Latest / Skin Anarchy / Cheryl Yannotti Foland, Founder of lilah B.
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
- 0:03SPEAKER_00: This is your host, Ekta, and I am very, very excited about our guest today because this is a beautiful line.
- 0:09SPEAKER_00: The products are phenomenal.
- 0:11SPEAKER_00: Every single thing I've tried, I've loved.
- 0:13SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Cheryl Foland, who is the founder of Leela Bee Beauty.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: And I would love, um, Cheryl, if you could tell us all about the journey.
- 0:23SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited you're here.
- 0:24SPEAKER_00: First of all, thank you for coming onto the show.
- 0:30SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
- 0:31SPEAKER_01: I'm thrilled to be here.
- 0:33SPEAKER_00: It's it's such an honor to talk to you because I really love your brand and I would love to know how you came up um with the whole, you know, the whole thing, the whole concept, the name, everything.
- 0:43SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 0:44SPEAKER_01: Um, well, it's a very long story.
- 0:47SPEAKER_01: We have time.
- 0:50SPEAKER_01: Um so uh for many, many years, I lived uh on the East Coast.
- 0:57SPEAKER_01: Um I was born and raised in Connecticut and spent a majority of my um adult years um in Manhattan.
- 1:06SPEAKER_01: Um I I was in the sort of the financial space where I landed uh at uh in the beauty space, which is um incredible, um in uh New York working for a company by the name of Arcade Beauty.
- 1:24SPEAKER_01: Um and people in the industry will know them as the leaders in the industry providing sampling solutions to all uh beauty brands uh across various different categories.
- 1:38SPEAKER_01: Um they help you to design, create, and think about your strategy around sampling any product, usually in line with a product launch.
- 1:49SPEAKER_01: Um and as part of my world uh of uh being in finance, I was working for a firm that acquired um Arcade.
- 2:00SPEAKER_01: And for almost 10 years, um I was immersed into the beauty industry, um, not because I was a beauty junkie or or a celebrity makeup artist, um, but I really defaulted into this incredible world.
- 2:17SPEAKER_01: Um it was a heck of a lot sexier than what I was doing previously.
- 2:23SPEAKER_01: Um crunching numbers and looking at spreadsheets for hours and hours at a time.
- 2:30SPEAKER_01: Um, but I I fell in love with the industry.
- 2:33SPEAKER_01: Um, as you can imagine, I worked with some of the most incredible people, uh, founders, uh, CMOs, really sharp, incredibly inspiring uh marketing people, um, across every single category.
- 2:50SPEAKER_01: So um if you can imagine skincare, body care, color cosmetics, hair care, any product that you think a consumer would want to sample or try or so um designing sampling strategies, manufacturing and producing um samples uh to various different brands.
- 3:12SPEAKER_01: Um and while I was in New York, um I worked with some of the best of the best, some of the biggest brands um under some of the um large conglomerates.
- 3:22SPEAKER_01: But then uh recognizing that there was so much business and so much um to tap into out here on the West Coast, I'm based in Northern California.
- 3:33SPEAKER_01: Um I love that I um I moved out here and I started to tap into and work with some of the back then small brands.
- 3:45SPEAKER_01: So it was Benefit Cosmetics and Bare Essentials and Urban Security.
- 3:51SPEAKER_01: And you know, when you're talking about 15 years ago, um they were not what they are today, and it was so much fun.
- 4:01SPEAKER_01: Um, I wasn't working with big CMOs, I was working alongside uh product development people and the founders themselves, and it was really inspiring, and they were so passionate and soulful.
- 4:18SPEAKER_01: And as I considered what I would do at the end of my uh working relationship once we actually sold um this sampling company, Arcade, I started to really recognize what was missing out in the industry, not just in the industry as a whole, but for me as a beauty consumer.
- 4:46SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
- 4:47SPEAKER_01: I was always that really um uh focused on quality, uh luxury consumer.
- 4:55SPEAKER_01: Um whether it was shoes or handbags or beauty products or you know, particularly skin, um, I spent a lot of money on products uh that I expected to be of utmost quality.
- 5:09SPEAKER_01: Right.
- 5:10SPEAKER_01: During this journey of mine, I recognized that um let's we were probably about seven years ago now, when I decided to walk away from arcade and uh launch my own brand, um I thought about lots of different things.
- 5:28SPEAKER_01: I thought about uh what luxury color cosmetics brand is out there today that offers clean formulations.
- 5:39SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
- 5:40SPEAKER_01: That offers a simplified beauty routine, making it so super easy for a consumer to use, to understand, and to apply themselves.
- 5:52SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and to be honest, my transformation of chaotic, frivolous, fasting New Yorker to this much simplified, pared-down uh lifestyle out here in California led me to think about you know, simple, minimalistic, multi-purpose, and clean.
- 6:16SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 6:17SPEAKER_01: So here we are today, um, a little over five years later, I launched the brand, really honing in on a you know, luxury, beautiful prestige offering within the clean space that really offers the the consumer a convert brand.
- 6:37SPEAKER_01: So thinking about, I want a luxury uh product that can stand up the can to the conventional, traditional luxury brands of today.
- 6:45SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 6:46SPEAKER_01: And here we are.
- 6:47SPEAKER_01: We have I love it.
- 6:49SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love your I love that.
- 6:51SPEAKER_00: I love everything you said, and I'm not gonna interrupt you, but I want to say that you definitely, in my mind, it's one of the most luxury, like when I open your products and I and I use them, it's the most luxury feeling I've had with makeup, honestly, because it's not only like first of all, the packaging is just brilliant.
- 7:09SPEAKER_00: I want you to tell us all about how you came up with that because this is the best makeup packaging I have ever used, like had in my life.
- 7:17SPEAKER_00: I can drop it into my purse, I can put it into my makeup pouch.
- 7:20SPEAKER_00: You know, it's heavy enough to where I know it's in there and I know, you know what I mean?
- 7:24SPEAKER_00: It's it feels wonderful holding it.
- 7:26SPEAKER_00: And it feels wonderful, like just being able to drop it in my bag and know that it's like your, for example, like your cheek, um, your cheek shades, you know, cheek and lip.
- 7:35SPEAKER_00: Like those are so perfect for somebody like me who's, you know, you're a working woman, you've got a busy lifestyle, and you don't have time to do your makeup in the morning, you know?
- 7:43SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
- 7:45SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
- 7:46SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
- 7:46SPEAKER_01: Well, it was all purposely done.
- 7:49SPEAKER_01: Um, it's kind of hard to hit every single element, but I clearly had a wish list for what I wanted the brand to stand for and what I wanted it to look and feel like.
- 8:03SPEAKER_01: Um, obviously, the product inside is the icing on the cake.
- 8:07SPEAKER_01: Um, but I thought long and hard about the fact that I was always that, you know, prestige beauty consumer that spent a lot of money on product.
- 8:18SPEAKER_01: Um, it would bumble around in the bottom of my handbag or in my makeup bag and would look horrible after, you know, sometimes just weeks at a time.
- 8:28SPEAKER_01: Crack and break and scratch and ding.
- 8:31SPEAKER_01: So when I started the development of the line, I thought long and hard about the packaging.
- 8:36SPEAKER_01: And when I was living in New York as a teenager, I loved Elsa Peretti, her designs that she created for Tiffany.
- 8:49SPEAKER_01: Um, very organic and fluid in shape, having this beautiful sensorial experience when you would pick up one of her paperweights, or you might play with one of her necklaces or toggle bracelets.
- 9:05SPEAKER_01: Um, I was a young teen and I loved her designs.
- 9:09SPEAKER_01: I was obsessed even into my adult years.
- 9:13SPEAKER_01: So that really was the inspiration for what can I create that will just feel so incredible in everyone's hand?
- 9:23SPEAKER_01: Um, and also obviously feel luxurious and um just have the size too, right, Cheryl?
- 9:31SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, how many times have you bought like a foundation that's just giant?
- 9:36SPEAKER_00: It's like, you know, it's like I cannot put this in my bag because one, it's gonna leak.
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: Two, it just looks clunky and it's I'm probably never gonna find it, you know?
- 9:45SPEAKER_00: So like there's so many things.
- 9:46SPEAKER_00: That's why I'm like honing in on your packaging because it's just brilliant.
- 9:50SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, I like for me, it's a no-brainer.
- 9:53SPEAKER_00: If I need to do my makeup on the go, like your products are what I'm gonna throw in my bag because they're easy to use, they're multi, you know, multi-use products, every single one of them.
- 10:01SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's exactly what um women want.
- 10:05SPEAKER_00: And by the way, I'm also I've always been a prestige consumer as well.
- 10:08SPEAKER_00: And I think that is extremely underrated in this industry because there's a special feeling that goes with buying something you really love and you love the way it looks, you love everything about it, and opening it and like experience, you know what I mean?
- 10:21SPEAKER_00: Like that whole experience is something that's very, very meaningful to a lot of us.
- 10:25SPEAKER_01: Yes, and you know, I think, you know, growing up, you know, in in the 90s, coming out of out of university where I didn't necessarily have a lot of money to spend, but what I did was I spent my money on quality and um I appreciated that.
- 10:46SPEAKER_01: And throughout my career and throughout my many years of of finding beautiful, luxurious products, including beauty, uh, color, and skincare, um, I was always disappointed in the packaging.
- 11:01SPEAKER_01: Um, and then when I, you know, when I thought about the development of the brand, uh, clean formulations was a no-brainer.
- 11:09SPEAKER_01: Um, so how do you maintain these beautiful, luxurious formulas and textures and pigments?
- 11:17SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 11:18SPEAKER_01: And maintaining sort of clean um without, you know, without compromise.
- 11:24SPEAKER_01: So still maintaining high performance, long wear.
- 11:27SPEAKER_01: Um, so soup to nuts.
- 11:29SPEAKER_01: It was um, it was quite challenging, um, but the brand has been resonating um with people like yourself.
- 11:37SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, absolutely.
- 11:38SPEAKER_00: And I actually want you to dive a little bit more into the clean aspect because I know that you know, in my previous episodes, I I ask a lot of skincare um founders, you know, what is clean in your mind?
- 11:49SPEAKER_00: But I'm very, very curious for a makeup brand, um, how much goes behind making sure that it's clean?
- 11:54SPEAKER_00: Like what were some of the hurdles or you know, challenges when you were trying to formulate a clean formula?
- 12:00SPEAKER_01: Well, I think the challenge that I had, you know, starting the development, gosh, seven plus years ago now, um, was not only finding labs and chemists, manufacturers that understood uh performance while trying to make a cleaner product.
- 12:23SPEAKER_01: And I think fast forward to today, um, there is so much progress and there is so much um really interesting innovation, um, both here in the States as well as overseas.
- 12:37SPEAKER_01: But when I started my research, based on all of these incredible relationships that I had made throughout my years at Arcade, it was uh very challenging and it was um it was it was a lot of work.
- 12:54SPEAKER_01: Uh, took time and effort and energy to really hone in on who can do this with me and who can do it well.
- 13:03SPEAKER_01: Um, I ended up choosing labs, um, who I still work with today in Italy.
- 13:11SPEAKER_01: I produce everything in either Italy or some of my skin products in Japan.
- 13:16SPEAKER_01: Um and the reason why I chose Italy and going to the EU, ECTA, is that the EU regulatory compliance around you know, all their regulations is so much more um strict than here.
- 13:33SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've heard that.
- 13:34SPEAKER_00: I've heard that, yeah.
- 13:36SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, a ton more abandoned gradients.
- 13:38SPEAKER_01: I really think that if you could be aligned with EU uh compliance and all of their restrictions, then coming here to the states, you're already 10 steps ahead of the game.
- 13:50SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
- 13:52SPEAKER_01: I also felt like a lot of the, you know, when you and I talk about being that prestige beauty consumer, um, I was disappointed really in the formulations, the quality, um performance uh here in the States.
- 14:11SPEAKER_01: Uh so the Italian labs that I work with, they had to be challenged, you know.
- 14:17SPEAKER_01: They they had to, you know, really be pushed to say, not only do I want to replace these not so great ingredients, but I want to do two things.
- 14:27SPEAKER_01: I want to make my product super, super multitasking.
- 14:31SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm going to claim it does two or three things, it better do two or three things.
- 14:36SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.
- 14:38SPEAKER_01: You can't just claim it.
- 14:40SPEAKER_01: And then, sure, anyone can strip out the bad, but you have to know what you replace those ingredients with and what else you want to add.
- 14:53SPEAKER_01: So I didn't just spend time, effort, and money on formulations um stripping out bad ingredients, but also considering what other skin beneficial, skin first ingredients would I add to my products so that it's so much more than just a color pigmented product.
- 15:14SPEAKER_00: Right.
- 15:14SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 15:15SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 15:16SPEAKER_01: So really, you know, anyone who uses the line understands, knows, feels, and believes once they've had a chance to play with product, um, that we really do have the most incredible skin beneficial ingredients.
- 15:32SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
- 15:33SPEAKER_00: No, you guys are definitely, I mean, I can definitely vouch for that.
- 15:36SPEAKER_00: As a consumer, I can definitely say this is not just makeup, it is definitely a hybrid of skincare and makeup because my skin, after if I, you know, in the morning apply my makeup, and I don't put a lot of makeup on, which is why I absolutely love all of your products because they're so it's just they blend so beautifully, and I don't look like I have a cake face.
- 15:54SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
- 15:55SPEAKER_00: Like it's like I can't walk into patient rooms looking like that.
- 15:57SPEAKER_00: So I, you know, but by the end of the day, you know, what I was saying is my skin looks like it has not been stripped of all of its moisture.
- 16:05SPEAKER_00: It has not been, you know, dried out like it usually happens with a lot of foundations I use.
- 16:10SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna lie.
- 16:11SPEAKER_00: I don't know what's in those foundations, but you know, by the end of the day, I'm like, I'm not an oily person, but my skin is producing excess oil when I use other foundations.
- 16:20SPEAKER_00: And I have always wondered like, what is it that you know, other companies are doing that are it's almost making my skin worse, you know, at the end of the day.
- 16:28SPEAKER_00: Like I'd rather not wear makeup than look like an oily mess.
- 16:31SPEAKER_00: And I've noticed with your your products, I have not had that issue at all.
- 16:35SPEAKER_00: I haven't had to use blotting papers, I haven't, you know what I mean?
- 16:37SPEAKER_00: Like it's beautiful.
- 16:38SPEAKER_00: So I I completely agree with you.
- 16:40SPEAKER_00: And I want to say this so everyone listening out there understands like how beautifully crafted your line is.
- 16:46SPEAKER_00: You know, it's great.
- 16:48SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
- 16:48SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
- 16:49SPEAKER_01: I mean, I am the guinea pig of the line.
- 16:52SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 16:54SPEAKER_01: So um clearly, I I really focused a lot on what products can work universally across all skin types.
- 17:05SPEAKER_01: Um, I happen to have, I'm more on the dry side, you know, my mom and my sister are more on the normal side.
- 17:11SPEAKER_01: And then obviously, I I've had um uh people not only on my team, but also at the lab who have oilier skin.
- 17:20SPEAKER_01: So really making sure that it makes everyone happy and works across all is also another challenge that I think we've done well.
- 17:29SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
- 17:30SPEAKER_00: So I want to talk a little bit about the business side because I know the people um, you know, especially young entrepreneurs are it's very, very confusing how you approach starting a brand new like line, whether it's skincare or makeup or anything really in the beauty space.
- 17:44SPEAKER_00: So um, if you were to give any kind of advice to somebody who's just starting off, like what are some of the key things to focus on as a brand owner, like in the very beginning?
- 17:53SPEAKER_01: You know, I think the first and foremost, you really have to truly believe in your product.
- 18:03SPEAKER_01: And I use that term lightly.
- 18:05SPEAKER_01: I think if you understand, particularly in the beauty space, just how cluttered it is, just how cluttered it will continue to be, you really have to know and believe that you have something different, whether it's you have a different point of view, you have some sort of you know, point of differentiation, unique element of the brand, um, unique positioning, um, because you could easily just get lost.
- 18:39SPEAKER_01: Um so I was fortunate enough to be coming up and launching and and and uh progressing through the whole, you know, wellness and clean beauty mega trend, um which will inevitably and is uh, you know, table stakes today.
- 19:00SPEAKER_01: Um but I think you really have to know and believe that your product not only has legs, but that you have sort of a unique point of differentiation.
- 19:10SPEAKER_01: I think that's really key.
- 19:12SPEAKER_01: Um I think that uh what helped me is surrounding myself with experts, you know, people that I met along the way, people who have had successes, people who have had failures, and learn from them before you just go full force, uh full speed ahead um with your plan.
- 19:36SPEAKER_01: And I have a ton of those relationships.
- 19:40SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, being 15 plus years now in the industry, there's not a day or a week that goes by, particularly this past 12 months.
- 19:51SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, but I haven't tapped into that network because every given day um there's something new to learn.
- 20:01SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I think surrounding yourself with experts uh that can guide you and support you and sort of you know be your fan club along the way is so important.
- 20:14SPEAKER_01: And I was very fortunate to have that.
- 20:17SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 20:18SPEAKER_00: I completely, completely understand and agree.
- 20:21SPEAKER_00: I think that you know, a network can take you from like, you know, minimum like exposure to maximum.
- 20:26SPEAKER_00: It really, you know, I've noticed that as well, just you know, with this journey of this podcast.
- 20:31SPEAKER_00: So that's great advice for everyone listening.
- 20:33SPEAKER_00: That's really great advice.
- 20:34SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to actually shift focus because um I think it's very important, especially for a luxury brand such as yours, to have um for consumers to have a little bit of guidance in terms of what they should buy or what they should start off with.
- 20:47SPEAKER_00: So if somebody was going on to um Lila B's website and they wanted to buy, you know, the first two or three products, what are some things that you would uh recommend and you know, starting products to really get started with?
- 21:00SPEAKER_01: It's a great question.
- 21:02SPEAKER_01: And I think that the beauty of the line is that you can truly um tap into and discover the brand um with two or three products.
- 21:16SPEAKER_01: Um, we pretty much can um we talk about it on our site, uh social, even our artists out in the field.
- 21:25SPEAKER_01: Um, three is truly all you need.
- 21:28SPEAKER_01: And it's because they are so multitasking that rather than having 10 to 15 products in your makeup bag or on your vanity, three products really will achieve that full finished look that most women would like.
- 21:44SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's there's sort of two uh elements to the brand.
- 21:50SPEAKER_01: There is skin treatment, which is skin prep products, and that's with our a glow franchise.
- 21:58SPEAKER_01: Um if you wanted really To discover and experience the brand for just skin.
- 22:06SPEAKER_01: There is the cleansing butter, the uglo priming oil, and the face mist.
- 22:12SPEAKER_01: All three are multitaskers, three in one for each of them.
- 22:18SPEAKER_01: And really, that it the once again, the three is all you need, belief, in a very simple, um, easy uh skin prep routine.
- 22:30SPEAKER_01: Um that's the A Glow franchise.
- 22:32SPEAKER_01: Um, I'll give you an example there.
- 22:34SPEAKER_01: The priming oil is a serum, it is your moisturizer, and it's your silicone-free primer.
- 22:43SPEAKER_01: So it's just it's just three in one.
- 22:46SPEAKER_01: It's really one and done before you actually start to apply your makeup.
- 22:50SPEAKER_01: Um, and the cleansing butter is your makeup remover, your mask um when left on for a longer period of time.
- 23:00SPEAKER_00: Oh, I didn't know we could leave it on.
- 23:02SPEAKER_01: I love like a like a balm.
- 23:04SPEAKER_01: Yes, intensely hydrating, or just a quick cleanser, a beautiful milky, foaming cleanser.
- 23:10SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 23:11SPEAKER_01: So that's sort of skin prep.
- 23:13SPEAKER_01: And then obviously, our face mist is your you know, three-in-one hydrating prep uh spray or a beautiful glowy finish um of a setting spray.
- 23:24SPEAKER_01: Love that.
- 23:25SPEAKER_01: And if you wanted to try to go the route of let me take a look at the multitasking products for a simplified look um with color, I would say, depending on what kind of sort of coverage you would like, our Virtuous Veil concealer, which I believe we um sent off to you, Ekta.
- 23:48SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, this concealer.
- 23:50SPEAKER_00: Okay, I can I just rant for a minute, honestly.
- 23:53SPEAKER_00: Like I uh everyone listening out there, I promise you, like if you have problems contouring, if you are like me and handicapped in the contour area of makeup, this is your product.
- 24:04SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I know when I first got it, I was like, ooh, it's so beautiful and small.
- 24:09SPEAKER_00: And then I used my fingers because I love using my fingers, anyways, to do my makeup, which is another whole other, you know, area of why I love your line so much.
- 24:17SPEAKER_00: Um, but for the concealer, I know when I first put it on, I was like, ooh, this is the perfect contour shade for me.
- 24:24SPEAKER_00: And I started playing around with it.
- 24:25SPEAKER_00: And I, and for the first time, no joke, for the first time I thought my contour looked the way a contour should look.
- 24:32SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
- 24:33SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I was I was like blown away.
- 24:35SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, all the years of trying have now, I've now succeeded.
- 24:41SPEAKER_01: Well, I will tell you that everyone loves the virtuous veil for various different reasons.
- 24:48SPEAKER_01: Contouring for you.
- 24:50SPEAKER_01: Um, I use it for some spot coverage.
- 24:53SPEAKER_01: Some people use it for an all-over beautiful, fresh palette, almost like a very light coverage foundation.
- 25:02SPEAKER_01: So it really depends on how you want to use it.
- 25:04SPEAKER_01: But it's creamy, it's blendable, it's buildable, it's super healthy.
- 25:09SPEAKER_01: And that is sort of what I would say to start.
- 25:13SPEAKER_01: Um, now there's a couple of there's a couple of other favorites of mine, but if you're looking for a beautiful bronzy glow, our split pan bronzer, it's called bronze beauty, is absolutely stunning.
- 25:28SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree with that as well.
- 25:29SPEAKER_00: I agree.
- 25:30SPEAKER_01: Everyone loves it.
- 25:32SPEAKER_01: Um, it really just gives you a beautiful kiss of the sun.
- 25:35SPEAKER_01: It's not that muddy bronzer uh that's matte and looks like powder.
- 25:42SPEAKER_00: You know those bronzers that look like cakey powder?
- 25:44SPEAKER_00: It doesn't look, it's like beautiful, yeah.
- 25:46SPEAKER_00: It's like sheer, beautiful, glistening.
- 25:49SPEAKER_00: Like I can't, I don't know the words.
- 25:51SPEAKER_01: It's very, it's very luminous.
- 25:53SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's that's probably one of our top three best-selling uh products all year round, um, even in the midst of winter.
- 26:02SPEAKER_01: And so that would be your bronzer.
- 26:04SPEAKER_01: The next product, which I think is, and and I and I get torn here when we talk about lip, our lovingly lip tinted lip oil is a beautiful hybrid of your beautiful treatment oil, which is so nourishing and it's very uh treatment focused with the combination of a beautiful pigmented gloss, non-sticky, but the entire thing souped to nuts is almost like the woman who wants a beautiful, nourishing balm, and then put their lip product on top of it.
- 26:38SPEAKER_01: This is all in one.
- 26:40SPEAKER_01: Um uh we nailed it with this beautiful hybrid.
- 26:44SPEAKER_01: Now, the the other lip product, if we're talking about two or three products only, um, that is our hero from the day I launched the brand, is our divine duo.
- 26:54SPEAKER_01: And it's duo.
- 26:57SPEAKER_01: Um, we have beautiful, um uh very, very pigmented colors um, like reds and pinks and corals, but our neutral shades, which are absolutely stunning, can be used on your lips as a beautiful lip stain or yes or big, big pigment, um, or your cheek and also as a creamy eye.
- 27:22SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I've actually done that with Justin.
- 27:25SPEAKER_00: I've used it on my eyelids as like a quick shadow because I, you know, for me, I love like a natural, you know, like a bronzy eyeshadow or like a nice nude pink.
- 27:34SPEAKER_00: And you're absolutely right.
- 27:35SPEAKER_00: And you know what's interesting to me, Cheryl, is that um that specific product, and I noticed this when I was using it, it almost like adapts to where you're putting it on.
- 27:45SPEAKER_00: Like for my cheeks, it's giving me the perfect color for cheeks, but when I put it on my lips, it's a beautiful nude color for my lips.
- 27:51SPEAKER_00: Because often for me, like I, you know, I have darker skin, so like what I use is like a light blush on my cheeks, it'll show up really pale on my lips.
- 27:59SPEAKER_00: But your product, I've noticed it's like it looks great on my lips and you know, cheeks and eyes and everywhere.
- 28:04SPEAKER_00: So I'm so pleased.
- 28:06SPEAKER_01: I'm so pleased.
- 28:07SPEAKER_01: And the whole point, Ecta, is really making it easy, right?
- 28:11SPEAKER_01: You take that one little small pebble, you throw it in your bag, a handbag, a little uh even in your back pocket.
- 28:19SPEAKER_01: It's so sleek and simple.
- 28:22SPEAKER_01: And you have your touch-up, you have your lip, your cheek, your eye touch-up.
- 28:26SPEAKER_01: Um, but really just knowing that it's simple and easy, and you don't need a makeup artist to come home with you.
- 28:34SPEAKER_00: Well, that's the thing, right?
- 28:36SPEAKER_00: I mean, Cheryl, honestly, that's the thing.
- 28:37SPEAKER_00: And that's what I really want to say here is that, you know, I feel like brands such as yours are bringing the fun back into makeup because I remember being a young girl and I used to love playing with things with my hands, you know, makeup and putting on makeup with my hands.
- 28:52SPEAKER_00: And it was so fun to see all the colors and all the combinations I could make.
- 28:56SPEAKER_00: And I know, like when I was opening your line and trying it and using it, it brought me back to that.
- 29:01SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
- 29:02SPEAKER_00: Like I did not use a single brush when I used your products.
- 29:05SPEAKER_00: And I loved it, and I loved every second of it because you know what?
- 29:08SPEAKER_00: I know that like, you know, I could mold it the way I wanted on my skin.
- 29:12SPEAKER_00: I could pat it into my skin the way I felt it would look nice.
- 29:15SPEAKER_00: And that is something I wish more brands would do because not all of us like to use brushes, you know, and not all of us need a sponge.
- 29:21SPEAKER_00: Like it's it's sometimes you just want to use the warmth of your hands to use, you know what I mean, to like apply your makeup.
- 29:27SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
- 29:28SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 29:28SPEAKER_00: So like I love it.
- 29:29SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love it.
- 29:30SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you.
- 29:31SPEAKER_01: And you know, at the end of the day, um, I really took a look at what I felt was missing.
- 29:38SPEAKER_01: And to be completely honest with you, I have little to no patience for my makeup in the morning.
- 29:48SPEAKER_01: I don't, I have limited time, and even if I have more time, I never like to spend it applying makeup.
- 29:55SPEAKER_01: So simple and easy um is really was really my focus.
- 30:01SPEAKER_01: And it and I think it's really resonated with that consumer who wants to look fabulous, but wants it to just you know feel easier and just just a minimal um commitment and limited products, so fewer products, but better, better quality is uh is really what we're going for.
- 30:26SPEAKER_01: And you will continue to see that, particularly with the exciting newness that we have ahead of us this year.
- 30:33SPEAKER_00: Oh, I can't wait.
- 30:34SPEAKER_00: Tell us more if you can.
- 30:35SPEAKER_00: If can you share more with us?
- 30:37SPEAKER_01: Well, I can I can give you a little teaser.
- 30:39SPEAKER_01: Um so last year, uh right before COVID uh hit, and we were, you know, all affected unfortunately by that in March.
- 30:49SPEAKER_01: Um, in Gen Feb timeframe, we had launched the skin prep products that I had mentioned earlier.
- 30:55SPEAKER_01: Um not only are they absolutely fabulous and are now our top hero products, but also I think throughout the past 12 months, we really recognize as a brand that the Lilaby consumer is really embracing and loving this whole treatment part of the line.
- 31:19SPEAKER_01: So, what we've done is we have expanded.
- 31:23SPEAKER_01: We will have a launch in May, which I am happy to give you a sneak peek next month.
- 31:30SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes, please.
- 31:32SPEAKER_01: And then we have a launch again in August where we will actually be expanding and talking more to sort of skin prep, skin treatment, and I should say treatment overall, because that's really where I think people are focused more and more today, especially being home, right?
- 31:53SPEAKER_01: We've been home for a year.
- 31:56SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
- 31:59SPEAKER_01: And if we are, we kind of want to think, gosh, are we taking care of our of our skin?
- 32:06SPEAKER_01: Um I think thinking skin first, um, we've changed our newness uh innovation focus for this year.
- 32:15SPEAKER_01: Um and it'll be you know, it'll it'll tie to the um color products in the line, but definitely leaning in more towards treatment.
- 32:24SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 32:25SPEAKER_00: I really love that.
- 32:26SPEAKER_00: And I also want to just mention for everyone out there who's got acne, um, prone skin or breakouts that have left scars.
- 32:34SPEAKER_00: I know for me that was a very personal um like journey I went through.
- 32:38SPEAKER_00: And I still like kind of deal with that when I put on makeup.
- 32:41SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's something I think for me is like a you know a seal the deal kind of thing with any line that I fall in love with.
- 32:47SPEAKER_00: And I can say, like your foundation when I was using it and putting it on, I love that it actually fills in my acne scarring because you know, as much as I love skincare, I've never gotten procedures done, right?
- 32:58SPEAKER_00: I've never gotten like Botox or derma abrasion or anything for the for like the little tiny indentations.
- 33:04SPEAKER_00: But one thing I've noticed as from the makeup standpoint is if I use my fingers and I press it in, that makes my skin look beautiful and flawless.
- 33:12SPEAKER_00: So, like, you know, like for everyone listening, if you think that, you know, we're talking about how sheer the products are and stuff, it's a really, really great line.
- 33:19SPEAKER_00: Like you can build it up to really anything you want.
- 33:22SPEAKER_00: You know, you can you can make it as heavy as you want or as light as you want.
- 33:25SPEAKER_00: So I I love that.
- 33:26SPEAKER_01: And it that's a great point, Ecta, because you know, when we've had various different, uh we have content creators that do lots of incredible looks for us.
- 33:36SPEAKER_01: We have we have um editorial makeup artists that carry the entire line in their kits.
- 33:42SPEAKER_01: Um, the reality is you can really get that gorgeous, heavier, fuller coverage look with Lila B, or you can just go simple and light and sheer.
- 33:57SPEAKER_01: And the beauty of all of the products is that they could be built upon um to really make everyone happy.
- 34:04SPEAKER_00: And that's at the center, right, Cheryl, of like true like body positivity in my mind with makeup.
- 34:11SPEAKER_00: Because I know for a long time on Instagram there were so many looks with like these Instagram makeup looks that were super heavy, just not, you know, it was just not plausible for everyday looks.
- 34:21SPEAKER_00: But it was like, you know, you would look at them and be like, oh, why can't my skin look like that?
- 34:25SPEAKER_00: But you know, at the end of the day, you should be able to, whatever you're using, you should be able to feel beautiful when you use it, right?
- 34:31SPEAKER_00: So, like if there's a day where I want a little bit of makeup, I can use this product and use the same one on the day if I'm going out.
- 34:37SPEAKER_00: That's important, you know.
- 34:38SPEAKER_00: For me as a consumer, I think that's very important because that's a little bit of my day that adds happiness, you know.
- 34:45SPEAKER_01: Like, agree.
- 34:46SPEAKER_01: And to be able to have that versatility in one core collection.
- 34:51SPEAKER_00: It's trust, it's trust for with the brand.
- 34:53SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
- 34:55SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
- 34:56SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so, anyways, I I'm so excited and I love everything that you've said, and I would love to have you back to tell us about all the amazing products that are coming out.
- 35:05SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, for closing, I want everyone to really go check out Lila B.
- 35:10SPEAKER_00: If you have not, keep an open mind with everything.
- 35:13SPEAKER_00: I really think people need to understand that, you know, makeup in my mind is something that you use as a creation.
- 35:20SPEAKER_00: You know, you create what you think is beautiful.
- 35:22SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, sometimes there's not like a palette, you know, like or like a blueprint.
- 35:27SPEAKER_00: You just have to play around.
- 35:28SPEAKER_00: So I hope everyone, you know, go out there, check, check out the brand more if you haven't yet.
- 35:32SPEAKER_00: And thank you so much, Cheryl.
- 35:34SPEAKER_00: This was amazing.
- 35:35SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
- 35:36SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me, Ecta.
- 35:38SPEAKER_00: My pleasure.
- 35:39SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
- 35:42SPEAKER_00: Please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform.
- 35:47SPEAKER_00: We are available on so many different platforms.
- 35:49SPEAKER_00: So wherever it is that you're tuning in, just go hit subscribe.
- 35:53SPEAKER_00: You will be immediately notified when we publish new episodes.
- 35:56SPEAKER_00: This way, you're able to tune in to amazing insights from experts, brand founders, industry leaders, authors, all the wonderful people that we host.
- 36:04SPEAKER_00: And that's very important for me because I love to hear from you guys and really understand what you love and what you want to hear more of.
- 36:12SPEAKER_00: Also, make sure to give us a follow on all of our social media outlets.
- 36:15SPEAKER_00: We're available on Instagram, TikTok, X, you name it, we're there.
- 36:19SPEAKER_00: We also have a blog on Medium.
- 36:21SPEAKER_00: So if you're a reader and you love Medium blogs, check us out on Medium.
- 36:25SPEAKER_00: We publish some really great articles on there that do deeper dives than just what's available on the podcast, and it's really a great place for all of you science geeks out there that want to learn a little bit more.
- 36:35SPEAKER_00: We go above and beyond with our research and making sure we're bringing you information that you usually probably won't hear about in other outlets.
- 36:42SPEAKER_00: So check us out, leave us a comment, leave us a review, and we'll be back next time with another episode.
- 36:47SPEAKER_00: Thank you.