Latest / Skin Anarchy / Ahsaki Báá LaFrance-Chachere , Founder and CEO of Ah-Shi Beauty

Transcript

Ahsaki Báá LaFrance-Chachere , Founder and CEO of Ah-Shi Beauty · Skin Anarchy

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Diablo 4 has arrived.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tap the banner or visit this episode's page to learn more.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, welcome back for another episode.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_03: This episode is very close to my heart and it's very important to me because I have had the privilege of having um a few Native American friends and really getting to know them and their stories and just uh the amount of hard work that they've put into um whichever career path they've gone down.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_03: And so this line is um truly a phenomenal line.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's something that's crafted with so much wisdom and spirit behind it.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_03: So I really hope you guys love the episode.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_03: And please do not forget to follow us on YouTube and TikTok and Twitter.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, we are on so many different platforms now, and I would really love for you guys to show that support um across the board.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you so much and stay tuned.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: This is a great one.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_03: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_03: This is Ekta, and I have an awesome guest today.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_03: I am obsessed with her makeup line.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: I've been using her foundation every day since I got it.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_03: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to the CEO and founder of Ashe Beauty, um, Ashaki Sashiri.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the show, Ashaki.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_03: Hey there, hey there.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my goodness, we finally made it.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_03: I know, I know it's been so long and it's been in the making for so long.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm super excited and I want to know everything.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_03: I want everybody to know everything about your line because I'm genuinely obsessed, as you know.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_03: So um, can you get us started with your journey in beauty and how you got started and you know, just everything?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, at first, because I'm native and black, out of respect, I like to introduce myself in my native language, just so I can show um, you know, honor and respect my for my ancestors.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, hello.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: I am a sequela for and sashri.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: My clans are bashichin, senjuke, dash, nah, dashinella.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm from Beshpito, Arizona, located on the Navajo Reservation.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: My clans, I'm from the Water Edge people, born for the African American people.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: My maternal grandfather's clan is the cliff dwelling people, and my paternal grandfather's clan is the African American people, and all four clans define me as a proud, unapologetic, then black woman.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I love that.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my god, I love that.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_03: That is awesome, dude.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_03: Like, seriously, like that, you know, I've never I've never seen someone so me do that.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like, and I always wonder like when you are like so proud of your background, like you know, it just it should exude.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_03: So love that thing.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_03: So hello from me.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_03: That I have a very boring way of saying hello, introducing myself.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_03: But yes, I'm super excited, and I want to know um, you know, just everything.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_03: So let's let's hear it.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: So when I fell in love with beauty, uh, my mom, she's a fashionista.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: She introduced me to um, you know, designers and to like luxury skincare first, and then later I tapped into uh cosmetics.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: But in our culture, we it's people think that okay, you're native, you don't know nothing about the beauty world, but we really do.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually instilled into our culture.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, for instance, health and wellness is a key component in art and the way of life.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we would run in the morning to greet the sun.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we run towards the east, we pray, and um we wash our face, and the way we put up our hair is this my signature hair bun.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone knows it's me when I have my hair up in my traditional um hair bun call at C.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: And even that has a bigger meaning behind it.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: But we're always taught that how we present ourselves to the world, not only do we represent us, but we represent our family and our and our clans and our ancestors.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we always gotta what we say, put that best face forward.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it, yeah, it's instilled in who we are, and we adorn ourselves and our turquoise and our silver squash blossoms that the Southwest Native Americans we are known for.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it all comes together.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and really, you know, why I did this is because there's no representation representation of real authentic beauty, you know.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: The world sees the the overcommercialized patterns and the little trinkets that they have out there.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: But I was like, you know what?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: This right here, you know, this brand, Osh, is really gonna show a light, it's gonna show the true essence of who we are.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: And all brand, all native native tribes across Turtle Island, they can they can relate to it because one res is the same from all the res, and we're all the same.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So even though we may be different, but still, you know, there's a connection that we all have is to protect Mother Earth and you know protect the women in our families, the matriarch.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it really all comes in, but I had I add a little twist to it, a little flavor, because you know, I'm half black, so you know I have to bring it, I have to bring all the sauce to it.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: And it and I did for that, you know, I really believe I was molded to do this because there's there's no brand that really really show a story, you know.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, you have to solve a problem, which is you know what we're doing, but to really relate, to be relatable, to touch people so people can feel the brand itself is priceless, you know.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: That that's the goal.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, honestly, I think you do it so effortlessly.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, for everyone listening out there, you know, you this line for makeup, I'm very, very finicky with my makeup.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I know you and I have spoken, like, you know, privately about how I've struggled finding a foundation, you know what I mean?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_03: And we we talked about that, but just for everyone listening, you know, for me, it was very hard to find a shade that would work.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: Not only that, but like for my skin, something that would sit on my skin in a way that complemented it, truly.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_03: I I would feel like the foundations I was using were just not formulated for me, like in any way, even with the skincare aspect.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_03: And when I tried yours, I I immediately fell in love because it's not just a foundation, it makes my it's it's almost like a second skin in the truest sense.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I mean, I just I love how you formulated this whole, you know, the whole line.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: So I want to I want to dive into that and I want to talk about like, you know, what was your journey with foundations and what was your journey with makeup like from the beginning that really helped you figure out, you know, this is what I want to create.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh just like every woman of color, the same struggle.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: We can never find our foundation shape.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: We can never find products that works for us, and not only the products itself, and then no brand really represents us to the truest form.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it was always a missing piece.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: And when I was in college, I first I founded um Austria Beauty.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: I was in uh I was a pre-med.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: I went to the University of Arizona, study physiology and biochem.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: And what really fascinated me was the science behind it, you know.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, really before it became clean beauty, where it is so popular, like I was just like, okay, I need to create a line that is healthy for our skin.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's skin food, I like to say it.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, it just has to work.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: What can we do?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then my colleague, Han Du, my VP of Astra Science, you know, we just you know put together, like, I said, what if we do a plant base?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the skincare line to be a plant base.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we went from there, and then it just opened a can of worms to this entire brand.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: But right, the skin, the pigment, that's what we're known for.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the HD foundation that you tried was featured in Harper Bazaar last September.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: And how I got it is because I'm a I'm from a family full of women.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I had all my aunties and my cousins, sisters, all of us.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, it took almost six years to get to find those in-between shades, um, and have all the regular shades too.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: I guess you could say the most dominant shades, but the in-between shades that are just like it's just helpless.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: We can't find it, you know.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so not really I'm from a family of very diverse women, like when I say native people, indigenous people, we're so many different shades.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: So my family went from olive to the to my shade, you know, like a caramel, karma color.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, in between all those, I was able to really gear in to find that pigment.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: But it took me six years to make.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: And why it feels like a second layer skin is because our anti-aging serum wasn't in this foundation.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll you're hydrating your skin at the same time, you know, it helps you have a like just evens out your skin.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I'm a big skincare freak.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: So there's something, it has to be some type of skincare in it, and I don't want it to weigh your skin down.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: I need your skin to breathe because those two things, you know, if it's your makeup's too heavy, and if it dries you out, then we have skin problems.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, how do we find that niche?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: No, I love that.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: I love that you even said that because I think um a lot more brands need to go in this direction.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_03: I know that, like, you know, we have the whole compact, you know, like the what do you call it?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_03: The like the compact foundations with the SPF.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: I know a lot of skincare lines do stuff like that, and you know, they'll have that one makeup product that's like their like you know, one product, but it that's not enough.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_03: Like you have to you have to really understand that like skincare is just something we do, you know what I mean?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_03: And then so we need to start incorporating it into beauty a lot more.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: So I love that from the get-go, like this has been something that Ashier has been focused on, and you guys have done this from the beginning, you know, because not many brands are doing that at all.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_03: So and you know, as far as the as far as the serum, I can tell, and and that's a big, big point that you brought up is that my skin has been loving it in the sense that you know, for me, foundation, I've never used it a lot because it does cause me to break out or it causes some sort of reaction on my skin.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't have that with yours, and that's really why I asked you, which is you know, which you answered.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: So, okay.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I you know, I'm I'm raving, but moving on, I want to actually I want to talk to you more about, you know, in terms of like being a brand that is so, you know, it's you're just so different.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_03: You have such an amazing story to your brand.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_03: How has that been in term of like in terms of like getting your name out there and just you know, marketing and and getting people to really understand what your vision is?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, at first, or it's still it's still the same.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm being put into a box that you know, I'm in a box of, oh, I'm a native indigenous beauty brands here, and then I'm in a box that goes, oh, this is a I'm a black brand here.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, stop putting me in boxes.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a beauty brand.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: And um because it's the first, you know, prestige uh beauty brand in the country that's owned by a Native American, um, and also being able to open not one but two physical locations pre-COVID.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so having all of that, you know, I felt that the story has to be out there, it has to get out there.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, another thing that I hit, unfortunately, is colorism.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when I first launched it on, you know, introduced the brand on my reservation.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Being native and black, uh, there's like this untold no no, it's like shunned upon uh a mother that you know married outside her race, outside the tribe.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And my parents, you know, I post I did a post for Mother's Day about it, and I talked a little bit about it, but we're on here, I'm gonna go in little depth.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, for so long, it was just like a stereotype.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: If you were like me, native and black, you you're from a broken family.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I had to help exp, you know, change that and you know, show the world like, no, it's not like that.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, my dad's still here, and we we all live on the reservation together, you know, we still carry on the net way of life, so it's so different.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I get a lot of people from my, you know, little trolls from home that always asking me if I am who I really am because I'm I'm a darker native.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: So they're like, who are you to represent our people like black?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, oh my god.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it hurts because what I'm doing is not for my for me, you know.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I stress this a lot that I built this company to help create opportunities for my people on and off the reservation.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here because on our reservation, we're like restricted to do a lot of things.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: Our businesses don't grow so well on the reservation because there's so many red tape.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Our high, our unemployment um rates so high, poverty is so high, and I'm over here like, how do I fix it?
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: So the best thing to do as a small business, we're the backbone of this country.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, I'm gonna have to build this company to help my people.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: What we need is not a sad story, but you know, we we we we're good, we're we're talented.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I all they need is just an opportunity.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I work my butt off day in and day out to create this so that I can create jobs so they can provide for their family, and at the same time, show the industry that we are here too, you know, right not this this image of people think over all Pocahontas.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, no, Pocahontas is the first MMIW missing American Indigenous woman.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: She was a 13-year-old, so don't call me no Pocahontas because I'm a grown woman.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what Disney says.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like educating people about who we are as indigenous people, native people, and what it's like living on the reservation at the same time fighting this crazy battle of racism on my reservation and off the reservation.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really overwhelming.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: But when I have a chance to share my story, like on your podcast today, it it really hopefully helps the narrative, you know, unfold and people can truly see that you know, our lifestyle is luxury too.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: We're luxury too.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and you know what?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm sorry, I'm not trying to interrupt you at all because I'm like super like it.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: I just I feel so so good hearing this, you know.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: And I I feel like everyone needs to know like how has it been on the reservation?
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_03: Because I want to set the record straight and I want you to really like go into that a little bit if that's okay with you.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely, definitely.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so like I say, um, people like so what is that like?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's the best way I can say if you're from Texas or anyone or any rural area, it's like that.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like a little what the one-horse town, like the little country towns.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: But our my reservation is the size of West Virginia.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's the largest in the country.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're the largest tribe.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: The Navajo Nation is the largest tribe and the largest reservation.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: We cover um Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, parts of Colorado, but they took that away.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: We even go there, but uh but uh it's it may be really big, but we're very, very close, you know.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um the landscape is amazing.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: It you know, the monument valleys that you see uh Dior uh Savage did their um commercial on, you know, major designers and brands come to my reservation to do the commercials or take you know sports illustrators shots, you know?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_03: How does that make you feel though?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_03: You know, how does that because like honestly, I can't, you know, for me, I can only like imagine what I would feel like in that situation.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I would be a little annoyed.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_03: Like, why are you guys putting my culture out there in like segmented ways?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_03: So does that how do you feel about that?
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_03: Like in terms of like just how you you know, how the Native American culture is portrayed in beauty?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_03: Like, have you do you have like uh any thoughts about that?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely like seeing our our homelands being seen, you know, being recorded on motion pictures, all you know, major films and models, you know, you know, modeling in front of our beautiful majestic landscapes and stuff, or artists wearing our jewelry.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, but yet when people think of NATO, the first thing they think of is what?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they're they got all these freebies, they get free education, they get, or they're drunk, they're uneducated, they have all these negative thoughts about us, but yet, but yet they come to our reservation and and they showcase their work.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why Austria Beauty was made and why I built it is so like, no, we're we we deserve to be in that light because that squash blossom that a country western singer was wearing, or you know, Cher wears, or she's native too, but you know, or a country western you know, singers, they are really big and wearing our squash blossoms, our turquoise, but you're wearing maybe a 50 to 100,000 necklace.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: So how are we not luxury?
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you know, so it's like okay, it's like no, it's I mean, it's a classic, it's a classic situation, right?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_03: It's like you take something that is actually priceless, you know what I mean?
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_03: It's invaluable, it's a culture, it's it's a it's a statement, a cultural statement, and you are trying to monetize on it and then you know look down on that culture that you got it from.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's classic.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, they did this with the, you know, I don't want to be like, you know, insensitive, but the other Indian.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: I hate being called like the Indian word.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry, I'm not gonna go into that, but you know what I mean?
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'm Indian and I I get it all the time.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, you know, the turmeric and the and the bangles and the bindi and all of that.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: So I somewhat feel your pain on that.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_03: I hear you, you know.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_03: So I I want to actually talk about that a little bit more and talk about how you, you know, about what you brought up about kind of giving back to your own community and really building it.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, how has that been?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_03: Like, can you walk us through like an example or like a moment that you remember?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um my goodness.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: When I first opened the beauty studio, you know, I think the world just didn't understand exactly what I did, really.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, you know, opening up the very first Native American beauty studio that's just nothing but my products, and opened the official storefront flagship on the the Navajo Nation.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I actually employed so many people, you know, and these young, talented, you know, my my team, they tried to apply for Sephora and Ulta, um, but they got they didn't get the job.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: But they're they're they are knowledgeable about beauty.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's one particular um team member I have, her name is Ro.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Ro Ro, I call her.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, she's a talented makeup artist, and she just stuck in with me from the beginning.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was just something about her dislike, you know.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: She had no schooling into you know the makeup artistry, but she's just so talented, she's gifted, right?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: And she's just amazing.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: But when I hired her, she was just so excited.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: She's I'm finally doing what I want to do.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't think I was able to do this.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: I tried off the reservation, I just couldn't do it.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: But my passion is in beauty, thank you.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: And even though we close our stores down, but you know, we're about to reopen this coming June, and you know, especially her.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: I throughout this whole pandemic, I literally just fought to stay alive so that I can bring back my team, and especially Ro, you know, because they're talented, but yeah, we always get looked over.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not just because there's in the beauty industry now, indigenous beauty industry, we have some amazing makeup artists that are have gone viral, like uh Tiffany Black.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she's a really well-known makeup artist on Instagram, yeah.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: But um, but there's more than that, you know.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: I need sales reps, and it's just bigger than just being the makeup artist, but I need a team.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: I need, I need, I need everybody, I need logistics, I need customer service.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: So it's so much bigger than that.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: And when I do give back, it's just like okay, I could do scholarship funds, but when our kids go to off to to school, they get that degree, then what?
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so I'm like, I have to do that in between.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I have to create these jobs for those who can go to school to come back, have a job to work in my admin, and those who go to trade school that want to become a CDL driver or uh heavy equipment machinery operator so they can work in my warehouse, you know, speaking on it, you know.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I need these people, autumn auto, um, auto mechanics because I'm I need you know a fleet of trucks that I need to make sure that they they maintain my trucks.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like all these people, uh this is what I'm building, and it's not gonna happen overnight.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: But what my people need more than anything is just opportunity.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: They just need they need job opportunities because we're not people, we're proud people, and that's what people don't understand.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're very proud people, and we can do what we need to do to put food on our tables.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_03: So you just need the opportunity, you need equal opportunity, and let's not be exactly let's not be BS anyone.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, there is no such thing as equal opportunity in this country.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, honestly speaking, and it's it's just it's load of crap you know what i mean and i i completely hear you and i i'm so glad that you said that about you are proud you know you're proud culture and you're proud because we all have pride and we all have self-respect and when you do things that are like limiting for a specific culture or a specific group of people it's almost impossible to come out of that because now you've you know what I mean like you've created a system that's made to fail for for people that never asked for a system to begin with you know what I mean like it's it's crazy I mean I can go on a tangent about this for days but you know I I love that you're you've stayed so true to who you are and you know who you are and where you come from and what your real culture is because that's what for me I'm not gonna lie to you growing up I always wondered for the Native American you know friends I had like how that was you know how how it would feel to like want to know more about your culture but not being able to you know what I mean so like that's one thing I I want to actually talk about more is like um what are some things that you think people could like really benefit from like in terms of educating themselves about your you know your culture and and your background like do you have any suggestions for all of us?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_03: Definitely um they always say no question is a bad question right um I just like go to the source you know most books about us nine out of ten weren't written by us so unfortunately um but I there's like a few platforms I like to like really put it you know shout out is the indigenous peoples movement uh IPM uh they're an organization that really shed light on all Indigenous people not just the Native Americans here on this continent but throughout the entire world and that movement really you know shows like the love and you know the uniqueness of our all our cultures but the one thing that connects us all is protecting Mother Earth and all our resources so it's it's like the um Instagrams like that those accounts like that that helps um actually going to look up the tribe you know the website the tribal website that's on there going directly to the tribe's website not just Google Wikipedia but actually go to the tribal website um they may be a little outdated but um they show who you can talk to um everything now has become more digital so you can see who our tribal um presidents chairmen are now and get a good feel most of them have Instagram and Facebook bigger more mostly on Facebook you can see them on there um follow my brand because that not only do I support and showcase my culture my tribe but there's also others you know this so inclusive where it's just not Navos that I represent and I pretty much represent all nations so it's you know it's really everybody so come to my page you can see that but definitely reach to the tribe website I love that and I I'm so thankful that you mentioned that I've actually you know never ever done that I'm not gonna lie I need to do that because this is a learning experience for me or I mean I just for me it's always like I I've always tried to find documentaries or or information from like a source you know and I know people really struggle with that.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean hell people struggle with their own skin health and looking up a PubMed paper.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_03: Like if you're getting burned in this like you know in a situation or if you have a chemical peel reaction go on to PubMed figure out what your skin's doing but people don't want to go the extra mile.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_03: So I love that you you know are outlining that for us.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: You know I I want to actually ask you though um in terms of like you know in terms of like formulating a makeup line it must have been tricky like in terms of what products you wanted.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: So what was the vision you had?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_03: Did you know like what was your first product that you came out with actually let's start there.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: Honestly the very first product I released and actually we finished developing with skincare was actually a cleanser our uh wash cleanser um because little backstory why I stopped everything was because my mom um had breast cancer and the things that she was using wasn't working you know her good old Chanel and everything wasn't working so I was like okay mom what do we use what can we do um so we started with the wash it's a gentle cleanser gel cleanser and what people don't understand too like there's different types of cleanser because our skin depending on your skin you need a like a soapy creamy milky cleanser or with more suds or you need a you know a light mild cleanser like our gel cleanser um so really you know making sure that my whole goal was making sure that we're 98% botanical base and that's oh my goodness it's like tons of tons of product um ingredients in there natural abstracts in there is because my mom you know when you go through chemo your body changes and things that you used to use can't you can't use it no more so my mom um really fell in love with our wash cleanser and then our our Protect moisturizer the first two I we finished just for my mom the Protect moisturizer has Jehovah oils in there and that's you know a people know that it's actually like an ancient indigenous um ingredient a natural ingredient and it's really calming and my mom she her skin was so dry and it would be so irritating and she was my tester and it worked really well right so with that you know the we literally pulled from the johoba the job uh oil itself and then you know there's or I actually had to purchase the higher end level of it all because what people don't understand like okay when you get your raw ingredients you know there's different tiers I like to say okay you have your Walmart bread and then you have your whole food you know so um depending on where you get it you know you get your results so I'm the type like I gotta go to a whole food level and you know actually getting that the purest uh astracks without you know I don't forcing things stuff you know what I mean because yeah like you want to do it right you want to do it right you don't want to cut in corners yeah absolutely and I think that's very like you know I I think that's that's really commendable and I I and I love that but I'm sure that there were a lot of like you know um like ingredients that you must have learned about growing up right and like just second nature because I know like for me my background my mom talked about you know I see this in skincare all the time now neem oil it's everywhere neem is everywhere and I'm like I grew up with my mom talking you know she grew up in rural India and she used to talk about well we used neem because it was anti-inflammatory and there were certain ingredients so I want to know from your perspective like what were the ingredients that you grew up like learning about and like using and you know did you incorporate them into your wine?
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh so that's where I like to say I protect the sacred and why is because for for a great cleanser I really really wanted the yucca plant um but uh being from a very traditional family and following tradition traditions you know when we extract the yucca root from the ground we make an offering to use it and then you know we make our prayer we say our prayer we use it and then after we use it we put it back oh wow so I mean don't get me wrong there is yucca abstracts out there uh but for me traditionally there's not that many Navajo uh medicine man that can fix me if I if I overuse it and that's another thing about you know our life our a way our life is we don't use we don't overuse things we use things for what we need it for um we don't waste it so that was a struggle as much as I wanted to incorporate it that but I had to respect it I you know there's I didn't want to remove all the yucca roots to mass produce my cleansers yeah and then I am left with probably you know get ill from overdoing it and you know the holy people are gonna be like okay we're gonna have to punish you I you know it seems crazy to those who don't may not understand no it's not crazy it's your culture that's your I can't I can't disrespect that so um even I run small batches because of that too because I like the freshness of the product to be made so we don't waste waste no components like let's say we have to scrap a clean um a a a uh concealer right because once you feel that components over you gotta you just waste the whole thing so I run small batches so we stay consistent with the pigmentation and especially stay um run small batches of our skincare so nine out of ten when you order any of my products is it when it's in my warehouse is probably less than two weeks old.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_03: Wow I love that so it's I love yeah here's the thing no I'm really glad that you talked about that and the whole idea of like giving back to the earth and how that is just see that's what I always wanted to know about the Native American culture is that how did how does that you know work and what are your thoughts about sustainability then I really want to know that genuinely like what do you think about all these lines now that are coming out and we're just putting so much trash into our environment right like it's like I want to know from your perspective genuinely like what your your you know your community and and you think about this.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely oh my goodness um it's gonna be a while before the entire beauty industry is using biodegradable packaging um for me it's good you know uh major companies that mass produce you know I'm glad that you know to be more cautious of how they're producing their product so they don't waste a lot um you know there's different type of for me to be a prestige brand that's where I'm going with it I don't know if my clientele is gonna enjoy a cardboard um compact so I my compacts my face palettes they're refillable and so they can customize and refill as they go our foundation compacts um yeah they can just buy that compact once and then they can just re you know purchase the refills when you they run out or they they're they change the shade from winter shade to summer shade.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: They can buy two that's what my customers do they buy two compacts one for their summer one for their winter so that's my twist of making sure that my the consumer and me as the brand be able to try to recycle reuse as much as possible my skincare is uh it's airless their airless pump so I am working really hard of making that where they can keep the component and they just get a refill for their um component for whatever skincare they have.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just trying to find ways to not have to always um you know fill components you know with the the original pretty packaging um it's people think that I'm crazy like you don't you can't make money that way um they're gonna have to buy the whole thing and I'm like okay there's only so much money you can really appreciate or you know even you appreciate every penny but you know money's not everything yeah you know so wherever this brand goes you know I'm gonna be happy with it I'm happy with people being able to reuse their compacts you know hey Ms.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_03: Lassatch I need another this another another shade all right here's a refill boom they pop it out put it in they're good to go so they're practicing recyc reusing and the tin can they can recycle so or the aluminum pan they can recycle so there's there's my way of trying trying to help but it's still a pretty package it's so pretty packaging no I think that you know we all have our twist and our spin and we have to apply that you know in order for real sustainability to be a thing you know it being sustainable doesn't just mean you pick one route and that's the route everybody needs to go down.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_03: No we just all need to do our part and I think that you're more than doing your part that's awesome.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_03: I love the refillable option I personally you know I get attached to the things I love.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: So for example I love your powder like your powder is genuinely like I'm a not a powder person.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_03: I've never been and I use it and I'm just like oh my God I don't need anything else and it's just like you know when you have quality product and I you know you have quality products and you're coming out with things that are working together so beautifully the customer by them like you know by ourselves we're like yeah I'm just gonna repurchase it.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: So it's not like you're gonna lose money at the end of the day.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_03: That's my that's my point in all of this is like you know for all the business owners out there that think you know you're gonna lose money in the long run you're not because if you create something truly good then I'm gonna keep coming back and we're all we're all like that.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_03: So you know I love that.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_03: I love your spin thank you.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: People thought I was crazy and I'm just like no because where I grew up you know the biggest brands that most people had was CoverGirl because you know it's it was a regular drugstore brand and it wasn't the best shade they got at that time but they're getting better.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: But um that was I would always see those compacts everywhere everywhere you know like my sis my cousins before I was younger they would have it and once they're once it's empty they see the belly of the pen and you know it's they toss it and they're buying another one.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_03: So I I remember that and I was like why can't I remember took note of that so when I got this brand up and going I was like no they're gonna keep this compact and they're just gonna buy a refill it's just because I just seen seeing those little those little pans compact everywhere everywhere and you have like you there's it's not one little pan it's like 10 like why like you know it's it's all every woman I remember you know cover girl growing up like it was like the you know obviously cover girl Maybelline Revlon like you know there are the big big names and I I know exactly what you mean we all had like 12 of those pants so like you know it was a problem.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_03: It was a problem.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah but I mean I hear you and I love that and I you know I think there's something very valuable and very meaningful in the the concept of keeping the original packaging and just refilling because it almost becomes like a token thing you have you know it's like a reminder like oh this is my compact you know what I mean this is my this is my original compact and I think for me as a consumer like that little part of it sentimentally is like everything.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_03: So I love that you know um and I think there's a lot of people that can really identify with that.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_03: And so I think you're doing it right.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_03: You know I think you really are yeah so you know I want to I want to actually open up the the conversation a little bit and I want to talk about you know any advice you have or anything you have for people out there that just you know might be have a similar story and a similar journey and you know they might be too scared to start their own line you know any words of wisdom that you can share first be very passionate of this industry because this industry is cutthroat um on research the good the bad the ugly in this industry because there are a lot um and be comfortable with it and um don't be afraid right I know people be like they we don't need another beauty brand we do because each one of us you know what I love about this industry mostly is because everybody can win there's room for everybody to be successful and now more than anything us indie brands these small brands you know we're really shining is because what the major brands can't do is connect the way we do right you know they don't have that direct contact so it's a lot of work for us especially for me because I talk to every single customer that has a question um I did that when I was like you started something and uh I don't know how you're gonna get out of it.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_03: I was like no this is what I do I'm gonna talk to everybody and be able to create a brand whatever you build build it with purpose and build it with love and good intentions um because you're you're speaking and breathing life into it our brands are living entities that's what I feel um so it'll you know it's gonna touch people ways that we we as humans can't especially the beauty industry is so powerful um because our whoever buys our products our consumers they it's very personable so you have to be able to really speak to them authentically correctly and respectfully and you know we're here to help them you know it's not it's not more it's not just oh sell sell sell sell sell it is don't get me wrong it is but it's also solving these problems like now we have a a brand that has over 30 plus shades you know shades that actually we need yeah and all the in between shades you know um my foundation sticks uh we have over 35 shades and uh that's another one I'm gonna send you so you can try it out and oh I I love it it's super creamy um no all of your products are amazing like I just want to set the record straight for everybody out there listening this line is my brand new favorite makeup line I'm obsessed with the foundation I'm obsessed with the powder I'm obsessed with the whole story of the brand like I really I cannot say that enough it is truly beautiful and I think I messed like I remember when I first tried the foundation I had reached out to you and I was like your foundation is as good at Pat as Pat McGrath's and I really do mean that everyone listening out there it is that good like it's it's genuinely amazing and it's you know it's made with so much love and you can definitely tell because you know my skin loves it everything you know my makeup the other makeup I use sits beautifully on it so yeah I mean dude you've created something phenomenal and that's that's not an you know that's not an exaggeration it's true and I think you know that needs to be understood everyone listening out there if you guys have not checked out Asha Beauty then you're really missing out I mean truly and I hope that you guys leave us some feedback some amazing you know some comments and I would love to hear from you so let us know and I'll be back next time.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys so I hope you love that episode please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform we are available on so many different platforms so wherever it is that you're tuning in just go hit subscribe you will be immediately notified when we publish new episodes 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 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.
• 41:41
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• 41:49
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• 41:54
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• 42:05
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• 42:11
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• 42:16
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.