Glow Journal – Details, episodes & analysis

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In 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.com

Follow 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.com

Follow 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 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.com

Follow Yours Only on Instagram @yoursonly

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.

Is it possible to fade visible capillaries with topical skincare? Why do spider veins appear so much worse during pregnancy? Are they hereditary? Is there a way to erase broken and burst capillaries- and do either of these things even exist?!

In this special bonus Ask An Expert episode I’m joined by Dr Deshan Sebaratnam. A Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, Dr Deshan holds an academic appointment as Conjoint Senior Lecturer with the University of New South Wales, has presented his research internationally and has had his research published in both local and international medical journals. With experience and an interest in all facets of dermatology including medical, surgical, cosmetic and paediatric, I felt that Dr Deshan was the ideal doctor to objectively answer YOUR questions on visible and dilated capillaries and spider veins.  

Away from our regular brand founder conversations, I am asked so many highly specific questions about the skin. Given that I am an educated consumer and by no means an expert, it would be extremely unethical for me to even attempt to address your skin concerns which is why I insist on taking those questions to a medical doctor. This Ask An Expert series is giving you, the Glow Journal audience, unprecedented access to medical doctors, professors and dermatologists and, while the series is sponsored by Candela Medical, doctors legally and ethically have to remain completely objective in interviews like this. For this reason, this series is giving you, the listeners, completely unbiased expert answers to your most specific skin questions- questions that I cannot answer myself. 

In this episode, we’ve taken the questions YOU submitted on capillaries and spider veins to Dr Deshan - from the myth that is “broken” capillaries and if topical skincare can actually do anything to make them disappear, to whether or not spider veins are hereditary and why pregnancy seems to make them so much more apparent. 

You can read this interview now at: glowjournal.com/ask-an-expert-capillaries-and-spider-veins

Follow Candela Medical on Instagram @candelamedicalanz

Follow Dr Deshan Sebaratnam (and check out the videos mentioned in this episode) @dr.deshan

Discover more at candelamedia.com

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 sixty of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Moon Juice, Amanda Chantal Bacon. 

Amanda Chantal Bacon has known she had purpose since she was a child- it just took her some time to really hone in on what, exactly, that purpose was. 

She’s lived a few different lives. She grew up around fashion, something she felt disillusioned by, and was diagnosed with a chronic illness around the age of 5- the repercussions of which she was still feeling well into her 20s. She lived in New Zealand, Italy, Argentina and her native United States, working as a teacher, a writer and a chef. 

It was while she was working in the fine dining space that her autoimmune condition was as its worst, so she took some time out to revisit what she knew as a child- that she had purpose, she just needed to find out what it was.

Amanda embarked on something of a “wellness” journey, and in 2011 Moon Juice was born- a business that began as a juice bar in Venice, California (before words like “organic,” “raw” and “cold pressed” were a part of global vernacular) but soon became more of an immersive wellness brand, producing and selling supplements, foods and the now iconic “dusts” that consumers could take home and work into their own routine. 

Amanda had never, ever considered entering the beauty space with Moon Juice, despite its growing link to the wellness industry. What prompted her to rethink that stance was a beauty-editor-approved, cult skincare product that had visible benefits for Amanda’s skin, but would’ve flared up her autoimmune condition with repeat use. The solution, it seemed, was to develop a clean alternative, and in 2018 Moon Juice’s skincare line was created.

In this conversation, Amanda shares how a 2015 viral story online saw her ridiculed globally and, in turn, her business boom, the value in slipping behind the scenes of your company, and how a Chinese Soup served as the inspiration for one of her brand’s most popular skin serums.

Read more at glowjournal.com

Follow Moon Juice on Instagram at @moonjuice

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 fifty nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Ciaté London, Charlotte Knight. 

At 21, Charlotte Knight moved from London to Dublin and, with little experience in nails and no experience in business ownership, opened Dublin’s first ever nail bar- she went into a hair salon for a blow dry, mentioned her idea to the owner, and came out with a business plan. 

People travelled across the country just to see Charlotte, with the young entrepreneur and manicurist soon finding herself in demand backstage at London, New York and Paris Fashion Weeks and on photoshoots as a session nail technician. It was during this time, as a session artist, that Charlotte first began sketching that now iconic little black bow-adorned bottle, mixing colours, and dreaming of what would become Ciaté London. 

Ciaté launched in 2009, landing in stores at the height of world’s nail art movement, but it was in 2012, when the brand released its Caviar nails collection, that things changed almost overnight. Prior to the launch of Caviar, Ciaté had 4 staff and were stocked in about 50 stores. Post Caviar, the brand found themselves in over 4000 stores across 35 countries. 

Nail art and, more specifically, the home manicure trend had hit fever pitch but, given the cyclical nature of the beauty industry, global nail polish sales crashed a mere two and half years after that launch. Armed with data, a plan, and one of the most creative business minds I’ve ever come across, Charlotte spearheaded the launch of an entirely new product skew for Ciaté London- makeup. 

Today, Ciaté is one of the most celebrated brands in the world across both nails and makeup, and this year will see the brand release not one but two high profile collaborations, both of which Charlotte offered up a few big clues about during our chat. 

In this conversation, Charlotte and I discuss the expectations and subsequent pressure that comes with releasing multiple global first-to-markets, how showing a boardroom the colour of her knickers led to one of her brand’s many successful launches, and why we shouldn’t expect a Carol Baskin for Ciaté collection anytime soon.  

You can read this interview now at glowjournal.com

Follow Ciaté London on Instagram at @ciatelondon

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 fifty eight of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Bread Beauty Supply, Maeva Heim. 

“Visibility” is a word that came up a few times during this particular conversation with Maeva. Maeva explains that her relationship with her own hair was largely influenced by visibility. Maeva had spent the bulk of 20 years using a chemical hair relaxer to straighten out the natural texture of her hair, explaining that the bulk of the hair education we receive in mainstream culture is designed for straight hair. It wasn’t until a trip to the US, during which her hair relaxer exploded in her luggage, that she decided to move back towards her natural hair texture. She wasn’t alone in embracing what’s called the “natural hair movement,”- at that time, there’d been over a 40% decline in hair relaxer sales over a five year period. 

A simple, effective, modern beauty offering for women of colour wasn’t particularly visible either. In a time that Maeva has coined “pre-Fenty,” there were even fewer brands catering to woman of colour than there are now- and there were absolutely no simple, effective, fun nor modern options in the haircare category. 

Confident in her idea to simplify wash day for women with textured hair, Bread Beauty Supply was born- a now six month old, award winning brand that launched into US Sephora, making it only the eighth black-owned beauty brand to be picked up by Sephora, and just the third in the hair space. It was during the development process that Maeva made visibility work to her advantage. She explains the exposure we have to other founder stories online today meant that she felt she could do it too, without fear- and that’s exactly what she’s done. 

In this conversation, Maeva and I discuss how she secured investment from the same fund who invested in Emily Weiss’ Glossier and Kim Kardashian’s Skims, the challenges of launching a brand through an overseas retailer in 2020, and the makeup look her aunt in West Africa bestowed on her in childhood that may well be making a comeback. 

You can read this interview now at glowjournal.com

Follow Bread on Instagram at @breadbeautysupply

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 fifty seven of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to Ere Perez, founder of her namesake brand.

Ere was born in Mexico and grew up watching her mother and grandparents mix lotions and potions in their kitchen. Ere is passionate about healing, and after studying nutrition she fell in love and moved to Australia in 1999 to be with her now husband. Ere had always loved mascara, as she explains to me the only real difference between Mickey and Minnie is eyelashes, but quickly noticed a gap for a great natural mascara, or really any natural colour cosmetics, here in Australia. From there, with next to no budget, she set to work on the first iteration of her own mascara, and soon thereafter Ere Perez cosmetics was born- a brand that Ere grew piece by piece and now has offices in two continents and is stocked in over 30 countries.

This conversation was pure joy from start to finish, one of those chats where you get a pain in your jaw by the end of it from grinning for too long, which is precisely the energy take well into the summer break. Ere tells me in this episode that “The human body is the most perfect thing in the world,” and that we’re “made so beautifully,” and I think that is the perfect note to end this season on.

On that note and in news that will shock literally everyone who knows me, I am actually allowing myself time off for the holidays this year, but we will be back to open Season 3 on January 20. 

In this conversation, Ere shares why putting truth and your heart into your work really is the most important thing a person can do, how she physically managed to get her business off the ground with one product and no budget almost 20 years ago, and how missing out on a parking space some decades ago may well have changed the course of her entire life. 

You can read this interview now at glowjournal.com

Follow Ere Perez on Instagram at @ereperezcosmetics

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.

What IS laser hair removal and how does it work? Does it hurt? Are there any side effects? Is it safe for blondes and people with dark skin? Is it really permanent? 

In this special bonus Ask An Expert episode I’m joined by Kirsten Cachia, Clinical Educator at Candela Medical. Laser hair removal has been one of our most highly requested subjects this year so, for our final Bonus episode this season, we are finally answering your questions. Kirsten is Candela Medical’s Clinical Educator and an undisputed expert in all things laser, and although this episode is sponsored by Candela, you won’t hear Kirsten recommending any specific products, machines or treatments. As per the rest of this Ask An Expert Series, I’ve sought experts to give you objective answers to your questions so that you can take that information and make your own educated decisions regarding which treatments are right for you. 

In this episode, we’ve taken the questions YOU submitted on laser hair removal to Kirsten- from why we’re told we need to remove our fake tan and whether or not laser can actually work for those with blonde hair or dark skin, through to why hormonal changes have been known to reverse the effects of laser hair removal and what you should actually expect on the day of your treatment. 

You can read this interview now at: glowjournal.com/ask-an-expert-laser-hair-removal

Follow Candela Medical on Instagram @candelamedicalanz

Discover more at candelamedia.com

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 fifty six of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Vilhelm Parfumerie, Jan Ahlgren. 

Born just outside of Stockholm, Jan shirked very early ambitions to play either tennis or gold professionally in favour of more artistic pursuits, moving Paris to model- during which time he secured a contract with Chanel.

From there, Jan became an interior designer, fashion designer and leather accessories designer, respectively. It was during his time designing leather handbags that Jan truly fell in love with the art of parfumerie. Inspired by the way 18th century glove makers used to scent their products, Jan met with renowned perfumer Jerome Epinette and fell deeply in love with the process of developing fragrances. 

It was then, Jan tells me, that he realised THIS, parfumerie, was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life- and so, Vilhelm Parfumerie was born, a fragrance house placing as great an emphasis on design as it does on scent. Vilhelm is, genuinely, unlike any brand I’ve come across, somehow striking a balance between futuristic and 1920s inspired- something Jan tells me is completely intentional. The early part of this year saw Jan relaunch the brand into the US market, and today, a mere 5 years after launch, Vilhelm Parfumerie is available in 24 countries. 

This episode was, of course, recorded remotely, as is the nature of 2020, so if you would prefer to read the interview I have made the complete transcript available on glowjournal.com. 

In this conversation, Jan and I discuss his early affinity for fragrance as inspired by his grandfather, the relevance the idea of Pierre Cardin in a spaceship has to his brand, and why he feels perfume houses globally NEED to start focusing on their carbon footprints. 

You can read this interview now at: glowjournal.com/interview-vilhelm-parfumerie-jan-ahlgren

Follow Vilhelm on Instagram at @vilhelm_parfumerie

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.