Podcasts about glow journal

In episode 141 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co founder of Outside Beauty & Skincare, Maddison Brown. Outside Beauty & Skincare is not your average celebrity beauty brand. I already knew this, but it just becomes more and more clear the longer you speak to Maddison for. Given how impressive her career has been thus far (acting opposite Nicole Kidman when she was still a teenager, then spending 4 seasons in the role of Kirby Anders in Dynasty on The CW), you'd be forgiven for assuming this is another private label brand- an existing product with a celebrity endorsement attached. But this is so far from the case here.Outside Beauty & Skincare, which launched in January of this year, is just Maddison and her sister, Allyson. They've self-funded, they spent the 12 months prior to launch working through every single stage of starting a business themselves, and in just under a year they've brought four (five if we include the Kabuki brush) really, really beautiful sun protection products to market (with plenty more in the pipeline). In this conversation, Maddison shares the surprising differences in the response to Dynasty across Europe and Australia compared to the show's home in the US, her refreshingly level-headed approach to social media (and the media in general), and why she thinks Australia's famously strict regulations around sunscreen are a really, really positive thing.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Outside Beauty & Skincare on Instagram @outsidebeautyskincareStay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 140 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Airyday, Frances van der Velden. I knew this was going to be a great storytelling episode, because I was already reasonably versed in the Airyday backstory, but what blew me away in this conversation was how much actual tangible business advice Frances so openly shared. Frances was diagnosed with a Basal Cell Carcinoma, which led to her trying more or less every sunscreen on the market to find a formula she loved and would be happy to wear every day. When she couldn't find one that ticked every box, she set to work on developing Airyday- an SPF wardrobe that launched in 2022 with four sunscreens. Beauty retail giant Sephora reached out to Frances a mere six weeks post-launch, and today, two years in, Airyday is stocked in Sephora stores nationally and through a whopping 600 clinic stockists. Frances explains that this was largely thanks to a high risk ad spend strategy that she explains far better than I can. In this conversation, Frances shares the realities of such major growth in such a short timeframe, how her marketing investment allowed Airyday to cut through the noise in a saturated market, and her advice on getting your brand seen by the decision makers at the country's biggest retailers. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Airyday on Instagram @airyday.officialStay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 138 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co founder of Augustinus Bader, Professor Augustinus Bader. The Augustinus Bader brand turned over $7 million USD in 2018, the year it launched. Within 2 years that figure had grown to $70 million, and this year it's reported that sales will have topped $130 million. That is the power of Augustinus Bader, both the man and the brand, the latter having won over 120 beauty industry awards since launch, including being named The Greatest Skincare of All Time by WWD. Professor Bader, however, never intended to enter the beauty industry. Following over 3 decades of work in medicine and garnering global acclaim for his work with burns victims, it was in 2013 that he met French financier Charles Rosier who saw his work and began the two year process of convincing the Professor to start a skincare brand with him. The term “cult brand” gets thrown around a little loosely in beauty, but that truly is the status Augustinus Bader has reached. This is a man who said “yes” to developing skincare almost entirely so he could self-fund future medical innovations, but whose products have become so, so popular that he is now a frequent collaborator of Victoria Beckham and has grown the product line from 2 face creams to somewhere between 30 and 40 SKUs.In this conversation, Professor Bader shares how he took a hospital grade burn cream and made it into a shelf stable luxury beauty brand, how his collaborations with both Victoria Beckham and Sofia Coppola came to fruition, and what exactly his patented TCF8 technology can actually do for the skin. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Augustinus Bader on Instagram @augustinusbader.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 137 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of O&M, Jose Bryce Smith. When we talk about a founder being “ahead of their time,” Jose Bryce Smith may well be the very best example. Jose co-founded Australia's first ammonia-free hair salon and launched one of the first ever ammonia and PPD free hair colours, but beyond being a pioneer (something Jose tells me she's not so sure she'd ever want to do again), Jose's story is really just one of the best I have ever heard. She, naturally, tells it far better than I do, but this is just an objectively great founder story regardless of whether you've got an interest in beauty, business, or neither. In short- she got fake clients in the salon to secure a Vogue feature, she had a Legally Blonde moment in which she bought back her business, she can claim ownership of one of the funniest first date stories I've ever heard, and in 2015 she lost $500,000 of product- and against all odds, O&M is now one of the biggest haircare and colour brands in the world. In this conversation, Jose shares how she worked to earn back the trust of hairdressers country-wide after a major manufacturing error, how a first date became her first board member, and the advice from her late father that she always comes back to. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow O&M on Instagram @originalmineral.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20% off sitewide at thebeautychef.com with code GLOWJOURNALIn episode 136 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks once again to the founder of The Beauty Chef, Carla Oates. Something of an unintentional theme over the last couple of months of the podcast has been founders who've truly been first to market with something- not just saying they identified a gap for something, actually identifying a gap (easier said than done in the beauty space). I last had Carla on the show in season 1, almost 6 years ago, but we've worked together several times since and I really do find her to be one of the most interesting and innovative founders in the country. For those unfamiliar with The Beauty Chef, and Carla's story, The Beauty Chef really was the first of its kind on launch in 2009- Carla totally pioneered the “inner beauty” category that most of us are well and truly across now, but keep in mind the market looked very, very different then.Carla is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to inner beauty as a category, but also on the business of beauty. There is, of course, a huge education piece that needs to come alongside being first to market with anything, and I've always found Carla's approach to this really, really interesting. Since our last episode together, the range has grown to include 14 inner and 3 outer beauty products, the most recent addition being Body Protein+ which launched just last week. In this conversation, Carla shares how her background in fashion and beauty has shaped her own relationship with beauty and self worth, how she ensures her products always have a point of difference as the market grows saturated, and how she differentiates between a fleeting wellness trend and one worth investing in.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow The Beauty Chef on Instagram @thebeautychef.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 135 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founders of Glow Culture, Holly Holub, Donna Chan and Lori Pirozzi.Holly, Donna and Lori have a number of things in common- two of those things being an early wish to run a business and create something of their own, and a deep seated love of beauty. The three women met years ago, working on the corporate side of beauty, and over long conversations during lockdown they realised just how much their stories and interests overlapped. A few years ago, all three of them decided it was time to reevaluate what they were doing professionally and finally go after their dream- and so the seed for Glow Culture was planted. Holly, Donna and Lori had taken a particular interest in the science surrounding fermented ingredients, and while they'd seen the occasional mention of probiotics in skincare marketing, they'd never seen an Australian brand as single-minded about fermentation in that way that Korean skincare brands had. They felt there was a gap in the Australian market for skincare rich in fermented ingredients, as opposed to products that only contained one or two, and it would appear that their instincts were correct- less than 10 weeks post-launch, Glow Culture has already been picked up by retail giants Adore Beauty and Chemist Warehouse. In this conversation, Holly, Donna and Lori share why they feel Australia has been a bit of a late adopter of K Beauty trends, their take on the rise of niche and independent brands, and the pros and cons of being digitally native vs being available in physical stores. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Glow Culture on Instagram @glowculturehq.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 134 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the OKKIYO, Dr Jacqueline Beltz. I've talked a lot recently about how my favourite brand stories to share are the ones that really are offering a solution to a problem; founders who genuinely have identified a gap for something no one else is doing. The fact that we're now six years into this show and I'm still able to meet people like Jacqui, who truly are doing something new, feels really special.Dr Jacqueline Beltz is a Melbourne based ophthalmologist (ophthalmology being the specialty medical field of diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases), and last year she launched OKKIYO with a mascara specifically formulated for people with eye sensitivity. That in and of itself is impressive, but her commitment to creating something accessible and inclusive extends far beyond just the formula.The packaging of OKKIYO's mascara is the first I've seen to use braille in equal hierarchy within the branding, the tube itself is a square which makes it easier to identify and negates the risk of it rolling off a bench top and the user having to rifle around to find it if they have vision impairment, the name and branding were chosen based on visibility, and even the external card packaging has been designed in a way that allows for greater readability- there's a lot more to it, which Jacqui explains in our conversation far more eloquently than I can. What Jacqui is doing with this brand, in my opinion, really sums up all the best bits of the beauty industry- it's innovative, it's fun, it's not exclusionary and, at the crux of it, it's a really great product. In this conversation, Jacqui shares her take on the power of naivety when it comes to launching a brand, the importance of beauty on our confidence when we're struggling with our health, and the pressure that comes with launching a brand with a singular SKU. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow OKKIYO on Instagram @okkiyoeyes.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 133 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co-founder of Urban Decay and Caliray, Wende Zomnir. Wende Zomnir is beauty industry royalty. This is the woman behind the Naked Palette, Urban Decay's now-iconic 2010 launch that ensured this already wildly successful brand would go down in beauty history. Wende, alongside the tech mastermind that is Sandy Lerner, founded Urban Decay in 1996 with a distinctly grunge, “punk” if you will aesthetic. That in and of itself was revolutionary, when you consider that the most popular brands at the time were the likes of Clinique who were championing that very clean, very fresh look. Urban Decay was dark and bold and edgy, and thanks to some serious guerrilla marketing from Wende it quickly found its way into the hands of Gwen Stefani and Garbage front woman Shirley Manson. Urban Decay was acquired by the L'Oréal group in 2012, with Wende staying on as CCO until 2022, soon after launching her latest beauty venture- Caliray, a brand that harnesses Wende's love of and expertise in beauty with her longstanding passion for the environment and sustainability, with industry sources estimating that the brand generated between $20 and $25 million USD in retail sales in 2023. In this conversation, Wende shares what it was like officially working with Gwen Stefani about 20 years after hunting her down at a music festival, what she believes it takes to create a truly iconic beauty product, and the full story behind the now infamous Urban Decay Naked Palette.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Caliray on Instagram @caliray.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Worst Beauty AdviceHannah and Mel dish on the worst beauty advice they've ever received. You'll also hear from our new Beauty IQ Expert hosts Tegan and Sadaf on their own horror stories. Keeping Your Skin Hydrated While Travelling with Gemma DimondTo say Gemma Dimond - beauty writer, MC and host of her hit podcast Glow Journal - travels a lot for work is an understatement. Needless to say, we knew exactly who to speak to about keeping your skin hydrated while on the move. Gemma shares her ultra-hydrating aeroplane skin prep, as well as spilling the tea on her wedding day glam.   Products Mentioned: La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water Mist   PWDKWN: Mel - Kérastase Première Filler Fondamental Repairing Anti-Frizz Serum Hannah - KMS MOISTREPAIR Hydrating Oil If you have any questions let us know in our Facebook Group! Join the Beauty IQ Uncensored FB Group to discuss episodes, swap beauty tips and share your own cringey stories. https://www.facebook.com/groups/484267299748882/ Disclaimer: https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/disclaimer.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   Adore Beauty Acknowledges First Nations People as the Traditional Custodians across the lands and waters of Australia and New Zealand. We recognise and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future, whose lands were never ceded.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where to shop for elevated basics, how to avoid falling into trends & tips for building a wardrobe you'll love for less. This ep, we're joined by beauty writer, MC & podcast host Gemma Dimond to chat all about finding your own style & why ‘minimalist dressing' doesn't have to be boring. Plus, we get the inside scoop of whether the viral $610 La Mer Moisturiser is truly worth the splurge.

In episode 132 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co founder of LUI, Rebecca Harding and Ingrid Kesa.This is my favourite genre, so to speak, of founder conversation to have for a number of reasons: the first being I know both Bec and Ingrid personally, and how often in life are you given an opportunity to just ask your friends questions about their job for an hour? Never; the second reason being that LUI was developed out of a very real gap in the market; and the third is one that regular listeners will know I love, and that is that LUI exists in a space where most consumers shop habitually. Bec first started thinking about LUI many, many years ago upon realising that there were no razors for women that didn't play into that bright pink, heavily airbrushed trope, and there was really nothing on the market that placed an emphasis on design, sustainability, and the overall experience of use. The idea was strong, but razors are difficult to create and businesses are difficult to grow alone so Ingrid entered the fold as co-founder in 2020, and LUI was officially launched in August 2023. LUI was self funded, all of the brand's products were formulated with female chemists, and what began with a razor and shaving cream has already extended to a moisturiser and exfoliant with more products on the way. In this conversation, Bec and Ingrid share the benefits of being a direct-to-consumer brand, the power of sharing your ideas, and what it's like being a startup playing in the same space as multinational heritage brands.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow LUI on Instagram @luibody.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 131 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the CEO of Rationale, Shamini Rajarethnam.Despite Rationale having been founded in 1992, Shamini and I agreed that it does still feel like an insider's brand to an extent. Those of you have heard of Rationale likely first heard of it in 2011 and beyond, which is not a coincidence as this is when Shamini was brought on as the brand's Marketing & Digital Coordinator. By September 2014, Shamini was Rationale's General Manager, and by 2017 she was CEO. I'd met Shamini before and I just think she's amazing, but I took SO much from this conversation- there's obviously some gold in here given she's a young female CEO so you can imagine the unique obstacles that alone has presented, but also on that really fine balance between keeping a 32 year old brand true to its DNA but also ensuring it feels current and modern. In this conversation, Shamini shares her thoughts on the intersection between AI and wellbeing, the question she asks in every job interview, and why she's still not entirely sure she understands the plot of Pretty Woman. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Rationale on Instagram @rationale.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 130 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Fig Femme, Lindy Klim.I don't really think Lindy Klim needs an introduction, however I can say fairly confidently that this interview does show a side to Lindy that I'm not so sure the general public will have seen before, despite her having spent over 25 years in the public eye. Lindy has founded not one but two beauty brands (Milk & Co with her ex husband Michael back in 2008, and Fig Femme in 2020), but her own relationship with beauty has taken a significant amount of work. Lindy was the only Asian girl at her school in Tasmania, an experience she talks about in this conversation, and she started modelling in her late teens which led to a really, really complicated relationship with her body- a relationship she tells me she was only really able to heal once she had children. Lindy's founder story is a particularly interesting one because her brand was deemed so controversial by the press pretty much immediately upon its launch. Fig Femme is intimate care brand, and it launched with a vulva mask (think of a sheet mask you'd put on your face, but for your vulva) which led to a lot of negative press. The tide has well and truly turned since, but it was SO interesting to hear from Lindy on the mental toll it takes when you spend years and years developing a brand with the goal of removing a stigma, only to have it more or less dragged over the coals within minutes of taking it live.In this conversation, Lindy shares why she thinks Australia has been pretty far behind the rest of the world when it comes to intimate care, how she pitched a vulva mask to a boardroom full of men in suits, and details on the five year distribution deal the brand has just signed in the Middle East.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Fig Femme on Instagram @figfemme.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 129 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of JSHealth Vitamins, Jessica Sepel.Top level- at age 27 or 28, Jess Sepel and her now-husband Dean bootstrapped JSHealth Vitamins, which they launched in 2018, and it is now worth a reported $600 million, is available in 1800 retail stores in Australia, over 1000 in the UK, and has experienced 300% year-on-year growth in US. If that's not interesting to you, I'm not sure what will be.More interesting than that, however, is Jess' story from childhood to now- I was a bit floored by how open and vulnerable she was. Jess tells me that she always felt what she describes as a “weird, gravitational pull towards vitamins,” collecting them as a teenager like I might have collected Lip Smackers, and while her initial interest in wellness began as innocent, she soon fell into spiral of fad diets and an obsession with her own weight.Jess got herself healthy and well, and then started documenting her journey in the form of a blog. That blog had about 20,000 readers within a couple of weeks of going live, the blog became an e-book, then an 8 week program was launched and then, in 2018, Jess and Dean launched JSHealth Vitamins with absolutely no intention of making waves within the industry- as Jess explains, they just wanted to create a sense of community. In this conversation, Jess shares what she feels it is about her approach to wellness that is resonating with so many people that a bottle of JSHealth Vitamins now sells somewhere in the world every 10 seconds, how she was scammed before bringing a single product to market, and how she physically went about launching a vitamin brand into such a heavily saturated market.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Jess on Instagram @jshealth.Follow JSHealth Vitamins @jshealthvitamins.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 127 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Yours Only, Ashli Templer.When I connect with someone over a love of beauty, whether it's on this podcast or away from it, the thread or the through line always comes back to a feeling. I think it's that feeling that separates people who truly love this industry from the people who do view it as solely superficial, and it's also the feeling that you get from James when you listen to or sit down with him.What drew James Vivian to beauty, initially, was how good a facial made him feel, and because he is so giving by his very nature, he wanted to be able to give that feeling to other people as well. He spent years studying beauty and the science of skin, he founded his own mobile facial business some 14 years ago, he later opened the first James Vivian skin clinic which is now one of the most popular clinics in the country, and in 2022 he launched his own skincare brand, Viviology. James is so, so passionate about ensuring people feel welcomed into the beauty space and feel like they belong, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to facilitate this conversation because I know the barrier to entry can sometimes feel really high, even as a consumer, but this conversation with James was a really beautiful reminder of what it's all about and why we all love beauty in the first place- it's about feeling good and helping others to feel the same. In this conversation, James shares how he's working to ensure everyone feels at home in his skin clinic, how he launched his own skincare brand with one of the country's biggest beauty retailers, and how he went from an Australian Idol finalist to one of Australia's most in demand dermal therapists.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Viviology on Instagram @viviologyskin.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 126 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Yours Only, Ashli Templer.We obviously talk a lot on this podcast about identifying a gap for a product and developing out of a really genuine need, and I think the Yours Only story is probably one of the best examples of that that we've covered across all 6 seasons.Ash grew up, in her words, “not being able to eat any cake at birthday parties.” She's always had many, many food allergies, and things were only heightened in her 20s when she was diagnosed with both Hashimoto's and a salicylate intolerance. It was following prolonged exposure to mould that Ash's health was at its worst, and for an extended period there were only 7 foods she could consume. After having to overhaul every single element of her daily routine, she realised that there were only very few skin and haircare brands that she could use- and none that she particularly wanted to use.Ash launched Yours Only in 2020, a skin and haircare line for dramatic skin, and has cultivated one of the most incredible communities I've ever seen online. Ash started her founder journey with a wish to change lives and, as you'll hear here, I really believe that's exactly what she's done.In this conversation, Ashli shares how she rebuilt after losing her entire inventory in an arson attack, why she uses her customers as models, and the serendipitous story behind how she found her manufacturer.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Yours Only on Instagram @yoursonlyStay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 125 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of IKKARI, Adrian Norris.I have thought Adrian Norris to be one of the most interesting brand founders in the country for many, many years now, since he co founded fashion house Aje in 2008, and I have loved watching him enter the beauty space upon founding skincare and wellness brand IKKARI last year.There's so much about this brand and Adrian's story that I love but one thing in particular that I found so interesting, and I think you will too, is Adrian's passion for retail. It's been a while since I've had a founder on who can talk to the retail experience the way that Adrian can, given that Aje and Aje Athletica currently have 48 standalone stores. One of the reasons Adrian is so passionate about the experience of bricks and mortar retail is because he is so, so customer focused, which is something he talked a lot about in this conversation. The other reason that touchpoint is important, and a factor that just blew my mind when I first heard about the brand ahead of its launch last year, was that IKKARI launched with 72 SKUs. That's 72 individual products and 5 plus years of development, which I find so interesting at a time when we're seeing so many brands launch with a singular hero. In this conversation, Adrian shares how his first ever business plan was written up out of boredom, whether Aje and IKKARI have any mystery investors, and, of course, exactly WHY he chose to launch a brand with 72 SKUs. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow IKKARI on Instagram @ikkari.australia.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 124 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Hairification, Jordan Mylius.You've heard of Hairification- from a distribution standpoint, they're the fastest growing haircare brand in Australia having launched into 840 Coles stores in 2023 (that's 840 retail locations from day one) and, as of last month, hitting the shelves of all 470 Priceline stores. Quick maths- Hairification is available in over 1300 retail locations in less than a year post launch. Jordan has entered the beauty founder space with a really interesting skill set and perspective. He bought a tanning and beauty salon when he was 21, more or less on a whim, and fell in love with the transformative power of beauty. From there he's spent about 15 years in the beauty industry, having been poached by Tuscan Tan for his sales skills and spending over 7 years helping to grow Bondi Sands into the best selling fake tan brand in the world. I'm always fascinated by how a beauty brand tackles new customer conversion in such a saturated market, and I find that education piece particularly interesting when a brand launches into grocery, a space where most shoppers are purchasing habitually. Jordan's approach to customer conversion is clearly working- despite that already eye watering number of retail locations here in Australia, this year will see the brand's expansion into the global retail market. In this conversation, Jordan shares how he identified a gap in the market and saw an opportunity, why his focus was accessibility as opposed to the luxury beauty sector, and his advice on hiring and why you often do have to start slow and scrappy. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Hairification on Instagram @hairification_haircare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 123 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Maison Crivelli, Thibaud Crivelli.I've made no secret of the fact that fragrance is probably my favourite category to talk about, particularly from a storytelling perspective. Thibaud talks about fragrance in a way that is unlike anything I've ever heard before and that is, again, why I'm so fascinated by this category. I love asking people how they either construct a fragrance or brief it into their perfumer, and this particular answer went so far beyond anything I could've imagined in that Thibaud actually doesn't just focus on the scent- his role feels almost more like a director putting an entire scene together. We also had a really interesting chat about how nuanced the wider conversation around raw materials needs to be, which I think is actually true of the need for nuance when we talk about sustainability in general, not just in perfumery. Early on Thibaud told me that since childhood he's wanted to create a cosmetic brand, and the longer we spoke for the less surprising it was to me that he'd had such clear vision from so early in his life- when you listen to him it becomes very clear that he is a founder who is in this industry because of a deep, deep love of it, which is always my favourite kind of guest. In this conversation, Thibaud shares why there's no room for ego in perfumery, how you can tell if a product will be popular within about two days of its launch, and the one emotion that every Maison Crivelli fragrance is linked to- the feeling of surprise. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Maison Crivelli on Instagram @maisoncrivelli.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 122 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founders of Sunset Daze, Alessia and Marco Angele.What I love about talking to founders at this stage in their brand's development (for context, Sunset Daze launched their first product, Liquid Rays, in December of 2022) is that all the really tactile bits that come with a launch are still so fresh in their minds- they're not looking back on their launch through a wistful lens, there's no revisionist history, the advice they can share feels as current as it is practical. The whole ethos of Sunset Daze is “Feel Good Beauty,” and I felt that tenfold in our chat. These are two founders who are doing this for the love of it, and they're coming at it from a really interesting spot too (which we spoke about) in that they loved the jobs they were in pre launch, so they weren't starting something of their own so they could escape where they were at, so rather than the process having this sense of urgency, they could actually take their time with it. In this conversation, Alessia and Marco share their take on staying at your job while building a brand on the side, their thoughts on self funding vs bringing on investors, and the risks of launching with a singular product rather than a full suite. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Sunset Daze on Instagram @_sunset_daze_.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 121 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founders of Fresh, Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg.This is one of the best founder stories I've heard in over 5 years of hosting this podcast. I don't want to give anything away, but there's just so much gold in here- particularly a story Lev towards the start of our chat. I could have sat and listened to Lev and Alina talk for a full day, with ease. It was honestly a joy to just facilitate this conversation.We recorded this towards the end of last year and I wanted to open season 6 with it because it was such a beautiful reminder of why I started this in the first place. I knew Fresh was founded in the 90s, I use a lot of their products, I was aware that a majority stake was sold to LVMH at the turn of the century, but you can't ever truly get to the heart and soul of a brand without conversations like this. I think it's that heart that ensures the brand still feels so current, despite the product offering including products that have remained largely unchanged since the brand's inception in Boston thirty plus years ago. In this conversation, Lev and Alina share the great lengths they've gone to for beauty, what that historic LVMH acquisition meant for the brand, and the story behind Fresh's now iconic oval soaps. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Fresh on Instagram @freshbeauty.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back- and with a whole new surname!Gemma Dimond (fka Gemma Watts) returns to host Season 6 of the Glow Journal podcast from January 31. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 120 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co founder of Sunnies Face, Martine Ho.Martine Ho comes from a family of artists and performers, so where many people grow up thinking of creative pursuits as hobbies, Martine knew first hand that a career in the arts is entirely possible if you work for it. Born in Manila but largely raised in LA, Martine grew up passionate about photography and graphic design, and even told her classmates that she wanted to own a beauty brand one day. Martine became what I'd call one of the “original influencers,” sharing her personal style online well before people used social media the way we do today. After being scouted by American Apparel to drive and grow their digital presence, Martine moved back to Manila to exercise her branding skills on a new sunglasses line, Sunnies Studios, a brand she founded alongside a small group of her friends and family. It was during campaign shoots for the brand that Martine realised makeup artists were anglicising the models, so she started mixing lipstick shades on set to ensure they worked on diverse complexions. Naturally, Martine tells the Sunnies Face story better than I do but based on makeup artist demand, the brand launched in 2018 with their iconic Fluffmatte lipstick after sampling between 300 and 350 shades. Fluffmate sold out within about 10 minutes and, today, Sunnies Face sells a lipstick somewhere in the world every 30 seconds. In this conversation, Martine shares what a celebrity endorsement can do for a startup, the challenges of taking the brand global, and the beauty of creating a brand out of necessity. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Sunnies Face on Instagram @sunniesface.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 119 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Lust Minerals, Stacey Hollands.If you'd told a teenage Stacey Hollands that she'd one day be the founder of the country's biggest mineral makeup brand, I don't think she'd have doubted you for a second. What she may not have believed, however, was that in a matter of years she'd grow that brand from one that started in a linen cupboard to one worth over $20 million. Stacey is one of those founder who's always known what she wanted to do, and I really do mean always. She left secondary school as early as she could to study beauty full time, she always wanted to work for herself, and having watched her father own his own businesses her entire life, she was confident that one day she would start one too. Having identified a gap for high performing, full coverage, cost effective mineral makeup, Stacey set to work on developing three foundations- the first products from the brand we now know as Lust Minerals. She HUSTLED. I'm talking cold calls, physically showing up at salons asking them to stock her products, and within a couple of years Lust Minerals was in 82 stockists across the country. She put her own savings into it, $10,000 of her own money, and between January 2019 and June of this year, Lust Minerals made $20 million dollars in sales. In this conversation, Stacey shares the pros and cons of starting as a B2B brand, how research was her therapy, and her refreshing take on the power of feedback. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Lust Minerals on Instagram @lust__minerals.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 118 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Tomorrow-Today Beauty, Indianna Roehrich.If you've worked in the fashion, beauty, or lifestyle media space in Australian in the last decade, you know the name Indianna Roehrich. Indi started her own social media management agency, Simply Social Management , in 2015 when she was just 22 years old. I first met her a little under 10 years ago and she's always struck me as being ahead of the curve- the concept of social media management was so new in 2015 that the majority of people still thought it was a fad, but at 22 her gut instinct was so strong and, as we now know, was also absolutely correct. Indi's curiosity around blue light exposure piqued about 4 years ago, when blue light eyewear hit the mainstream. This prompted her to start looking into what blue light was doing to the skin, and upon discovering just how much it can speed up the photoaging process, she went searching for a solution- and couldn't find one.This week, following three and a half years of research and development, Indianna launched Tomorrow-Today Beauty with a single, meticulously formulated SKU- the Tech Protect Serum, formulated to both shield AND repair the skin from blue light exposure and designed to look after tomorrow's face, today.In this conversation, Indianna shares advice to business owners on why it's worth pushing through the hard parts when your brand is in its infancy, what our devices are actually doing to our skin, and her insider tips on making the algorithms work for you. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Tomorrow-Today Beauty on Instagram @tomorrowtodaybeauty.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 117 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of People Haircare, Katherine Ruiz.Katherine never pictured herself starting a beauty brand, but she has always had an interesting relationship with her hair, and that relationship was sort of a visual representation of the relationship she had with herself. Katherine has naturally curly hair but, as so many of us do, wanted hair she didn't have so she grew up straightening it, slicking it back, whatever she could do to disguise its natural texture. Similarly, she tells me that, at that time, she didn't really love herself- she was pretending to be totally confident, but didn't truly feel it until she really started working on that relationship with herself as an adult. Coincidentally or otherwise, it was around this time that she started embracing her curly hair. Katherine founded People Haircare in 2022 out of a wish for haircare for everyone- meaning haircare for each unique hair type, at an accessible price point. The brand is physically accessible too, launching into 800 Coles stores nationally from day 1.In this conversation, Katherine shares how she's working to convert supermarket customers who have previously shopped habitually, why you shouldn't wait for the first version of your product to be perfect, and just how important it is to ask for what you want. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow People Haircare on Instagram @peoplehaircare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 116 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co founders of Elemis, Noella Gabriel and Oriele Frank.This is probably the best example of serendipity that we've had on the show in the way that Noella, Oriele and their third co-founder Sean Harrington were brought together, each with a complementary skill set, the combination of which was precisely what the brand needed, but also with no real understanding of what they were saying yes to. By no means did the imagine that 34 years later, the brand they co-founded would be stocked in 100 countries.Elemis was founded in 1989, in London, but all of the products and really the ethos overall feel so modern and so current. That combination of science backed formulas and botanical ingredients feels very much like something that would be launched in 2023. In this conversation, Oriele and Noella share just how deeply they're looking at sustainability and traceability, how they've maintained a relevant brand identity 34 years into business, and what they did when the brand's first ever clinical trial results came back to show the product did absolutely nothing. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Elemis on Instagram @elemis and @elemis_anz.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 115 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Naked Sundays, Samantha Brett.Samantha Brett has always loved beauty but, despite a brief stint as a beauty writer during an internship, she only ever wanted to be a news reporter. Sam worked as hard as she possibly could to achieve the dream she'd held onto since she was 14 years old, and once she got there it was a job she truly never pictured herself walking away from. That was, until, the 2019 to 2020 bushfire season. It was while reporting on those bushfires that she found herself questioning precisely what is was that she wanted from her life.The idea for Naked Sundays came from a few places at once a few months prior. Sam's husband was complaining about having to reapply his sunscreen while playing golf, meanwhile Sam was watching her television colleagues having cancerous lesions cut from their faces after full days reporting out in the sun with no way to apply sunscreen without ruining their makeup for camera. Sam pitched the idea for an SPF50+ Mist to 25 manufacturers before one finally said yes. She and her husband used money from their mortgage to fund the business, and Naked Sundays launched in January 2021 to a waitlist of over 2000 people. That's 2000 people before they'd launched a single product. The brand hit a reported $100k in sales within 4 weeks of that launch, the brand launched into Mecca that October and sold out of three months' worth of stock in 24 hours, and the brand was selling one product per minute by the end of that year. In this conversation, Sam shares how important it is to know the steps it'll take to reach your dream, rather than expecting it to happen tomorrow, why she waited until September 2021 to leave her television job, and a world exclusive announcement of not one but two new Naked Sundays products. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Naked Sundays on Instagram @naked_sundays.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 114 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co founder and creative director, respectively, of Mr. Smith Hair, David and Freda Rossidis.Freda Rossidis is an industry legend. Freda tells me that being a migrant to Australia, very few of her earliest memories are centred around beauty. She had no idea what she wanted to be when she grew up, she fell into hairdressing, and grew to love it over time. As that passion grew, so too did Freda's resume, as she directed the hair styling for shows at Australian and New York fashion weeks and worked internationally on shows for Prada, Chanel, Dior and Hermes.Her son, David, subsequently grew up in the salon environment, and found himself working in marketing and product development for a haircare brand following his studies. From there, David developed a balancing shampoo and accompanying conditioner with no real plans to turn those two products into a fully fledged brand. Both David and Freda tell me that, if I'd asked them 8 years ago if they saw themselves working together, it would have been a hard no. However, 2 months after David's first two products went to market, they were featured in Esquire New York… and then in GQ, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Wallpaper Magazine. International press led to a truly unexpected surge in consumer demand, so Freda left her business and started working with David full time. That was in 2015. Today, Mr. Smith haircare is available in 12 countries, and what began as 2 products is now a brand with over 40 SKUs.In this conversation, Freda and David share whether or not it's possible to grow a business at the rate of Mr. Smith and maintain a balanced life, the advice anyone wanting to make it in the world of startups needs to hear, and some surprising stats around hairspray sales in Texas. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Mr. Smith on Instagram @mrsmithhair.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 113 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Kat Burki Skincare, Kat Burki.Kat had studied Healthcare Law and Health Policy at university and was working happily in the industry, occasionally picking up passion projects in interior design as a creative outlet. Upon completing an interior for her brother-in-law, she decided she wanted to sign off the project with a signature scent. She met with some people who worked in the beauty industry creating hand batches, and they helped her create a candle.The home fragrance became so popular amongst those who had smelled it that it was suggested to Kat they she should create a body lotion with the same scent. This prompted Kat to start looking into formulation science, and the team who had helped Kat create that very first candle went on to become the very first formulators of Kat Burki Skincare. Kat Burki Skincare launched into Henri Bendel in New York City in August 2013 with first-of-its-kind cold pressed skincare. The subsequent four years saw the brand launch into Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, and Mecca here in Australia, and in 2023, Kat Burki Skincare is a truly global brand. In this conversation, Kat shares what she had to fight to put extra money towards when her namesake business was in its infancy, how her earliest memories have shaped the brand she runs today, and why you don't need to say “yes” to everything. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Kat Burki Skincare on Instagram @katburkiskincare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 112 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of ROBE Haircare, Lauren Mackellar. In 5 seasons of this show, Lauren Mackellar is the most inspiring guest I've had the joy of sitting down with. Lauren Mackellar was one of Australia's most in demand hair stylists. In early 2022, following years of intense migraines that she'd chalked up to her work, she took herself to the emergency ward and was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She went into surgery a day and a half later.The tumour was successfully removed, however it was Stage 3 cancer so radiation needed to begin immediately. Throughout chemotherapy, Lauren was told that her hair was unlikely to ever grow back given that she had no hair follicles at this point, let alone hair. Unable to return to hairdressing, Lauren decided to revisit the haircare brand she had began to formulate prior to her diagnosis. She figured she had nothing to lose in trialling her own products on herself and, having sat opposite her to record this a couple of months ago, Lauren now has a thick, healthy head of hair. ROBE Haircare launches this week. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow ROBE on Instagram @robehaircare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 111 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founder of Sundae Body, Lizzie Waley. Imagine not just trying to get customers on board with a new brand, but getting them to entirely change the way they've done something for their entire life.That is precisely the task Lizzie Waley was faced with on launched Sundae Body. Lizzie had had a conversation with her business partner about how bath time is so fun when you're a kid, and by adulthood it's totally lost its magic- likely because, realistically, your only options are a bar of soap or a liquid body wash, neither of which inspire a whole lot of play or joy. Armed with that thought, Lizzie asked a chemist if there were any other mechanisms or mediums that could be explored in the body care space, to which that chemist suggested a foam. Sundae Body took about 18 months to develop, beginning with a can designed to look like whipped cream and ending with a range fruit and dessert scented whipped body foams, formulated to put the fun back into showering- at any age. Lizzie pitched Sundae Body to both Woolworths and Priceline before launch and was picked up by both, meaning Sundae Body had space on over 1200 shelves before they'd launched a single product. In this conversation, Lizzie shares both the pros and cons of self funding a startup, the lessons learned from her first job in a call centre, and why the right distributor was key to securing space with two of the country's retail giants. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Sundae Body on Instagram @sundaebody.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 110 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the CEO and founder of Gem, Georgia Danos. This conversation is essentially a marketing masterclass.One of Georgia's earliest roles was at Remedy Kombucha. Now, we all know what kombucha is now, but keep in mind this was in 2014, before the brand was even on Instagram, so Georgia's job wasn't just to build the brand's social media presence- she was more or less responsible for bringing the product to mainstream recognition. After helping to launch the brand in the UK, Georgia had well and truly caught what she refers to as “the start up bug,” and this is where her story gets really interesting- rather than identifying a gap for a product and then deciding to launch a brand to fill it, Georgia first decided she wanted to start a business of her own and then identified that gap. Where she landed was the oral care sphere. Given that beauty was and remains so saturated, she found space for a product at the intersection of beauty and health and wanted to develop a product that had a daily, or in this case twice-daily, touchpoint with consumers. Georgia launched Gem, an Australian made, premium, natural oral care brand in March 2020 following four years of product development. The brand has since been picked up by both Mecca and Woolworths stores nationally, has extended its product range to over 30 SKUs, and is launching into Boots in the UK next week. In this conversation, Georgia shares how she and her team manage to educate without fear mongering (no mean feat in this industry), how she got her brand on the shelves at Mecca, Woolworth and Boots, and how she got her product's entire first run of packaging for free. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Gem on Instagram @gem.au.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 109 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of YŌLI and En Gold, Steffanie Ball.Steffanie Ball's ties to beauty come through YŌLI, a brand centred around “elevated bathing rituals” that was launched in December of last year with a range including luxury towelling (emphasis on the word luxury), a scent range and a dry body brush. You've likely heard of Steff's first business, furniture and homewares brand En Gold, which began as an Instagram account selling vintage furniture and morphed into a furniture brand that celebrates the design and workmanship of century old crafts. What I love most about the story behind both of Steff's businesses is the ways in which she's reconnected with her Filipino heritage throughout the business development process. She tells one story in particular about connecting with the original maker of the vintage pieces she was selling on Instagram and how, through En Gold, he and Steff were able to give all of his former workers their jobs back that you will love.In this conversation, Steff shares why the art of ritual is so important to her, why she believes that retail is one of the best industries within which to learn and why she insists her team all spend time in the customer care department, and how an American skateboarder (her now husband of 14 years) proposed after 2 days… Read more at glowjournal.comFollow YŌLI on Instagram @yoli_haus.Follow En Gold on Instagram @en._goldStay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 108 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Vida Glow, Anna Lahey. Vida Glow is the number one marine collagen brand in the world, with one unit sold every four seconds. Anna doesn't hold her cards close to her chest. From sharing the brand's Shopify launch strategy, what goes into developing packaging and sourcing ingredients, how many products Vida Glow have discontinued and the rationale behind the brand's 2021 rebrand, Anna sincerely believes that the increasing saturation of the ingestible beauty market is only going to push the category forward- and honestly, it was refreshing to hear. Anna and her husband Keiran launched Vida Glow in 2014 after years of importing collagen for herself from Japan, having experienced hair loss due to a blood clotting condition which she opened up about in our chat. Realising that making the ingredient accessible here in Australia could have a positive impact on so many people, Vida Glow was born.In this conversation, Anna shares the power of a rebrand and the strategy that went into Vida Glow's, what to look for when purchasing ingestible beauty supplements, and the million dollar question, what collagen actually is and what it can do. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Vida Glow on Instagram @vida_glow.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 107 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founder of ABHATI Suisse, Shirin Dörig.A British-born Indian who now lives with her family in Switzerland, Shirin's mother Anju has been described as a serial entrepreneur. She studied sociology and ethnology, she worked as a social worker in the UK, and was instrumental in setting up a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Her interest in beauty began in the same way her daughter, Shirin's, did, with both women being introduced to the time honoured beauty rituals of their Indian heritage from a young age. After relocating to Switzerland, Anju traveled to the Himalayas whilst working with an NGO and learnt about native plants from the tribal farmers she met. Inspired to combine their teachings and Swiss science with the aforementioned time honoured Indian rituals, Anju launched altitude-active beauty company ABHATI Suisse in 2015 with Shirin officially joining the brand as both co-founder and trade marketing manager last year. Each ABHATI Suisse purchase funds days of school for girls in India through the brand's partnership with Educate Girls, with the brand having enabled over 530,000 school days at the time of recording. In something of a full circle moment, 1% of the brand's revenue is given to environmental organisations like WeForest in partnership with 1% for the Planet- WeForest being one of the organisations Shirin's mother co-founded. In this conversation, Shirin shares the importance of retailing through true brand builders, how her mother inspired so many people to aid the brand pro bono, and the surprising connection between ABHATI Suisse and a perfume brand with a particularly cult following.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow ABHATI Suisse on Instagram @abhatisuisse.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 106 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of VIOLETTE_FR and Creative Director of Makeup for Guerlain, Violette Serrat. Violette has been a bucket list guest of mine since Season 1 as I became aware of her work at something of a pivotal time, career wise, for me. Violette realised she wanted to become a makeup artist at the age of 19 after applying glitter to a friends face ahead of a party. She promptly moved to New York, with no training beyond a Kevyn Aucoin library book, and began to network her way into the industry. Between 2012 and 2020, Violette worked as a Makeup Designer at Dior, a Product Development Consultant at Sephora, and as Estee Lauder's Global Beauty Director, and was discovered by Vogue France in 2015. In 2021, Violette was named Creative Director of Makeup for heritage brand Guerlain, AND launched her own brand, VIOLETTE_FR.In this conversation, Violette shares why she's an advocate for self-funding where possible, the value in staying true to your personal style when others suggest otherwise, and why she'd prefer it if her daughter weren't to follow in her footsteps. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Violette on Instagram @violette_fr.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 105 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Verso, Lars Fredriksson.It was a love of interaction, communication, and connection that led Lars Fredriksson to the beauty world. Having spent years in business, sales and marketing, he found himself talking to a stranger at a music industry party. Lars and this man were the only two guests who didn't work in music, and it was this conversation that led Lars to his first role in the beauty world. Lars launched Verso in Sweden a decade ago- a brand built around a patented ingredient called Retinol8 and steeped in science. The brand is now available in 25 countries and the product range consists of about 25 SKUs, each of which has taken years to develop and perfect before hitting the market. In this conversation, which took place during Lars' most recent trip to Australia, Lars shares why he believes everyone should use at least one Vitamin A product daily, why we really have his wife to thank for his move into the beauty space, and why we probably won't ever be seeing a Verso neck cream on the shelves…Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Verso on Instagram @versoskincare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 104 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of FaceGym, Inge Theron. From early ambitions to become a CNN correspondent to a job as radio DJ, founding a branding agency to launching a board game, it was a job in the wellness space that really made Inge Theron feel as though she was home.Inge spent 11 years as the Financial Times' Wellbeing, Beauty & Spa writer, a job that quite literally saw her trialling the best and, in some cases the worst, beauty and wellness treatments and trends in the world, before an idea struck her in 2013. She hadn't just trialled, she'd studied, the wellness industry for over a decade- what if she took the very best bits and created something she knew would work?The idea for FaceGym came to Inge in December 2013- a gym, rather than a spa, offering facial workouts instead of invasive treatments. The first FaceGym location opened in May the following year, with each workout following a “warm up, sculpting, cardio and cool down” formula. In just 8 years, that 1 location has expanded beyond 15. In 2021, FaceGym launched their own line of topical skincare products, and in January of this year, Inge opened FaceGym's first Southern Hemisphere location at Mecca George Street.In this conversation, Inge shares how she convinced a heritage retailer to take on her brand, how she learnt the importance of understanding the operations of your brand and not just the creative, and why she takes stock of where she's at, both personally and professionally, every single year. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow FaceGym on Instagram @facegym.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 103 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founders of JB SKRUB, Julie Bowen and Jill Biren. USE CODE GLOWJOURNAL15 FOR 15% OFF YOUR JB SKRUB ORDER.Julie Bowen has been acting professionally since 1992, perhaps most notably spending 11 years in the role of Claire Dunphy on Modern Family. Jill Biren spent close to two decades in publishing at Condé Nast, working across titles including Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair. Both mothers of sons, Julie and Jill got to chatting at a birthday party about the changes their sons were going through as pre-teens, realising there was a glaring gap in the market for a skincare brand aimed at young men, given the existing offering was either too young, too overtly feminine, or just that bit too adult and intimidating, rather than easy and fun. JB SKRUB spent three years in product development ensuring each of the five formulas was perfect, with not a single corner cut and each product being certified European Union compliant for clean skincare, and launched in January of this year. Less than two months in, the brand already has multiple new products on the horizon as well as plans to launch internationally very soon. In this conversation, Julie and Jill share how their respective careers in show business and media have affected their personal relationships with beauty, their advice on having difficult conversations with adolescents, and Julie shares how playing the role of a mother of three prepared her for her own motherhood journey. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow JB Skrub on Instagram @jbskrub.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 102 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Recreation Beauty, Nedahl Stelio. Despite steadily building a name for herself as one of the country's most influential voices in fashion and beauty media, Nedahl didn't enter the industry with a specific niche in mind. Having worked at Girlfriend Magazine as Beauty and Features Editor, Cosmopolitan Magazine as Beauty Editor, Features Editor and Deputy Editor, and as Editor of Cleo Magazine, she tells me that while she fell into beauty, over time she fell in love with it. Around 14 years ago, Nedahl found herself struggling to conceive and elected to switch to “natural” products in her home and beauty routines, and it was at this time that she discovered there were really no luxury options in the natural perfume space.Still working as a journalist, Nedahl placed her idea on the backburner, however after some years wearing no perfume at all, she decided it was time to create a solution to her own problem. Recreation Beauty, a natural, vegan, and Australian made fragrance and beauty brand was launched in 2019 following over two years of product development, and now boasts one of the most innovative sustainability frameworks I've come across.In this conversation, Nedahl shares the ways in which the media landscape has evolved across her nearly three decades in the industry and, perhaps surprisingly, the ways in which it has stayed the same, her advice for those deciding if their startup should launch wholesale or direct to consumer, and the advantages of starting a business on your own. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Recreation Beauty on Instagram @recreationbeauty.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 101 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Saint Louve Skincare, Elly Seymour. The wheels of Elly Seymour's career journey were set in motion when she was a child with a very specific dream of wearing surgeon's scrubs. Elly decided she wanted to be a cosmetic nurse when she was just a teenager, convincing her parents to allow her to study a Diploma of Makeup in lieu of Year 12. Her reason was a pragmatic one- when she turned 18 she'd be able to enrol as a nurse, and a beauty qualification would allow her to freelance on the weekend to supplement the cost of the nursing course.In 2019, with several years and even more qualifications beneath her belt, Elly opened and funded her own clinic in a similarly pragmatic way, electing to continue working as a registered nurse in her local hospital simultaneously to save money, build relationship and maintain those acute skills.In March 2020, only a few months in and with a client waitlist close to 150 people long, the pandemic forced Elly to close the clinic's doors indefinitely. Where many would, understandably, have crumbled, Elly used the unknown to her advantage. She used the clinic's social media platforms to cultivate a reputation for herself as an industry authority, she took a permanent position at the hospital, the more secure income from which allowed her to fund her next project, and underwent further study in cosmetic formulations. In August 2022, the aforementioned project came to life- Saint Louve Skincare, a topical skincare brand that she runs alongside her well-and-truly up-and-running again Louve Skin Clinic. In this conversation, Elly shares her take on going all in with a startup versus maintaining a secondary source of income, when and why to allocate budget to outsourcing elements of the business that aren't your areas of expertise, and why being a forward-facing founder has been of such great benefit when it comes to brand education.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Saint Louve Skincare on Instagram @saintlouveskincare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Season 4, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Floral Street, Michelle Feeney. Michelle is, quite literally, a beauty industry icon. Headhunted by Estée Lauder Companies in 1993, Michelle is largely responsible for turning Crème de la Mer into a cult product before becoming Vice President, Global Communications of MAC Cosmetics, helping to increase the company's net worth from $65 million to $1 billion in less than 7 years bringing mainstream awareness to the MAC AIDS Fund, and then spending 4 years as the CEO of St Tropez and transforming the tanning industry in that time.Michelle launched Floral Street in November 2017, the story of which she shared back on Episode 53 of the Glow Journal podcast in 2020. In this bonus episode, recorded at Mecca Beauty headquarters, Michelle and Gemma chat personal fragrance, scent scaping and the changing face of sustainability in beauty. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Floral Street on Instagram @floralstreet_.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate 100 EPISODES of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Paula's Choice, Paula Begoun. Paula was my first ever international guest back in 2018, Season 1, Episode 3, and I still receive messages about that episode to this very day. To celebrate 100 episodes and 4 seasons, we're taking it back to basics and doing what Paula does best- myth busting. Should skin flake when we first try retinol? If a product makes our skin tingle, does that mean it's working? Do you really have sensitive skin, or have you caused your sensitive skin? On a personal note, I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has listened over the last four years and every brand founder who has trusted me to tell their story. I cannot begin to put into words how grateful I am for each and every one of you. I love you!Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Paula's Choice on Instagram @paulaschoice and @paulaschoiceau.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Bonus Episode of the Glow Journal podcast, Trinny London founder and CEO Trinny Woodall returns!It has been three years since Trinny's last visit to Australia and her last appearance on the podcast, so I headed to her suite on her most recent trip to catch up on three years worth of beauty and business (and for Trinny and I to do our skincare routines together, which you can see on my TikTok). Since we last caught up, Trinny has launched an entire skincare range, which she trialled on a whopping 3600 women ahead of its launch to test and perfect the range. A major topic of conversation in our last episode was the strength of the Trinny Tribe, which Trinny explains really transformed into an even stronger support network for its members over the last couple of years and now consists of 34 tribes in 16 countries. Last month saw Trinny open two Trinny London pop-ups, one in Doncaster and one in Bondi, the openings of which served as an opportunity for Trinny's Australian tribes to finally come together in person. In this conversation, Trinny shares just what makes the Trinny Tribe so strong, the gap she aims to fill in the skincare space, and what we can expect to see next from the brand. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Trinny Woodall on Instagram @trinnywoodall.Follow Trinny London on Instagram @trinnylondon.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode ninety nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Tribe Skincare, Kayla Houlihan. Kayla Houlihan understands first hand just how debilitating acne and inflammation can be to a person's confidence. It was her understanding of the impact skin heath can have on one's confidence that led Kayla to study skin, and what drove her to want to help clients in clinic. The idea for Tribe Skincare came to Kayla whilst running her own skin clinic in Geelong. Clients were presenting with all the signs of sensitive skin, and knowing just how many skin conditions come down to inflammation, Kayla wanted to recommend products to her clients that were suitable for sensitive skin but still delivered results. What Kayla discovered is that people with sensitive skin had very few active options- brands were creating simple cleansers and moisturisers suitable for sensitive skins, but there was almost nothing available that allowed those clients to reap the benefits of active ingredients without irritation. Kayla entirely self funded Tribe, launching in 2017 with just four products. Well into the brand's first year on the market, Tribe Skincare was bringing in over $90,000 per month. Last year saw Kayla and her team completely rebrand Tribe and shift the brand from being an ecommerce exclusive to available in physical retailers. That rebrand saw a 20% increase in sales overall and a 500% increase in sales from one product in particular, and this year Kayla launched Tribe's Vitamin C serum to a 50,000 person waitlist with one bottle selling every 4 minutes in its first 12 hours post launch.In this conversation, Kayla shares her strategy on choosing the right influencers to partner with, why a rebrand can be a double edged sword if you already have a loyal customer base, and the surprising findings that led the brand to STOP paid advertising entirely. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Tribe Skincare on Instagram @tribeskincare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode ninety eight of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the Chief Commercial Officer of Alpha-H, Tina Randello. Alpha-H was founded in a garage on the Gold Coast, in 1995, by the late Michelle Doherty. In the year 2000, Michelle launched Liquid Gold- a glycolic acid based resurfacing treatment the likes of which had never been seen before by the global beauty industry. Liquid Gold soon developed a cult following, elevating Alpha-H from Queensland's best kept skin secret to a bonafide global beauty powerhouse and the authority, worldwide, in acid-powered skincare.In July of 2020, Michelle passed away following a 2 year battle with cancer. In late 2019, Michelle was in the midst of succession planning the business and met with Tina Randello, with Tina telling me she connected with Michelle and what she was doing instantly. Tina became the Chief Commercial Officer of Alpha-H in January 2020. Following Michelle's passing, Tina and the Alpha-H team spent time together discussing how they could continue to embody Michelle's values as a business. In 2021, Tina launched The Encoreship, an Alpha-H initiative that has brought together multiple brands to offer women returning to work following a career break a three month paid work placement, enabling women to upskill and supporting their return to the workforce. In this conversation, Tina shares how she ensures she's effectively communicating with consumers in a space where product education is paramount, the difference between being trend driven and trend aware, and why it's so important to wait it out for an opportunity that feels right. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Alpha-H on Instagram @alphahskincare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode ninety seven of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder CEO of Vintner's Daughter, April Gargiulo. The idea for Vintner's Daughter came to April when she was working on her family's vineyard. She was pregnant and, as many do, was studying the ingredients lists of each product in her existing skincare routine. April wanted a product born from a similar ethos to that of winemaking- one centred around quality and craftsmanship, and how those factors drive performance. Where most skincare products can be manufactured and bottled within about three hours, April was told her formula would take three weeks. What could well have been a deterrent had the opposite effect on April, as coming from a wine background she was used to working with products that take three years to create, and so Vintner's Daughter was born in late 2013.The brand launched with one singular product, and while the strategy was one embedded with risk, that product garnered a legitimately cult following. April's mission has always been to create fewer products that did more, channelling all her resources into perfecting just one product at a time, and so four years after that initial launch, a second followed.January 2023 will see the next iteration of Vintner's Daughter's “fewer, but better” ethos, with a third product due for release as the brand enters its tenth year. In this conversation, April shares her advice for founders feeling the pressure to manufacture more, cheaper and faster, a few hints as to what we can expect from the brand's next launch, and how she's working to change the beauty industry to one driven by joy, confidence and gratitude. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Vintner's Daughter on Instagram @vintnersdaughter.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode ninety six of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Holme Beauty, Hilary Holmes. Hilary discovered her love of makeup in her final year of high school, and although she tells me that initial affinity for beauty may not have come from the right place, to this day she connects to the transformative energy she felt upon that discovery. Despite her love of makeup, Hilary studied and worked in agriculture. In 2009 the recession hit, and after being made redundant, Hilary relocated to London where her sister was living. She soon found a job on a cosmetics counter, and so her career in beauty was born. After returning to Australia and building up her freelance business, Hilary opened the first Hilary Holmes Makeup location in 2016 and a second only four years later. It was from within these spaces that Hilary's now-iconic Masterclasses were born- classes designed to empower women to back their own beauty, rather than following a formula they'd grown up with in women's magazines. In 2021, following years of product development and a truly serendipitous encounter with her now-manufacturer, Hilary launched Holme Beauty. The brand launched with a single SKU, and over the last 12 months Hilary has carefully and consciously expanded that range to an edit of four, with a fifth product set to launch only a fortnight from now. In this conversation, Hilary shares the importance of finding the right people to help you grow your business, the links she's discovered between beauty and her own mental health, and the story behind the man she calls her “$30,000 husband.”Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Hilary and Holme Beauty on Instagram @hilaryholmesmakeup and @holmebeauty.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode ninety five of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founder of Korres, Lena Korres. When Dr Clara Hurst opened Perth skin clinic, Blanc, having relocated to Australia from the UK, she sought the help of a pharmacist to compound prescription skincare to her clients. That pharmacist told her that, just down the road, there was a GP prescribing the very same ingredients and having them compounded into solutions for her patients. That GP was Dr Deb Cohen-Jones. Upon realising that they shared the very same philosophies around the science of skin, their pair decided to go into business together.The Secret, the country's first prescription-only skincare brand, began in early 2019 as a singular cream, only available to those who had an appointment with one of the doctors. Within six months, over 300 jars of The Secret had been sold and the pair began working on new formulas. What started as one “magic cream” has since grown to a line of 13 different products. In 2020, Dr Clara and Dr Deb launched The Secret's digital platform, allowing patients anywhere to complete a consultation online and have their prescription skincare compounded and sent directly to them. This year has seen The Secret introduce new sustainability practices including refillable packaging, while the coming months will see the launch of The Secret's retail range. In this conversation, Dr Clara and Dr Deb share the real differences between prescription and retail skincare, how they turned a mid-pandemic launch into an ecommerce boom, and their advice to business owners trying to avoid fast trends.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow The Secret on Instagram @the_secret_skincare.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.