy, brand consultant and Beauty Editor-at-Large for The Cut, was a young intern and then a full-time member of the beauty staff at Glamour magazine, she dared to inquire of her new boss if she could try her hand at writing. It didn’t go well. This unenlightened woman cut Jane down with a stinging response that echoed in her head for years and kept her from sticking her toe in the writing pool again for ages. Cut to much later when Jane was hired as the first Beauty Director at the brand new Jane magazine with the following mandate: “Write in your own voice. Write in the first person. I want our readers to get to know who you are.” After she recovered from the whiplash of these oh-so different approaches to nurturing (or not nurturing) a writer, she vowed to be that talent scout, that door opener, that mentor for others. She sums it up, “If you have a boss who breeds competition versus a boss who says, ‘If you fail, it’s okay. Do it again because I know you can do it,” that makes all the difference. Join us for Jane’s story of where she started and how she got here.
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For Amy Shecter, CEO of Glamsquad, the handshake is full of meaning. She has observed throughout her career—working with major brands such as Lady Foot Locker, Diesel, Donna Karan, Cole Haan and Tory Burch—how much is revealed in the way someone shakes hands…and how it’s something that boys are raised to know about but girls are not. She observes, “How you shake a hand indicates how you feel about yourself and how you feel about the job.” She believes that when someone has a firm handshake, stands tall and looks you in the eye, they project confidence. As she grows Glamsquad, the on-demand hair, make-up and nail beauty service and product line, she’s always mentoring, teaching and helping her team to develop the skills and experience they need to move into leadership positions. While she loves her current role, she always has her eye on the bigger picture of helping people—including herself—to thrive professionally while being fulfilled personal, embracing the lessons of a handshake all along the way. Join us for Amy’s full story.
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Our first WBMB guest who has a college degree in scent, Erika Shumate acknowledges that she was probably destined to become a perfumer. As a child she was always fascinated by and sensitive to smells and science, reminiscing that “I was the kid in 7th and 8th grade to go to the state science fair and try to get the blue ribbon. I was always doing experiments in my basement.” Loving how perfumery combines science and art, she started her fragrance brand to embrace both. She combined these passions with her business acumen, first putting in a few years working for a startup to learn about growing a business, watching the company go from 10 employees to 50 and seeing all the related challenges. How she used that experience to start Pinrose is a delightful and helpful story for any business, whether it’s starting, growing or humming along. Listen to the full episode.
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Who would have ever started a business on the idea of rethinking toothpaste, a taken-for-granted product that has barely changed in decades? Well, that’s exactly what our guests, Julian and Cody Levine, Co-Founders of Twice, are doing. But they’re doing much more than just creating a fabulous tasting, good-for-you toothpaste without questionable ingredients. Inspired by their dentist dad’s work in organizing volunteer teams of dental professionals to bring dental care to underserved communities, they set up their business to support and expand the outreach of the non-profit GLO Good. Having observed the difference healthy teeth can make in someone’s life—from alleviating pain to instilling the confidence that comes with feeling great about your smile—they have committed their brand to improving the experience of oral care for the first world while sharing their passion and good fortune with the developing world. It’s a riveting story…join us.
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It’s safe to say that Asha Coco, VP of Sales and Business Development at Givaudan, is the only WBMB guest who has been a Rockette. She acknowledges how lucky she was to have found her two passions—dance and fragrance—early in life. The challenge was choosing between them. She tried to pursue them both for as long as she could but finally came to that proverbial fork in the road—a job offer from Clarins Fragrance Group that forced her to answer the question, “Which way?” She chose the business route for its long-term possibilities, not realizing that these two worlds would overlap here and there. As she happily discovered, “the world of beauty completely intersects with art and culture, especially in fragrance.” Though not in a kick line any more, Asha is completely thrilled with her choice, her work and the creative opportunities it offers. Don’t miss her full story and her reflections on crafting the career you want.
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After 12+ years in marketing positions for various Estée Lauder brands, Maura Cannon Dick needed a break. After the birth of her second child, she took it. Treasuring the time for her family and herself, she also knew when she was ready she to get back to the beauty world. But this time she wanted to do it on her own terms. Through thorough networking, thoughtful skill sharpening and a unique ability to show potential clients what she was worth, she has built an impressive consulting business that lets her keep her fingers in all the things she loves about the beauty business. But now she takes time for her family and herself and structures her work so that it enhances but doesn’t dominate her life. Hear Maura’s full story, complete with helpful hints on how she did it…and how she continues to do it.
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From the time she first leafed through her mother’s magazines as a child, Alison Engstrom knew she wanted to be part of the world of magazine publishing. But it was a series of unsatisfying jobs and a life-changing medical diagnosis that enabled her to take the leap and make her dream a reality. Alison shared with us how she changed her attitude and developed the confidence to start Rose & Ivy, a biannual print and digital magazine that brings together her love of fashion, beauty, travel and food in a curated, more elevated way than most of today’s niche magazines. Hear her inspiring story of building the life she imagined and overcoming the roadblocks and detours along the way.
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Rochelle Weitzner, CEO and Founder of Pause Well-Aging, spent years as a C-level executive improving the bottom line of brands dedicated to the idea of anti-aging. Until one day, she experienced her first hot flash, and realized the beauty industry’s attitude as literally anti-age left her, and millions of women her age, underserved if not outright ignored. So at 50, she started a brand made for menopausal skin. In the process of doing so, she’s also created a platform for destigmatizing menopause and allowing women to age on their own terms.
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Growing up with two ill parents, Dr. Patricia Wexler decided she wanted to be a doctor at the age of 5, and it was a goal she never wavered on. Or as she put it, “I’ve been pre-med my whole life.” In this episode, the legendary cosmetic dermatologist takes us through the history of her incredible career, from opening her own office while 7 months pregnant to her evolution as a product developer and brand builder. She also reveals how she makes time for her husband of 47 years, two daughters and two grandchildren by the simple – though not always easy – decision to not rush through life.
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In this episode, hear the story of Camille McDonald, a multi-decade beauty industry veteran who came up during the peak of Christie Brinkley’s popularity and most recently retired as President of Brand Merchandising at Bath and Body Works. Well, “retired” is a word we’ll use loosely here, because her idea of retirement has been diversifying her knowledge base from fragrance to skincare, and embarking on a new career in consulting. Plus, get a senior executive’s eye view on the state of retail and how to stay relevant in your chosen field of work.
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During her time working in advertising, Georgina Gooley, Founder of Billie, discovered a pointless double standard in consumer goods: Women were being charged more for inferior products when it came to shave products, aka The Pink Tax. Her response was Billie, a better shave product for women at better prices. In creating this company, she’s aligned both a social mission and for-profit business.
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Essence Grant, Beauty Director at BuzzFeed, didn’t have a specific dream job in mind back when she was in college. She just knew somewhere at the intersection of beauty, media and entertainment, she’d be okay. So when an opportunity to write about New York’s Fashion Week came her way, she went for it. (Though it did involve skipping class.) With pluck and grit, that first job led to another and to BuzzFeed, one the internet’s most highly trafficked sites. If you want to break into media, then this episode is a must-listen.
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With a nod to Mother’s Day, this week’s episode features Lauren and Rachel Piskin, the mother-daughter team behind ChaiseFitness. Lauren, a former competitive ice skater and Rachel, a former professional ballet dancer, developed their own fitness method combining pilates and resistance equipment as a response to health issues Rachel sustained as a dancer. The two describe the dynamics of mixing family with business and how their generational difference have been a boon to biz.
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When Tina Hedges, Founder of LOLI Beauty, began the process of raising money for her company, she had already ticked off a lot of boxes. Proof of concept. Glowing press. Years of experience in the beauty industry. So she didn’t expect the response she got from the prominent venture capitalists she pitched: You’re over 40, therefore too old. You’re not pitching tech, so we’re not interested. And by the way. . . you’re too experienced. Demoralizing words for any entrepreneur to hear, but she wasn’t about to let this be the end of her – or her brand’s – story. In this episode, hear how she turned the tide to become one of the few chosen by an elite start-up incubator that’s helping to propel her brand to the next level.
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Nancy McKay spent the bulk of her career faithful to one company, but the experiences that made her successful didn’t all come directly on the job. During her 28 years as an Estee Lauder executive, she used lessons gleaned from her life outside of beauty: Her college debate team, an earlier aspiration towards politics, and a chance encounter with tennis great Andre Agassi. As the current CEO of Barefoot Scientist, Nancy tells us how a life filled with varied experiences can serve your well where you’d least expect it.
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Rachel Roff always knew she wanted to be an esthetician. So four days after graduating from college, she was back in the classroom, but this time at esthetic school. During her time there, she noticed how limited treatment options were for people of color. Her efforts to change what she saw as outright prejudice led her to found Urban Skin Solutions Med Spa and later Urban Skin Rx Skincare, both focused on serving a clientele of diverse skin tones. In this episode, hear how recognizing a need for inclusivity allowed her business to grow from a single location med spa to an insider destination with a skincare brand now available at retail powerhouses like Target and Ulta.
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When Blair James, Owner and Co-Founder of Bondi Sands, was a kid, he wanted to be a basketball player, Formula One race car driver, or a brand creator. While the first two didn’t quite pan out, his instinctual understanding of how people connect with brands has paid off. Bondi Sands is not only a self-tanning brand with global distribution, but the market leader on social media. In this episode, hear how the brand evolved and grew from a single tanning salon and glean key insights on the importance of truly knowing your customer.
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Rita Hazan, a celebrity colorist, product innovator and salon owner, has been in business for 20 years strong. Hear how she’s managed to keep innovating and stay relevant even as trends and fads cycle faster and faster through the consumer experience. Consider this episode a masterclass in career longevity.
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This week’s guest, Beth Russell, Founder of House of Potenia, sits down to talk about her mission to encourage personal change through perfumery. With a background in pyschology, she created House of Potenia with the idea of “olafactive induction”, or as she says, “Using scent as an agent of change and a reminder of how you want to feel.” Get a deeper look inside her brand and its purpose, and get to know her other life as an alpaca farmer and advocate for adoption.
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This week’s guest, Beth Russell, Founder of House of Potentia, sits down to talk about her mission to encourage personal change through perfumery. With a background in pyschology, she created House of Potenia with the idea of “olafactive induction”, or as she says, “Using scent as an agent of change and a reminder of how you want to feel.” Get a deeper look inside her brand and its purpose, and get to know her other life as an alpaca farmer and advocate for adoption.
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For decades, legendary makeup artist and cosmetics mogul Trish McEvoy has led her namesake brand with one focus: The customer. From making pro-quality brushes accessible to consumers to innovating the iconic Makeup Planner, she’s changed the landscape of beauty to the advantage of women everywhere. Hear how she’s managed to maintain the independence of her brand in a marketplace noisy with investors and acquisition while doing it all with a sense of joy. Part of our Podcast in Residence series in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue.
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Sometimes a career finds you and not the other way around. That’s what happened for Eloise Cheung, a hairstylist who has clocked in over two decades of editorial, advertising, and red carpet jobs. In college, she majored in engineering for a year before dropping out; that move led to a series of fortuitous breaks which would eventually cumulate into the job she loves now. Hear how she went from Chinatown shampoo girl to apprentice at John Freida to a sought-after freelance stylist, along with advice on managing a freelance career and how to break into the world of hair circa 2019.
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Back in 1992, Laura Slatkin and her husband Harry both had lucrative Wall Street careers on the rise. But their entrepreneurial spirits got the better of them, and that year they left the safety of a steady paycheck to open a home-fragrance shop. This eventually lead to Laura founding NEST Fragrances. In this episode, she recalls the challenges of creating what’s essentially today’s home fragrance industry, why she did it, and how she holds her high-octane life together. Recorded live as part of our Podcast in Residence series with Saks Fifth Avenue.
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If you’ve ever looked into the perfume-making process, you probably know there’s someone called a “nose” involved… as in a job title, not a body part. Andrea Bifulco is herself familiar with these mystical wizards of scent, having stumbled on a career in fragrance development thanks to a fateful temp job at Estée Lauder. Now currently the founder of Nose University, an educational olfactive program aimed at kids, she lets us in on the often mysterious process of fragrance creation, the secret language of scent and how vital smell can be to living a mindful, perceptive life.
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If you have a vagina or know someone who does, then this episode is for you. Meet Rachel Braun Scherl, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of SPARK Solutions for Growth and author of Orgasmic Leadership: Profiting from the Coming Surge in Women’s Sexual Health and Wellness. Or as she likes to call herself, a “vagipreneur®” (Yes, she registered the term). As a business consultant focused on women’s health, she’s been influential disrupting the feminine care industry, calling out double standards that exist in marketing women’s reproductive products vs men’s and creating better solutions for periods, pregnancies and personal pleasure. Hear how she found herself at the intersection of commerce, health and female agency and why she wrote a book on it.
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Don’t have a clear career path? At a crossroads? Then take Kimberly Soane’s lead. The veteran makeup artist and Executive Director of Artistry at Bobbi Brown has a career she loves, and gets clear about what motivated her. She went from psych major to beauty counter manager, to traveling the world with legendary makeup artist Bobbi Brown. Hear her full story in this episode.
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This episode welcomes Natalie and Sue Ismiel of Nad’s to their first podcast recording. The former is the inspiration behind the brand, the latter its creator. This daughter-mother duo takes us back 30 years to the creation of Nad’s, the “green goo” made for hair removal, and its metamorphosis into a global beauty hit thanks to its efficacy and Sue’s charismatic infomercials. Hear how they’ve kept the brand family owned for 3 decades and 3 generations through the power of adaptability, expansion, and gratitude. And if you’ve ever wondered what “Nad’s” means, well, they’ll tell you that, too.
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For every entrepreneur you hear of, disrupting their industry of choice, there’s usually a corporate counterpart you don’t hear of, quietly team building and evolving their careers more than revolutionizing it. Michael Marquis has certainly been the latter, putting in a solid 22 years Johnson & Johnson and working his way up to his current role as President of recently acquired Vogue International. In this episode, hear the pros of getting into a long-term relationship with a single company, with side-helping of advice on handling work relocation for yourself and when there’s a family involved.
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Taryn Toomey is the founder of The Class, a mind-body fitness experience so unlike anything else, it simply was known as “the class”. In this episode, hear how she traded a career in fashion for one in fitness and mindfulness, how an experience with grief created the beginnings of this unexplainable workout and the steps you can take right now to live more mindfully and authentically. This is the first of our monthly live recording events as Podcast in Residence at Saks Fifth Avenue New York City.
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Lisa Goodman, Founder of GoodSkin™ Clinics, set out to create a laid-back lifestyle for herself when she opened her business. Instead, word spread like crazy and her business mushroomed into a multi-location operation. Along the way, she went through a divorce, unexpectedly fell in love with a French guy, moved to Paris, and now lives between LA, New York, and Paris. In this episode, hear how she pulls off life in three time zones, what motivated her to take on more than she meant to, and why her clients started calling her aesthetic method “The Untouched Look™”.
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Courtney and Tye Caldwell started as partners in life and are now partners in ShearShare, the first mobile app that lets stylists rent space on demand. From marriage, parenthood and startup life, the pair share the key lessons they’ve learned on collaboration and partnership in the decades since they met. You’ll also hear how they’re responding to the changing needs of the hair industry, and why they both think you’re clicks away from making your dreams come true. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty
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Brian “Gibs” Long, CEO and Founder of GIBS Grooming, is truly an entrepreneur's entrepreneur. When attempting to secure a loan for his first business, “I got 10 nos before I got a yes,” he remembers. “That’s the difference between a normal person and an entrepreneur.” From selling veggie burritos at Grateful Dead shows to creating a bagel store chain to forging an entirely new grooming category, he’s been able to achieve success across a variety of industries thanks to one key difference: A win-win attitude. That in turn, has attracted him the right talent and key contacts. “The bagel was more than a round piece of bread,” he says of his former bagel store chain. “It was a cultural brand. It was a movement that the town rallied around.” And just like the bagels, Gibs has made GIBs grooming about more than a bottle of beard oil. Turns out what can truly change the trajectory of your business can be something that can’t be quantified on paper.
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Erika Wasser, Founder and CEO of Glam & Go, didn’t mean to be a beauty entrepreneur. She was a working actor and comedian who just needed a really fast blowout. On that premise alone, she started with a single seat in a fancy gym locker room and the goodwill of her favorite hairstylist. Turns out she wasn’t the only one with a desire for amazing hair in 15 minutes - breakout success unexpectedly ensued, with demand growing faster than a chance to write a business plan. Or buy insurance, a website and everything else that comes with a brand. Hear how she created a profitable, multi-location venture by responding to growth as it came.
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In beauty, it’s always about what’s new, what’s next, what’s the latest brand to have. But only a few make it past the 5-year mark, and even fewer celebrate double-digit anniversaries. In this episode, Lisa Price, Founder of Carol’s Daughter, tells us how she kept her brand alive, relevant and privately owned for a solid 25 years before selling to L’Oreal. It’s a candid look at life before and after the big acquisition many dream of.
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Meet the duo behind The Sparkle Bar, Arizona’s first full-service makeup studio, Alexandra Bradberry and Leiah Scheibel. They’ve thrown away the rule book and created a space that’s inclusive, pressure-free and most of all fun. But before they could even start, they had one big hurdle to clear: An archaic state law that essentially made their dream business illegal. In this episode, hear how they resisted and why it’s important a place like theirs exists.
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One of Jodi’s best networking channels hasn’t been a coworking space, professional association or trade show - it’s been her gym. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, meet Delon Nelson, founder of said gym, D&I Fitness. Through his people-first attitude, he’s managed to create more than just a place to sweat, but a true sense of connection between himself, his clients and the town in which he lives and works. Listen and learn from his unique path to entrepreneurship in this special episode on giving thanks.
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Kathy Van Ness, COO of Golden Door Properties, exudes the serene calm of someone who knows she can have it all. . . but, she says, “not all at the same time.” With candid honesty, this seasoned exec recalls choosing work at the expense of missed PTA meetings and bake sales with a refreshing lack of mommy-guilt. “Whether you want to work or have to work, none of that has to do with love,” she concludes. In this episode, hear the backstory behind this radically real attitude, from a first job in retail to the top ranks of fashion and finally, head of America’s most storied spa resort.
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Would you rather have a full head of hair or a healthy sex drive? Sounds like the lead up to a game of “Would You Rather. . . ” but this was the real-life scenario Giorgos Tsetis, Co-Founder and CEO of Nutrafol®, was facing in his early 20s. With a thriving modeling career at stake, he had to make the impossible choice of taking a hair-growth drug that would keep him employed, but in turn, cause him sexual dysfunction. Eventually the trade-off became too great, which led him to found Nutrafol®, a supplement that promotes hair growth. In promoting his new business, he was forced to open up, get vulnerable, and share his story. In this episode, hear how that experience opened up a new level of honesty and acceptance within himself and men and women he has helped.
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There are those who prefer the scrappiness of startup life and those who thrive in traditional corporate settings. Then there’s Danya Klein, VP of Brand Relations at Preen.Me, who has successfully adapted to both scenarios. “Startups know how to think, innovate and be creative, but when they need to package and market their own product, it can be difficult. I think that’s where there’s a strong opportunity for marketers who have worked in corporate settings to add a lot of value.” In this episode, she tells us how she went from marketing establishment beauty to the wild west of influencer marketing, and how majoring in Mandarin was her improbably random entry into the beauty world.
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They say the road to success isn’t always easy, but celebrity colorist, entrepreneur and TV personality Kim Vo knows it also doesn’t have to break you, either. His ever-expanding career now includes four salons, a show with Tori Spelling and a celebrity client list that reads like the homepage of TMZ. All of which have contributed to his reputation as the “Best Blonder In the Business”. In this episode, he reveals how it all happened from humble beginnings, and how intention, effort and grace have kept him grounded as his star keeps rising.
This episode is part of our first video podcast series “Day In The Life”. Watch it here.
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In this episode, host Jodi Katz shifts the focus from beauty to media in a new mini-series called Podcasters We Love. Up at the mic is Kelly Campbell, an agency growth consultant and host of Thrive, a podcast that covers topics unique to creative, media and tech agencies. As a former agency owner herself, Kelly shares her own journey from business owner to consultant, the origins of Thrive and the story behind it’s fast-track to success.
This episode is part of our Podcasters We Love series.
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By her early 20s, Poppy Jamie was already leading an enviable, “perfect” life: She was a successful TV personality, had her own Snapchat show and designed an accessories line with her best friend Suki Waterhouse. But underneath the gloss of social media was a different reality - an overworked, always-on existence. You know, the kind that paves the road to burnout? She also knew she wasn’t the only one experiencing this kind of stress; DM’s from fans sharing the same struggles confirmed to her there had to be a better way to, in her words, “do life”. In this episode, hear how she addressed her own taxed-out life, learned to relax, let go of perfection and created an app to help others do the same.
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Hours after the birth of her daughter, Divya Gugnani, CEO and Founder of Wander Beauty, was already asking her husband if he’d be okay with one more. “One more baby?!” he asked, incredulous. Her response? “No, one more company!” Said like a true serial entrepreneur.
Formerly an investment banker, she’s successfully founded four companies in three widely different sectors. And like human babies, those businesses have had their special quirks and needs, shaping her leadership style along the way. In this episode, she tells us how time and experience evolved her CEO game, what keeps her going back for more of that #startuplife, and why she runs her beauty team not unlike a sports team.
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Change can be slow. Though we’re almost two decades into the 21st century, beauty standards have only just begun widening in scope. Just ask Rachel Winard, founder of skincare line Soapwalla. “I like the way I look, but I’m not the typical face of a skincare company.”
With a penchant for designs shaved into her hair and tattooed arms on display, she describes a sense of invisibility within the beauty industry. “Usually, you see long flowing hair, very light skin. You either look like that, or you’re very straight-looking man in a suit. There was nothing to suit my presentation.” But she found an upshot to that sense of invisibility. “Instead of moving within a box, I’m going to create my own path, in and out of business.” In this episode, get the backstory on the brand, go deeper into issues of underrepresentation, and find out the one simple thing companies can do to bolster inclusivity.
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There are some jobs you can’t get a degree in, and have no linear point of entry or even a standardized test for qualification. You know, like makeup artist? So, here to break down how to break into this arm of the beauty industry is Cathi Singh, a California-based MUA. Sharing her experience on everything from how to get started to what you need to learn beyond cosmo school, she demystifies the process of making a dream job reality.
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Freelancing isn’t for the faint of heart: No two days are the same, and neither are the paychecks. But there’s a delicious freedom that comes with being your own boss and taking full agency over your career. On this episode, beauty writer and freelancer extraordinaire Gina Way breaks down the strategies that have kept the projects - and the checks - rolling in. From how to hustle, how to get paid and how to pick yourself up when you feel like you’ll never work again, this is a must listen for anyone dreaming of breaking up with their cubicle.
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Mabel Lee’s is the classic story of a hobby, born out of a desire for a better product, turned successful business. Lee created Velour Lashes while still in college in Toronto, and seven years later is defining success in a deeper way than just the numbers. Seeing her team grow as humans both personally and professionally, while delivering a game-changing product that helps women streamline and polish their beauty routine, is the true reward. (Though the brand’s overnight social media explosion didn’t hurt, either.) The CEO and reluctant public face of the brand steps out of her comfort zone in her first-ever podcast appearance.
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In classic corporate hierarchy, the CEO pretty much occupies the highest perch. But for those who have made it that far up, what happens when there’s no more corporate ladder to climb? Dawn Robertson, founder of Timeless Beauty Bar, had to ask herself that question after decades as President or CEO of several major apparel companies and retailers. And what she found was a lot like what landed her the top jobs in the first place: A need for transition and growth. In this episode, she gets candid on what it’s really like to run a huge company and raise children, why she hasn’t gone back to the C-suite (yet!) and how she’s passing the torch to a whole new generation of marketing masterminds.
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Elise Saetta, Macy’s Fashion Beauty Director graduated from college in the midst of the Great Recession. With a dismal job market, no immediate prospects and little guidance on how to get a job in fashion, she moved home to Boston and picked up a retail sales position. But through strategic moves, pluck and moxie, she took that starter job and made it the first step towards her dream job, climbing the rungs of luxury retail and into the coveted role of fashion director in less than a decade. In this episode, hear how a resourceful attitude and long view can be key to reaching your career goals. She also breaks down the inner workings of a department store: The different roles planners and buyers play, the differences in beauty vs. fashion buying, and what a fashion director really does.
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Consider this episode a double header on friendship and business. Alicia Sontag of Prelude Growth Partners and Carla Ruiz of Johnson & Johnson met on the job and have stayed friends ever since. Over time their career paths have diverged, Alicia striking out on her own and Carla heading up Business Development at Johnson & Johnson, but their missions have stayed the same: Helping the next generation of entrepreneurs create what they believe will become iconic global powerhouse brands. The pair reveals how it gets done from the perspective of a boutique growth equity firm (Alicia) and the perspective of a corporate behemoth (Carla), and how it helps to have a friend who’s got your back through it all.
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The story of an brilliant business idea first sketched on a napkin is the stuff of legends, but in the case of Artis co-founders Leigh and Jeremy Adelman, it’s the real thing. Designed by co-founder Matthew Waitesmith, Artis has changed the way people apply makeup by completely changing the look and feel of makeup brushes, and in doing so, helping consumers unlearn bad beauty habits, one application at a time. Their process took patience, life savings, and a few tears, but the results have been nothing short of beautiful. Listen to this couple finish each other’s sentences with a blend of humor, passion, and no-nonsense business insights.
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Every entrepreneur has a different reason for going into business for him or herself. For Barry Beck, Co-Founder and COO of Bluemercury, it was a desire for personal autonomy, but even deeper than that, an almost instinctive need to disrupt and change industries. And that he has done. From snow shoveling loyalty programs at age 10 to forever changing how consumers shop for beauty, he’s changed every industry he’s worked in. In this episode, he shares key lessons from his many successes, and not just tidy platitudes about working hard. Consider it a key primer in entrepreneurial wisdom.
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Are we afraid of failure itself, or are we really just afraid of what other people will think of us if we fail? As a serial entrepreneur, Mariya Nurislamova has had to grapple with that question many times over, and more importantly, not let fear become the boss. In this episode, the CEO of Scentbird and Deck of Scarlet shares a few of her most memorable failures and her techniques for moving past them. She also touches on the pros of being bi-culturally Russian/American and how Scentbird is changing our relationship to fragrance.
wherebrainsmeetbeauty
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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What can make a beauty brand unique is often the founder’s story. There’s a trust and connection that just happens when you know hey - there’s an actual human behind this product! Often times those products are created to address an issue said founder has personal experience with, and for this episode’s guest, Francesco Clark, the origins of Clark’s Botanicals targeted exactly that. Except it wasn’t acne or the realization of a market white space that led him to the helm of his company - it was a near-death experience that left him paralyzed 16 years ago. “For me, when my skin stopped sweating after I had my spinal cord injury, everything went wrong with my skin. It looked like I was hyper-aging. It was dry but it was oily. It looked like I was developing rosacea.” So he teamed up with his doctor dad to create a solve, and in the process, made not only something tangible that could help others, but a whole new way to emerge from the traumatic aftermath of of his accident.
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Kristy Engels doesn’t have a beauty line, and isn’t a retailer, either. As the SVP of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Beauty Strategy Group and Beauty Barrage, she’s the third party you need when you’re the former trying to reach the latter. In other words: A vendor.
“A lot of startup brands don’t have big internal teams - everyone they utilize is an outside vendor. I think for them, “vendor” isn’t necessarily a bad word,” says Kristy. “But maybe for those more established, with all of the entrepreneurs and startups nipping at their heels, it is a bit more threatening.”
In this episode, Jodi and Kristy explore the interesting dynamic between brands, retailers and their third party partners. Kristy also opens our eyes to the challenges of getting a brand to retail, and costs many don’t expect will crop up once they get there.
wherebrainsmeetbeauty
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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If you’re a fan of sheet masks, you have this week’s guest to thank. Charlotte Cho, founder of Soko Glam, was your typical SoCal girl—tanned skin, beachy hair and a no-fuss beauty routine—until she moved to Korea. It was there she discovered the highly detailed, skin-first Korean approach to beauty that, unlike America at the time, it was incredibly accessible, affordable and fun. In this episode, hear how a side-hustle bringing Korean skincare to the States snowballed into one of the biggest trends of the last decade: K-Beauty.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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When Daniela Ciocan, Marketing Director at CosmoProf NA, scored her first internship at a huge legacy brand, she was surprised to learn corporate life wasn’t for her. “I’m very much driven by novelty and doing something new and different, and I realized working for such a large company, I wouldn’t have that opportunity,” she observes. That anonymous, cog-in-a-wheel feeling was an important a-ha moment at the start of her career, and it’s one that’s stayed with her since. “Really try and uplift and listen to the young, entry-level individuals. Engage them. Be open. Try things.”
In this episode, hear her fascinating backstory, one that starts in communist-era Romania and leads to a dynamic role in America’s top B2B beauty trade show. She also dispenses some key marketing advice for indie and legacy brands alike that you won’t want to miss.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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This week Jodi talks to Nannette de Gaspé Beaubien, founder of skincare line Nannette de Gaspé. She pioneered the dry mask, which, despite its $100+ price tag, became an instant cult favorite. Though she’s brainy, beautiful and brimming with enthusiasm, the last part wasn’t always the case. It’s not like she hated her life, but until her 40s, she was doing what she felt was expected of her. “I lived on the terms of everyone else,” she says. “But what I realized was I wasn’t necessarily doing things in a way that made me happy.” In this episode, hear how a self-described type-A personality learned to let go of expectations and start living life on her terms. Plus, get her predictions on the future of indie beauty and what small brands need to thrive.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com
Not all networking needs to happen at industry events or LinkedIn. Lauren Katz, Senior Creative Strategist at Moroccanoil, found her first job through her cousin’s wife - Jodi Katz. She promptly became Base Beauty’s first employee, and Base Beauty the first step in her beauty career. If you’re a new grad or about to become one, this is an informative episode on how to score that first job, how to use it to get your next one and why there are things you learn at 20 that will still be relevant to your career at 40.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Marcia Kilgore has held many founder titles: Founder, Bliss Beauty; Fitflops; Soap and Glory. And most recently, Founder, Beauty Pie. With this string of hits behind her, you have to wonder - what’s her secret to success? In this episode, she actually lays it all out by telling us what the meaning of life is for her. Don’t worry - this won’t be 30 minutes of new-agey platitudes. These are real-life tactics from the ultimate entrepreneur that’ll turn your mind upside down.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Angie Irish was an esthetician unhappy with the efficacy of natural skin care. So she decided to start her own line. But financing this new biz didn’t involve high-powered VCs or even a loan from her family. Instead, she sold her car, her washer/dryer set and “pretty much anything I owned with a motor” - talk about bootstrapping. Five years later, her line OZ Naturals brings in close to 8 figures in yearly sales. Hear why she took the leap and everything that happened after on this week’s episode.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Erin Williams had her heart set on Broadway, not the beauty industry. But for all her efforts, performing wasn’t panning out, and her day job as a makeup artist was. It eventually lead to the launch of her skincare brand, Erin’s Faces, and the two experiences couldn’t have been more different. “With theater, it was like I was army rolling through the dirt, let’s get this done. With this [Erin’s Faces], I feel like I haven’t willed it . . . I feel like I’m being led on a path.” A path she shares opened up once she got in touch her “why”, the deeper purpose that motivates her. Find out how she got there on this episode.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com
Laura Gerchik, General Manager of Biologique Recherche, explains why the company doesn’t jump on every new marketing trend or churn out an endless parade of new products. Steady in their approach, confident in their product, she thinks “What we need to think about is that consumers are so much more educated today.” The same could be said about her life - she came to the studio with notes on hand. So consider this episode an argument for knowing when you’ve got a good thing going - and when to just stick with it.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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An entrepreneur since the age of 10, Stacey Levine has been working with family one way or another for decades. The former retailer and current co-founder of Glo Science smile brightening tools shares how she’s navigated the professional with the familial, from her mother, husband and two adult sons. She also offers candid advice on how to dissolve and gracefully move past business partnerships when they’re just not working anymore - a must listen whether you’re working for Mom or working for The Man.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Call him a 21st century renaissance man: Laszlo Moharita, Global Director of Beauty Products at Johnson & Johnson, describes himself as a “squared up engineer who also likes to paint.” This yin-yang quality is more likely than not how he’s found himself in charge of creating everyday objects so well designed, we all take them for granted. Lotion pumps, dental floss, perfume bottles - Laszlo is the brain behind the most minute details of these items, from how much lotion comes out of the bottle to which way the box opens. If you’ve ever wondered exactly how the products in your bathroom get made, this episode will reveal the surprising process behind it all.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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As a former management consultant and now CEO of personal care device brand FOREO, Paul Peros, like many Gen X’ers, spent the early part of his career working long hours. Like most of his peers, working late equated to working harder. “Unfortunately for us, I think we’ve been a part of the culture of all-nighters and things like that,” he observed.
Fast forward to 2018, where he now heads a company made up of employees mostly under 30 - and they’ve changed his perspective on what constitutes hard work. “I see in Gen Z a selectiveness, a pragmatic approach to work and life that I wish we had back in the days ourselves.” As in no more all-night work binges. Hear what he’s learned from his junior staff in this episode.
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As a model and YouTuber with over 1 million subscribers, it would seem Cassandra Bankson leads a charmed life. But just a few short years ago, she was the scourge of her peers, mercilessly bullied for extreme cystic acne that covered 90% of her face and upper body. Years were spent enduring stares and taunts of Worthless! Disease! Filthy! Outside of school, her afternoons were spent cycling through endless doctors appointments and medications in what would prove to be a futile attempt at a cure. Acne ruled her life, until she listened to her gut - literally - and revealed her most vulnerable self to the world. Hear how she survived the bullies, healed her skin and created one of YouTube’s most watched channels.
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“Networking”. It’s a word that can conjure up ideas of aggressive, winner-take-all, shameless self-promotion, yet it’s supposed to be the most effective way to find new work and useful connections. In this episode, guest Caroline Fabrigas, CEO of Scent Marketing and Co-CEO of Scent Invent, offers up a new definition of networking, one she says is more about “Putting out a hand instead of taking one.” Plus, she shares her tips on where to draw the line between work and family when you work with your spouse - at home, to boot.
*We’re happy to share this episode has been sponsored by BabbleBoxx, the leader in influencer marketing services. BabbleBoxx creates a competition free, theme based sampling program, that places your products in the hands of social media influencers, who are guaranteed
to post, Pin, Snap, Tweet and share your message.
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Margarita Arriagada was a high-powered retail exec who tried to dial back her career not once, but three times. After four decades of logging serious air miles and being what she calls, “A weekend mom, a weekend wife, a weekend daughter and sister”, she spontaneously called it quits on the corner office. Hear how she knew it was time to step out of the org chart and into new, very different kind of life.
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wherebrainsmeetbeauty
Like a lot of teenagers, Marisa Vara Arredondo had acne – really bad acne. But unlike a lot of them, she let that experience inform all of her career choices. As the founder and CEO of Phace Bioactive, she’s been laying the foundation for the first pH optimized skincare line since college, but not in the ways you’d think. She never became an aesthetician or dermatologist, and didn’t major in chemistry, either. Instead she went to Stanford, got an MBA, spent 12 years on Wall Street, then finally did what she always wanted to do – give acne sufferers some long-overdue relief. @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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This week Jodi sits down with makeup artist (her makeup artist!), Amanda Thesen, who tells us how the career of your dreams may be one you never even thought to have. Hear how she went from stage actor to bartending to a surprise turn as a makeup artist, and how “failing” was a vital part of getting there.
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Never in a million years (his words) did Joseph Quartana picture himself working in fashion or fragrance, but he went on to do both, and to serious acclaim. With no background in fashion, he founded Seven New York, which became one of the most influential retail destinations in the early aughts, stocking designers that would become today’s major names, like Raf Simons, Haider Ackermann, Peter Pilotto. After shuttering that business, he created another hit with Parfums Quartana, an idea that came to him after watching, of all things, Breaking Bad. Could his success be attributed his outlier status? You’d better hear it straight from him. Hint: Make sure you listen all the way to the end of the episode, where he recounts a can’t-make-this-stuff-up tale of experiencing two life-changing moments in a single 24-hour period.
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ brings the unique, personal stories of our industry's most interesting people to a wide audience. It also shares the stories of the original WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY - the team at Base Beauty Creative Agency.
Give a listen to Jodi's episode with Carey Segal. She's an important part of the agency and podcast marketing. She works with us in between dance and acting auditions. Plus she's not our only hyphenated-multi-talented team member...
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Matt Stillman went from TV exec to skincare guru, a pretty big career change by any account. “I've been a full time weirdo my whole life.” he observed. “And sort of followed a winding path to something that looks like a career.” In this episode, he connects the dots between creating hit shows to creating paleo skincare, and how staying true to his “weird” has helped him put it all together.
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As president of Supergoop! Skin and Suncare, Amanda Baldwin learned early on that communication is everything - in business and life. “Nobody knows what you’re thinking,” she said. “So you better just say it straight.” Hear how she’s taken talking - and more importantly listening - to a whole new level in this episode.
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@basebeautycreativeagency
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Oribe Co-founder Daniel Kaner proves that nice guys do finish first. In this episode, learn how cultivating gratitude and serenity can generate big payouts - at work and at home.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
Janell Hickman is a veteran editor who knows all too well the feeling of digital overwhelm. While her livelihood is creating content, she’s also an expert on staying sane in a world where that content seems infinite.
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
@basebeautycreativeagency
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70% of startups don’t make it to the 10-year mark, something Elizabeth Scherle knew when she co-founded Influenster, a review platform for products. So when the odds aren’t in your favor, why put up your own money, go into debt and lose sleep doing it? Her answer wasn’t the typical bit about going for your dreams and trusting everything would be okay. What she revealed was a bit more practical.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
Jessica Hanson may seem exactly like the “Woman Who Has It All”. At just 40, she’s president of a major beauty conglomerate and a happily married mom of 2 seriously cute kids. But for all that’s been going right, there was a time not long ago where things seemed anything but. Here, she candidly shares her journey to parenthood - one with devastating heartbreaks and losses. But what got her to the other side were the same traits that make her such a great leader today: Tenacity, nimble problem solving and a whole lot of trust in others.
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@basebeautycreativeagency
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While Gay Timmons’ official title reads “President, Oh, Oh Organics”, one might argue to have it changed to“Organic Beauty Fairy Godmother”. As founder of North America’s only cosmetic ingredient distributor solely dedicated to organic and sustainable ingredients, she’s made the clean beauty dreams of countless brands a tangible reality.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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As a long time spa director, Jeannie Jarnot was no stranger to bathroom overwhelm. You know, that anxious feeling that happens when your bathroom has too many beauty products? So she decided to take matters in her own hands with Beauty Heroes, a healthy beauty subscription service that sends out just one “hero” product a month. Hear how she went from steady paycheck to health-minded entrepreneur.
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@basebeautycreativeagency
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Doctor dispensed? Aesthetics? Private label? Ewelina Aiossa, AVP of Marketing at L’Oreal’s SkinCeuticals, pulls the curtain back on the world of physician dispensed skincare. Maybe we should’ve named this week’s episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty™ Where Pharma Meets Beauty...
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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As a beauty writer, Deanna Utroske has a bird’s-eye view on the industry, one that’s even more unique as Editor for trade publication CosmeticsDesign.com. In this episode, find out her biggest surprise upon covering the beauty beat, why she considers the label “misfit” a good thing, and some valuable advice on networking.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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For Evelyn Wang, the path to success wasn’t always a straight line. Becoming SVP of Marketing at Wet ‘n’ Wild took a stint analyzing boxed DVD sales, teaching English in Japan and leading teen sailing excursions for a sustainability non-profit. If you’re wondering what the “right” path to your dream job is, this episode has some encouraging insights. (Hint: You’re doing better than you think!). Evelyn and Jodi also dissect the pros and cons of corporate hierarchy and how to give an established brand a facelift without alienating the customers who love it. @basebeautycreativeagency
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Meet Linda Mason. Do you remember a time when models did their own make-up at fashion shows and there were no promotional tie-ins backstage? Linda Mason does, and she seized the opportunity to showcase the power of beauty on the runway. Listen and learn.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Tim Quinn. VP Creative Artistry of Armani Beauty at L'Oreal. Listen as he describes how after living out of a suitcase for 16 years as a celebrity makeup artist, it was a Cancer diagnosis that helped him reconfirm his career path.
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@basebeautycreativeagency
Meet Laurent Saffre. CEO of Pierre Fabre. Listen as this artist, pharmacist and business leader tells us how a career across three countries has been a rewarding adventure for him and his family. Special thanks to the historic C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries for hosting WBMB™'s first-ever on location recordings.
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Meet Lisa Devo and Shannon Burch. Founders of Soap & Paper. Listen as they share how their initial connection led to over fifteen years of thriving in chaos. Special thanks to the historic C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries for hosting WBMB™'s first-ever on location recordings.
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@basebeautycreativeagency
Meet Annette Rodriguez. Managing Director at Warburg Pincus. Listen as she walks us through how private equity impacts the beauty industry, and how she preserves balance between her career and personal life. (Note from host Jodi: I wish I knew, 20 years ago, that Annette's job existed. If I had I wouldn't have skipped out on my Intro to Economics class in college!)
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Meet Tiffany Andersen. CEO and Founder of Tiffany Andersen Brands. Listen as she discusses how after harrowing tragedies she made career and personal choices that not only keep her alive but allow her to thrive.
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast @basebeautycreativeagency basebeauty.com
Meet Jane Park. CEO and Founder of Julep Beauty. Listen as she discusses the gift of time, emotional responses in the workplace, and her vision that beauty can be fun and fearless for all women.
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@basebeautycreativeagency
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Meet Maggie Ciafardini. She's learned a lot in her wide-reaching career in beauty. Listen as she shares her innovative ideas on how the giant beauty corporations can retain market share in this ever evolving industry.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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What happens when a podcast features another podcast? Things take a turn for the meta this week as host Jodi Katz interviews Jennifer Goldstein (Executive Beauty & Health Editor Marie Claire) and Jessica Matlin (Beauty & Health Director Teen Vogue), hosts of the #1 ranked beauty podcast Fat Mascara. Listen in as they talk day jobs, side hustles and what they’re doing when they’re not doing either of those things.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet the Base Beauty Team! This special mini series highlights members of our Base Beauty team. Listen as they discuss their career paths, and how they handle working remotely.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet Danielle Vincent, makeup artist, and founder of Kimiko Beauty. Listen as she talks about growing up as a figure skater, and how to be patient in the process of building a beauty brand.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet Angela Kim. Founder of Savor Beauty. Listen as she explains how the Korean beauty rituals she grew up with inspired her work ethic and business growth.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
basebeauty.com
Meet Tara Tersigni. COO of Beauty Evolution. Learn about her career BBB (before Bobbi Brown) and how she is helping one of the world's most notable make-up artists forge a new path.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Jennifer Kapahi. Co-Founder of tre'StiQue. Discover what she learned growing up on a farm and how she uses fitness to create rhythm and balance in her work week.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Nick Arrojo. He came to the US on a one-way ticket and went on to start America's largest independent hairdressing brand. Listen as he explains how his career is like a boxing match, and how he gets back up when he is knocked down.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Paulette Heller. Vice President of Marketing at Conair. Listen as she shares what has kept her at Conair for 34 years (!), how to network as a non-drinker and how to achieve life/work balance as a single woman.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Jasmine Garnsworthy. Freelance writer and editor, and founder of The Buff. Listen as this Australian native shares her secrets of launching a bootstrap skincare brand only four months young. Episode includes tips & tricks for the budding entrepreneur. @basebeautycreativeagency
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Meet Craig Dubitsky. The Friendly Founder of Hello Products. Listen as he describes turning his creative dreams into realities for some of the most notable new brands and how great design fuels all innovation.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Ian Ginsberg. President of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries. Listen as he describes the perks of being a pessimist, and what it means to run an old-school 4th generation business in an ever-evolving beauty marketplace.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Tracy Murphy. At the age of 17, Tracy learned how to have a career as a make-up artist beyond working in the mall. Listen as she shares her experience working with the world's most recognizable faces as she builds a distinctive beauty brand.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Elana Drell Szyfer... She's a creative problem solver who entered the beauty industry by default, not by design. Listen as she takes us on the journey from assistant to CEO and as she shares creative ways to celebrate career wins.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Jennifer Walsh. A serial beauty entrepreneur with breakthrough concepts. Listen as she shares about life/work balance and how she's leveraged her biz growth journey into content that all entrepreneurs - no matter the industry - should discover.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Natalie Mackey. Founder & CEO of Glow Concept. During her "work-cation" Natalie shares what it's like to build several beauty brands while also figuring out how to focus on the other things that make her happy.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Samantha Citro. Director of Marketing & Operations at Immunocologie. Listen as she explains how picking up slack where she saw slack led to opportunities in the beauty industry that most 20-something's only dream about.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Wendi Berger. President and Creator of Pour le Monde Parfums. Listen as she reveals how pregnancy and a passion for fragrance inspired her to pave her own road in beauty.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Jeannine Morris. A multimedia beauty and wellness journalist who learned early on (thanks Dad) the importance of being your own advocate. She shares how speaking up for yourself can get you the most out of your career.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Jillian Wright. Aesthetician, creator, connector and champion of indie beauty brands. Listen as she reveals how being open to change and balancing family and career has helped her act as a powerful voice for tiny brands in the massive multi-billion-dollar beauty industry.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Brenda Brock. Founder and Formulator of Farmaesthetics, and daughter of a seventh generation farming family from Texas. Listen as she describes her reliance on the intelligence of nature, and the untraditional path she walked to become a leading innovator in the beauty industry.
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@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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Meet Ashley Prange. Founder and CEO of Au Naturale Cosmetics, a brand laser-focused on delivering the cleanest, greenest products in the widest arrange of shades, formats and textures. Listen as she shares the story of how an extreme shift in career and frustration with commercial cosmetics led her on an entrepreneurial journey.
@basebeautycreativeagency
@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast
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