Latest / Tone It Down / Lisa J of BK Beauty on Beauty After 40, Finding Your Confidence & Building a Brand

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Lisa J of BK Beauty on Beauty After 40, Finding Your Confidence & Building a Brand · Tone It Down

• 0:00
  I wanted to teach them that beauty is kindness. Being kind to other people. I think we're all taught that as kids, be nice, be kind, you know, but we're not taught to be kind to ourselves. This is your weekly girlfriend chat, the kind that we all crave, where we can show up exactly as we are, laugh until we cry, get honest about the things we're navigating, and all the private girl talk that we need more of. No pressure, no perfection, just real women like us sharing real stories with real connections.
• 0:28
  Over the years of Tone It Down, I've learned that the most transformative moments don't always happen in a workout. They happen in those conversations before and after. When we realize we're all going through something, when we feel seen. And that's what Tone It Down is built on. My intention is simple, to help you tune back into yourself, to quiet the noise, and to remind you that you're allowed to evolve. This is Tone It Down.
• 1:00
  My ladies, my friends, welcome back to the Tone It Down podcast. I'm so excited to have you here every single week, or at least I'm trying my hardest, you guys. It has been a whirlwind. And I actually talk a lot about the whirlwind of even buying Tone It Up back, being the sole investor, being the sole owner. And I really enjoyed this conversation. Lisa, the founder of BK Beauty just left the studio, born and raised Austin. So great to finally meet her in person.
• 1:29
  But we talk about all things makeup, skincare, 40 and over, how your skincare changes. We talk about building a business starting on YouTube and social media and all the changes. We talk about fitness. We talk about some days are just not so good and then some days are great. And just the joys of life that are mixed in there. There's a lot of takeaways here on how to feel your best. We talk about how makeup and fitness...
• 1:57
  came from an era of aesthetic, but then really making yourself feel good and how there's a connection to your mental health through wellness, taking care of your body and the way you look and the way you dress and all the things. So thank you, Lisa, for coming down, sweating it out in this Austin heat in the studio. I really enjoyed meeting you and your energy, your authenticity.
• 2:20
  So everyone, make sure you share this episode with someone who just wants to sit down and have a conversation with their girls and take away some really cool beauty tips.
• 2:31
  And don't forget also, I'm going to be doing an AMA. Actually this week when it comes out, I'll be in Miami filming for the podcast and other things for Tone It Up. And if you go to karenadon.com slash message, you can leave me a voicemail and we'll play it live on the podcast and answer your questions, comments, say hey, all the things. All right, I love you. I love being on this journey with you. This ever-changing, growing journey.
• 2:58
  amazing journey of life. I know it seems like really a lot for an intro, but this has been going through so much lately and I'm going to share more about it too. But your support and this community coming together is, it means the world to me. I love you.
• 3:19
  Welcome to Tone It Down. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I know. Founder of BK Beauty, which we'll get into. Born and raised in Austin, Texas. Finally meeting in person. I think we were texting back in 2024. Yes, we were. Yeah. So I was so excited to hear from you last week. I was just really excited to be here. So thank you for having me.
• 3:37
  Well, we were just talking about how with me reacquiring Tone It Up 100%, just me on the cap table and really going back to the roots. And I loved how even in the beginning of Tone It Up, which when did you first? When did we launch? No, but Tone It Up, like you were in your 20s.
• 3:55
  Yes. Yes. I mean, yes. I must've found you when you first started. Yeah. And I was DMing you like 20s, 30s, 40s. And even back then we were like, okay, what is our beauty routine then in our 30s and 40s? And then I was DMing you. I'm like, we're both in our 40s now. How has it all changed, whether from fitness and wellness and beauty? So I'm just happy to sit here and talk with you. Me too. It's been an evolution. I feel like the woman I was in my 20s is...
• 4:20
  She's not the woman I am today, and so many things have changed. So I'm excited to have this conversation. So let's talk about BK Beauty first, because we're going to get into all the beauty secrets the ladies want to hear about and how you started BK Beauty and where that came from. Yeah. So we launched BK Beauty in 2019. We're actually about to come up to our seven-year birthday in August. And it really launched from my YouTube channel. So I had been creating content and uploading it on YouTube at that point for about five years. Wow.
• 4:48
  makeup tutorials. I had been a makeup artist and saw YouTube as like an outlet to kind of extend that passion for like teaching women makeup and connecting with women over beauty and makeup. And then after about five years, I was like, I've got this community, this audience that trusts me that, you know, that are buying the products I'm talking about. And I realized then that it was the perfect platform for me to kind of start and launch my own brand.
• 5:10
  And we started with makeup brushes because I'd been a makeup artist. And I knew that the foundation to a really good makeup routine that no one was really talking about is the tools that you're using. Everyone was so focused on the products that you're using. But the truth be told is today you can buy exceptional products in every price point. You can go to the drugstore and find amazing products. But if you don't have the right tools to apply them...
• 5:32
  you're very limited in what you can do. So when we walked up here, so we're in Austin and it's really hot and I brought up like a makeup sponge and it's so dirty. I was like, don't judge me. No judgment. But let's talk about that. Yeah. So how the tools affect how the makeup is applied.
• 5:48
  Yes, definitely. I mean, it all starts in the tools that you're using. When I talk about our brushes, I talk about one thing I try really hard to do with every brush is to kind of find that good balance of density, but also softness. Because if a brush is too dense, you'll get a lot of coverage and a lot of product payoff, but you will have a very difficult time blending it out and making it look natural on the skin.
• 6:09
  Brushes that are too dense are not friendly for women over 40. Like we don't want to do that. We need brushes that are really going to sheer out and blend out product, but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice full coverage and color payoff. So it's really important to make sure you're using the right tools.
• 6:24
  So when I go back, YouTube, as we know, Tone It Up started on YouTube in 2009. 2009. Okay. Isn't that wild? I know. That is wild. And so you started in 2014? Yeah, 2014. And you were living here in Austin. I was living here in Austin. I had been a makeup artist for, at that point, I don't know, maybe 10, 11 years. And I had a wedding makeup business here. But I was pregnant with my second daughter. And I was just at that...
• 6:51
  Pivotal point where you knew that something had to change. You know, I was committing to these weddings a year in advance, taking up my weekends. And now I was starting a family and I didn't want to give up my weekends. In Austin at the time, it was if you were a makeup artist, you basically did weddings. There was no other opportunity for working makeup artists except work at a department store or work weddings.
• 7:11
  I stumbled across a beauty YouTube video. I remember watching my first YouTube video about beauty and it was this beauty room of this creator and she had so much makeup and it was organized so beautifully. And I remember watching that video thinking, okay, I'm not the only one. There are people out there just like me that love makeup. And so I thought YouTube was a great way for me to continue this passion I had for talking about makeup, teaching women makeup, but not be at the mercy of, you know, giving up my weekends for, for wedding. Yeah.
• 7:38
  So then 2019 comes, what makes you want to start this new business and with your husband? Yeah, yeah. So Paul's very entrepreneurial as I am. I had a wedding makeup business too. And we'd always had this dream of doing something together. At that point, I had been on YouTube for about five years and I had just started to really monetize my channel. For the first three years, I didn't monetize it. But after year three...
• 8:00
  I started using affiliate links and kind of got a really clear picture of like who my viewer was. I had an idea of where she liked to shop, what products she bought, what price points she bought at. So it gave me a lot of like insight into what type of product to create for her.
• 8:16
  Paul had been at his company for about 10 years. He was the head of marketing for a cybersecurity company, and he was ready to make a move. And we were just talking and kind of dreaming up what we would do together. And so he actually worked on the business with me, getting it ready to launch. We launched in August, and then by November, he had quit his job to come full time and help me with the business.
• 8:35
  And how is that in your marriage now? I just, I ask because, as you know, just acquiring Tone It Up back and all this. And now Bobby, who has never worked with Tone It Up on that side with me before. And now it's like a new thing this year. Yeah.
• 8:50
  And it's a little challenging here and there. Yeah. So number one, how is it? Number two, tips? Yeah. Yeah. I get that question all the time. How do you work with your spouse? Like, I think for a lot of people that is like, doesn't make sense. Like, you know, it's chat can be challenging. I think it works really well for us because we just have a clear understanding of like what falls on his desk and what falls on mine, what his role is and what my role is.
• 9:14
  And thankfully, he's really exceptional about of all the things that I am not. And I have no interest in learning. I want to create product. I want to create content still. I want to focus on the marketing and the messaging around the products that we're making. I don't want to deal with logistics. I don't want to deal with the finances. I mean, I should.
• 9:34
  That's actually something. Yes, it is. It is. That's something that I'm challenging myself to get more involved and learn more. But he's very much operations business and I'm more creative and product. And we would just respect each other. You know, in fact, we actually had a really difficult decision to make. An opportunity came up that was it was a huge opportunity. I was so excited about it. I wanted to do it. He was like, you know, we really need to think this through because X, Y, Z. And he was like, so how do you feel about that? Like, and I was like, you know what?
• 10:04
  I am coming from a place of like, if I'm being honest with myself, I want to do this out of ego. I want to do this because it seems cool and I want to tell people about it, but I understand it's not the right business move for us. So I'm going to trust that, you know, the numbers more. And we just, we just have a respect for each other where like he respects my decision-making on certain things that fall on my side and I do on his.
• 10:27
  Yeah. And as we were talking, just tone it up, like having so many people support you and now we're smaller and growing, like figuring out what those roles are. And for me, I want to be just content and community support and be out there. But you get stuck in all of these other little areas that it's like, do I need to learn how to do this tech and this tech and this tech? You can get lost in all of that. So really having those boundaries is great.
• 10:54
  I think so. I think it's important to understand and not be completely naive to it. But I also think you need to understand where your passion is and where your strengths are. And if there are people that are more capable and qualified to run certain parts, then let them. And I think that's more fun. I think like building something with a group of people is more fun than trying to do it by yourself.
• 11:14
  So why makeup and beauty? What drew you to that? I've always been into makeup. I mean, I can remember being 12 years old and like begging my mom to host a Mary Kay party so that I could learn how to do my makeup at 12. I've always had a passion for it. I think when I was a lot younger, it came from a place of just insecurity, right? Like I was the girl that would have a sleepover with a friend and wake up before she did to put makeup on.
• 11:37
  And that's, I know, it's sad. That's a thing, though. I remember even dating in my 20s, mid-20s, and early 30s. If I was, woke up somewhere. Yeah. I'd like tiptoe off to the bathroom. And like, I'd totally look fresh in the morning. Or I just wouldn't wash my face at night.
• 11:53
  Yes, I know. I did too. Isn't that sad? Like in some ways, because you remember that girl and you just want to tell her like, girl, I didn't need this. You're beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. But there's also the pressure of society that made us think that we had to do that because everything we see, I mean, back then it was magazines that I would look at makeup and now it's social media, but there is a lot of that, that pressure of looking a certain way. For sure. And I think just, you know, for...
• 12:18
  A lot of women, I mean, maybe I shouldn't speak for a lot of women, but for myself, like my confidence came much later in my life. But anyway, I had this passion, but it came from a place of that, seeing makeup as a tool to just make me feel better about myself. But then as I grew and I, and, you know, I had my daughters, I kind of started reevaluating like how I viewed beauty and how I, what I wanted to teach them about beauty and what it meant to be beautiful. And how do you do that to your daughters? Owning a makeup company or being a makeup influencer and makeup company? Like, how do you teach that to your daughters?
• 12:47
  Yeah, that's a really good question. When we were launching the brand, the question is, okay, what's the name of the brand going to be? And for a lot of creators, it's kind of their creator name, which didn't make sense for me because I was a much smaller creator. And I just knew right off the bat, like, no, I wanted to have a purpose behind it. I wanted to be bigger than myself. My daughter's names are Brooklyn and Kate. Yeah.
• 13:07
  But then I thought too about the message I wanted to teach them. And at that point I had been creating content for four or five years and I was starting to worry about like what I was teaching them by being a beauty creator. You know, am I teaching them that you have to buy a bunch of makeup, put on makeup every day to be beautiful? Cause that's definitely not what I want them to. That's not what I want to teach them about beauty.
• 13:26
  I wanted to teach them that beauty is kindness, you know, which is kind of being kind to other people. I think we're all taught that as kids, be nice, be kind, you know, but we're not taught to be kind to ourselves until later. Right. And so that's the message that I try and teach them. And, and just, I think how you do that is just kind of the way you live. You know, it's being very conscious of the things that you say in front of your daughters and the,
• 13:48
  the way you talk about yourself, you know? This makes me think of a time with Bobby, my husband. He's always like, why do you put makeup on? You don't need it. Yeah. Because it makes me feel good. But then we are trained that way. So for your daughters or anyone who has kids, at what point are you like, okay, you can put some lip gloss on. You do this because what would the words be that you use? Like enhances this or makes you just feel like you're sparkling or what is it?
• 14:18
  a tool and it's creative. And I think that you can look at it as an art form, right? It doesn't just have to be that you're putting it on to make yourself feel prettier. I mean, that's, that definitely happens. But I think that, you know, like my youngest daughter, she's more into makeup than my older, my older likes skincare, but she doesn't want to look like she has makeup on.
• 14:36
  My youngest daughter, I'll have to say sometimes like, that's too much, honey, you know, but I also let her express herself, you know, with, with makeup. And, um, and I let her have fun and there's a place in time that I'll let her maybe wear a little more. But I think, I think I would just have more concern if I felt like it was being used as a way to hide an insecurity. And I don't get that feeling. So. Well, you mentioned makeup is like art. What we wear is how, you know.
• 15:06
  You were like, you were DMing me. What are you wearing? I should have just said yoga pants and a t-shirt because that's pretty much what I always wear. I was like, sporty, spicy, but not really. I love it. Yeah. But yeah, sometimes I love to dress in a ton of color or sometimes I love to dress in all dark. And I think that makeup, like clothing can be an expression or even how you decorate your home or it's all expression. A hundred percent. Yeah. And I think it's...
• 15:29
  I'm getting to the place where I stop and ask myself like, okay, what do I feel good in? Because do you ever do this? Do you ever like go and you're shopping and you see this like beautiful piece of clothing and you buy it and then you never wear it? It sits in your closet and you never wear it. And I do that all the time. I have all these really nice clothes in my closet, but I never wear it because I don't want to get it dry cleaned or I'm just going to the office or I'm just whatever. Yeah.
• 15:52
  But the truth is, is that I am more comfortable dressed casually and comfortable. And I don't, and that's okay. I don't need to like, you know, dress up and put on a fashion show every day. I think I struggled with this over the last few years. Once BK Beauty started getting more attention, I felt like I had to look the role and dress the part. But the truth is, is like, I feel my best when I'm just dressed like this or, you know, and that's fine. Yeah.
• 16:17
  I know all those beautiful outfits. I just discovered the real, real. I think I'm the only person who, like, finally, I was like, okay, come to my house and take all this stuff that I've never worn. Yeah, that's good. But it feels, like, really freeing. Yeah. Yeah. But sometimes you don't want to part with it because you're like, I paid so much money for that. I know. But I'm like, the money's gone. Like, me holding on to it in my closet is not, you know.
• 16:40
  So let's talk tips because that's what everyone wants to hear. So over 40, let's start there. The best beauty makeup tips for women over 40 and how our skin has changed and what we should do that's changing in our routine.
• 16:55
  Over 40 skin is definitely a little more textured, a little more dehydrated than it was when we were in our 20s and our early 30s. So sometimes foundation concealer is not always our best friend. It's really important to find like the right formulas, things that are hydrating, not too matte. I think the biggest mistake that we see is when we're applying too much product.
• 17:15
  especially concealer. Concealer is, I always tell people, concealer is the most pigmented, heaviest product that you'll put on your face during your makeup routine. Ironically enough, it actually goes on this underneath our eyes, which is where the skin is the thinnest. It's where we have the most texture. And so we think we need to put a lot there to conceal dark circles, but when you over-apply concealer, you're just going to accentuate texture, fine lines. So really, I always tell people, just use what you need and nothing more.
• 17:43
  And I think we watch beauty tutorials and sometimes we see all these things happening and we're like, I need to do all of those things. But I think the truth is just finding a good, simple routine that enhances your features and makes you feel beautiful and sticking with that. Okay. What do you have on right now?
• 17:58
  Because you look very smooth, natural, glowy, even toned. I have a lot on, actually. I have more than I normally wear. Then you can't even tell. I was coming here to, well, it was the brushes. It was all the brushes. Yes. We're in Texas. It's 100 degrees. It's hot. It melts.
• 18:14
  off immediately. It does. So I like to use a good, a natural matte foundation. So something that eliminates shine, but that doesn't look flat and dry. So it's actually the Dior Forever Matte Foundation. It's really nice. And then I have just a little concealer and then a little powder and then all the fun color. Yeah. Like blush. What about the sheen that's very in right now?
• 18:33
  like just highlighter and shininess. Yeah. Yeah. I like to highlight with very refined highlighters. So nothing shimmery, nothing too heavy or sparkly. I look for things that have like a satin finish or a sheen that I like, I love that word, but not a sparkle because a sparkle will magnify texture. If you have a, if you have a little bit of pores and you put a sparkly highlighter, it's just going to like,
• 18:58
  bring so much attention to the texture there. The hourglass ambient powders are really nice. They have a really beautiful soft highlighter that looks natural. And you just want it to look like a light is lighting up the face, not like it's intentionally placed with makeup.
• 19:13
  And then would you say now you wear less makeup than in your 20s and 30s? 100%. Why is it? Is it just because we're like playing so much when we're younger and we're like, put it all on? Or because we were talking about the Bravo show that I was on way back in the day, over a decade ago. I've recently rewatched it like six months ago and could watch it from a different perspective. And it had so much fun. I was like, girl, you're black.
• 19:37
  eyeshadow. Was that just the trend back then? I literally would like wet my finger, put it in black eyeshadow and like make my eyelids as dark as possible. I know that was a time. That was a time. I did that too. I did the black liner in the inner rim, outer rim. I did it all. I don't know. I think it was a trend. And I think, I think for me it was, it was a transformation. You know, I wanted to transform the way I looked. Well, now I just want an easy routine that,
• 20:05
  Just enhances. Yeah. Enhances my natural features. Someone listening is like, well, how do I prepare my skin to then of course have the great brushes, but just skin prep first. Oh yeah. Skin prep is so important. I think that's like the most important part of your routine. Always, of course, wash your face at night. I don't know. Were you washing your face in your twenties every night?
• 20:25
  I was pretty good unless I was staying the night, you know. Because we needed it to last the next morning. I was terrible at washing my face in my 20s at night. But yes, always clean your skin really well every single night. In the morning when you're prepping for makeup, I like to do a few layers of products. I'll start with like a really light essence. It almost like the texture of water.
• 20:45
  And I'll apply that and pat that on the skin. And then I'll go in with like a serum that's a little heavier, but it's not quite a moisturizer. And then I'll apply a little bit of that. And I'm waiting about a minute or two before applying each. So I'm just giving it some time to absorb. And then I'll put on my moisturizer. I try not to do something too heavy during the day. At night, I will use something a little more rich and deeply hydrating. But during the day, I just want something light because I always tell people I put a lot of products on, but I put very little layers of those products.
• 21:14
  You know, if you have too much on your face, it's going to feel heavy, especially in Texas, it's going to feel...
• 21:19
  Not good. So, and then I do a tinted SPF. Do you do a tinted SPF or what do you use? I do. I use Kool-Aid. Okay. Or also Clear Stim. Uh-huh. I use Elastin. Okay. I use an Elastin one. I love that one, but that gives some coverage. Yeah. So that means that I can use less foundation. Yeah. Which is great. I actually mix the Kool-Aid with my foundation. And what do I use? I think it's Lady Gaga's brand. Oh, House Labs? Yes. Uh-huh. Okay. The foundation? Yeah. Oh, that's a beautiful foundation. I love that. Good job.
• 21:48
  Thank you. I think my trainer, Sandy Brockman here in Austin was like, how awesome. Oh, I need to go see her. Yeah, she's great. She's been on the podcast. I've seen her, yeah. But she was telling me about it. I was like, okay, I'll go find that. So I've been using it for a couple of years. Yeah, that one's a good one. That's really mature skin friendly. Not that I'm calling you mature skin, but like over, you know. Well, let's be honest. I'm 45. I'm 43. And like, I feel like when I say mature skin, I'm like, I don't feel mature. But when we're saying that, I think that's just the internet's way of addressing over 40 skin, right? Yeah.
• 22:16
  But that one is really great for over 40 skin because it has a little bit of radiance without looking greasy. Yeah. You know, it doesn't look flat and matte, but it doesn't look greasy and shiny either. Right. And then I mix it with my tinted sunscreen. So it's not like super thick. Yeah. Yeah.
• 22:31
  That's pretty. Good job. I approve. Thank you. So, okay. All of your layers of moisturizer and then that, and then what about eyes? Because I feel like nowadays in my forties, my whole eye makeup routine has simplified to lashes. Yeah. Yeah. Because I try to do a cat eye and then my cat eye ends up like up here. Up here. Yeah. So you have a little shadow on today. Is that like a powder? It's just a powder. Yeah. Yeah. It's like kind of just a sheen I put all over like this.
• 22:59
  Okay, so my favorite products for quick, easy eye looks, but that'll look put together, are either cream shadow sticks or liquid eyeshadows. So today I have on a liquid eyeshadow from Armani. It's their little eye tint. I also love a good cream shadow stick because they're very quick and easy. You can blend it out with your finger or a BK Beauty brush. Yeah.
• 23:20
  and it lasts all day, especially in the heat. It won't crease and fade. It'll stay all day. And it's a complete eye look. And I would always recommend finding a shade that is like the color of your bronzer. So a couple of shades deeper than your skin tone, but not too dark, just something to warm up the eye. And then I do a little bit of liner on the outer half of the eye and then mascara. Yeah. Yeah.
• 23:41
  What about contouring? Contouring. Yes. I feel like that was had like a big moment. It did. And then is it still having a moment? I think it's still having a moment. I think my I don't contour every day. I do bronzer. And there's a difference between bronzer and contour. Yeah. Do you know the difference? Yeah.
• 23:59
  Probably not. I know bronzer. I'm just like a little on my cheekbones and like under my jaw. Yeah. But then this true contouring is like, it's a whole thing. Yeah. It's like changing the structure of your face appearance wise. Right. So contour is usually a cool tone color that's deeper than your skin tone. Right. Where bronzer is usually a warm tone color that's deeper than your skin tone.
• 24:21
  And contour is meant to create shadows. So it's placed in areas. I always tell people like, imagine that you have a light shining, you have a flashlight shining on your face. So wherever that light's going to hit the face, which is like the high planes, it's the forehead, it's the cheekbones, it's the bridge of the nose.
• 24:36
  that's where your highlight would be. Okay. And we can either highlight with curly finishes or we can highlight with lighter color. So we can use a lighter powder that's matte and highlight, or we could use a lighter shimmery powder, right? You can go either way. And with contour, you're basically going to place that contour where the shadow would be. So you have that light there. You've got the light on the high planes, then you have shadows underneath it. And that's where the contour would go.
• 24:57
  And that just creates more structure to the face. So my thoughts on contouring is that we don't all need to do it. I think we all think we need to contour our nose and contour our cheeks and contour all the things. But really, you want to contour if you want to create more definition or minimize an area. So if you have a very hollow, thin face, you probably don't want to contour because it's going to make it look even more hollow. If you have a very round face and you want to create more of that structure, then by all means, contouring is great for you.
• 25:27
  necessarily for everybody. It really depends on what your goals are. So let's go. Favorite mascara. Bobbi Brown Smoky Eye Mascara. Okay. Is that what you're wearing? Because I'm always like trying new mascaras. I can't figure it out. No, I'm not wearing it today, but only because I'm out of it, I need to replace it. But today I have on the YSL Lash Latex, which is also a great one. Okay.
• 25:47
  And then end of the day, washing and cleansing. Uh-huh. What do we do? So I do micellar water first to get all my eye makeup off. I have sensitive eyes, so I don't want to take my face wash and rub it all over my eyes. So I get off all my eye makeup, and then I'll take whatever's left, and I'll remove as much of the foundation as I can with it. Then I'll go in with a gentle cleanser I use. Right now I'm using the Elastin. I think it's called the gentle cleanser.
• 26:09
  And then I'll really make sure I get all of any residual makeup off the skin. I'll take a white towel and I'll like kind of blot it to make sure that everything's off. But yeah, cleaning the skin is so important. Like really cleaning it. Okay. What about for the lazy girls?
• 26:26
  who use like a wipe at night a wipe so i love is it ursa i'm terrible ursa major the essential oil wipes i haven't used those do they work well i don't know i yeah sometimes if i don't want to do like the full routine i just use a wipe or if i'm traveling yeah so you'll just use that you won't wash with yeah do you feel like it gets everything off
• 26:48
  Probably not. No. Yeah. It's important to get everything off. I mean, you know, it's not going to kill you to do that every now and then. But. No, the look on your face is, girl.
• 27:00
  No, it's good. It's definitely good. I think cleansing your skin is underrated. Like the importance of really doing a good job cleansing it. And then, okay. So then final like deep moisture. What do you do? Yeah. So at night I'll do, usually I'll do an exfoliator like three or four nights a week. So I'll wash my face. And then if I'm exfoliating, I'll use that product. I don't do that every night because that can be a little harsh on your skin every night.
• 27:23
  But I will do that. Then I'll go in with that essence that and I'll do the same thing I did in the morning. But my moisturizer at the end of that is much richer, heavier. Right now I'm using this one from Revision Skin Care. It's called the Ultimate Barrier Defense, I think. And it actually says on the jar for mature, dehydrated dry skin. It is good. It is really good.
• 27:46
  Being in Texas, do you get allergies and like how it affects your skin at all or not? Or you've been here your whole life. I've been here my whole life, yeah. So you're probably fine. Me, I'm like... Oh, is it? What happens? I will get dryness, rashes, puffy eyes. It's gotten better over the years, but it's still like if I leave town and I travel for two weeks and I come back and then I'm just inflamed. Do you take anything? Claritin or anything? No, everyone's like, well, do you take anything? I'm like, no. I don't.
• 28:12
  No, I'm the same way. I don't take much because I'm like, does it really work? I'll just toughen it. I'll just power through it. So, okay, let's go back to brushes. Why is it important to have good quality brushes for your makeup? Like what would happen if you didn't? And what happens when you do?
• 28:28
  Yeah. So if you don't, what will happen is you won't have a pretty natural blend. You'll see lines of the makeup more, maybe streaks, maybe the jawline isn't blended out and you can see where it stops. Same thing with eyeshadow. If you don't have really great brushes, the eyeshadow is just not going to be blended to where it looks airbrushed or seamless. Basically, it just comes down to a lot more harsh edges and lines in your makeup, where good brushes will make everything have softer finishes and
• 28:54
  And it should do a lot of the work for you and cut down your time of applying your makeup. Our foundation brush, the 101, I mean, you can apply your foundation in like 20 seconds with that thing. But if you don't have a good tool, you'll be there for like two minutes trying to get something to blend out. And it still won't look good.
• 29:10
  And so you're moving into makeup too. Are you talking about that yet? Yes. Okay. So let's talk about that. That's very exciting. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm super, so we had makeup when we first launched the brand. We had a lip liner, a eyeshadow palette and a lipstick that we had launched. We ended up getting a lot of traction with brushes and we're a small self-funded brand. So we decided we're going to focus where, where things are working well for us. So we actually discontinued our makeup. And if I'm being really honest with myself, I, I didn't know what I was doing. Yeah.
• 29:40
  I didn't know what I was doing. And I, I knew that I wanted to wait and launch when we could do it right and really build a product that is everything I wanted in a product. And so we're doing that now. We're going to be launching in two months with our first two makeup products. And I'm very excited about it. We're, it's going to be clean. The ingredients in the products are skincare focused. I, in fact, the other night I was on chat GPT. I don't know about you. Like, okay, tell me if you've ever felt this way when you're
• 30:10
  do you ever like start to like doubt yourself before? And you're like, I doubt myself every day. I was having one of those days the other day. I was like, Oh my God, what if people don't like it? Or what if I, you know, so I'm like, chat chibiti needs to build my confidence. So I like put in our ingredient list into chat chibiti. And I didn't say this is my product. I'm like, Hey, chat chibiti, evaluate this ingredient deck for me. And then it came back saying how great it was and this and that. And I was just like,
• 30:34
  Chatty says it's great, great. I know sometimes I put stuff in chatty. I'm like, analyze this. Like positivity. I'm like, okay, those are going to be my thoughts. Positivity, positivity. Talking about doubting even and confidence and confidence that comes over time. But I mean, even for myself, there's always that self-doubt. Like, am I doing this the best? Or like, do you still have that this many years in? Oh, yeah. I know. I keep waiting for that to go away. Yeah.
• 31:01
  I'm like, shouldn't this go away by now? I know, does it? I wish I could be that woman that is so confident and that doesn't doubt herself. And that, you know, that's just kind of how I'm wired right now. And I think the, I don't know about you, but I feel like,
• 31:17
  That's okay. You know, it's just like being aware of it and recognizing when you're feeling that way. And I think it's a self-awareness and also because you love what you're doing, you want to make sure you're giving your best. And then there's always that, could I do better? Could I do better? What if I did this or this? And then there's always this...
• 31:36
  thought of what if I tweak it, but then it's, what is it like ready is a lie or whatever people say, it's like, you just have to do your best and put it out there. And for anyone listening to, I believe that there's some days or weeks that confidence is high. And then sometimes it's like something goes wrong and you're like, dang, you know, it's the ebb and flow of life. It is. It is. That's something I've been working on the last, I would say the last five or six years. It's just like,
• 32:05
  accepting the way that I am and the, the kind of characteristics that I have that, that aren't going to change, but just like understanding to recognize it and pull myself out of it and say, you're telling yourself a story that's not true. Right. And not like feed it or let it carried away by it, you know?
• 32:21
  It is true. We tell ourselves so many stories. What is it we have between 80,000 and 100,000 thoughts per day, and a lot of them are just repetitive. Yeah. And so changing that narrative within our own thoughts every day is something, you know, it's a muscle that you're building. Yep. That confidence that you're building. Yeah. Yeah. So you're self-funded. Yeah. How does that feel?
• 32:44
  I'm very proud of that. I'm very proud of that. I think that it has allowed us to build the type of brand and company exactly how we want to do it on our own terms. We don't have the pressure of growing at all costs and growing fast and trying to sell the business. And I can guarantee you if we had investors, I probably wouldn't be able to do the product that I'm about to launch.
• 33:05
  tell me that. So I love that. I love that freedom. I think in the early days of starting a business, you look around on the internet and you see, oh, so-and-so raised this and so-and-so raised this, and you feel like it's so much more glamorous. And then you compare yourself to that, but they've just lost all control of their creativity and their purpose. Yes. And I always think
• 33:27
  And I don't know if this is true, but this is my perception of it. It's like once you take on an investment, you're on a track now. And that track is for that investor to get their money back. That means you're working towards an exit, right? And I don't know that that's something we're working towards now, you know, or in the near future or anything. So it's, I don't know, I'm very proud of that. We definitely, for Tone It Up, it was...
• 33:48
  nine years before and we were self-funded for nine years and then we grew so much and we were talking earlier about going into retail and how expensive that becomes and then as you're growing so much you need all this working capital and so we took on investment and I've learned so much since then yeah but that's where now I'm like when I bought toned up back I was thinking of having
• 34:16
  you know what, I don't want to answer to anybody, at least for a few years. Until I really need it, let me get back to the roots and make it community-focused, get back to her without having to answer to anybody. I mean, this is 17 years of...
• 34:33
  having business partners. And then it was in 2018, we took our first private equity. How did that feel? Like I, part of me is like, Oh, it would be great to have someone that has done this before that comes with the experience that, that you can learn from. Did you feel like. That was my hope. Yeah. Yeah.
• 34:51
  But, you know, I've talked about this before, but it was also we needed the working capital. OK, they were supposed to help us grow. But for us, unfortunately, it was more like bringing on other CEOs because then you lose that founder vision and that love and that pureness of being the founder who is running the company. Yeah.
• 35:13
  It becomes just about money, which I'm not saying that's bad for some. Right. It's a business. Yeah. Yeah. We're not a nonprofit. Yeah. But the struggle, I think, for companies like you and ours is they're built off community and they're built off people that are showing up because they want to support you. They want to support me. They want to support that creator. And so it's hard when that changes.
• 35:34
  Yeah. And when that changes and you have all the other business partners, you kind of lose who you are speaking for myself and like the reason it all started. So it feels really good for me to come back and not. I'm so excited for you. I want to help. How can I get involved?
• 35:51
  We'll talk. This is so exciting. Yeah, it is. This is so exciting. It's about having fun again and growing the business, but growing the community and getting back to what women want. Okay. So I know your story and I don't want to divert the conversation, but I started following you, I think from YouTube videos that you guys were making, right? And then I kept following and then I watched the show and then I saw the products, but where did it all start? Was it, did it all start with just making videos or was it started with events or...
• 36:18
  Yeah. YouTube videos. I had a fitness background. We'll switch this contest around. Yeah. I had a fitness background, trainer, triathlete, all the things. Fitness transformed my life. It saved me from a decade of darkness and growing up with a mentally ill mother. And I just started running and running became my therapy and then wanting to share that message of physical fitness, not being about the way you look, which is the same with BK Beauty. It's like,
• 36:48
  Fitness is kindness to your body, to your mind. Then wanting to be able to share that with other women when back in the day, much like makeup, probably, it was fitness was very strict and you wanted to transform yourself. Yeah. But going back to why do I work out?
• 37:06
  then sharing that message and starting. And then Instagram, I mean, it was before Instagram even existed. That's amazing. You had no idea what you were doing. No freaking clue. No clue. I know. That's what I was saying earlier. It's like that decision you made just changed your life. It's that you want to path it.
• 37:21
  Yeah, but it comes from the heart and like a passion. And so everything I do has always had come from a passion. And so now to be able 17 years later to still have Tone It Up be a household name and people like, oh, Tone It Up. Yeah. And to be able to still have that and that voice. And now even, you know, as we transformed through the years, it's not, you know, back in the day, it was like, oh, everyone's like, oh, I just want to tone it up. But now I'm focused on toning up the mind, toning up the body, toning up the way we eat, toning up our relationships, toning up our relationships.
• 37:50
  toning up to all aspects of our life. And it's interesting because like fitness is a catalyst, I think, for all those things. I got into fitness around 19. And also too, I had gained a lot of weight. I was depressed. My best friend had died. I didn't grow up in a house that was super health focused. I just didn't know about exercise. I didn't know about how food impacts the way you feel. And I remember I lost all the weight. I started working out all the time and so many other things in my life improved. Yeah.
• 38:19
  You know, initially it started off on a weight loss journey, but then afterwards I was like, I'm doing better in school. I have a healthier relationship now. All these other things because I was taking care of myself. Well, that's the thing that you have to realize. Like you can't run a business or build anything or be a good mother or wife until you take care of yourself first. Yeah. Like I need to on the days when I don't want to work out. I'm like...
• 38:42
  I have a set of weights on my kitchen island for those days where they're just there. I'm like, just do something. Yeah. So it's so important to have that. And I think it's come a long way because back in my day, like, I don't think that was like well known that fitness can make you feel good. Make you feel better. Right. Exactly.
• 39:03
  Exactly. Because like you said, it was all about the way you look, right? It was like Beachbody, right? It's all about your body and the way your body looked. Now I think people are more educated, but still like, if you're not in that environment, you don't have people in your household that are like that. You don't have friends that are like that. You're not consuming content that tells you that. You might not know that. Yeah. With Beachbody. So Carl, the founder has been on the Big Silence podcast and he's talked about the evolution of Beachbody and how he changed the name out of body and why. And we also have toned it up back in 17 years ago, what I was doing for
• 39:32
  But it was, again, a different era. Although I knew that fitness helped my mental health back then, we weren't talking about it as much or even realized like we knew, but we weren't really clicking that correlation. Yeah. Well, congratulations. Thank you. I'm excited for you. So what do you do now for your workouts? Yeah.
• 39:53
  Oh, gosh, I've been really bad this year. I'm trying to get better. Trust me, I'm taking my ears off. Have you? Okay, that makes me feel better. I had a moment where I rejected my passion. Really? Yeah, but now I'm back. Okay, I'm getting back. I'm getting back. But I was working out at this gym in Austin called Train for the Game in Westlake, and I loved it. It was so great. I worked out with a trainer every day, and it was just nice. I'm someone that needs to be in a gym. That's what it is.
• 40:16
  We moved to a new house in December and we built a gym in the house. And I just thought, okay, I don't need to pay for a gym membership. I'll just work out at home. But no, I need to be in a gym. So I think I'm going to rejoin. Yeah, it is. It is. But I am doing, I try and walk every day, trying to move a little bit. But it's funny in my twenties, I used to think if I'm not at the gym for an hour and a half sweating, it didn't count. It's not a workout.
• 40:40
  Now I'm like, if I can get 20 minutes in, I'm happy. That's why in the Tone It Up app, I try to keep the workouts shorter. I call them workout snacks. We even have five and 10 minute ones. But I can tell a 20 minute good workout and then walks. It literally doesn't have to be that hard. I need to get a Tone It Up app. I'm going to download that today. I'm excited. Yes. So do you teach the classes in it? Yeah. So interesting story.
• 41:10
  During private equity era, there was a lot going on with me personally, with my mother passing away and just family stuff that I rebelled against. It was just like a hard time. And so then I was so frustrated that I stopped teaching workouts in the app, but I was creating the programming and working with the trainers and curating everything.
• 41:29
  So I'm about to step back into it. Awesome. Do y'all film those here? Where do you film in the studio? Yeah, we film them. I love with Tone Rep being on location. Yeah. We used to do a lot of beach workouts or traveling different places. We're actually, this is really exciting. We're actually going to St. Vincent Island next month. Amazing. And filming three programs there. Oh, awesome. That will be coming out. So back on the beach and I'm ready to start teaching it again. It kind of...
• 41:58
  And I allow myself to have those phases of just coming back to myself. And I even had gained like 40 pounds and I went through early perimenopause and menopause. And now I'm like back on track. Good. I feel like I can practice what I preach. Yeah. And do it with a purpose. I think I was so just going through it. Yeah. Going through it. It's good you gave yourself time for that. Yeah. And always come back. Yeah. Yeah.
• 42:28
  Come back to what you love. And so then you appreciate being able to move your body and take care of yourself. Yeah, 100%. I'm excited to take your class. Yeah, I know. All right. So any other major makeup beauty tips? If she's feeling she needs a little sparkle, not literally sparkle, but...
• 42:49
  Like she just wants to feel good. How can she start? Yeah. I think the best products or type of products that I recommend kind of for where we're at in life. And I'm, you know, speaking for myself and women my age, but is looking for really hydrating skincare focused cream products. Mm-hmm.
• 43:05
  Tinted SPFs, I think, is the makeup hack. You should be wearing SPF every single day. Like, you have to wear SPF. And why not find one that has a little bit of coverage? Because some days you might skip a foundation and just have that and be good to go. But on the days you do wear foundation, it really allows you to use less foundation, which is so important. Creamy products. I've kind of abandoned powder bronzers and blushes, and I'm wearing cream bronzers and blushes that they just give the skin life.
• 43:30
  So yeah, just looking for products that are skincare focused, creamy, emollient, is going to just bring a lot of life and youthfulness to the face and the skin. Yeah. Okay. So for everyone who wants to go find all of these products that you're talking about and follow you for all your tips, where do they go? Yeah. So I'm pretty much everywhere. Lisa J Makeup. So YouTube, Lisa J Makeup, Instagram, TikTok, Lisa J Makeup. Yeah. And I think we're going to do a giveaway possibly, but we'll announce that on social. Okay. Okay. Yes. Okay.
• 43:59
  All right. Well, Lisa, thank you for coming and hanging out. And we are going to do a fun giveaway on Tone It Up. So make sure stay tuned on social media. And thank you for having me. This is so fun. It's really like so exciting for me to be here. So thank you. I know. We'll still have to go on that walk. I think we were going to go on a walk on Lady Bird Lake. That's what we were texting. And I want to meet your pom-poms. Oh, yeah. We're going to go meet the Pomeranians. That's most important because every time I post a pom on Instagram, I'm always reacting. How many do you have? Is it seven?
• 44:27
  Six now. Six. Okay. Skunky passed away. Okay. I knew it was like, I told, yeah. Aw. Bless Skunk. Sweet babies. Yeah. Well, thank you so much. Well, time to go play with some palms.