Glow Journal

Fara Homidi | Founder & CEO of Fara Homidi Beauty

In episode 152 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to Fara Homidi in an Australian podcast exclusive. You know Fara Homidi’s work, regardless of if that name is familiar to you or not. Whether you’re invested in beauty and had been counting down to her namesake brand’s arrival on Australian shelves, or if you’ve had a peripheral scroll through Instagram and seen a Miu Miu campaign or an i-D cover- based on the extent to which she’s shaped 21st century beauty, I can just about guarantee you’ve seen her work.  I’ve always been visually very drawn to the way Fara applies makeup and approaches beauty overall, but it’s been so interesting to listen to the way she speaks about that approach. I’d read a quote from her, years ago, in which she said she’s more interested in makeup looking “alive” than “pretty,” so I pushed her on this a bit as I wanted to hear more.  She explained that, for her, it’s more about creating something for the female gaze. When Fara talks about sexy, she’s acutely aware of what women find sexy- that’s who she’s creating for. In the early 2000s, for example, when she was finding a lot of her work for magazines was being airbrushed to oblivion, her way of rebelling was to seek out teams of women- female photographers, stylists, creative directors, women who were more interested in something that looked “lived in” as opposed to this idea of “perfection.” That’s how Fara rebelled, and it’s something she’s taken through the decades with her and has since woven through Fara Homidi Beauty.  While Fara was in Australia to launch the brand into Mecca, she shared what she thinks some founders miss by never having worked in consumer-facing beauty, how she strikes the fine line between artistry and consumer understanding, and how she convinced Kendall Jenner to bleach her eyebrows for the most recent cover of Vogue Paris.  Read more at glowjournal.com Follow Fara Homidi Beauty on Instagram @farahomidibeauty Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond [https://www.instagram.com/gemkwatts/]and @glow.journal [https://www.instagram.com/glow.journal/], or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com [hello@gemkwatts.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

We're Back Baby. Season 8 Begins April 1.

Did you miss me? Season 8 of the Glow Journal podcast returns this Wednesday, April 1. We can't wait to share this season's lineup of some of the world's best beauty entrepreneurs- starting with an Australian podcast exclusive. If you love beauty, business, and the sound of my voice- you know what to do. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Cici Stefanova | Founder of Supernova Body

In episode 151 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Supernova Body, Cici Stefanova. By virtue of my job, I’m asked pretty often which beauty brands I’m genuinely excited by or who I think both the industry and consumers should be keeping an eye on, and for the last 18 months my first answer has been Supernova Body without a second of hesitation.  This brand is everything I love in a new brand- the products are genuinely innovative and fill a legitimate market gap, it’s making beauty fun and sexy and that’s what beauty is to me, and it’s led by a founder who is only in this for the right reasons. Cici actually reminds me a lot of Deciem and The Ordinary’s Nicola Kilner, who I often cite as one of my all time favourite guests, as they’re both really beautiful examples of female founders leading with kindness.  Supernova Body is an active, high performance body care brand, formulated specifically to target and treat body acne, that Cici launched in 2024 following four years of product development and, in this episode, Cici very kindly gave me an exclusive on the brand’s next launch coming in early 2026…  In this conversation, Cici shares how she landed Sephora UK as Supernova’s very first retailer, some of the unexpected benefits of remaining D2C and self funded for the first year, and why her exit interview from British Vogue didn’t go quite as expected. Read more at glowjournal.com Follow Supernova Body on Instagram @supernova.body Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond [https://www.instagram.com/gemkwatts/]and @glow.journal [https://www.instagram.com/glow.journal/], or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com [hello@gemkwatts.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Natassia Nicolao (Returns) | Founder & CEO of Conserving Beauty

In episode 150 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks once again to the founder and CEO of Conserving Beauty, Natassia Nicolao.  I mentioned earlier this season that, given we’re now 7 seasons in, I wanted to go back and revisit some of my favourite beauty brand stories- I wanted to bring back previous guests from earlier seasons and look at how their brands and the beauty industry at large has evolved since we last recorded.  For the uninitiated, Conserving Beauty is Australia’s first ever waterless beauty brand, the first beauty brand globally to be part of the Water Footprint network, the first Australian beauty brand to be backed by both government and impact investment funds, and the brand behind the world’s first dissolving facial wipes. Natassia launched the brand when she was just 27 years old.  Since we last spoke the brand has launched into Mecca and Priceline locally as well as expanding into the UK and US markets, the latter of which is now responsible for a whopping 70% of the brand’s revenue. What I found the most interesting, however, is that the data that Natassia and her team have gathered over the last 3 and a half years has shown them that their customer is actually not who they initially thought it was, and how they’ve changed tack to make sure they’re formulating for and marketing to the right consumers.  In this conversation, Natassia shares exactly how they’ve pivoted for an audience they didn’t realise was theirs’, how she’s approaching Conserving Beauty’s US launch differently from their UK launch, and why the pharmacy customer has proven surprisingly lucrative.  Read more at glowjournal.com Follow Conserving Beauty on Instagram @conservingbeauty Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond [https://www.instagram.com/gemkwatts/]and @glow.journal [https://www.instagram.com/glow.journal/], or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com [hello@gemkwatts.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Gem's 2025 Beauty Favourites

If you've been on the Insta for some time, this is essentially a 40 minute #notsponsoredjustgood. Another solo episode this week, wrapping up the year (almost- still a few guest episodes left in Season 7) with my favourite new beauty launches of 2025. We'll add the full list in these shownotes eventually but, for now, enjoy. Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond [https://www.instagram.com/gemkwatts/]and @glow.journal [https://www.instagram.com/glow.journal/], or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com [hello@gemkwatts.com] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.