Pretty Hard – Details, episodes & analysis

Stacey Burt is the founder of Little Company, a holistic skin studio that offers a focused approach to the body’s largest organ, that being the skin. We love Little Company's approach to facials - it is truly a meditative ritual that we believe everyone should experience if they can, and their approach to simple, supportive routines just makes sense. Stacey is also working on a Training School for beauty therapists - a term that's polarising for Stacey and of which we go into detail. She's also a mother of 3, she's been with her partner for over 17 years, and she's about to turn 40. This was a beautiful, honest chat about the layers surrounding beauty and its connection to identity. 

Follow @_littlecompany

An interruption to our usual podcast schedule, to (re)introduce Fluff to new listeners, customers, and followers, on behalf of Shopify Masters and host Shuang Esther Shan.

​​Fluff was created in 2018 as an antidote to the current beauty industry narrative, for anyone who thinks that the world doesn't need more products, just better products, and responsible, transparent messaging.

​​Founded in Melbourne, Australia, we ship our refillable Cloud Compacts around the world, for anyone who wants natural, vegan ingredients and refillable, plastic-free packaging without animal testing. 

We operate on a quarterly drop model, meaning that our website is only open for a week, four times a year, to purchase the iconic Cloud Compact - designed to last a lifetime, as a heirloom piece that can be passed on. Existing customers can log in with a password at any time to purchase refills. 

This allows us to manage supply and demand, and ultimately, determine the pace at which we do business, and the content we deliver to our audience. We believe it's a better outcome for our customers, our industry, our brand and our team.

Fluff was founded by Erika Geraerts who has spent 10 years in the beauty industry, previously co-founding international beauty brand Frank Body, and thinks that makeup is great, but not essential, and that the idea of skincare and makeup as a form of self expression, and taking care of oneself is a beautiful thing that should be celebrated, never exploited.

We believe that it's ok to feel more with makeup, so long as you don't feel less without it.  Our products are all about keeping it simple: good for your skin, your thoughts, and the planet.

Find Erika on IG @erikageraerts
Listen to Shopify Masters here: https://open.spotify.com/show/77uc0yX736H3nBx8r9GdUG

Erika & Ellen discuss the series ahead, the current state of the industry, the current state of their personal lives, and what the future of beauty looks like, right now.

Ziggy is a yoga, philosophy and meditation teacher and guide, bridging disciplines from the East and West. Having studied extensively in India, as well as his current Psychology studies in Melbourne, he’s also played semi-professional soccer for the last decade, giving him a unique insight into team success and performance.

In this chat we explore identity through the lens of spirituality. We discuss the various spaces in which different versions of ourselves appear, the idea of internal vs external growth, and the role of social media in understanding ourselves.

Find Ziggy via @ziggyrazuki.

Zac Waters has been a touring musician for the last 11 years. In 2019 he started Adult Art Club which blends music and art in immersive exhibitions. Zac opens up about the role of ego in identity and creativity, and the importance of appreciating the small moments. Zac turns the questioning on us about Fluff’s origins, our growth over time, and our evolving, personal relationships to beauty.

Find Zac via @zac.waters & @adult.art.club

Robyn Morrison (Bobby Clark) is an artist, creative director, interior stylist and creative consultant. She speaks openly about her experience growing up in Scotland, how her art has been the truest expression of her identity, how becoming a mother has influenced her perception of self, and the positive and negative impacts of social media in her life. There is a beautiful moment where we discuss recognising beauty in oneself, for the first time. We hope you enjoy this honest conversation.

Find Robyn via @bobbyclark____

In season 3 we’re discussing beauty under the lens of career and community: everything from societal expectations to how your work can be the truest expression of your identity. (For some, not everyone).

As a tangent, we discuss the evolving (and debated) definition of self-care and how the beauty industry continues to exploit it; and the responsibility of having a platform (in this case podcast) and following.

Ellen and Erika reflect on the season ahead, what they learned from each guest, as well as what they're focussing their attention on and away from, including their explore feed hacks.

Avigon Paphitis is a Beauty industry marketing consultant, and founder of Paphitis Advisory. She previously worked at Beautycounter and Youth To The People, and has a wealth of knowledge across global makeup and skincare brands, and the changing consumer landscape over the last 10-15 years. We discuss the expectations of beauty brands vs the reality, and the ugly side of the beauty industry as she turns the questions on us as to why we started, and how things are going.

Soumeya Beeow is a professional runner and model who recently featured in Fluff’s Lip Oil campaign. We were drawn to her willingness and openness to discuss the cultural differences surrounding beauty, growing up as a West African women in Australia, the growing number of people using skin bleaching creams, and the expectations, crossovers, and contradictions of the professional sporting and modelling space.

Caroline Moreau-Hammond is many things - relevant to this conversation, she is host of The Philosophy of Sex podcast and founder of Becuming, the online sex toy retailer. She has an incredible knowledge across different and often esoteric modalities, histories, and individuals within the sex space, and we discuss the evolving and nuanced world of such, including a sense of spirituality around beauty, the influence of two supportive parents growing up, sexuality not as a spectrum, but rather a constellation, and the idea that sex doesn’t have to involve wellness.