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Exclusive Look Into Point Of View Beauty With Mikayla Nogueira · Skin Anarchy

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, welcome back to Skin Anarchy.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: Today's episode is very special because we're going to be taking a first look into a brand that recently has been taking the industry by storm.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_03: The founder is somebody who has truly revolutionized the way that the influencer category has expanded in the recent years.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_03: She has over 20 million followers between um Instagram and TikTok, and everybody basically knows her name at this point, um, and rightfully so.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_03: So without further ado, please welcome Michaela Naguera, who is the founder of Point of View Beauty.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Michaela.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so honored to host you.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: I cannot wait to dive into point of view.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so happy to be here.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to be in a space where I can talk about, you know, ingredients and products, something I love.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, I'm really, really excited, and congratulations on the beautiful brand launch.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's I've been following it and you guys, your whole team, you know, Nikki, I know you're here with us as well.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_03: Everyone's done such an amazing job of bringing this to life, and it's it's beautiful to watch as someone who loves your content.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: It definitely is a team effort for sure.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, I want to get started, Michaela, because I know that you know you've been creating content for a while, but like when was the moment where you realized, you know, I want to become a brand founder one day?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I mean, did you have this thought initially of I want to do a skincare line?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: No, definitely not.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely not.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me, I'm from a super small town.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and people in a small town situation like that tend to not dream super big.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I've always been like the annoying kid that was the dreamer.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always dreaming these outrageous dreams, but um, I never felt that I would qualify to be a brand owner, to be totally transparent.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I just turned 27.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: I was in college when I began on social media, so I kind of got sprung from college to TikTok.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't really get any of that real world experience in between.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, I'm very learning day by day.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: But when I signed with management a couple of years ago, they asked me this question that kind of scared me.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: They were like, What's your five-year plan?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I have no idea.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I don't think that far ahead, but they said, you know, think about it.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: What do you want to do?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: And and this this question was asked five years ago.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: So we're five years in the future now.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and over that time I started to think, all right, what is my plan?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when they suggested, why don't you do a brand?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, that sounds insane.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: I can't do that.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: But when you're approached by people who are really well equipped to create a brand and you build a team that you know can do a really good job at bringing a vision to life, that was when it clicked for me that, you know, okay, maybe I can do this.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: I can't do it alone, but I can do it with a really, really great team.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I love that you're so candid about that because I think a lot of times people they don't like acknowledge all of that work, right?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_03: That goes into creating, not only having the wish vision, but then refining the vision, bringing it to life, you know?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I I love that.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I I love that you actually did a skincare line, by the way.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a huge skincare junkie, I'm sure you could tell, name my podcast.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_03: But I I when I first you know learned about point of view, I was over the moon that you did a skincare line because someone with your level of influence and the you know, the amazing following you've created to be able to bring skincare to the main stage like that in front of people that really might not understand, hey, I need products like this, you know, for my skin health, I need them.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's makeup prep, it's beautiful skin prep, but it's also helping people get into this routine, you know what I mean?
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: Of like, you gotta take care of your skin.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: So from that perspective, I want to ask, you know, what was like the initial conversations around point of view?
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what did you guys always know that you wanted to go and get, you know, inspiration from K Beauty?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, how did that whole conversation come about about figuring out the direction?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: So um, there were two main things that made me say, this is what I want to do.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: One was my personal skin health journey.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: My personal skin journey was a big impact on this because I struggled for many years with cystic acne and hormonal acne and just not understanding what was going on with my own skin.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when I really got into skincare and you know, tried learning about ingredients and what the functions are of these different ingredients and what's going to help me.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how I totally transformed my skin over the last five years.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: The second thing is when I worked in the retail space and in retail, every customer that comes in has a different concern, but it's so vulnerable of them to share and it's so personal.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the the Dax box, the hyperpigmentation, the acne, uh, people who struggle with, you know, skin cancer or alopecia or any sort of skin condition.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And they would always come in seeking a solution, seeking an answer.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I always found that skincare was so complicated and you don't know what anything means.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just, it's there was no simple, right in front of you, solution to troubled skin.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that made me really interested in creating point of view.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then I got really into K-Beauty, specifically from brands like Medicube, Beauty of Josan, um, House of Her, all of these different brands that are going viral in the US.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then when I went to Korea, I fell in love with Korea in general.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: I fell in love with the textures and the innovation and the way they're so inspired to innovate and inspired to come out and be ahead of everyone else.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that was really, really cool.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: The textures I felt there in Korea with all the skincare and the makeup, it was just so different.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I loved it for my skin.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: My skin is my skin type personally is dry.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: And the way they're just obsessed with glass skin and hydration and and you know, ampules and how ampules are so heavily concentrated on the skin.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: I just loved all of it and it really, really made such a difference in my skin.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: When I went to Korea, I brought a huge empty suitcase and I filled it with Korean skincare.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I've been using for the last year since I went to Korea.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: And we're going back next week.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I, you best believe I'm gonna fill a suitcase again.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, I love that.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's interesting because you know, K Beauty, it's such an interesting phenomena to me when I look at it as a scientist, because a lot of times I think people don't realize most of us consumers think that the more actives you have packed into something, the better your skin's gonna look.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_03: But really, genuinely, what it comes down to is sometimes it's just hydration, you know, sometimes it's just having good products like niacinamide in there, you know, and having things that are gonna help with the overalls.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_03: Every day they're gonna do something, you know, like bit by bit.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's where point of view really stands out to me as a consumer because you've created something that is usable every day.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_03: You need lines like point of view, you need something that you can use every day.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_03: You know that it's working on your skin, and you know the ingredients are tried and true.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_03: So that's beautiful.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I want to actually dive into the ingredients and learn more about them.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: Can you maybe name off a few that were like the standout ingredients for you when you were formulating and you know, when you learned about their benefits, like what you really wanted to include in the formulation?
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: So what I mean, one of the big ones that you see in multiple of the products is niacinamide.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and when we were actually formulating these products, we made sure that you could layer the niacinamide because that was a concern, right?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you're putting niacinamide in three of the products, is that gonna cause a concern and you're using too much niacinamide?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: But we made sure that we actually balanced the niacinamide in the products they're in so that you could layer them without having reactions and you know discomfort in your skin and everything like that.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: But there's so many things ceramides, uh, ectoin.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: In amp it, we have hyaluronic filling spheres, which I think are really, really nice.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we have a triple butter blend, which I absolutely love.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: In Drench It, we have the fermented rice water, which I have this insane obsession with.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: I want fermented rice water and everything.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love it.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's so good.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, like I said, we have the niacinamide.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, drip it is, in my opinion, and actually a lot of the reviews people have given on Drip It, and a lot of the chemists and a lot of the scientists, and everyone who's spoken about Drip It has spoken so, so highly of it because of the ingredients.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like Nikki could do a really good job of breaking down Drip It just because it is such a special product, and she gave that product a lot of love when we were creating it.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_03: Nikki, I'd love to hear from you more about you know Drip It's formula because it is, I agree, it's a wonderful, wonderful product.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean Drip It is just one of those like all-star like products that if you had to choose one, it's like it's definitely like our team's favorite when we were formulating it.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, there's the niacinamine, but like when we were formulating, we were super, super thoughtful and intentional and cognizant of like the percentages we were putting in there.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like they weren't just like BS, like sprinkle in fairy dust level ingredients.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we made sure when we call out the three key ingredients that they were very high up in the L IL, and then also um that they were effective and working at functional levels.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's the panthanol, there's apple fruit extract, there's glycerin, snow mushroom extract.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: So there's all of these ingredients that are it's super, super packed and high in level to really help with the efficacy of the of the formula.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's HA's in it, there's a beautiful HA complex.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it was just all these ingredients kind of like work in harmony to really make this a unique, a unique formulation.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_03: No, I think that you know what's really awesome about every single product in the line, and I and I love that you guys did this, by the way, is that every product provides the benefits of the whole line in its own way.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: From the very beginning, like with the milky toner, it's more of an essence.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: You can layer it.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_03: It reminds me so much.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: And Mikhail, I wanted to tell you this because I remember when the seven skin method came out, it was a K-beauty phenomena, you know, back when everybody was doing the toners and the essence, and they're they were layering them.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_03: That's exactly what this product brought brought me back to because it's so easy to like build it up, you know, if you want, or you can just use it the way you always demonstrate, you know, where it's like you add on the different products.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: But I love that the the range offers so much flexibility.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, I and I haven't really heard a lot of people talk about that, you know, in the reviews and stuff, but I think that's a huge standout for the line.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we really wanted to make sure that yes, you can use the products together, and that is actually what took the longest to perfect is making sure that each product in the line can be used as a symphony, as a system, um, so you don't experience peeling.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: You're layering all these things, and you want to make sure those layers are very lightweight on the skin so it's not feeling heavy.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: You want to make sure the makeup doesn't peel on top of it.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: There were so many things that went into that, but also we made sure that each product alone stands out and has those really strong actives in there, has the the individual unique benefits of each one, but also they do have a lot of you know common ingredients with each other.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_03: Right, absolutely.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_03: Now I want to talk about the name.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: I am obsessed with the name.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_03: It's so it just you can tell it's so inspired, it resonates with everybody.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_03: What made you come up with point of view?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: We went through, I'm not even kidding, hundreds of names.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the main thing I said to the designer when we first met was with the name of this brand, I want it to have nothing to do with me.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I want it to have everything to do with everyone else.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of the names we were looking at had the word people in it, or had the word us in it, or had the word we or had the word common.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: All these words that are more of a collective environment versus an individual environment.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when we hit on point of view, you know, I think point of view came towards the very end.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's because that is such a powerful phrase.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't think that would be available.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: I was very surprised that no one in the US had a beauty brand with that name.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: But I felt that that was the perfect name because not only did that bring in me a little bit, because the brand's obviously designed from my point of view, but it also allows everyone else in because it gives people the opportunity to share their point of view, which I just thought was so, so cool because with the line with the initial products, everyone's gonna have their own point of view on how they want to use it.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: If they want to use the full line, if they want to use just one, one or two or three of the products, and also how everyone applies them, how much they use.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then on top of that, everyone's makeup routine that they're doing on top of it is totally different.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I just thought the name really resonated with that messaging of like you can be your own makeup address at home and you can understand skincare and simplify it at home.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, everyone can do it kind of thing.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_03: No, that's actually brilliant because you know, I know people probably expected you to come out with a makeup line, but it's really interesting that you were able to create this in a way where that makeup aspect still belongs to each individual, you know, and it's like you're not telling them this is how you should do your makeup.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you're not doing that.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_03: And I love that.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's so powerful because, you know, I think a lot of times we're so easily influenced and we think to ourselves, like, I have to look like this person.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_03: I have to do my makeup like that.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_03: And that, you know what I mean?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_03: Like it just creates this feeling of like maybe you don't feel good enough or you're not comfortable enough in your artistry.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, I think it just it really resonates, you know, to anyone who's looking at the line.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_03: Now, I want to talk a little bit more about the whole influencer brand side of it because I know that there's a lot of trolls everywhere, and I I hate this, you know, I I really don't like it.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: But with the influencer aspect there, how did you approach RD?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, what were some things in RD that happened that, you know, you you realize like, no, this is where I'm gonna really seal the deal in, and people are not gonna be able to lift a finger because I'm sealing the science, I'm getting this down the right way.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: What were some moments, if you could share with us during that whole formulation process or the creation process?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: I've said this previously in other interviews, and I I really mean it when I say this.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Influencer brands are held to a higher standard than any other brand.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: More than a makeup added brand, more than a dermatologist brand, more than any brand.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that is because we have these close parasocial relationships with our community.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas, you know, a dermatologist running a skincare brand does not have that kind of relationship with their audience.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: But we do, we do, and and it's kind of like a virtual friendship, right?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: And in friendship, what is the most important thing?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Trust.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: So your audience essentially is trusting you to put something in their hands that they're gonna love.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: And they don't want you to take any shortcuts, and that is bittersweet because one on the the good end of it, it gave me the microscope where I said, nothing can go wrong here.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: We have to make sure this is perfect.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: But on the other end, I'm a new founder, I'm 27, I'm very young, and I'm learning this industry day by day.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: So hell yeah, I'm gonna make a mistake.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's just normal, right?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: But now that I have the brand live to everybody, when we do make a mistake, we're we're told about it so fast that we can fix it right away, which is amazing.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: I actually really, really appreciate that.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: But some of the steps we took to kind of prevent mistakes, one of them is we did a lot of clinical trials and we did a lot of consumer testing on all the products to make sure that the claims that we're making are real.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: And um after this, Nikki can kind of talk to some of those clinical claims because they're actually quite unbelievable.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: And they're all on the website, and people can go check them out, but they're they're really remarkable, and that that's something we're really proud of.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: Also, when we went through sampling and testing, I was so picky that people were probably irritated by it.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: For instance, glaze it, it's a rip-in tack primer.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: One of the very common issues with those is they pill.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: We went through so many rounds of it to get it right, and we got to a point where we actually switched labs because we were not getting it right.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I was such a perfectionist with it, and I think that really helped us nail it.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Also, with the packaging, I did not want boring packaging.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of the packaging is a custom component that we, you know, manufactured and created and had a designer customize for us, glaze it, whip it.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so bringing that kind of uniqueness to it.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: Glad you did, and it really shows, you know, thank you for doing that for all of us consumers, because I think that's where you can really see the effort a brand puts in, you know, when you when you think about these things before something comes to market, that it goes such a long way.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_03: And you're right, everybody makes mistakes, and you know, there might be things in the future that you want to tweak or whatever, but I think the way the launch, the brand, having tried it, used it, I think it's beautiful.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_03: I think what you've done is so beautiful on the the whole line, every single product is meant for a purpose and it works.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_03: And as far as the pilling thing, thank you so much for perfecting the primer.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_03: I cannot rave enough about this primer.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_03: I'm somebody who doesn't do like a full beat.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_03: I do like more like minimalistic makeup, but like even then, primers have been like the bane of my existence.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I won't even lie, you know.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_03: They pill, like you said.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_03: So, but this doesn't.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um, Nikki, I want to uh ask you about the clinical trials though.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: Can you share some insights from the trials?
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's always funny, you know, as a developer.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: And you think we have these like amazing formulations, and the ingredients are kind of like ironclad.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: You got the percentages, we have the dossiers where we understand what uh percentage, what level needs to be included in the formulations to kind of get where we need to be in terms of efficacy against their claims, against their positioning and benefits of the product.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: But like the truth is in the pudding when you see the clinical results, right?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it's always kind of like nail biting until you see the clinical trials from the consumer.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And we did instrumental testing.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: We tested elasticity in skin, we tested um skin barrier strength, we tested hydration, and all of these things came out amazing.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we got really, really good test results.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And and clinical is really, you know, it's where it's at.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the fluffy stuff.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Consumer is great because you always need consumer opinion.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's where you get this really high percentages, like 90% of consumers or 100%.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And and those are are great to have, but the clinical is really where it's at and where the truth is and where you see these these products are performing and are efficacious.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I love that you did that.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: Because I think that that really is for skincare, it's like a non-negotiable, and for you guys to do it from the get-go.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I I want to know though, which was the one product that was the hardest to finalize, like which one had the most iterations?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, no one knows this, but I'll tell you.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious which tea you're gonna spill if it's the same I have.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, I don't know.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so the most complicated product was probably, in my opinion, Drench It.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because so no one knows this, but you're I'm literally telling you first, you're hearing it first here.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, drench it was supposed to be a spray.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, and I wanted it to be kind of the first continuous spray milky essence toner situation.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not even kidding, we went through dozens of spray components, spray bottles, and it was not working.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing we tried worked because I was so specific about the experience of that spray.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't just want to go with a traditional sprayer or um even the continuous sprays.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: It had to be really special, and it we would we didn't get there.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: We just didn't so.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: So very last minute, we pivoted and we decided to put it in a traditional essence toner type component.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: But that was one of the letdowns for me was that we couldn't figure that out.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe one day we'll come out with a different type of product that we can figure it out.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: But that formula is just so special that um it didn't work in any spray components.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: No, you know what's crazy is sometimes I think the packaging world doesn't catch up with the formulation world, you know, and skincare.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_03: So but thank you for sharing that though.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I can definitely see that vision, you know, and I can see it in the future.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: You should totally do that for the future.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's why it was called drench it in the beginning as well, because the goal was that you would drench with the skin, you would spray to drench your face.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, but I loved the name, so I kept it.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_03: No, but it still turned out to be so freaking amazing, though.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, yeah, that's I mean, definitely hope that you can create another product, you know, that we can use like that, though.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: That would be I love a spray, I love a mister, I love the experience of that, and I would love to perfect it at some point.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_03: Now, I I want to actually talk a little bit about this, and Mikhaila, I want you to really speak on this.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_03: I know you have on your in your content, you've really spoken about the importance of skin prep before makeup.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I love the information you've put out there, like the true valuable information, and I want you to share that with all of our listeners.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what is the true importance of skin prep when we're when you're approaching makeup?
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think skin prep for me goes so deep, and and that's one of the biggest reasons I wanted us to begin the brand with skin prep is because that is the ethos of a good makeup look.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it goes so deep.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: For me, it's you need to cleanse your skin.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Anything you have, cleanse your skin.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I also recommend doing things like, you know, if you do want to use a physical or chemical exfoliator here and there to really soften the skin.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: If I like to dermoplane every once in a while, yeah, anything that can really smooth the surface of the skin, those two things I think are really important the cleansing and the dermaplaning.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then it comes in with the skin prep, which is the actual process of hydrating the skin, smoothing the skin, soothing the skin, and giving you a perfect base to put on makeup.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that's where you drench it with drench.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: Then I take two pipettes of drip it, then I do about a quarter size or whip it, then I do two pumps, glaze it, and then the ampule is gonna prep your lips.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason you do this, this is gonna, like I said, it's gonna hydrate your skin intensely, it's gonna smooth the texture of the skin, it's gonna help that makeup layer better on top.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's not gonna be cakey, it's not gonna pill, it's gonna look hydrated, it's gonna look radiant, it's gonna look like skin, it's not gonna look like heavy makeup.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: And then the ampule, what that does is it essentially fills lines, smooths the lips, and softens them.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: So when you get to the end of your makeup routine, you actually kind of remove it and then put your lip combo on top, which makes your lip combo look smooth and line free and no uh no cracks or dry skin on the lips.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: And and to me, if you don't do those steps over time, if you're not treating your skin like it's like it deserves to be treated, it's gonna show through with your makeup.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: I I love that.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I, you know, that is such a I don't think people realize how important this information is because so many of us are frustrated with makeup.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_03: Like I I won't lie to you, even when I when I was in my 20s, I used to try to do these looks and it was just God, it was a train wreck.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it was because I wasn't hydrating my skin, I wasn't preparing it, you know?
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_03: And then I would complain about, oh well, I don't like how my makeup's cracking over here, or there's lines under my eyes, you know what I mean?
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_03: And it was like it felt almost like I'm doing something wrong from the way I apply my makeup, but it came down to actually your skin's not ready for this, you know what I mean?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, one of the most common things I see with makeup is patchiness, yeah.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: So, and some some people, even when they use the full POV routine, they are experiencing patchiness, and and that is because you're putting POV and then makeup just on top of a lot of dry, dead skin.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that is why I tell people you can use the best makeup in the world, but if you don't take the steps to prep your skin for the prep, it's still not gonna look how you want it to look.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: So the other day I someone showed me their makeup and it was super, super patchy.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I asked her if she, you know, exfoliates in any way or if she dermaplanes or anything, and she said no.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: And and I feel like when people kind of just let that dead skin kind of just live on the face, it creates that patchiness.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: My biggest piece of advice is if you're having cakey, patchy, or just makeup that you don't feel look feel looks good, is to begin with exfoliating your skin for sure.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right, absolutely.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so glad you brought that up.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that, and this is another thing, you know, I think this is a misconception again, going back to your point that influencer brands have a lot more scrutiny around them, you know, people are ready to just pull out the, you know, like the worst thing.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I and I really want to make the statement that, like, you know, you're not point of view is a phenomenal line, but if you don't do the work that you're supposed to be doing, anyways, for your normal skin health, which is exfoliating, then you can't expect any line to then be like, let me compensate for what you didn't do on your end.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_03: That's just it's not logical to think like that.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: So I really want to talk about this because I I've been watching your content and you have launched this point of view labs initiative, which I think is absolutely brilliant, by the way.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it's beautiful.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_03: I'd love for you to speak on that a little bit.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_03: Where did the inspiration for that come from?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so POB Labs is essentially an immersive masterclass experience, and we're gonna be traveling not only across the country, but to other countries, and it is an opportunity to bring in my community into what I do.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: I've been to so many influenza events throughout my career, and I always see the comments on my page and the feedback of what about us?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's that's what it comes down to.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: What about us?
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I wanted to do these events for my followers.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: So the events are 90% followers, 10% influencers, and it's local.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we just did the one in Boston, 10% of influencers that were invited were Boston local influencers.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then all of the followers that were invited were Boston local followers.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: So say we do the event in Texas, 10% Texas local influencers, 90% Texas local followers.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then the other cool thing about it is we partner with different makeup brands because what I'm trying to show is that point of view can be used with anything.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: So along the journey, we're gonna partner with luxury makeup brands, affordable makeup brands.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I have dreams to partner with e.l.f., Patrick Ta, Makeup by Mario, all these ideas I have that I want to do.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: But it's just a cool way to show that point of view is really meant to be a collaborative community where we bring in other brands, other people, and just have a really fun masterclass experience.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: And the first one was the feedback was incredible.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_03: And I love that you've done this as more of like consumer-facing, like, you know, people are really going to connect with you in this.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's one of that's been one of my biggest questions.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_03: I've watched influencers for many, many years now.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I I remember the YouTube influencers that I was watching, you know, when I was in school.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_03: And I I used to always think, I'm like, am I ever gonna meet people like that?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_03: You know, am I ever gonna have to have the experience of like sharing a conversation with them?
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I think from that perspective, what you're doing is so forward thinking and it's so meaningful, you know?
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_03: And it just I really thank you for that.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's very genuine what you're doing.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_03: And and I really like encourage people, like even brands, right?
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe even if you're not an influencer and you don't have a huge following, even as a brand, I think that really speaks to what you're doing.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_03: It speaks to the authenticity of what you're creating when you're able to interface with the people who will support you, you know, who are gonna buy your products.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's it shouldn't be an afterthought.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's exactly what POV Labs is demonstrating is it's not an afterthought.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_03: This is part of the DNA of what you're creating, you know.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_03: So anything, I mean, I would love to for you to share advice, honestly, Michaela, because I think a lot of people, um, they might look at your success and think, like, I could never, I could never achieve that for myself, you know, or I could never get there.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_03: What is your advice to anybody who might want to go into content creation or even become a brand founder?
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: So whenever someone asks me this, I'm always really honest about it because I think it, I think it takes a lot more than people maybe realize.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying it's difficult.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm saying so I I have a couple friends who really want to be in the position I'm in.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: And the piece of advice I always give them is how much of yourself are you willing to give up?
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: And what I mean by that is when I'm around my family, when I'm around my friends, when I'm around my husband, when I when I'm existing in life, content creation is all I think about 100% of the time, which is in a sense unhealthy for sure, but it is the reason I am where I am because I have content on my mind at all times.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: I basically live in the mindset that every single thing is content, and how you choose to go about that is up to you in terms of what you share.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: Whenever I'm around people, I am filming.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: I am always filming.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um because content opportunities come up with every single thing you do in your life.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I think for that, a lot of people have to be willing to give up things like privacy.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be willing to give up personal time, um, you have to be willing to give up being present.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: I am seldom actually present because I'm thinking always in the back of my head, what am I gonna film next?
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah um, but that that's just the truth.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: That is the honest truth about being a content creator, is it that it's essentially something you're obsessed with?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um it's immersive, fully immersive.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you have to fully immerse yourself into it.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: And are you willing to do that?
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: Is what I ask people.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and some of them, some people aren't.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Some people like their privacy.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I have people who show up to my house every day, like just followers that want to say hello.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Are you willing?
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: Are you comfortable with that?
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Are you okay with that?
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: Are you okay with every family function you go to, every event you go to?
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: You're filming everything.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you're filming the people around you.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Are the people around you okay with it?
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, it's it's it's it's an incredible, incredible career, and I love it.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I have a healthy obsession with it.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_03: I I don't think that people realize that you've put your life in the spotlight, and it's not always good feedback that you get.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_03: There's trolls, and and to be able to deal with that and then keep moving, I mean, that's phenomenal to me.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, yeah.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what I'll say is five years in, that stuff does not affect me at all.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I didn't used to be able to say that, you know, in my earliest years, the first year, second year, I would literally shake, I would cry, I would throw up, I would have anxiety and panic attacks over what people are saying about me.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: But what I can tell you, and this is any um any influencers who are kind of growing like I did or want to do this, what I can tell you is that it does get easier.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: It gets so much easier.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like my mindset has totally shifted, and that stuff doesn't one, it doesn't affect me at all anymore.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: But two, um, I I've learned to appreciate it.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the fact that people are taking the time to talk about me, whether it is good or bad, that means people care one way or another.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of people also don't realize is 99.9% of the hateful things said about me in videos, I don't see.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't see it.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm not I'm not going and seeking it out.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: People don't send it to me, and I just don't see it.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't engage with it.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so a lot of things that you may know about me, I don't even know about me.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_03: No, I think the people who really resonate with you, we also ignore it.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_03: Like if I ever see a stupid video, I'm like, ah, scroll, see ya, you know, like so no, but I think I the reason I brought that up is just because of the resilience that it takes to be where you are.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think that's truly commendable.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I think a lot of people they do fold under that pressure, you know, it does it's a human reaction, like to be able to not process why am I getting so you know, I just think that's that's beautiful how you handle it.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, in terms of like just I wanna I want to talk about this a little bit, you know, in terms of like when you create your content, when you work with brands, I always feel like your everything you say is very genuine and I love that.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_03: But like, how do you deal with like balancing your own insights about a brand and maybe something that the brand would want you to say?
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, well, I've done so many contracts and partnerships over the years, and one one of my biggest things is you cannot hand me a script.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: I've worked with some brands, they they will send you a 50-slide PowerPoint of everything they want you to say.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: And and I come back with if you want to work with me, I'm not using that PowerPoint.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm gonna try this product, I'm gonna find what I love about it, I'm gonna find what I find user-friendly about it, and that's what I'm gonna speak to.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna speak to the clinic.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, uh truthfully, like my followers don't care about the clinical studies of XYZ products.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: They want to know, does it work?
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: Does it actually work?
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's what I prefer to speak to in those kind of videos.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't love when a brand gets really strict about some brands, even tell you what to wear in a video.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I Oh my god.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like they want you to wear the color of the brand.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, do you realize how how each step you're adding here is making that video more and more inauthentic?
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_03: And you know what's crazy?
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I I really this why I know everything that you promote is like from the heart because I've tried so many of your recommendations.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_03: I've literally been like, oh, okay, that looks great, let me go buy it.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_03: The recent one was the elf, um, the skin tint that just came out, elf just came out with obsessed, obsessed.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_03: I saw your review and I was like, oh my god, this is so good.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I have to try it.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_03: And I did, and I had the same reaction that you had in your video.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_03: I felt the same way.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's where it's like the reality is if you can buy the products that's be that are being recommended and you feel that same way that the person recommending them did, then you know what I mean?
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_03: That's the proof in the pudding.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_03: Like that's that's what it is.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I really there might be things that I review that you may go and buy and try and you may not like.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's also okay, you know.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: If we have different skin types, we may be, you know, different ages and have different, you know, levels of texture and pores and everything.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, you know, everyone has a different experience with beauty.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: But for people to say that I was a liar or that I'm inauthentic in the review because they didn't end up liking the product, that's super unfair to me, you know.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_03: Very unfair.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, a hundred percent.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'm a woman of color and I I'll tell you firsthand, like my own testimonial, the products I've bought because you've reviewed them and I've loved them, they've all worked for me.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_03: So, like, I've resonated with your choices, having the differences between us.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_03: So, like, I I don't know, I think that speaks a lot, and I and I really encourage anyone out there when you're looking at content, when you're looking at reviews, like you gotta understand that persons, you know, they're coming from a genuine place.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_03: I think people need to stop jumping the gun so much, you know, and just going on this rant about BS instead of trying it for themselves.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_03: So but no, this has been so wonderful, Michaela.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_03: And for everything you do, I I really, really love your content.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_03: I think that what you're doing is truly like it's very like forward-facing, you know, it's setting an example, and I think that there's a lot to take away here, you know, for all the business geeks out there.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_03: This is like almost like a case study, you know, because you're you're being so genuine about it, and I love what you're creating.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, thank you so much for taking the time and chatting with us.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_03: It's been such an honor to join us.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, thank you.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: You made my day.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_03: No, I mean you made mine.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_03: So thank and Nikki, thank you so much for all the insights on clinical trials and the wonderful behind-the-scenes stuff that we wanted to learn so much about.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 39:47
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• 39:52
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• 39:55
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• 39:58
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• 40:01
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• 40:09
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• 40:17
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• 40:25
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• 40:26
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• 40:30
  SPEAKER_03: We publish some really great articles on there that do deeper dives than just what's available on the podcast, and it's really a great place for all of you science geeks out there that want to learn a little bit more.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_03: We go above and beyond with our research and making sure we're bringing you information that you usually probably won't hear about in other outlets.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_03: So check us out, leave us a comment, leave us a review, and we'll be back next time with another episode.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.