Where Brains Meet Beauty

There are those who prefer the scrappiness of startup life and those who thrive in traditional corporate settings. Then there’s Danya Klein, VP of Brand Relations at Preen.Me, who has successfully adapted to both scenarios. “Startups know how to think, innovate and be creative, but when they need to package and market their own product, it can be difficult. I think that’s where there’s a strong opportunity for marketers who have worked in corporate settings to add a lot of value.” In this episode, she tells us how she went from marketing establishment beauty to the wild west of influencer marketing, and how majoring in Mandarin was her improbably random entry into the beauty world. @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

They say the road to success isn’t always easy, but celebrity colorist, entrepreneur and TV personality Kim Vo knows it also doesn’t have to break you, either. His ever-expanding career now includes four salons, a show with Tori Spelling and a celebrity client list that reads like the homepage of TMZ. All of which have contributed to his reputation as the “Best Blonder In the Business”. In this episode, he reveals how it all happened from humble beginnings, and how intention, effort and grace have kept him grounded as his star keeps rising. This episode is part of our first video podcast series “Day In The Life”. Watch it here. https://tinyurl.com/y7uocunt wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast

In this episode, host Jodi Katz shifts the focus from beauty to media in a new mini-series called Podcasters We Love. Up at the mic is Kelly Campbell, an agency growth consultant and host of Thrive, a podcast that covers topics unique to creative, media and tech agencies. As a former agency owner herself, Kelly shares her own journey from business owner to consultant, the origins of Thrive and the story behind it’s fast-track to success. This episode is part of our Podcasters We Love series. @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

By her early 20s, Poppy Jamie was already leading an enviable, “perfect” life: She was a successful TV personality, had her own Snapchat show and designed an accessories line with her best friend Suki Waterhouse. But underneath the gloss of social media was a different reality - an overworked, always-on existence. You know, the kind that paves the road to burnout? She also knew she wasn’t the only one experiencing this kind of stress; DM’s from fans sharing the same struggles confirmed to her there had to be a better way to, in her words, “do life”. In this episode, hear how she addressed her own taxed-out life, learned to relax, let go of perfection and created an app to help others do the same.@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast#wherebrainsmeetbeautywherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Hours after the birth of her daughter, Divya Gugnani, CEO and Founder of Wander Beauty, was already asking her husband if he’d be okay with one more. “One more baby?!” he asked, incredulous. Her response? “No, one more company!” Said like a true serial entrepreneur. Formerly an investment banker, she’s successfully founded four companies in three widely different sectors. And like human babies, those businesses have had their special quirks and needs, shaping her leadership style along the way. In this episode, she tells us how time and experience evolved her CEO game, what keeps her going back for more of that #startuplife, and why she runs her beauty team not unlike a sports team. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-lat

Change can be slow. Though we’re almost two decades into the 21st century, beauty standards have only just begun widening in scope. Just ask Rachel Winard, founder of skincare line Soapwalla.  “I like the way I look, but I’m not the typical face of a skincare company.” With a penchant for designs shaved into her hair and tattooed arms on display, she describes a sense of invisibility within the beauty industry. “Usually, you see long flowing hair, very light skin. You either look like that, or you’re very straight-looking man in a suit. There was nothing to suit my presentation.” But she found an upshot to that sense of invisibility. “Instead of moving within a box, I’m going to create my own path, in and out of business.” In this episode, get the backstory on the brand, go deeper into issues of underrepresentation, and find out the one simple thing companies can do to bolster inclusivity. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.Mso

There are some jobs you can’t get a degree in, and have no linear point of entry or even a standardized test for qualification. You know, like makeup artist? So, here to break down how to break into this arm of the beauty industry is Cathi Singh, a California-based MUA. Sharing her experience on everything from how to get started to what you need to learn beyond cosmo school, she demystifies the process of making a dream job reality. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} p.MsoNoteLevel1, li.MsoNoteLevel1, di

Freelancing isn’t for the faint of heart: No two days are the same, and neither are the paychecks. But there’s a delicious freedom that comes with being your own boss and taking full agency over your career. On this episode, beauty writer and freelancer extraordinaire Gina Way breaks down the strategies that have kept the projects - and the checks - rolling in. From how to hustle, how to get paid and how to pick yourself up when you feel like you’ll never work again, this is a must listen for anyone dreaming of breaking up with their cubicle. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;

Mabel Lee’s is the classic story of a hobby, born out of a desire for a better product, turned successful business. Lee created Velour Lashes while still in college in Toronto, and seven years later is defining success in a deeper way than just the numbers. Seeing her team grow as humans both personally and professionally, while delivering a game-changing product that helps women streamline and polish their beauty routine, is the true reward. (Though the brand’s overnight social media explosion didn’t hurt, either.) The CEO and reluctant public face of the brand steps out of her comfort zone in her first-ever podcast appearance. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-them

In classic corporate hierarchy, the CEO pretty much occupies the highest perch. But for those who have made it that far up, what happens when there’s no more corporate ladder to climb? Dawn Robertson, founder of Timeless Beauty Bar, had to ask herself that question after decades as President or CEO of several major apparel companies and retailers. And what she found was a lot like what landed her the top jobs in the first place: A need for transition and growth. In this episode, she gets candid on what it’s really like to run a huge company and raise children, why she hasn’t gone back to the C-suite (yet!) and how she’s passing the torch to a whole new generation of marketing masterminds. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:min

Elise Saetta, Macy’s Fashion Beauty Director graduated from college in the midst of the Great Recession. With a dismal job market, no immediate prospects and little guidance on how to get a job in fashion, she moved home to Boston and picked up a retail sales position. But through strategic moves, pluck and moxie, she took that starter job and made it the first step towards her dream job, climbing the rungs of luxury retail and into the coveted role of fashion director in less than a decade. In this episode, hear how a resourceful attitude and long view can be key to reaching your career goals. She also breaks down the inner workings of a department store: The different roles planners and buyers play, the differences in beauty vs. fashion buying, and what a fashion director really does. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Consider this episode a double header on friendship and business. Alicia Sontag of Prelude Growth Partners and Carla Ruiz of Johnson & Johnson met on the job and have stayed friends ever since. Over time their career paths have diverged, Alicia striking out on her own and Carla heading up Business Development at Johnson & Johnson, but their missions have stayed the same: Helping the next generation of entrepreneurs create what they believe will become iconic global powerhouse brands. The pair reveals how it gets done from the perspective of a boutique growth equity firm (Alicia) and the perspective of a corporate behemoth (Carla), and how it helps to have a friend who’s got your back through it all. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-a

The story of an brilliant business idea first sketched on a napkin is the stuff of legends, but in the case of Artis co-founders Leigh and Jeremy Adelman, it’s the real thing. Designed by co-founder Matthew Waitesmith, Artis has changed the way people apply makeup by completely changing the look and feel of makeup brushes, and in doing so, helping consumers unlearn bad beauty habits, one application at a time. Their process took patience, life savings, and a few tears, but the results have been nothing short of beautiful. Listen to this couple finish each other’s sentences with a blend of humor, passion, and no-nonsense business insights. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fa

Every entrepreneur has a different reason for going into business for him or herself. For Barry Beck, Co-Founder and COO of Bluemercury, it was a desire for personal autonomy, but even deeper than that, an almost instinctive need to disrupt and change industries. And that he has done. From snow shoveling loyalty programs at age 10 to forever changing how consumers shop for beauty, he’s changed every industry he’s worked in. In this episode, he shares key lessons from his many successes, and not just tidy platitudes about working hard. Consider it a key primer in entrepreneurial wisdom. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:C

Are we afraid of failure itself, or are we really just afraid of what other people will think of us if we fail? As a serial entrepreneur, Mariya Nurislamova has had to grapple with that question many times over, and more importantly, not let fear become the boss. In this episode, the CEO of Scentbird and Deck of Scarlet shares a few of her most memorable failures and her techniques for moving past them. She also touches on the pros of being bi-culturally Russian/American and how Scentbird is changing our relationship to fragrance. <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:mino

What can make a beauty brand unique is often the founder’s story. There’s a trust and connection that just happens when you know hey - there’s an actual human behind this product! Often times those products are created to address an issue *said* founder has personal experience with, and for this episode’s guest, Francesco Clark, the origins of Clark’s Botanicals targeted exactly that. Except it wasn’t acne or the realization of a market white space that led him to the helm of his company - it was a near-death experience that left him paralyzed 16 years ago. “For me, when my skin stopped sweating after I had my spinal cord injury,  everything went wrong with my skin. It looked like I was hyper-aging. It was dry but it was oily. It looked like I was developing rosacea.” So he teamed up with his doctor dad to create a solve, and in the process, made not only something tangible that could help others, but a whole new way to emerge from the traumatic aftermath of of his accident. @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wher

Kristy Engels doesn’t have a beauty line, and isn’t a retailer, either. As the SVP of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Beauty Strategy Group and Beauty Barrage, she’s the third party you need when you’re the former trying to reach the latter. In other words: A vendor. “A lot of startup brands don’t have big internal teams - everyone they utilize is an outside vendor. I think for them, “vendor” isn’t necessarily a bad word,” says Kristy. “But maybe for those more established, with all of the entrepreneurs and startups nipping at their heels, it is a bit more threatening.” In this episode, Jodi and Kristy explore the interesting dynamic between brands, retailers and their third party partners. Kristy also opens our eyes to the challenges of getting a brand to retail, and costs many don’t expect will crop up once they get there. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt;

If you’re a fan of sheet masks, you have this week’s guest to thank. Charlotte Cho, founder of Soko Glam, was your typical SoCal girl—tanned skin, beachy hair and a no-fuss beauty routine—until she moved to Korea. It was there she discovered the highly detailed, skin-first Korean approach to beauty that, unlike America at the time, it was incredibly accessible, affordable and fun. In this episode, hear how a side-hustle bringing Korean skincare to the States snowballed into one of the biggest trends of the last decade: K-Beauty.   #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-fon

When Daniela Ciocan, Marketing Director at CosmoProf NA, scored her first internship at a huge legacy brand, she was surprised to learn corporate life wasn’t for her. “I’m very much driven by novelty and doing something new and different, and I realized working for such a large company, I wouldn’t have that opportunity,” she observes. That anonymous, cog-in-a-wheel feeling was an important a-ha moment at the start of her career, and it’s one that’s stayed with her since. “Really try and uplift and listen to the young, entry-level individuals. Engage them. Be open. Try things.” In this episode, hear her fascinating backstory, one that starts in communist-era Romania and leads to a dynamic role in America’s top B2B beauty trade show. She also dispenses some key marketing advice for indie and legacy brands alike that you won’t want to miss. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bo

This week Jodi talks to Nannette de Gaspé Beaubien, founder of skincare line Nannette de Gaspé. She pioneered the dry mask, which, despite its $100+ price tag, became an instant cult favorite. Though she’s brainy, beautiful and brimming with enthusiasm, the last part wasn’t always the case. It’s not like she hated her life, but until her 40s, she was doing what she felt was expected of her. “I lived on the terms of everyone else,” she says. “But what I realized was I wasn’t necessarily doing things in a way that made me happy.” In this episode, hear how a self-described type-A personality learned to let go of expectations and start living life on her terms. Plus, get her predictions on the future of indie beauty and what small brands need to thrive. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Rom