Latest / Skin Anarchy / Jessica Richards, Founder of SHEN Beauty

Transcript

Jessica Richards, Founder of SHEN Beauty · Skin Anarchy

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1:19
SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to introduce you to the founder who is here with us, Jessica Richards, who is the founder of Shen Beauty.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show, Jessica.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited you're here.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to be here.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's such an honor to have you.
1:35
SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad that we made the time for this.
1:37
SPEAKER_01: And I really love what you're doing with Shen.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: But before we dive into the brand, I want to know all about you and your wonderful career in the beauty industry and just um just kind of, you know, so the audience can get to know you a little bit if you can get us started.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I would say that I'm I still don't find myself a beauty industry person.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: I know that might sound crazy.
2:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, but I I think I look at it more from a fashion perspective than anything, and and not really from a beauty perspective.
2:11
SPEAKER_02: I think that maybe is what sets me apart.
2:13
SPEAKER_02: I grew up in uh I was born in France and I grew up in California, Southern California, with a hippie mom who, you know, still to this day uses coconut oil all over her body and has for she's 73, so for, you know, probably 65 years or whatever.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: And I, you know, was one who baked myself in the sun and didn't, you know, follow any of the rules that you're supposed to as a as a child.
2:40
SPEAKER_02: And then after graduating high school, I uh I worked a retail store there that I loved and I lived in Aspen for a year and I worked at a snowboard store only because that's where the cute boys were.
2:52
SPEAKER_02: And then I moved to New York to go to school at FIT and I went for a double major fashion merchandising management and uh advertising, marketing, communications.
3:01
SPEAKER_02: And when I I did a million internships, and when I graduated, I called my friend Lauren Davis, now Lauren Santo Domingo, uh, she owns Moto Operandi and I said, I need a job.
3:12
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, come work with me at Vogue.
3:14
SPEAKER_02: So I worked there for about a year and a half or so, two years maybe.
3:20
SPEAKER_02: And I loved it.
3:21
SPEAKER_02: I love clothes, I love putting an outfit together, but I just didn't um, I didn't enjoy the the um the office mentality there.
3:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, mind you, this is a very long time ago.
3:35
SPEAKER_02: And so shortly, you know, I was still working there and I found out I was pregnant, and I was like, okay, well, this is the perfect time for me to not work right now.
3:44
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna have a baby and I'm gonna be a stay-at-home mom.
3:48
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not really that good at that.
3:50
SPEAKER_02: I'm a workaholic and I always need a project.
3:54
SPEAKER_02: And so shortly after I had my son, it was about four months after I had him.
4:00
SPEAKER_02: He, my nanny was in my bathroom and she accidentally dropped my face cream and it broke.
4:06
SPEAKER_02: And I thought, no big deal.
4:08
SPEAKER_02: I'll just walk up to Smith and Court or Court, which are the two sort of main drags in in South Brooklyn.
4:16
SPEAKER_02: And this is, I mean, my son's gonna be 13.
4:19
SPEAKER_02: So this is like 14 years, you know, a long time ago, 13 years ago.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: And I walked up there and there was nothing but a CVS and a flight 001, which sold Mario Badescu.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: And I thought, hmm, I've always been going into the city to buy my beauty products.
4:36
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I started off by saying that I'm not really a beauty person, and I I kind of take that back.
4:43
SPEAKER_02: I've always been the person who looks for the one mascara or the one face cream or the one different product.
4:51
SPEAKER_02: But I've never been that beauty hoarder or beauty obsessed, and I never wear a lot of makeup ever.
4:59
SPEAKER_02: Most days I don't even wear makeup at all.
5:02
SPEAKER_02: Um, not even mascara, and I get my brows tinted.
5:06
SPEAKER_02: So it's, you know, I just I believe that skin is your best makeup if you have good skin and you treat it well.
5:13
SPEAKER_02: So I would always looked for like the one thing, but I would always buy like the one product that I thought was for my skin, do a lot of research, and then use it all the way to empty, and then buy a new one.
5:25
SPEAKER_02: So I never had multiple products at my house ever.
5:29
SPEAKER_02: And then when I had my son and I went to the to this main drags to find something, there wasn't anything.
5:35
SPEAKER_02: And I realized that I was always going into the city to either space NK or Barney's.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: And so it was sort of at that moment where I thought, hmm, I've worked a lot of retail jobs.
5:46
SPEAKER_02: I understand what it takes to be a buyer, clearly.
5:49
SPEAKER_02: I just went to school for it.
5:51
SPEAKER_02: And I'm just gonna open a natural and organic beauty boutique in Brooklyn, it's close to home.
5:58
SPEAKER_02: And I'm gonna take Space NK's model and I'm gonna flip it.
6:03
SPEAKER_02: Because when, and I'm quite good friends with Nikki, I believe to give credit where credit is due.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: And everybody's ideas, you know, give you inspiration to create your own.
6:15
SPEAKER_02: And so when she opened Space NK in the UK, she imported all the American products that they weren't sold over there.
6:25
SPEAKER_02: But when they opened in the US, she wasn't really so much involved anymore.
6:29
SPEAKER_02: And they didn't skew the brands and flip the model to bring in all the European goods.
6:34
SPEAKER_02: So I was traveling all the time for work.
6:38
SPEAKER_02: I was my ex, my now ex-husband is always traveling for his work.
6:43
SPEAKER_02: He works in entertainment, and I was always bringing beauty products back that I would find in Europe or Asia or wherever.
6:52
SPEAKER_02: And it sort of dawned on me that there needed to be a haven for these goods.
6:59
SPEAKER_02: And so I wanted only natural and organic.
7:03
SPEAKER_02: And mind you, this is, you know, 12 and a half years ago, where natural actually kind of meant something.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: And in my mind, sort of what it meant was oh, I go to Whole Foods and I scour their shelves for really ugly packaged products that might not do anything.
7:20
unknown: Right.
7:22
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, why can't there be pretty products like there are in Europe that are, you know, clean because they have different regulations over there?
7:29
SPEAKER_02: We have none.
7:31
SPEAKER_02: And so when I opened, it was only imported goods and it was really organic and natural, you know, with a little bit of preservative, not much.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: And to be honest, I mean, it's 12 years ago, right?
7:44
SPEAKER_02: But Instagram didn't exist.
7:47
SPEAKER_02: People didn't shop online like they do now.
7:51
SPEAKER_02: Um, no TikTok, no none of those platforms, right?
7:56
SPEAKER_02: There was Facebook.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: And I just thought, I'm gonna open a place where women can come and find the products that they've wanted and I can help them along their journey.
8:06
SPEAKER_02: And so we opened, and about a year in, it was the business, to be honest, was really struggling.
8:13
SPEAKER_02: Um, the neighborhood was not gentrified like it is now.
8:18
SPEAKER_02: People were still buying from advertisements, brand recognition, because magazines were still very relevant then.
8:26
SPEAKER_02: And when they would come in, they wouldn't feel comfortable buying a hundred-dollar cleanser of a brand that they've never heard of because it was natural or organic.
8:36
SPEAKER_02: They would always say, I can just go to Whole Foods and buy that for$5, right?
8:41
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
8:42
SPEAKER_02: So I realized, you know, I needed to figure out how to keep this business that I had sunk my personal money into because banks weren't loaning.
8:52
SPEAKER_02: It was the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 when I was looking for money.
8:57
SPEAKER_02: Um, and they all looked at me like I was crazy.
9:01
SPEAKER_02: This, you know, 24-year-old blonde girl saying she's gonna open an organic and natural beauty store in Brooklyn.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: Like, I mean, the amount of times that I was laughed at by the banks is sad.
9:11
SPEAKER_02: And so I um so I called my ex-mother-in-law's best friend, Bobbi Brown, and I said, you know, I really think I need to sell Bobby Brown, I think I need to sell your stuff at Shen.
9:24
SPEAKER_02: And she was like, it's so not your model.
9:26
SPEAKER_02: I said, I know, but you know, I did some research.
9:29
SPEAKER_02: You have no distribution in Brooklyn, and that's crazy because it's actually the largest borough.
9:35
SPEAKER_02: And I said, How would you feel about selling products to me?
9:39
SPEAKER_02: Not, you know, I don't want your skincare, I don't want your holiday launches, I don't want any of the any of that kind of stuff.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: I really just want your core skews that women love, right?
9:50
SPEAKER_02: Like those shimmer bricks and the you know, gel pot eyeliners and a foundation and a concealer, like and a couple mascaras.
9:59
SPEAKER_02: And your obviously your 12 lipsticks that you started with, right?
10:03
SPEAKER_02: Can't forget those.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Of course.
10:06
SPEAKER_02: And so she was like, of course.
10:08
SPEAKER_02: So I went in and I met with Maureen Case, who at the time was the president of Joe Malone, Bobby Brown, and LaMaire.
10:16
SPEAKER_02: And she was gung-ho, really saw the opportunity of being in a niche boutique in Brooklyn and curating the assortment.
10:24
SPEAKER_02: And so passed me over to the woman, you know, then I met with the head of sales, and it took them about four months to figure out how to ship to me because I didn't want everything, and all of their clients are on auto, you know, auto order, right?
10:42
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, no, no, no, no, no.
10:44
SPEAKER_02: I don't want all that stuff.
10:45
SPEAKER_02: It would take up my whole store.
10:47
SPEAKER_02: But my point in all of this is that it's kind of what turned on my business and also made me pivot in a in a real way for the better.
10:58
SPEAKER_02: Because one, it allowed a woman who was not familiar with these brands.
11:03
SPEAKER_02: And quite frankly, most women many years ago, and still now I see it, feel a little bit intimidated when they come into a store like mine.
11:12
SPEAKER_02: And especially 12 years ago, you know, not one thing that they've ever seen in their life.
11:18
SPEAKER_02: What?
11:19
SPEAKER_02: And so that that was one.
11:22
SPEAKER_02: And and and and then they came in and they saw Bobby Brown sitting there and they were comfortable with it.
11:28
SPEAKER_02: Like who in their life doesn't have at least one Bobby Brown item in their makeup bag?
11:32
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
11:34
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
11:35
SPEAKER_02: It's like everyone does, and so the minute what'd you say?
11:41
SPEAKER_01: I said it's like finding a common ground, you know, for everyone to be able to relate to.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a huge part of just beauty in general, you know.
11:50
SPEAKER_02: You're so right.
11:51
SPEAKER_02: It really is.
11:51
SPEAKER_02: Bobby Brown is sort of like my mother, my grandmother, myself, and my daughter.
11:55
SPEAKER_02: If I had a daughter, we could all find something we liked from there, right?
11:59
SPEAKER_02: Like she's for the every woman.
12:02
SPEAKER_02: And so I chose her over NARS or anything else because that's what I that's really what I strive.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: I strive to have something for every single person, every single woman, age group, skin type, you know, demographic, whatever, um, disposable income, what whatever.
12:20
SPEAKER_02: Everybody's different, right?
12:21
SPEAKER_02: And so you have to, you have to offer something for each one of those people.
12:26
SPEAKER_02: And and so when I brought that in, women felt more confident than asking about a question about a product that they had that they saw in the store that they might not have asked prior.
12:39
SPEAKER_02: And I really truly believe that it's because they felt comfortable because Bobby Brown cosmetics were there.
12:47
SPEAKER_02: But the other thing that it did for me was it made me realize very early on, and mind you, this is prior to Credo, Folane, Detox Market, Violet Gray, um, any of the retailers in my space now that I could technically call competition, but I don't, because I just don't look at what anyone else does.
13:11
SPEAKER_02: Um, and certainly way before Nordstrom, Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Ulta were looking at these so-called indie brands or even thinking about green, clean, natural, organic, right?
13:23
SPEAKER_02: Like, so they it made me realize that women do not only shop this, and I'm going back in time, natural and organic beauty.
13:36
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day, women want something that's gonna work, right?
13:40
SPEAKER_02: And sometimes it's not organic or natural or clean, sometimes it is a chemical or a laser or whatever.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: And and so you have to embrace that and help them along their journey.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: But I feel like help them along their journey with education rather than shaming them.
13:57
SPEAKER_02: And you know what I mean?
13:58
SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't know if you've experienced this, but so many women nowadays feel shame.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: That's the word that comes up a lot, around the not using a clean product and loving their, you know, L'Oreal Great Lash mascara or something.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: Have you heard that?
14:15
SPEAKER_01: That is a serious problem.
14:17
SPEAKER_01: And I yes, I have.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: And you know, I'm so glad that you're bringing that up because the thing is, you know, we talk about clean, green, organic, all this stuff.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: That's all great and nice.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: But when it comes down to it, beauty is something that is very close to the hearts of every woman I know.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: You know, every single one of us has our own beauty ritual.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: It's like what you said, it's like finding that one product that you just can't live without.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's your go-to.
14:44
SPEAKER_01: And that I think, like this is something I wish the whole industry, honestly, Jessica, I wish they would just kind of grasp onto and kind of promote is the idea that above all of these other buzzwords is the idea of practicality and beauty.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: And this is something that no one is talking about.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: And I don't know why, but all this green, you know, it's wonderful to be clean, organic, green.
15:07
SPEAKER_01: Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful thing to do to have, you know, you know, checked off on your list as a brand.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, am I gonna grab your lipstick or your blush or your foundation over everything else that I have available?
15:22
SPEAKER_01: That should be the only question, you know, in people's minds at the end of the day when you're crafting a beauty product.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: So I really like that you brought that up.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's a very important conversation.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that, you know, a lot of women feel that shame for using, you know, whatever it is.
15:39
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, who cares?
15:42
SPEAKER_02: At the end of the day, like, you know, your health is also your mental, right?
15:47
SPEAKER_02: And so if you feel good about yourself, like many people say, oh, you work in the beauty industry, it's so vapid.
15:57
SPEAKER_02: Well, uh, yeah, I work in the beauty industry, yes.
16:01
SPEAKER_02: I don't I find aspects of the beauty industry very vapid, right?
16:05
SPEAKER_02: And and obnoxious, but that's not my path in the beauty industry.
16:11
SPEAKER_02: And I don't think that that's most women's path in the beauty industry.
16:15
SPEAKER_02: I think that most women wear a little mascara or a little foundation to cover a pimple or something to feel better about themselves, right?
16:25
SPEAKER_02: Like, and and again, that's not that you can call that vanity, sure.
16:30
SPEAKER_02: But I call it mental health, right?
16:33
SPEAKER_02: Like when I I mean, when I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling my best or I'm, you know, maybe having a rough day or a rough week or I'm depressed or something's going on because we all suffer from it, I dress nicer, I wear makeup and I go get my hair done.
16:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: Because it makes me feel better about myself.
16:55
SPEAKER_02: Like I feel more confident out in the world.
16:58
SPEAKER_02: And when I'm really happy, I look like absolute shit.
17:02
SPEAKER_02: Excuse my language.
17:04
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know what I mean?
17:06
SPEAKER_02: Because unless it's like going to a party or dinner or something, but it's because I just don't care.
17:11
SPEAKER_02: That's not what's on my mind.
17:13
SPEAKER_02: Like my what's on my mind is that I feel good and I don't have, you know, I don't suffer from many skin issues other than extreme dryness and dehydration and aging.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: But um, I do know a lot of women who suffer from cystic acne or hormonal acne.
17:30
SPEAKER_02: And the one thing that makes them feel better is that concealer to cover up those pimples either during that time of the month or whatever it may be.
17:38
SPEAKER_02: And so if that makes them feel more confident about themselves, then what's wrong with that?
17:44
SPEAKER_01: Right, exactly.
17:45
SPEAKER_01: And also it's more of like, you know, it's more of a conversation about there's very few things in this world that can turn a bad day into not so bad, you know.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: And I think beauty is definitely one of those avenues.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I've obviously I think all of us have heard that um, you know, argument that you brought up about, you know, it's it's vanity and it's all this.
18:07
SPEAKER_01: And don't get me wrong, I am definitely on board with the natural look.
18:11
SPEAKER_01: I think you and I are very similar because I very rarely wear like a full face of makeup or really any makeup.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: But when I do, it's gonna be things that make me feel better, right?
18:21
SPEAKER_01: So it's gonna be products, lipstick colors, and you know, things that just naturally look good on my skin, but they give me that extra pop.
18:31
SPEAKER_02: And I think they enhance your already beautiful face, like they take what you have and they make it look just a little bit better.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: Yep, exactly.
18:40
SPEAKER_01: That's the real, that's the unique part is like being able to find all of those products in one place.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: That's why I'm like really interested in what you've created because you know that for me growing up, I don't know about you, but for me growing up as a millennial, that was very difficult.
18:55
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Sephora aside, Sephora was more confusing for me than anything.
18:59
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
19:00
SPEAKER_02: That was like scary to me.
19:02
SPEAKER_02: First of all, I it's so dirty, and I'm a clean freak in my store.
19:07
SPEAKER_02: Like in I used to oversee beauty for uh four different companies.
19:12
SPEAKER_02: And my assistant told me one time, she said, You do realize that they have a nickname for you.
19:20
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, and she meant it like to be rude to me.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: And I said, No, what is it?
19:26
SPEAKER_02: And she said, whenever they know you're coming for store visits, because I oversaw over 400 stores.
19:32
SPEAKER_02: She said, they said, uh-oh, the duster is coming in, or the duster was here.
19:37
SPEAKER_02: And I said, What's that supposed to mean?
19:39
SPEAKER_02: And she goes, because the first thing you do is when you walk in, you swipe your finger on the display.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: And I said, I find that as a compliment.
19:49
SPEAKER_02: I don't take that as a negative at all.
19:53
SPEAKER_02: If that's my nickname, I am proud of it because who wants to buy beauty from a place that's disgusting?
19:59
SPEAKER_02: So I'll have I'll take it and I'll run with it.
20:02
SPEAKER_02: I have no issue with that.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: And I I still do that, but also, you know, Shen is a very different concept, right?
20:09
SPEAKER_02: Like one, we're we're very small, so we aren't Sephora.
20:13
SPEAKER_02: We don't have the, although we're just a two blocks from a Sephora, so we have the same amount of foot traffic as the Sephora next to us because we're right next door to a Trader Joe's also.
20:22
SPEAKER_02: So our foot traffic is insane, but our cleaning protocols are might be more insane than anyone's because I'm neurotic.
20:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, but but the other thing is is that you know, while Sephora has a very strong business and it's really great and it caters to a certain demographic, we cater to somebody who who can absolutely come in and want to have that full face of makeup, like that beat, you know, that's what they call it now, that beat look.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: And by all means, we sell the products for it.
20:53
SPEAKER_02: But I would say our core consumer is one who really wants us to go along on their journey with them and help them every step of the way.
21:03
SPEAKER_02: So maybe it's that they, their best friend, their aunt, got breast cancer, right?
21:10
SPEAKER_02: And so they learned that they need to switch all their products to organic.
21:14
SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, we have that.
21:15
SPEAKER_02: Or maybe it's somebody who, you know, is trying to find a new regimen for their, you know, their perimenopause, or maybe they just had a baby and they have now their skin is completely different.
21:31
SPEAKER_02: And so women all along throughout their life, they have different needs at different phases of their life, whether it be a makeup look or whether it be skincare needs.
21:41
SPEAKER_02: And I find that at Shen, we truly try and, you know, take the woman along that journey and be a partner with them in that.
21:50
SPEAKER_02: It's it's about like helping them feel better about themselves.
21:56
SPEAKER_02: It's not about selling them a beauty product.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: And it's really, I mean, I I from what I'm taking away, it's more of a an experience for the women who are over the whole Sephora Hall hype, you know what I mean?
22:10
SPEAKER_01: Or the, you know, let's just go buy anything and everything, which there's nothing wrong with that.
22:14
SPEAKER_02: Nothing wrong with that.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: But that's not, but we're we also don't oversell just to hit numbers, right?
22:21
SPEAKER_02: Like I would rather somebody buy one item, love it, and come back and buy another.
22:27
SPEAKER_02: I would, I don't want them to be unhappy.
22:29
SPEAKER_02: My goal is for everyone to like truly see a change in the skin, the change that they're trying to attain, whatever that may be, right?
22:38
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
22:39
SPEAKER_01: And you know, honestly, I want to even add, Jessica, because I'm not gonna lie, ever since I got more into my skin health and my skincare routines, which was far before this podcast, I realized very quickly that, you know, already I'm not a huge makeup person, but I realized that the makeup that I was starting to like kind of lean towards was more for, you know, just like like you said, enhancing your natural look.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: And it was very difficult to find those brands and to find that curated collection of, you know, whether it's brands or products, that you could just be like, okay, I'm gonna try this.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: And I know this is gonna be like a sheer coverage or whatever, because the at the time Instagram was taking over and the whole Instagram, like you said, the full beat look was everywhere.
23:25
SPEAKER_01: And at some point, I really loved the way my skin was looking, you know.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: I was not for that, you know.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: I was like, I want everything other than this.
23:34
SPEAKER_01: Like, and it was, I'm not gonna lie, that's that was a very hard thing to kind of sift through, sort through as a consumer who wanted a minimalistic, you know, approach to their makeup and their everyday look.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: So I think it there's a there's great value in boutiques, right?
23:50
SPEAKER_01: Like this idea of like boutique shopping for me has always been very um, it's been very close to my heart because I've always found the best things, you know, in boutiques because it's not cluttered, it's not dirty, like you said, it's not it's like a curated place you can walk into and find that one piece that you've been looking for that really fits into your overall, you know, makeup wardrobe or your wardrobe in general.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, so I I really, really enjoyed that idea and and that concept that you've created with Shen.
24:19
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
24:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I think it's you know, look, when I first opened, we didn't have treatment rooms, we didn't offer any services.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: The business has truly transformed in 12 years.
24:28
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we just opened a new store during the pandemic, and it has full-length mirrors set six feet apart because have you ever noticed in beauty stores there's no mirrors?
24:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the time they're like the size of your palm at an end cap.
24:44
SPEAKER_02: Now, I don't understand that.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: Like the lighting is like UFO lighting.
24:50
SPEAKER_01: Like I don't even know.
24:51
SPEAKER_02: Well, our so our entire store is like tons of mirrors and it's all temperature gauge.
24:58
SPEAKER_02: So if you said, Oh, I wonder what if a customer says, which happens all the time, oh, I wonder what's gonna what it's gonna look like on me though when I'm out at night, and if this is the right color, well, guess what?
25:10
SPEAKER_02: We can turn the lighting down to make to show you what it would look like at night.
25:15
SPEAKER_02: So at day, in the middle of the day, at night.
25:19
SPEAKER_02: And and so that that was a huge learning of mine.
25:22
SPEAKER_02: You know, we have four treatment rooms.
25:24
SPEAKER_02: We offer all different kinds of facials and brow and microblading services and waxing.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I feel like shopping in a boutique.
25:34
SPEAKER_02: I'm a boutique shopper as well.
25:36
SPEAKER_02: Actually, my favorite store is in California called Amory's.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: And it's sort of like that hunt, right?
25:43
SPEAKER_02: Like finding the one thing and being able to tell your friends about it and falling in love with it and making and feeling spec and feeling special, right?
25:52
SPEAKER_02: Finding something that makes you feel special and that you found something that nobody else has.
25:58
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, as much as I love the internet and Instagram, I think is fine.
26:02
SPEAKER_02: I don't really partake so much, but it's good.
26:05
SPEAKER_02: Um it's it's sort of lost that everything's lost that specialty.
26:11
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like when you go into any boutique, be it clothing, home, right, or or my store beauty, the the people that are working in there are way more educated and friendly because we focus on the education and truly helping each individual rather than just hiring them to have warm bodies in the store to check out and hit your numbers and pay them nothing.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: You know, so and I'm not saying every retailer does that, I'm just speaking in in a broad mass generalization.
26:42
SPEAKER_02: But I think that, you know, partnering with your clients on their journey is truly the most important thing.
26:48
SPEAKER_02: And I I wish that I would have had that my whole life.
26:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: No, I I completely, completely understand.
26:56
SPEAKER_01: And I I want to actually ask you, so for the general consumer, if they walked into Shin like right now, what would the experience be like?
27:04
SPEAKER_01: Like what are the normal steps that people go through?
27:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean, is it something that you have to book advanced, you know, in advance for how does it work?
27:13
SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, that's a very good question.
27:15
SPEAKER_02: So services are, you know, you have to book them prior, although sometimes we have openings.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: So walk-ins are are it's always good to walk in and ask.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: Josh, our microblading expert, who's I mean, I can't tell you whose brows he's fixed because I I don't like to shame other people, it's their business as well.
27:38
SPEAKER_02: But he basically has to fix everybody's microbladed eyebrows.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: He's unbelievable.
27:41
SPEAKER_02: And his celebrity clientele is he's booked like four to six weeks in advance.
27:46
SPEAKER_02: So that's not somebody that you can really get into.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, but for the retail store, you know, you walk in, the first thing they do is say, Would you like to wash your hands?
27:55
SPEAKER_02: We put a sink on the floor, or would you like to sanitize them?
27:58
SPEAKER_02: Because we live in a COVID era.
28:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I'm a neurotic clean freak.
28:04
SPEAKER_02: And then the second would be, you know, is there anything I can help you with?
28:08
SPEAKER_02: And most of the time people say no and they just browse and then we check in with them again.
28:14
SPEAKER_02: Um, or they they ask for something specific.
28:17
SPEAKER_02: So if you're a consumer who's coming in to look for a new foundation, just to use as an example, um, they say, Do you want full coverage?
28:28
SPEAKER_02: Do you want light coverage?
28:29
SPEAKER_02: Do you want something with SPF in it?
28:31
SPEAKER_02: Like what sort of are you looking for, right?
28:33
SPEAKER_02: Then we drill it down.
28:35
SPEAKER_02: And then what happens is so during the pandemic, when we were opening, it was really late one night.
28:40
SPEAKER_02: This is kind of a segue.
28:42
SPEAKER_02: And I don't sleep usually between one and five.
28:45
SPEAKER_02: I'm a single mom of two kids and run my own business.
28:47
SPEAKER_02: So talk about stress.
28:49
SPEAKER_02: And um we're lucky I wake up the next day.
28:53
SPEAKER_02: And so I was up in the middle of the night looking at the art.
28:57
SPEAKER_02: We have these two beautiful murals painted in the store by an artist named Petra Bourner.
29:02
SPEAKER_02: And they had been sent over to me by our design team, Mythology, who branded, you know, many businesses of my out there from Sweet Green to Harry's to Warby Parker to Peloton to Away Luggage.
29:16
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, they did me too.
29:19
SPEAKER_02: And they sent over this art, and I was looking at it, it was like 1:30 in the morning, and I had just woken up, I couldn't fall back asleep.
29:27
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, God, I really don't love this.
29:29
SPEAKER_02: It's so androgynous.
29:31
SPEAKER_02: You know, women have this.
29:33
SPEAKER_02: I like this that my mind was going down this typical road of what the beautiful woman is, like that magazine model who's young and beautiful and blonde and thin, right?
29:44
SPEAKER_02: Right.
29:44
SPEAKER_02: And and I'm not really some, I I'm blonde, okay, and I'm from California, and I'm, you know, a normal weight.
29:52
SPEAKER_02: So I kind of, I guess you could say I fit into that, you know, ideal, right?
29:57
SPEAKER_02: But I don't personally like that ideal.
30:00
SPEAKER_02: I like something that's a little off, right?
30:02
SPEAKER_02: Like I don't like everything to be perfect.
30:05
SPEAKER_02: So I was looking at this art and I thought, oh, it's just so androgynous.
30:09
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if this is really the right art for the store.
30:12
SPEAKER_02: And then I started Googling pictures of Petra, the artist, and she in one of the photos of her, it was her painting, you know, and she was holding a palette, a painter's palette with a paintbrush in her hand.
30:24
SPEAKER_02: And I thought, oh my God, because I was trying to figure out how we were going to test her beauty at retail in a new store opening in the middle of COVID.
30:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
30:35
SPEAKER_02: And I thought, how the hell am I gonna do this?
30:39
SPEAKER_02: Because beauty is so sensorial, right?
30:41
SPEAKER_02: You need to feel it, touch it, smell it, experience it.
30:44
SPEAKER_02: Like if you buy something and you don't like the smell of it, you're not gonna use it.
30:47
SPEAKER_02: It's right on your face, right?
30:50
SPEAKER_02: Or the texture might make your skin too dry, or maybe it's not the right color and it doesn't blend well.
30:56
SPEAKER_02: You know, who knows?
30:57
SPEAKER_02: There's a million things.
30:59
SPEAKER_02: And so I thought, oh my God, it kind of dawned on me.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: Makeup artist, artist painter's palette.
31:08
SPEAKER_02: So I had these wood, our whole store is birch plywood, and it's meant to feel like that first day in the spring where you take your shoes off and you put your feet on the grass, or your first day after a long winter and you put your feet in the sand, like sort of like home, and you're just sort of like rooted and grounded.
31:30
SPEAKER_02: And and so I thought, hmm, okay, painter's palette, makeup artist, right artist.
31:36
SPEAKER_02: And so we have these painters' palettes where this is a very long story, you're gonna have to chop this up.
31:43
SPEAKER_02: Sorry.
31:44
SPEAKER_02: But um we have these painters' palettes, and so if you're looking for a foundation, we then sort of narrow it down.
31:51
SPEAKER_02: We take the foundations, we lay them out in front of you, a couple different colors in your range, in your shade range from each brand that would be suggested to you.
32:01
SPEAKER_02: And then we either take a, you know, like a painter's knife, like a little spatula thing.
32:07
SPEAKER_02: And if it's a stick foundation, we shave a little off and put it on the painter's palette.
32:11
SPEAKER_02: If it's a liquid foundation, we pump a little on.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: And then we hand you the palette because of COVID.
32:17
SPEAKER_02: You know, we've started doing makeup on people again now, but prior to that, everybody still had to wear masks.
32:23
SPEAKER_02: So we would put them in a separate room with a mirror and let them try it with their mask off and then come out.
32:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
32:29
SPEAKER_02: Um, but what it's done is it's allowed people that play, right?
32:34
SPEAKER_02: That that what the what the goal of beauty is, right?
32:38
SPEAKER_02: To make you feel better, women feel better about themselves and also to play and have fun and enjoy.
32:43
SPEAKER_02: And so it's allowed them to play with the textures, touch their face, learn how to use it, and then understand the differences between the foundations and what they like the best, right?
32:58
SPEAKER_02: So, and and the same goes with blush or mascara or eyeshadow or what have you.
33:03
SPEAKER_02: And then for skincare, we have the little plastic ones that we sanitize, we sanitize everything after, but um we have the little plastic ones with the holes.
33:13
SPEAKER_02: And so if you're looking for a face oil, we would then ask you what type of skin, what's your price range, you know, do you want organic, clean, or do you care if it has toxins in it?
33:24
SPEAKER_02: Because we sell all of it.
33:26
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, and then again, we lay out the products and we pump into this little um painter's palette, and people then take it and try it on themselves.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: So it's really become incredibly experiential and sensorial and safe.
33:44
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
33:45
SPEAKER_01: And I love that because I'm not gonna lie, at other stores, um, even you know, when you go to a beauty counter, they're always like, Well, let me let me match you.
33:55
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, Can I just match myself?
33:57
SPEAKER_01: Like genuinely, can I just play around?
34:00
SPEAKER_01: Right.
34:00
SPEAKER_01: And it's funny, right?
34:02
SPEAKER_02: A lot of people, a lot of people want to be matched and a lot of people don't.
34:07
SPEAKER_02: But you know what's interesting about that is that every single person, it there's a middle ground for both of those, both of those sides.
34:15
SPEAKER_02: And that is that they want, after they figure out what they want, they're gonna ask you for approval, right?
34:23
SPEAKER_02: The sales associate.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: Is this the right color?
34:25
SPEAKER_02: You think this is the right color, or is this the right color?
34:28
SPEAKER_02: You know, like they're going to ask questions.
34:31
SPEAKER_02: So while they want to play, they also want that confirmation that they're choosing the right thing.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm the same way, and I think that's a that's a brilliant point.
34:40
SPEAKER_01: And I that's why I really like your um the you know, the palette idea where you you let people play around, but it's like at the end of the day, you do need that second opinion and you need that, you know, like third person to tell you, okay, that looks good on you, or no, it definitely does not match your neck.
34:57
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
34:58
SPEAKER_02: Or, you know, what's interesting about that to the neck point is that a lot of times people say, Oh, well, this will be good for now, but you know, it's winter, so this shade's good for now, but what about summer?
35:09
SPEAKER_02: And we always say, you know, which anybody who knows makeup can say this, well, why don't you buy a shade or two darker?
35:16
SPEAKER_02: And you can actually use that to add a little contour onto your face.
35:20
SPEAKER_02: But then when summer comes and spring comes, you can start blending the two until you use the other color.
35:26
SPEAKER_02: No one has just one found, you know, you're never one foundation shade.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: You're two.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: And that for me, the closest I've ever found, no joke, is Pat McGrath.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: Like that's the only foundation I own that is like exactly my like my color, like my shade.
35:44
SPEAKER_01: Because everything else, I have one lighter, one that is supposed to be my exact color, and one darker.
35:51
SPEAKER_01: So I hear you.
35:52
SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's very rare for me to have one foundation, or I think anyone I know really.
35:57
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I know any anyone who has just one shade or stay, or even when you go shopping, you never buy just one shade.
36:03
SPEAKER_01: You always want that darker, you know, for contour and stuff.
36:06
SPEAKER_01: So I completely agree with you.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: Now, I do have a couple questions though, because I'm very, very intrigued by how you guys offer services as well.
36:13
SPEAKER_01: And I and I want to ask you like, how does that work?
36:15
SPEAKER_01: So, do are the products that are used during the services available in the store, or um is it like a totally different um approach?
36:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, I mean, it's interesting, right?
36:26
SPEAKER_02: So when I first started out doing services, it was because everyone kept asking for them.
36:32
SPEAKER_02: And and then second to that was that we have a very strict return policy because we are an independent business and we work with small brands.
36:41
SPEAKER_02: And so if you just take something home and don't like the smell of it, right?
36:46
SPEAKER_02: I can't take that back and then ask my vendor for the money back.
36:50
SPEAKER_02: We'd all be bankrupt.
36:52
SPEAKER_02: And so, and that and that's really what it boils down to.
36:56
SPEAKER_02: We're just not we're not backed by an investment.
36:59
SPEAKER_02: We have no investment, right?
37:00
SPEAKER_02: So smaller retailers and smaller brands, those returns hit hard.
37:05
SPEAKER_02: And so it started out that one, the return policy, but two, people were asking, you know, if it was the right product for their skin.
37:14
SPEAKER_02: And so I decided to incorporate services simply for the fact that it would give the give the person the opportunity to try the product in the service, see it, feel it, smell it, and also have the esthetician tell them if it was the right product for them.
37:30
SPEAKER_02: And so just because your friend uses a product and it works great for them does not mean that it's gonna work great for you, too.
37:38
SPEAKER_02: You have everybody's bodies and chemistry is completely different.
37:41
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's that's very confusing to women, right?
37:45
SPEAKER_02: In general.
37:46
SPEAKER_02: And so we I said, okay, we're gonna only use products that we sell in the store.
37:52
SPEAKER_02: That gives the the clients an opportunity to test, learn, and try all these with an uh an esthetician doing it on them and helping them with build their regimen or their routine, right?
38:03
SPEAKER_02: So in our treatment rooms now, because we have four of them, it's it's changed a little bit.
38:09
SPEAKER_02: We have um peels um that are back bar only that are you know a licensed esthetician has to use.
38:17
SPEAKER_02: They're not for consumer use.
38:19
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then we we have some back bar that's just stronger, meant for facials, but also in each treatment room, the estheticians have almost every single product that we sell on the floor.
38:32
SPEAKER_02: So you can literally, they will cater your facial around the products that you can leave with.
38:39
SPEAKER_02: Mind you, they might need to add something to it, right?
38:43
SPEAKER_02: Like a um like a chemical peel just to get your skin in a better place.
38:49
SPEAKER_02: But all of the products that you can purchase in store can also be tried and tested in your treatment.
38:55
SPEAKER_01: See, I think that's brilliant.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: I for me as a consumer, that's brilliant because I would much rather walk into um, you know, like for example, Shin, right?
39:05
SPEAKER_01: I would much rather walk in there, get a treatment, have my estatician use all the products that they think I need for my skin, and then be like, here's your little package.
39:15
SPEAKER_01: This is all the stuff I used, and these are the steps that I did.
39:18
SPEAKER_01: And then you know exactly when to how to use each product, and that way you're getting a full customized in a way skincare routine that you can use for, you know, at home treatments and stuff.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: I think that's brilliant.
39:31
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't know.
39:33
SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean, one of the other reasons was that I find it incredible.
39:37
SPEAKER_02: I I've always found it annoying when I would go to a spa to get a facial and I would go to leave, and there would be 15 products by the same, all of the same brand lined up, and I would feel intimidated that I had to buy them all.
39:52
SPEAKER_02: And that's just not true.
39:54
SPEAKER_02: The one cleanser from one brand could be great for your skin, but it doesn't mean every other product from that brand is great for your skin.
40:02
SPEAKER_02: You know, you need to mix and match to get real effects.
40:06
SPEAKER_02: And so I feel like that allows the consumer and the client also to be more open to that and not feel like they're forced to buy it.
40:17
SPEAKER_02: You know, we give a card to each person with the products that we suggest to them.
40:22
SPEAKER_02: They're not pulled out, they're not on, unless the client asks at the end of the facial for certain products.
40:29
SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, the esthetician gives them a handwritten note while they're under appeal or the LED light or whatever that they write up, that's their products that would be great for them.
40:38
SPEAKER_02: And then they can leave with that.
40:40
SPEAKER_02: They're not forced to buy anything.
40:43
SPEAKER_01: Right.
40:43
SPEAKER_01: But then at the end of the day, it's also like you can't say you didn't try it, right?
40:48
SPEAKER_01: That's the one thing.
40:49
SPEAKER_01: And I completely want to kind of reinforce what you said earlier because I feel very passionately like I'm that person who never returns anything.
40:57
SPEAKER_01: And I know there's like a pro and con to everything.
41:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm not a returner either, just simply because it takes up too much time.
41:04
SPEAKER_01: And also I'm just sitting there thinking, like, you know, that poor person who sold it to me, because a lot of you know, a lot of stores work on commissions and whatever.
41:12
SPEAKER_01: So of like the sales rep, and I'm like, oh my god, I'm taking out of her commissions, or like, you know, so I just I'm just not a returner, you know, I'm just not.
41:19
SPEAKER_01: But I I really like that you made the point you did because it is so important to really highlight how for you know, boutique like stores, you can't go in there and just try everything and then be like, oh, tomorrow I'm returning a thousand dollars worth of products for anyone listening, just for the audience, because I know a lot of people like they like to do that, but it's like if you're if you do that, you're hurting brands so much.
41:44
SPEAKER_01: And I love that, you know, I love that uh Jessica brought that up because it's a problem, and you can't do that to small businesses because they're really, you know, they're putting their all into everything you buy, it goes directly into the business.
41:55
SPEAKER_01: So you can't do that to people.
41:57
SPEAKER_01: It's one, it's it's just tacky, right?
41:59
SPEAKER_02: It's also a sustainability issue.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: Just because you took it home and you tried it once and you decided you didn't like it, that has to go in in the garbage.
42:07
SPEAKER_02: We can't resell it, we can't give it away, and we can't use it in a treatment room.
42:11
SPEAKER_02: So you use it once and and you decide you don't like it, like you know, that that becomes a landfill issue as well.
42:19
SPEAKER_02: Like it's a full, it's also relates to sustainability.
42:23
SPEAKER_02: So it's it's a it's a real, I don't think that people understand.
42:27
SPEAKER_02: And I think a lot of it is because these fast retailers, you know, these big retailers, they have the option, they have they have the opportunity to take these, you know, margin hits and returns and everything.
42:39
SPEAKER_02: But at the end of the day, why would you also you can return a lipstick that's fully used at the end of it and decide you didn't like it, but you use the entire thing and they'll still take it back.
42:51
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't make any sense to me.
42:55
SPEAKER_01: I love that you said I 100% agree.
42:57
SPEAKER_01: I've never understood that.
42:58
SPEAKER_01: You know, I was in um line at one of those bigger stores that we've been talking about, and I saw something like that, and I just was so completely confused.
43:07
SPEAKER_01: I was like, so you use the entire product and now you want money back so you can repurchase it, basically.
43:16
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's a total scam.
43:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean, good for those people that they have the you know, the tenacity to do that.
43:22
SPEAKER_02: But unfortunately, it's it's not really an ideal situation for for the world even.
43:29
SPEAKER_02: Forget about me and my business and and financially speaking, but just for the for the sustainability of where we're at with the world right now.
43:37
SPEAKER_01: I agree.
43:38
SPEAKER_01: I completely agree.
43:39
SPEAKER_01: And also, you know, for me, like the beauty industry, I'm not gonna lie, for me, it's it's a very it's it's a special place, you know, and I've met more amazing people than I have not in this industry.
43:51
SPEAKER_01: And I think that when you're really trying to cheat like a small business owner out of something, like that says a lot about you as a person.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know what I mean?
44:00
SPEAKER_01: you can do that to businesses and I'm I really feel strongly about that because at the end of the day, you know, to create a business and then to get it off the ground and then to have it to be successful, it's a huge journey that that person, that entrepreneur has been on.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: And so it's birthing a child and then raising it.
44:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: And that's why I'm like, you know, there needs to be a level of respect that is like owed to, you know, especially like boutique like um establishments because boutiques to me, honestly just guys, it's a curated place to go where everything you see and touch is going to be amazing.
44:34
SPEAKER_01: It's going to be top of the line.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: You know, someone has looked at all the ingredients and looked at what they're selling, right?
44:40
SPEAKER_01: Because like if you go to Shen uh if you go to Shen's website, everyone listening, um, you know, it's Shen space like the the dash beauty.com if you go to the website you'll notice that everything that Jessica has is like it might be a brand you recognize but it's like the best product from that brand is like on the website.
44:58
SPEAKER_02: So it's like you know what I mean well also you know many people aren't aware of this but Shen, you know, my my I I love finding things like a needle and a haystack and Shen has launched many of the brands that are now that you see everywhere.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: We're the first retailer to carry them.
45:18
SPEAKER_02: So Ilya which is a cosmetics line I was the first retailer to carry Ilya um I was the first retailer to carry COSA so I was the first retailer to carry Dr.
45:27
SPEAKER_02: Barbara Sturm Youth to the people um I mean it goes the list goes on there's over 150 brands that I've launched exclusively at Shen.
45:36
SPEAKER_02: So we really are the sort of where they where they birth you know and I find great joy in finding something and bringing it to market and being given the opportunity to allow that the the brands give me to tell their story for the first time.
45:55
SPEAKER_02: You know that's a really special thing that they've entrusted me with launching their brand and being the first retailer.
46:02
SPEAKER_02: I mean we just launched Mob Cosmetics exclusively which is all sustainable completely recyclable and completely organic and the two founders are the two founders who created Mac cosmetics right and they gave me the exclusive so and the and the formulations are unbelievable.
46:24
SPEAKER_02: I mean it the products are amazing.
46:26
SPEAKER_02: So you know yes a lot of the we do carry you know what would be called sort of mastiche brands or brands that are now at Sephora but they were birthed at Shen we are really the that we're the launch pad for for newness and so funny because a few months ago you know I had to move my office out of the store because it's just it's too much business going on in there now and so we have a separate office.
46:52
SPEAKER_02: I'm not in there as much anymore.
46:54
SPEAKER_02: And uh I was upstairs talking to a to a woman and she didn't know I was the owner and she said something to me.
47:02
SPEAKER_02: What did she say?
47:04
SPEAKER_02: She said um oh you know I love this store.
47:08
SPEAKER_02: I was just at dinner with all my friends and they were talking about I don't remember which brand it was and and she said and I found that here a year and a half ago and they're just now finding it because it just launched in Sephora and I felt like I was so cool.
47:24
SPEAKER_02: And I said oh that makes me feel so good.
47:26
SPEAKER_02: And she said are you the owner I said yeah and she goes I tell all my friends that any beauty product that they're that they want to find starts here.
47:35
SPEAKER_02: And so now they're all finding their new things here and now I'm not the cool one.
47:40
SPEAKER_02: I was like oh I'm sorry but thank you it was really sweet.
47:45
SPEAKER_01: That is so sweet.
47:46
SPEAKER_01: And you know I can honestly I can honestly say that that's very true.
47:49
SPEAKER_01: And as far as mop beauty I remember I interviewed them and I absolutely love the founders by the way so I'm so glad you gave them a shout out because they're the nicest people.
47:59
SPEAKER_01: They really are and you know honestly I going through the website Jessica like I can attest like I can vouch for everything that woman said because you know for example I'll just give you some examples like Alpin Beauty you know um she I was talking to Kendra and I remember interviewing her and I was like raving about her that rejuvenating serum she has and I was telling her I was like I use this serum as a primer Kendra and she was like no way and after the interview I love her.
48:27
SPEAKER_01: I know me too and I and I remember talking to her and I was like after the interview we were speaking and she was like Etha it's crazy because the serum that you were mentioning is like we don't sell a lot of it.
48:38
SPEAKER_01: And so after that conversation she was like you know she it's like she realized like there are things in my line that you know people notice and for you to carry that really proves to me that you everything that Shen has is really curated and it's genuinely like something that you're gonna find value in, right?
48:56
SPEAKER_01: So that's very important.
48:58
SPEAKER_01: Like I know a lot of boutique stores and I know a lot of people are doing that personalization thing with skincare right now where it's all algorithm based and stuff but you just can't replace the feeling of going into a store that has only great products.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: No you cannot replace that and you cannot replace a human right or the sensorial aspect of it.
49:18
SPEAKER_02: But it's funny you say that about the the serum from from Alpin because I agree I use it as a primer as well when I wear a little foundation but my hero product of hers is her eye cream.
49:31
SPEAKER_02: It has mica in it.
49:32
SPEAKER_02: So it it I don't really get bags under my eyes or dark circles but uh we have a lot of clients who do and sometimes I'm just tired you know and I wear it and it has mica in it so it reflects the light and it makes your dark circles and bags go away.
49:47
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh I need to try that I think I have it but I need to like and it's super thick.
49:52
SPEAKER_02: So like for me who has dry dehydrated aging skin it's genius.
49:58
SPEAKER_01: I love that I love I love everything Kendra makes though she the whole line is just like is it's very inspired and then like you know also the idea that it's all from nature.
50:08
SPEAKER_02: You know like I and you know the other thing is is that it's it's not a hundred percent organic but it's definitely clean and it's priced reasonably for what the formulations are.
50:20
SPEAKER_02: It's a very you know it's a really nice line for a woman who uses MBR$2200 liquid surgery serum or a teenager who likes youth to the people cleanser could use her cream for 60 bucks you know and it's a great clip cream like either it can go either way and I think that that's you know I sort of take this concept of there was a a woman a big investor woman I was who's a friend of mine and she was at Chen shortly before Christmas and she was like I just don't get it.
50:51
SPEAKER_02: And I said what do you mean?
50:53
SPEAKER_02: And she said I just don't get your store I mean you sell youth to the people and you sell MBR and I said well first of all I launched youth to the people for Joe and Greg and I love them and the products are amazing.
51:05
SPEAKER_02: And second of all MBR is like barely sold anywhere it's made in small batches of 500 by a German chemist and it's like shit that works right they're both shit that works.
51:18
SPEAKER_02: And I said and also I I'm here to sell everybody everything and just because you use you know maybe you use a Sturm Hieralonic serum for$300 but you don't want to spend a lot of money on your cleanser you can buy a cleanser that's not so expensive right like you don't have to buy a$200 cleanser also or like let's focus on your serum like your worker right like your worker bee and let's get you an inexpensive cleanser and an inexpensive moisturizer to seal in your your genius serum that's really going to do all the work and spend your money on the serum.
51:57
SPEAKER_02: So like you have all these different consumers and people who have you know a different different take on how much money they do want to spend and you have to honor that and be respectful of that because you don't know somebody's circumstances.
52:11
SPEAKER_01: Right exactly no exactly I completely agree and I think that's so cool that you launch youth to the people I I love that that's one of my favorite brands they're also Joe and Greg are I mean I text with Joe like every other day just because he's now become one of my closest friends but um they're the nicest smartest like coolest down to earth guys and you know it's interesting I've been in this industry for a while now and it's always amazing to me to see the people you know who start out at Shen and and they grow their brand and you know they become incredibly successful.
52:49
SPEAKER_02: And who still you know has a relationship and responds or who has changed and they think that you know oh I don't need to respond to her like you know it's like there's no ego between Joe and Greg.
53:07
SPEAKER_02: There's no ego with Kendra from Alpin there's no ego from Irene at Irene Forte there's no eager ego from Dr.
53:17
SPEAKER_02: Sturm BB you know there's there's no ego from these people and and they've become truly my friends right which I'm so grateful.
53:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah no I I love that I really love that and I love that everything you're doing with Shen is so wonderful Jessica I love that you've created such a beautifully curated you know just hub for beauty skincare and just for anyone who's an an enthusiast in the area.
53:43
SPEAKER_01: I mean really like I I think there needs to be you know I want to see you expand.
53:48
SPEAKER_01: I would love to see Shen everywhere honestly we need one.
53:51
SPEAKER_02: I mean I was gonna open in Brentwood but I didn't go through with it well long story but it was an investment deal and I just couldn't give my life away um and also Brentwood is you know it has four or five beauty stores there already so what's the point?
54:08
SPEAKER_02: Um but I would I would love to open a couple more in very you know unique locations like I I opened in Brooklyn and everybody was like why the fuck sorry are you opening in Brooklyn and I thought because I don't want to be in Soho fighting with everybody else like I don't I don't care about I think I'm too old or I've been doing it too long or whatever, but I don't care about being cool.
54:33
SPEAKER_02: I care about running a good morally you know you know moral like profitable business where I have these loyal clients who really feel comfortable coming in or online you know we we do have a quite a hefty e-com business and even there you know people write emails and sometimes if I see it or it's forwarded to me for like a question about a product I sit down and write like an entire page about the products and the regimen and everything and they're like who just like why did you write this I'm like well I had five minutes and I really want to help the person and whoever is you know on the operations team that day is like uh oh my God okay I wasn't expecting you to do this and I'm like no but it's what I really enjoy I don't you know I love doing that I love helping people find things and and help educating them you know I think it's important and it's an important piece of my job.
55:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah no I and I think that shows that you're really dedicated to you know if someone is genuinely dedicated to their craft and and their business they know you know those kind of things come naturally and I love that you you can do that and you and that you do do that for your customers and anyone that needs the help because you know in this world of just oversaturation of the skincare industry and the makeup industry you know that is I think it it's more of a deterrent for people who really want um options that are going to work sometimes because they look at that you know they look at the vastness of this these industries and they're like I don't even know where to begin.
56:10
SPEAKER_01: So they end up going to drugstores and then drugstores, you know, um I can say maybe like two or three brands I approve of in a drugstore, you know, Cera V being one of them but like you know it's it's kind of buying products my point is they end up buying products that don't work.
56:25
SPEAKER_01: So to be able to redirect them to something like you know to to Shen and be like hey go in there and just or go to the website and I promise you whatever you pick out is going to definitely do something good for your skin.
56:37
SPEAKER_01: It's not it's not something that you can't trust.
56:40
SPEAKER_01: You know that's huge to be able to say that.
56:42
SPEAKER_01: And you know it it's been such an honor like just talking to you and like learning about your vision and stuff.
56:48
SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much Jessica for coming on to the show.
56:50
SPEAKER_01: It's been so lovely.
56:51
SPEAKER_02: Oh my God I so appreciate it.
56:53
SPEAKER_02: Thank you and I hope I didn't talk too much.
56:56
SPEAKER_01: Oh not at all I love not at all no I'm I'm actually you know very verbose so I I stay quiet because otherwise this episode would be three hours long.
57:07
SPEAKER_02: You and me both no it was really lovely speaking with you and you know I'm always here if you ever need anything or have any questions but thank you so much.
57:17
SPEAKER_01: And everyone listening please check out um you know just I know I mentioned the website but once again Shen Beauty so it's s-en-beauty.com go to the website check out all of the amazing products that Jessica has on there that are curated and they're just I mean it's like genuinely one of the most I think like just well picked you know collections that I've ever seen so check out the uh store the website and then I'm gonna link everything in the concept art for this episode.
57:47
SPEAKER_01: So definitely leave comments but thank you Jessica and everyone listening so much thank you.
57:54
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58:26
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58:34
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58:40
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58:50
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58:56
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59:01
SPEAKER_01: Thank you