Glow Journal

Shai Eisenman | Founder & CEO of Bubble Skincare

In episode 155 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder and CEO of Bubble, Shai Eisenman. Shai Eisenman approached building a beauty brand like a tech company.  Bubble, the Gen Z focused skincare brand which had clocked up over $100 million USD in sales by late last year, a mere 5 years post-launch, is built around a consumer driven feedback loop. Where most founders will start the development process with a small focus group, then go away to build the business, then touch back in with a cursory “Hope you like it!”, Shai essentially co-created the brand with her consumers.  One of Shai’s biggest challenges has been learning to trust data over intuition. This might seem pretty simple for someone with a background in tech and gaming, but it’s easier said than done when the data often contradicts your own ideas. As Shai tells me, “You can’t ever assume that you know best.”  Shai’s consumer-led, ego-absent approach is clearly working. Bubble is in over 19,000 retail locations globally, has scaled its product offering beyond 20 SKUs, and to this day remains driven by the feedback of their community- which has now grown considerably beyond that initial 5000.   In this conversation, Shai shares what the tech and gaming worlds taught her about user behaviour, why Leighton Meester was the perfect choice as the brand’s first global ambassador, and gives us a first look at the brand’s latest launch.  Read more at glowjournal.com Follow Bubble on Instagram @bubble 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.

Rebecca Maddern & Rebecca Gregson | Co-Founders of Cheat Beauty

In episode 154 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to co-founders of Cheat Beauty, Rebecca Maddern and Rebecca Gregson.  Cheat Beauty launched in February of this year and completely sold out its first drop in less than a fortnight. The product is a dual ended lipstick and lip liner, in three nude shades with different undertones. It sounds so simple, and that’s the point- Cheat Beauty launched with a goal of making great makeup easier. There’s no guesswork, there’s no confusion, it’s just two ends of a product that work together. Something both Bec Maddern and Bec Gregson mentioned in this conversation that stuck with me is that just about everyone who was advising them financially on this endeavour had pointed out that a double ended product would more or less cannibalise their earning potential- why launch a product that does two things, when you can launch two products and sell more units? But that’s not how we shop.  Yes, launching multiple SKUs might mean the potential for more sales- that might be a way to start a business, but it’s not a way to really appeal to your consumers in a meaningful way. As Bec Gregson told me when I asked her how she knows if an idea is actually strong enough to build a business around, “It’s great to have an idea, but it has to be rooted in problem solving.”  In this conversation, Bec Maddern and Bec Gregson share what happens when you have an idea that feels almost too obvious to not already exist, how they’ve balanced luxury with efficiency, and why Aussie consumers have a higher bullshit radar when it comes to new brands. Read more at glowjournal.com Follow Cheat Beauty on Instagram @cheatbeautyclub 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.

Jun Lim | Founder of BORNTOSTANDOUT

In episode 153 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to BORNTOSTANDOUT founder Jun Lim in another Australian podcast exclusive. BORNTOSTANDOUT is unquestionably one of the most interesting, and in my opinion industry-defining, brands in not just the fragrance space, but the beauty sphere at large right now.                     What’s so fascinating to me about BTSO is that it’s built on this idea of rebellion, but the brand is based in South Korea. Now you hear Korea and you think “Well, that makes sense, it’s the global capital of beauty innovation,” but as Jun puts it- “Korea is simultaneously one of the most innovative beauty markets in the world, but also the most conformist in terms of taste.” He explained to me that K Beauty is, at its core, built on the idea of perfecting a standard, not breaking one.  That in mind, I had a lot of questions for Jun about how he’s gone about launching into a relatively conservative market, given so much of the brand’s iconography is tied to sex, to excess, to gluttony- it’s super sexy, which to me feels really natural, but evidently this is a brand that was never formed with solely its local market in mind.  In this conversation, Jun shares how he’s managed to expand the brand to over 75 countries without diluting its DNA, why he believes specificity is what creates resonance, and how he keeps creating perfumes when he only has so many love stories to tell… Read more at glowjournal.com Follow BTSO on Instagram @borntostandout.official 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.

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.