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From HGTV to Beauty: The Art of Reinvention with Alison Victoria · Skin Anarchy

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, welcome back to Skin Anarchy.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Today's a very, very special episode because we're going to be talking to a true expert when it comes to understanding the interior environment we're always in, the home environment.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: She is such an expert in the home interior decorating side and also an executive producer and television host.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, please welcome Alison Victoria.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Alison.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, thanks for having me.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's an honor to host you.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to chat with you.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to like learn more about your journey.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have had such an amazing, amazing career so far.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I would love for you to kind of walk us down memory lane if you don't mind.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: And like, where did it start for you?
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Especially the television channel.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's a long journey.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give cliff notes.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I always wanted to be a designer, which really helped me beeline it to exactly where I am.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't wondering, like, oh, do I maybe want to do this?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: No, I maybe want to do that.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: That came way later in life.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm actually very glad for that because I was very steadfast in my journey of becoming an interior designer.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: I knew I wanted to do it since I was 11.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so it was easy to go to school for that and then get my job right out of college, doing that with a home builder.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then came those moments of what do I really want to do in my life?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And adding to it, but always keeping the baseline of what I love the most, which is interiors.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Doing design makes me happy and being happy makes me healthy.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's to me the most important thing.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, I'm stressed to the max right now and doing too much, but I know that it will pay off.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it's worth it.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: And you have so many projects, I feel like that you're always juggling.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I think that's what's like really extraordinary, right?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: When I talk to professionals such as yourself, because I feel like we never get to hear about that in terms of like what that means for like how much time you have for yourself, you know?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what do you do for like self-care?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'd love to dive into like your own self-care journey.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, did you have any moments, especially in the television side and the producing side?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's such a busy lifestyle, you know what I mean?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, did you have moments where you're like, wait, I need to slow down for a minute, you know, and take care of myself?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say that I'm not doing the best job at it right now.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely not.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like when I was on my phone last night, because I work only from a phone.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: So everything I do is on my Apple iPhone.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I have a laptop that sits here, it doesn't get much use, but my life is on the go.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's a constant.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't love that because it is very hard to detach.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: So last night, for instance, I was like, okay, put the phone down.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I never watch TV ever.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I have one television in my house and it never gets turned on.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: So last night I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it tonight.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Tonight's the night.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I went into my movie room and never turned it on.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was working and then I had to tell myself, like, I was like, Paul Brandt, my partner, my boyfriend, just to stop working.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't know the balance.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I do know that every morning I wake up and I work out.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: That is my one hour of just pure detachment, put it that way.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I do it with a trainer, not because I'm so fancy, but because I have to hold myself accountable.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And she does that for me.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: If I worked out by myself, I'd be on my phone.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like knowing what my boundaries are and also making sure that at least there's one thing that I do every day for me.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I would say two things, like the workout and then sleep.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: I sleep nine, 10 hours a night.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's awesome.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's very important for my skin, my health, everything.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I do attribute so much of that to my sleep ability.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: No, I love that though.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: You brought up such a good point because we don't talk about like the bare essentials of like what actually keeps us healthy.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like I literally every day I'm like, you know, talking to brands that are coming out with like the latest innovations, and it's like, you know, we're trying to biohack right now, and we've got the peptide boroughs in one corner, but it's like no one talks about like what are the bare necessities to have this like healthy, beautiful life, right?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And you wake up and you feel like, okay, I want to go do something today.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like a lot of people struggle with that, but no one talks about things like sleep.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm glad you spotlighted that, you know.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, why not talk about the things that are free?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's talking like all these like keywords right now, peptides and longevity, and that costs money.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of us don't have that disposable income to go and start doing peptides for$1,500 a month.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, what are the things that we can do that cost nothing?
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, I look at it like my workout, I can do a very similar workout in a hotel room on a floor with a towel.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I can make a choice to say, you know what, I'm not gonna sit here and be on my phone doing work.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go for a walk and do it there and moving your body.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Those things cost nothing.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And those things make a massive difference in your overall well-being.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: No, I couldn't agree more.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I kind of want to ask you this, especially because I know right now, and I feel like this started with COVID because we were all so locked up for like so long, is our home environment.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Because I mean, you are the expert here, you know, when it comes to interior design and understanding the space and like elevating our own spaces.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to get your real thoughts on this about where do you think all of that fits in when we're thinking about what is going to actually make me feel better at the end of the day, you know, because just like sleep, like what you just brought up, that's in my mind also one of those big, big things that impact us in so many different areas of life.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And we never discuss it, like in the wellness conversation, it never comes up.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm doing my entire substack about sleep, and I can't wait for that one to come out in like four weeks or something.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's really exciting because it's my superpower.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: So this is my house, and I love it more than anything.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel safe here and I feel like hugged every time I come in the door, and I've created an environment that I want to be in and that makes me happy.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: So every morning when I wake up and I look at this house, I'm like, oh my, now it is a shit show in here because there's samples everywhere and my work is everywhere.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you saw behind the camera, you'd be like, This girl's out and does not have her shit together.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: But that's actually kind of my life.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's always like, oh, this might look pretty, but don't open the drawers.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: But what you do see is what I know this house can be when things are not so chaotic.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: But I walk in, I wake up and I walk out and I'm like, oh my God, this is my house.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like I get to live here.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I designed my life this way, not just in the way that I live it, but in the place and things that I've surrounded myself with.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: I like tchotchkis, I like open shelving, I like memories of travels and photos of family and reminders of the good life that I live.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: And my home is a collection of those moments.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so you come into my home, there's a story for everything.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was here when I bought that.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: I negotiated this price for that and I bought it here, and then I turned it into this.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really positive way of being because even when I'm alone, I'm reminded of these happy moments.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm surrounded by it at all times.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what makes home so great to come back to every day at the end of a long one, at the start of a very busy one.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Home is where life happens.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I know that's one of the biggest things I have had a hard time kind of getting my head around is how much it impacts our wellness and our overall, like just everyday disposition, you know, like when you wake up and go about your day, like all of that is impacted about like how you're waking up, where you're waking up, what's your environment, what have you created for yourself in the morning first thing when you open your eyes?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like that kind of thing.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, it just never gets discussed, you know?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like in the world of interior design, if you really think about like for me personally, every single time I've seen something that I really like in terms of interior design, you know, like a concept, it's always centered around like how much comfort will this bring me at the end of the day?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like am I going to feel like exactly what you were describing, really comfortable in my space, really like taken care of in my space?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that's something that that conversation needs to happen more, you know, in terms of like what we can do to enhance that.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I try to do every second that I can, whether it's on social or now through my new platform that I literally just launched this morning, where I get to talk in depth about those things, about creating a happy home, about creating healthy decisions in home and in life.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because on social, you know, like you only get to put a little blurb out, or in a podcast, you get to touch on one subject.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's longer doing a podcast than it is doing a social post.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: But these things are really exciting to dive into deeper.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I mean, look, I think that having a happy home creates a healthy lifestyle.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, so can you dive into it a little bit with us?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what do you think we can all incorporate in our home environment?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I touched on it a little bit, but like moments and memories for me are important.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I design, I always, always do open shelving.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Open shelving is an opportunity for you to bring those memories into your space and be a constant reminder of the good life that you've lived.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: So pictures and tchotchkis from travels and all of those things.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Things that you're proud of, things that you want to show off, things that you want to talk about, and things that make you think about those happy moments.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Having those right in front of your face every day, very important.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like walking into a sterile home.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: It does nothing for me.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, it makes me kind of shut down and close up.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that's not my type of interior.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love a mix of old and new.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody who watches my design knows that.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sitting at this credenza that's from 1942, and I'm like in love with it.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think about the life that this piece has lived and the home that I've given it and this rebirth that it's experiencing in my lifetime.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really important to have that.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got an old bar from Chicago that's from a speakeasy from like the 60s, and then I built the back bar to try to match it.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's old and new again.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: I love the mix of those two worlds, and I will never design any any differently.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that is the way I like to design.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I like a cozy home and doesn't mean it needs to be traditional or shabby chic or whatever, but it's like it's just I can do a house that's modern and still mix old and new.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: I can do a house that is mid-century and still make it old and new.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's a balance to it.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just making sure you're incorporating things that you love and that you're not just pointing to a catalog or in a magazine or something online and saying, I want exactly that.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, look, that's why restoration hardware is so popular because people copy and paste.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if I walk into one more home that looks like it's right out of a restoration hardware showroom, I'm gonna throw up.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's no thinking there.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: It takes away from the talent that people like me and other designers have.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean, I couldn't agree with you more.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's so, so important to have that.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and I won't lie, you know, I think sometimes we just feel like we can copy a magazine and we're gonna recreate, you know, like the ambiance or whatever we saw on this piece of paper, you know what I mean?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it just like it really gets me because I think that whole industry is so hard for a lot of concerns.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I know it is for me.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like when I go into any place, when I'm shopping for furniture, when I'm shopping for pieces for any kind of surface in my house, I get overwhelmed.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's like really interesting, you know, psychologically, if you think about it, like for so many people, like why something like creating comfort for yourself becomes like a stress point, you know?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why does it take us there mentally?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: But I think it's that pressure of like, I gotta have like a really nice space.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: But then you create so much pressure around it.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that makes sense, but well, it does.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's why I have a job.
• 11:31
  unknown: Yeah.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because it creates stress and anxiety for people to do it themselves, which is why they seek the advice of a designer, they watch HGTV, they read magazines, they look at Pinterest.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's what that's there for.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Inspiration or something that like makes you go, oh wait, okay, that's a starting point.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this is what I like.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Going through this Pinterest board makes me happy.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I feel something.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, if I feel happy looking at it, then can I imagine living in it?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why I love what I do.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, I actually wanted to ask you about your journey with HGTV.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know that HGTV, I think for a lot of people represented like the first time that you could like sit down and feel like, okay, this is accomplishable.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like all of the shows on there, I think were at one point really catered towards an audience that was like trying to understand like how to navigate this space of like how can I, you know, elevate my own surroundings?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I would love for you to kind of speak on that in terms of like what did that teach you, like being on that platform, trying to educate so many people about, you know, your talent, your craft.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, walk us through that journey.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the journey's very simple.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's we are here to show you what we do, how we do it, and you only get little tidbits of it.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So my show takes me almost 11 months to film, and you guys get to watch all of those episodes in two and a half weeks.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So the meat of it is sometimes lost, but then it's up to me to be able to show people the in-between.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: I loved my show.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: I created my show to be different from every other show where it's a true docuseries and it follows my life as best as I can without having cameras up my ass every day.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like that I could not live with where it was constant.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, things happen when the cameras aren't there.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have to do the best job I can as a producer to try to recreate them in the most authentic way to tell the story.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: But my story with HGTV started with me doing a show called Kitchen Crashers.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I did kitchen crashers for nine years, 13 seasons, 113 episodes, and they were 30 minutes.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I would go to a home improvement store and I would find somebody and I would ask them if they wanted me to come home with them and do their kitchen, and I would give them a kitchen in three days.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was a very regimented show.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: They just brought that show back, and my good friend is doing that show now, but he's doing any space in your house, not just kitchens.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so that show, like I said, was very like formatted.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going here, I'm doing this, and then I get to teach you three different DIYs that you can do at home.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely feel like it was more instructional how to back then.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as I've morphed into my shows Windy City Rehab and Sin City Rehab, it's more of watch how I do this.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, less of teaching you how, more of inspiring you to do.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's been 17 years I've been doing HGTV shows.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I love that.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's really cool how you describe that because I think sometimes like you just need to see things come to life.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this is like across the board in wellness.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like I've seen this a lot that people we get overwhelmed.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think if you have like some sort of a guiding light, it just becomes easier step by step.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think for me, HGTV was always like that for me.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: I would literally turn it on and just binge watch it because I'm like, I have no idea what I'm doing.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna pretend like I do.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, that's that's you and everyone else, right?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: They leave it, it's their wallpaper on their television, and it's a constant.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I actually really want to ask you because I know you recently you did a collab, right, with Volition for the bronzer drops.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's so cool.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: That was a really cool collab.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, tell us about that.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: So the opportunity came to me about a year and four months ago, Volition Beauty.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: I had asked if I would be wanting to get into the beauty space.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: The beauty space for me is what I've been living since I was a little girl.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: I love beauty products.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: My countertops are filled with them.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I am a very loyal buyer.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: So when I like something, it's staying in the rotation.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not getting booted.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't try new things.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Also, my skin doesn't allow me to try new things all the time.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have the time for a breakout or to try something to maybe break out.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm on camera every day for the most part.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I've got to find things that work for my very sensitive skin.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, wait a minute, the one thing that I'm missing in my roster is a serum that also not only works on my skin to make it better with the ingredients, but then makes my skin look amazing on the outside.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: So working on the inside and beautifying on the outside.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: So the only reason I said yes to working with Volition was because they made it very clear to me that I get to create this product with them.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're not creating something and I'm slapping my name on it.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm naming it, I'm picking the bottle, and I am testing out every single round of formula until I get it perfect.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I have 40 little samples and 10 bottles, and they're in a bag, and I kept them for a reason to be like, this is like the evolution of the Greek goddess glow drops, and that I truly had my hands in it from day one.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: I am Greek, I'm 100% Greek.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, how do I bottle up the look and the feel and the smell of what I experience when I'm in the Greek islands during my summer?
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: I leave next week to go to Greece.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And when I'm there, and then when I get home, I'm like, oh my God, how can I bottle this up and sell it?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly what we've done.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: So the ingredients are very simple.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: They're packed with peptides.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: We really wanted to use like olives and grapes.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we have squalene and resveratrol.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Everything's natural, which I love, but the smell of fresh figs, which is very Greek summer to me.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And getting the shimmer right was very important.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want this to look glittery.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want it to be something that was like the first moment of seeing it is just glitter or shine.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted it to feel very moisturizing.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted it to feel like something that you could wear with zero makeup because I don't wear a lot of makeup.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: So this becomes my new face.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like that glaze donut look and feel.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's not tacky or sticky, it's just plumping and like glossy, and it won't make you break out.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not gonna come off on your clothing, and it smells delicious.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, oh my God, I got to create the perfect product.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe so much in it.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: And look, there takes a lot to launch a beauty product, even with a brand like Volition.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's yeah, no, it's a lot, it's a big long journey, especially now.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I feel like there's so many steps in that process at this point.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I remember interviewing founders that were like pretty early on, you know.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: I know Volition launched a long time ago, though.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: I remember interviewing them like when I first started this podcast.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: And even from back then to now, when I look at how hard it is to create a beauty product now, it's crazy.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like all the steps, all the things you got to go through, all the checking and rechecking and testing.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, it's wild.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I believe you.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: I went through all of it.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, look, we just launched.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: It took 11 months just to like get it to a place where we could even talk about it.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then I did my launch party um two months ago, and I'm like, oh my God, here we go, right?
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and the feedback I'm getting and the quotes like that I hear, like where it's like, this is my new base for my makeup, or I love using this over sunscreen because I get that shimmer back.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: And also, by the way, it works on every skin color and every skin type.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: I recently had a girl who came up to me and said that she had the worst skin ever and had to like go to Indonesia for six months to go like wean off of her steroid topical cream that she had for her really aggressive rosacea or something.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like she lost her hair, she lost her eyebrows, her skin was peeling off.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: She has the most sensitive skin.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: She just got back like two months ago.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: She looks like a totally different person.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: She tried the product and she's like, it's the first product that hasn't irritated my skin.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: So that that's real testimonial there.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: That was last week when I was promoting the product and just put it on the girl that was like my cabana manager or something at the pool.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: But it was it was so awesome because she legit went right on her phone and bought it.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, This is like a dream.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's the difference, though.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's why you have all the other iterations, you know, like you have your your tons of because it takes so long to create that, you know, that kind of efficacy.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I would love to get your take on this because I know like you've been surrounded by beauty products.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, being in television, like you see so much, right?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I really would love to understand like, what do you think is happening in the beauty industry now?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Because I feel like 10 years ago that we had no options, right?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: And like now we have like, I don't even know.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's every day a new brand, every day a new product launch.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, how do you, as consumers, keep up with that, even when you are in like your kind of career path where you are always using because you're on television and you're in that space, how do you keep up with that?
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are your thoughts around that?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: The way that the beauty industry is moving and how fast we're coming out with products now.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think the beauty world is oversaturated, which makes me feel like a hypocrite because here I am coming out with something.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: But that's why it was really important for me to come out with one product.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: One product, a hero product, whereas like this is everything I've ever wanted all in one.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need like 10 items to be in my launch.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: I need one.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that we're gonna watch the beauty world in makeup and skincare dwindle down to that.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're gonna see more celebrities doing a hero product because I think that there are too many options out there.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, people are coming out with skincare for their children now.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's like we because these kids are like going to Sephora and buying hundreds of dollars and like having better skincare routines than their parents.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's gotten to a place where I'm not overwhelmed because I am a loyal product consumer.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: I like what I like and I don't sway from it.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not the one to ask on that one just because like I see what's happening in the beauty world and in the product world, but I also don't want to be a part of it.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted that one product to say, this does it all.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is the serum you want to carry in your purse and have on the airplane, wear it in the daytime, a touch up midday where I like put it on my cheekbones and give me a little bit of like a plump and a gloss.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: That is a constant.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how do we create more constants?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: That are like actually working for us.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think this is going anywhere anytime soon.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think it will take a while to scale it back.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so we'll see.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just like asking about energy drinks.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like if I see one more energy drink or one more like thing that has protein in it, I'm like, oh God.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's like a whole like can of worms that I like.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, if I open that, you're never gonna get me to shut up about it.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, but I hear what you're saying though.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I really like that you took that approach of like, I'm if I'm gonna create this, I'm gonna do it in a way that's like one and done.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like this is going to become a staple in people's routines.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like I applaud you for that because I just don't understand why brands are not doing that.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't understand, like right now, we have the most products we've ever had.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: People have no money.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's be real.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: No one's shopping as much as we were like two years ago.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: The economy stopped.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And then you come out with like eight skews of nonsense, and then you're like, oh, layer it all.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, I don't need to layer eight things on my freaking skin.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like, just give me one thing.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like we say this, right?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like as consumers, like as people that have platforms, we say this.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody says it.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I still look at brands and I'm like, what are you doing?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you guys doing?
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just it's wild, you know.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I asked you because I'm like, I'm just right now as a consumer, I look at beauty and I'm like, I don't know how to navigate this space.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's overwhelming, it's overwhelming from department stores and having one influencer tell you that's where you need to shop, and then you're having stores like Alta and Sephora, and then having these ads spit at you all over social.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's an overwhelming world.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't want to be a hypocrite and I don't feel like I am.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: No, but you're not, you're not though.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: The what we're describing is like one ingredient products, you know, like, oh, look, I found a new ingredient.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Let me make a serum out of it.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you need to do you know what I mean?
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's what I mean is like, why the hell do we need that anymore?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: When you can exactly what you were describing, put everything in here that I need so that when I use this, it's going to benefit my skin, it's going to make me look good.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: I can take it when I travel.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: I can, you know what I mean?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like all those things.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's the logic.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's everything from like form and function.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: So the bottle was very important to me, making sure that like it is not a bottle that doesn't open, so you can't get the last drops out.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen a lot of bottles like that, which is bullshit.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: That you're not allowing me to open it back up or having a sustainable way to refill it.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot of product.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I was very conscientious of like making sure that like you're getting the biggest bang for your buck at$69 a bottle.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: This stuff's gonna last you, and a little bit goes a long way.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: And everything in here is benefiting you from the inside out.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want a massive makeup bag when I travel.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I get to share that on my substack of like what makes it in my carry-on and why.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that's obviously one of the products.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely feel like I did it the right way, but I also feel like people know me as an interior designer.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it is very hard to break into another category like beauty.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna keep doing it and see what happens and fingers crossed.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I know that the product is really good.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm glad you're doing it.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think it takes a lot of guts to be able to transition between industries and to like, you know, just keep going.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually would love for you to speak on that because I think when it comes to understanding what that takes is really, really important right now, especially when I look at like Gen Z.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: I love Gen Z, but I'm not lying when I tell you I feel like the work ethic has got to get better, you know, in some people.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I see that a lot because I talk to women such as yourself, and I'm like, here we are hustling.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like every single time like you take on a new project, every time you do something new in your career, it takes a shift, it takes a mindset.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: But then when I look into the younger generations, I'm like, we have people complaining about being interns at a remote job.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I would love for you to kind of talk about this, like the career side of all of this, where you know, if you are somebody who wants to keep going in your career, you don't stop.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think that really takes out of a person?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: And what did that take for you to keep going?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's definitely like I feel like an anomaly sometimes.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: I do.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: I know that there's people out there hustling, and but I do feel like when I'm going to hire, I'm like, where's another me?
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, there's not a lot of them.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And even though that makes me mad sometimes, it makes me happy because I know that's why I'm a standout.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's why I'm doing what I'm doing, and other people are not because I work so hard from morning till night, and I don't stop.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if I have an idea, I do everything in my power to execute.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't let it just sit on paper.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: I let it become a reality.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if it doesn't do well, I don't cry about it.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: I literally go, okay, it didn't work.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna try something new.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some of those endeavors have cost me a lot of money, some have not.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some have just been a dream or an idea, but they still hurt the same financially or emotionally.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've never been somebody that hasn't tried something.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I just haven't.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I will continue to be that person.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so my mentality is all I know.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: I do see the mentality of the next generations that don't match mine.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's why I try to interview people my age and only my age, because that work ethic doesn't exist anymore.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it really doesn't.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, I think and I hate saying that, but like it really doesn't.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so sad because they complain about, and I'm not trying to rant about Gen Z.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: I hope no one listening is like, oh she is Gen Z.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: But like, honest to God, though, like no matter what job you're in, I feel like you're gonna have to put in so much to get to a point where you feel like you're advancing your career.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a message that we never had to guess that, right?
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like people who grew up in a time where it was like hard work is the only option.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like you don't have other options.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: You either work hard or you just you're never gonna get what you want in life.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it wasn't like, oh, well, you can do this a little bit and then you can do this a little bit.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: No, like it was never like that.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I worry about the new generation because I'm like, I don't know who's sending you this message, but you gotta hustle.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: There's no way around it.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I woke up this morning uh way too early just to curl my hair because I have to film today.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: That took me 30 minutes.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Then I worked out for an hour.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm doing this podcast for an hour.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then I run to my very first scene today.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: I have four scenes, I change for each one, drive to different locations.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then after that, I have to go do a meeting with a client off camera.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then I finally have time to go get my hair dyed because it's gray as shit.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: And my day will be over at 8 p.m.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I get home, or even while I'm getting my hair done, I'm going to be working on my social, answering all the emails that I can't look at during the day when I'm filming and getting back to all the text messages that I didn't have time to respond to either.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it just doesn't stop.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: And if it stops, that's the part I'm trying to figure out.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: How do I get it to a place in my life and my business where if I stop, the wheels don't fall off?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so now it's about team building.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's about the structure of my business and the strategy of building my brand.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of my money right now is going into building that team because you're only as good as the people that you work with.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: And once I do that, if I check out, the wheels don't fall off.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I can't keep going at this pace, otherwise, I'll probably die early.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I need to being healthy and not overworking myself and not burning out because I would say I'm probably two weeks away from full burnout.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: And usually that happens at the very end of filming my season, and I don't want to get there.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm building the army, and that takes hard work and dedication.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: And also, I hate to say it, but like you give up so much.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: I miss birthdays, I can't go be with my family as much as I want.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't get to see my boyfriend as much as I want.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I've got to give up some things, and I don't like that feeling.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: I want to try to have it all, but impossible.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone that says they have it all is a fucking liar.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: Lying, straight lying.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean, I hear you though.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, but at the same time, you know, I just wonder like, I don't think people are doing the same things that people were doing 10 years ago, you know, like the older generation.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think now like the priorities have shifted.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like we were like, we gotta do it all, you know, especially as women.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like it just like sometimes I think about how much women take on, like naturally.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, as women, I think you just put so much on your plate without even thinking about it.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like it just becomes this.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because it's because I think women are more capable of that.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: Women are more capable of compartmentalizing, women are more capable of taking on more than men.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a dig at men.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: I love men.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're just wired differently, but also like understanding that you cannot do it all and being okay with that.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm going to fall short and I'm going to let people down and I'm going to crash and burn sometimes.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: But like, okay, then what?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you just give up?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've never given up.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: I never will give up.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's just I started working when I was 14 at Subway because I wanted to buy my own car.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, my family was did well, but they were not about to spoil me.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, you go get your shit together.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: You want that?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, go get it for yourself.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: Things weren't handed to me.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what made me who I am today.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I love it.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to live my life all over again the same exact way.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: I would absolutely, I don't know what I would do if I had to grow up the way that that generation grew up.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: I feel bad for them.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of empathy there.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Even though I didn't go through it, it's empathy because I live with that technology.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: I am doing exactly the same thing you're doing.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's just I grew up a different way.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't pushed in my face at a young age.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Email, internet, like this is crazy because I have all that.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: I understand all that.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: I dive into all that, but I also didn't grow up with it.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I wish them all the best.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is a struggle and time will tell.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: For the last question, I just want to ask like if you could like leave some words of wisdom for anybody that's like trying to get into television entertainment, like what are some things they could do to like really kind of stand out?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think right now we're living in a world of influencers and they're getting a lot of opportunities, but it's very different than what you did in your career.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's very different than like really getting noticed by like a media company like HGTV and getting your own show.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, what's some advice like on the career side that you could offer to them?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, so it is very different, right?
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: You touched on that.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: When I got my first show, I literally answered a random email from a production company in California.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the email went to what I now know, went to like 300 different designers in Chicago.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it was an email that said, if you're a designer and interested in doing it, a television show on design, let us know.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know who they were, but I wrote back and I'm like, I'm your girl.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was very confident in my response.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I don't know what the hell this is, but I want to see.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: And they wrote back and they're like, okay, we would love to come and meet you and your team on a job site.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: I had no, again, no clue what the hell was going on.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: My like contractor dressed up like he was going to a nightclub.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: He was wearing so much cologne.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: My team was all dolled up.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know what to expect.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: And this producer comes in and she's like asking questions, like, oh, okay, well, what is this job that you're doing?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: It was a high rise I was designing in Chicago.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, this is my contractor, Damien.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is my design assistant, so and so.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: And this is what we do.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I just told her a little bit.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was a day later.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, You got the job.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, What job?
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what does that mean?
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, Well, we we need we're looking for a ghost designer for a show on HGTV.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: I had no idea what that word meant.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: She was like, But ghost designer is actually who does all the work, but we never show them on television.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: They get paid peanuts, which was like, I think I got paid$1,200 to do all the design, to execute it, to be behind the scenes on it, and to not have my face on television or my name mentioned or like really make that much money.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I remember just going, hell yeah, like I'll do it.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know how many people would say no?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, imagine that happening today.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: They'd be like, Go fuck yourself.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not working for that, and I get no recognition.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's one mentality difference right there in this generation that we're noticing.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then my generation was take the chance, take a leap of faith, say yes to everything in the beginning of your career, say yes to everything.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can get to a point in your career where you get to say no, but that doesn't happen right away.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I said yes, and they so I started working on it.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then they're like, hey, we actually really like your personality.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: We want to put you in front of the camera.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna put you on the construction team because you designed this whole thing so like you can be part of it.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, What?
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: I did not expect that.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I was actually going on a trip.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: I did a trip book to Hawaii with like my best friend.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I'm not going to Hawaii, I'm doing this.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: And she was pissed.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we lost a ton of money canceling that trip.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I was like, I gotta take it, take a leap of faith here.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I went on this show for three days.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: It was a quick 30-minute program, but the producers were like, We really liked working with you.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: We want to see more of your life.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: So they followed me around with cameras for like a couple months, and then they pitched me a new show idea.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: For me, my career was really great.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually working as an interior designer with my own firm, but I also was like working as a casino executive, which made sense to my life, but it didn't make sense to viewers.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: So they're like, we want to do a show about both.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I'm gonna regretfully decline.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is not the show for me.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think viewers are gonna like it.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Then I was watching the show that I did, which was called House Crashers on DIY Network, and it was a marathon of the crashers.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I was watching it, I'm like, there's no women on this show.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: There's house crashers, that's a man hosting it.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yard crashers, a man, bath crashers, a man.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, where's the woman doing this?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I pitched myself to be the first female crashers to do kitchens.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the network was like, let's go.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't think it was gonna last.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was literally gonna be a one season and done.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I never quit any of my day jobs.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden, they like started picking up season four, five, six at the same time.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh shit, this is working.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta quit my day jobs.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: So the point of me telling that story is like one thing fell into my lap, which was the email.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I worked my ass off every day after that email.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that if there's one thing to say is like if you want something bad enough, you find a way.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: And now you have AI.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: Ask ChatGPT.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an interior designer and I want my own TV show.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think I should do?
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: Can you create a roadmap for me?
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: I want to specialize in this, I want to be different because of this.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: Use it as a tool and a friend to help you really design something that's different.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's gonna tell you like, here's the production companies that you should go talk to.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: Email them this, send them a tape of yourself.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is what you should say on the tape.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: Those are things like because I will tell you, casting agents in my world of interior design and HGTV are looking and searching across social media, TikTok, Instagram, Substack, like you name it, they're looking for you.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: So don't let them look for you.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: You go find them if that's what you really want, because they're waiting for you.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you've got something different to do and say and teach, if you feel like you've got that personality to be on TV, because I'll tell you what, not a lot of people do, go for it.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: But don't wait for it to fall into your lap anymore because it's not happening like it did with me.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: That was I love that.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean, that's that's great advice.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I I really, really appreciate you sharing that because I think that's very rare to find people just telling the truth about it.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, everyone thinks like I can get into television, I can do it.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't think no anyone talks about how difficult it is and how difficult it always has been.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: But like, you know what I mean?
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to stop, you just yeah, it's it makes sense.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: You have to, and and you've got to fight for it.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm the one that pushed them to do kitchen crashers, they pitched me a different show and I said no.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I was watching and realizing that there was something missing in the market, that's the thing for anybody trying to break into anything.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: What's missing?
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: How are you gonna fill that void?
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because otherwise you're gonna get lost in the max.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Allison.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: This was so wonderful to chat with you.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: I love that you're coming into the beauty space.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's really, really cool.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: And really much.