Latest / Skin Anarchy / Maria Karr, Founder of Rumore Beauty

Transcript

Maria Karr, Founder of Rumore Beauty · Skin Anarchy

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_02: This is Ekta, and I have a fabulous guest with me today.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm super excited because I think we're gonna learn a lot in this episode.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Maria Carr, who is the founder of Rumor Beauty.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the show, Maria.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so, so happy that you have the time for this.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, Ecta.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, everyone.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having me.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a pleasure to be here.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I very much look forward to the conversation.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I I when I first like heard about Rumor Beauty, I was very intrigued because, you know, I have a very special heart place in my heart for, you know, Russia and just the language, like we were talking before the episode, you know, and the language, the culture.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to get started with just your background, your career, and your journey that's led to this place.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: If you could give us, you know, kind of like an introduction.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I was actually born and raised in Russia.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I came to the US when I was 19.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I've been here for uh a bit more than 14 years at this point.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, time flies.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a while.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, throughout my time here, I, you know, for some reason I chose not to go back home frequently.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I made it my goal to really assimilate and immerse myself into the American culture.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So throughout all this time, I had very limited um insights into what was happening back home.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I was really becoming a part of uh New York City, becoming a true New Yorker.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know how to say you are in New York for more than 10 years, you are a New Yorker.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's what I was, you know, trying to accomplish here.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I've been working in the beauty industry.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I spent um about a decade working at beauty companies, big and small, working at different agencies, handling PR for beauty clients.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I was very well versed um when it came to beauty products.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And as I was growing through um, you know, through the beauty within the beauty space, I um I've been trying and seeing all types of products from everywhere around the world, from Asia, from Australia, from Europe.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you you know, like you, I'm sure you also experienced so many uh products around the world.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And at one point it hit me that while I've been experiencing all those amazing uh skincare, makeup, hair care products, I've never encountered anything from my home country.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that me, that just made me think like, why is that?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the thing is that when I was growing up back in Russia in the 90s, I kind of, you know, we we, I mean, we had like some beauty products, but it was not a very common thing to involve yourself in skincare.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And there were multiple reasons to that, because you know, one of them was um, you know, it was right after the Soviet Union fell apart.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: So the economy was very shaky.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we did not have a lot of our own manufacturing happening in the country, and what we had, it just did not, you know, excite people.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: It was not the beauty products that we know here these days.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: They were, you know, they were very plain, they they didn't have beautiful scents, they did not have efficacious technologies or great ingredients, and they were just, you know, they got a cream or a shampoo or soap.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So they were very, very basic.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then the other piece of the beauty industry back then was imports.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, but with that, it was also a very special story.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: They were hard to come by, they were expensive, uh, they were mostly concentrated in bigger cities.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you did not live in Moscow or St.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Petersburg, yeah, you could have had a very hard time finding good products and a lot of um counterfeit products too that we've had back then.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's interesting because you know, when I think of beauty uh, you know, from my childhood, I always think of natural remedies that we've used because we did not have access to a lot of manufactured modern-day beauty products the way we, you know, uh like we do now, like Gen Z has, you know, like millions of products to choose from.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that was not the case.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I remember my mother and my grandma and my um other relatives like going to a forest or going to a garden and picking some herbs, drying them out, and then using them in some skincare concoctions.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I love that though.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like so for me, it's like, you know, when I think of Russia, I think of, you know, obviously the terrain is it can be a harsh terrain, you know.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like um when I think of like just these countries, and you know, my grandmother did the same, you know, in India and rural India, like they would just pick stuff, and that was the skincare, you know, like that was it.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: So I understand.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, yeah.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um, my grandma's garden that was, you know, like your beauty shop.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: You'll go, you'll pick berries, you'll pick some veggies, and that's how you would make your skincare regimen happen.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like whether you have a sunburn, like you will find something to treat that, or it's just like some minor imperfections that you needed to address, or concerns that would be popping up here and there.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and yeah, that was basically the beauty routine back then.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I started to think, you know, like going back to my realization that there are no Russian beauty products here in the US, I started to really look back and think, is there anything out there?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe the industry has not made a lot of progress.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know because I didn't travel that much back home.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that made me wonder.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, accidentally, I actually booked myself a ticket to Moscow in 2019.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: It was not for beauty reasons, I actually went there to run a marathon.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so and while I was in Moscow, I got curious.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, naturally, as a person who's been working in the beauty industry, I was thinking of going and visiting some of the beauty stores, and I did.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in addition to all of the beauty brands that I was very familiar with, you know, some coming from the US or Europe or Asia, I also noticed a lot of brands that were born and made in Russia.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: And this was something I did not expect because I had no idea.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was quite fascinating because I actually loved all of these products.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: I started to try everything, I got like all of the samples, I bought a couple of things, and I it just made me so fascinated because you know it's been a while since I went, but I did not expect to see so many brands and so many products.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And in addition to them being, you know, beautiful beauty products, you know, the types that we are used to here in the US from the aesthetic perspective, they had this incredible connection to that natural roots that we just spoke about.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like all the ingredients that I used to know and love as a kid growing up, like that I knew my family was using in their skincare routine from a natural standpoint, those products had those things.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a perfect blend between modern technologies, modern packaging, modern formulations, um, and you know, the tradition and the past and the original beauty routine that a lot of people were so used to.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, so that's that's what I discovered.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: I love that, you know, and honestly, like I know that um Diana Mazone wrote a beautiful article um in Allure about your, you know, your vision and what and you know what you've kind of discovered here, which is just a treasure trove, right?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: Of of Russian beauty and you know, beautiful uh products that are designed by, you know, or not just designed by, but like designed on the concepts of just Russian inspired rituals for skin health, right?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: So like I want to go through and talk about a few of those because I know that the article had mentioned things like um there was an herb called kalendula, I think I'm probably completely mispronouncing that.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, so like I want to talk about those things because you know, for me, Maria, honestly, it's so interesting to find products that are like rooted in like, you know, that geographical area, you know, like the ingredients and stuff.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think, you know, as as human beings, our the most discovery, the biggest discoveries we've had has been through like nor natural botanicals and you know what I mean, like just things that grow in nature.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: So it's always intriguing for me to find ingredients that are very native to like one area versus everywhere else in the world.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_02: So, can you talk me through a little bit of that?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: Like when you were exploring these products, what were some of the standout ingredients that you might have recognized, you know, maybe from your grandmother's garden or wherever, you know?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: Can we talk about that?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yes, I was so excited to discover some berries as ingredients because in Russian, actually, July now, since we are in July, July is a huge season for berries.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like uh if you were to find yourself at your grandma's garden, you would spend your month of July picking berries and then making preserves and um, you know, making skincare out of that.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: And um, one of them, and one of my favorite berries was sea backthorn.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that berry is just such a powerhouse of vitamins and nutrients, and it's just such an incredible antioxidant.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that some there are some products in the US that have sea backthorn in them, but it's never made it into that mainstream type of an ingredient.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's always been niche.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there are some products, but they're not really out there in the in the open.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I was personally very excited to discover products that actually had sea backthorn as their main ingredient.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um so that one was you know very sea buckthorn then it's it's in Russia then.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's like a it's like a native plant, or how does that work?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's it's it's a traditional plant.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I don't know the like the backstory, like the agricultural story, but basically if you if you live in Russia, chances are you will have like a sea buckthorn bush in your garden, and this is something that you will indulge in all summer long, only whenever berries are ripe.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: That's very cool.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_02: I like that.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, like also picking, and yeah, like I had this whole um, you know, like lots of memories when it comes to picking berries.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, another one, uh, well, actually, not even one, but there is this whole family of currents.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: There is a black current, and there is white current, and then there is red current.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I feel like those berries, they're not even, you know, known here in the US.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, maybe some people who are into those things, maybe they find a way to the botanists out there.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you guys might know, you know, there's like a botany major or something, but yeah, I haven't heard of them either.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Right, they're not mainstream, and I was looking, you know, was looking for some products that also have those ingredients, and I did not find anything, which was also very fascinating because again, you know, I remember we had three giant bushes of black currant, and yeah, that was uh that was my summer, and then we had like, you know, I I I knew the difference, how the red currant bush, like what's the difference between that one and the black currant, and how to identify like when the berries are ripe.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: So we have this long history of knowing and really being exposed to all these ingredients from you know from our childhood.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I was very excited to see these ingredients making their way into skincare.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, same thing for herbs, you know, there are some herbs like Yarrow, um burdock, um, nettle sage, clear sage, like all these herbs, uh, they are also they have made their way into some of the skincare products, uh which is great.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, they the good thing about Russian skincare, which I was also so fascinated about, is that they smell like nature.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they're for the majority of the products that we have, there is no added fragrance.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say if you are using a hydrolate, uh like a chamomile hydrolate, it smells like chamomile.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: It does not smell like uh, you know, like a fragrance or like Chanel number one, you know.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I know I love that though, because you know what?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: Here's the thing.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm all about, you know, I'm sure Maria, you've heard like the whole conversation around clean beauty and more organic beauty, and you know, there's so many words now, right?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: So like um I I love hearing that, but what you said is is so key, I think, because when you can smell the real the ingredients in a product, when you open the product and you can tell this truly is something that was made from you know everything natural.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's they have the company has tried their best to keep things as authentic, you know.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_02: You can smell it, you can smell earth, you know, in it.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I there's nothing wrong with that.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's a that to me is a more of a sensorial experience than like try putting on something with fragrance.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like I don't really enjoy the fragrance stuff.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I love that you said that.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: And also, you know, throughout my years in the beauty industry, I've um, you know, I've got to know so many people who actually have sensitivities to different scents, to artificial scents, to fragrances.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And they were looking for options that were either naturally uh made and had natural fragrance or had no scent at all.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So when I personally, and I mean I I'm pretty neutral when it comes to scent, I think it really depends.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but that's my personal opinion.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that a lot of people don't really like over-fragranced products.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So when I came across um a lot of skincare that had natural scent, which was not overpowering, but it actually smelled like a nature oasis, like stepping into the forest or like stepping in into an herb garden.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for me, that was a win.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a definite win.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I want to ask you this kind of it's kind of like a you know overarching question.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, uh answer it to the best you can, I guess.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: But um I'm curious, like what, you know, from your experience growing up in Russia, like what would you say is the standard like beauty, I guess, ritual or things that Russian women really just they you know they enjoy doing?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: Is there something you know that is like everybody pretty much does it?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: Or, you know, have you noticed any like trends that we could kind of identify with, you know, the self-care that um women use in in Russia?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Great question, Nikta.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, Russia is such a big country, and there are many different um ethnical groups and just like many different types of people who live throughout the country from let's say Moscow, like more of a European part of it, to Far East, which is literally across uh, you know, like a like a sea from Japan.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so it really stretches, and there are multiple ethnicities, as I mentioned, people have different traditions.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really hard to bucket it into one and just say, like, okay, that's the thing.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but from my experience, and um, you know, and I grew up in Siberia, which is right in the middle of the country, um, people are really into masking.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so, and when I say masking, it's um it's less of uh like a spy experience masking, but more about again that connection with nature.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: So mask, like you can turn pretty much anything into a mask in in my household and you know, in the environment where I grew up in.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can turn strawberries into a mask, you can turn powders.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, you can also do like a DIY mask where you uh like mix some powders.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like for example, one of the masks that we have, uh it has spirulina powder, um oat uh flour in it, corn flour powder, and like all these things they are coming like in a dry form, and then you can dissolve it either with milk, with water, or with sour cream and make your own consistency and make your own mask.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so Russian.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: I actually like honestly, I'm not trying to interrupt you, but like masks are my all-time favorite skincare product.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: So it's so funny that you're saying that because I prefer a mask over like everything, like a serum, a moisture.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, can I get a mask, please?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: I hear you.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: I can totally relate to that.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, the the the interesting thing is that historically, uh, for Russian women, beauty was never an indulgence.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: So all of the routines, they were very minimalistic.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that goes back to the lack of actual products to, you know, to apply because you had to prepare everything from scratch.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: But then also historically, you know, people um, you know, for the most part of the previous century, they were not encouraged to indulge in self-care, to to be overly um, you know, like to have a lot of things in their vanity.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it was very basic, and I think that's where the minimalistic roots really come from.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, in our culture, it's um it's like more about less is more.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and some products they actually uh are multitaskers.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, we have this scrub, um, and it's actually like you can use the scrub, and because it has all the natural oils, you don't necessarily need a moisturizer to use after that.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, of course, if you want, you can.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh who would mind an extra layer of hydration?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: But technically, your skin is so plump and so uh supple that you know, if it's like a hotter season like this, you may not even need that.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, and yeah, and there are some products like um hydrolates.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: They could be used for skin, hair, like face skin, body skin, and hair because they are those multitaskers as well.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, I like that so much because you know, honestly, I think one of the biggest um one of the biggest white spaces in this industry right now, honestly, Maria, in my mind is this I this idea that we don't always need something sitting on top of our skin.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's why, like with the mask, like I love that you said that, you know, because there are natural oils and there are, you know, all these other ingredients, you don't necessarily have to go put on a moisturizer, you don't have to put on an extra serum.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's a great thing, you know.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: I think with skin health, we often miss the concept that you know, we have to let our skin breathe as well.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we can't always have like 15 layers of products on our skin.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I think that that's an excellent example, what you just described of how, you know, someone who might not be so much into skincare, they go and they buy a mask like that, and then you know, that's your routine.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: That's something that, you know, makes your skin look good.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: And you also don't have to worry about, oh, am I putting the serum in the right order?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: Or am I, you know what I mean?
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: All those things.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it's I think it's a great point that you made.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, my one of my uh follow-up questions is actually this is you know, with the whole minimalistic thing, um, you know, I want to talk to you about that because I know that right now, you know, minimalism is becoming a trend, like everything, right?
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: There's always there's always a concept and it becomes a trend.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: But I I'm always curious, like with the cultures that have always been practicing this idea, right?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: And you mentioned that, you know, in Russian beauty, that is the general approach.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: So how do you feel about that?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, being a founder and being a you know a female entrepreneur, you see all this like minimalism talk all of a sudden, you know, how does that make you feel?
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I mean, honestly, even in my personal routine, I've always been very minimalistic.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that I um, you know, been in the beauty space, yes, we have been exposed to so many different steps and products.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like there are commercials that are screaming at us every day that we need to get more, we need to buy more.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I've been a lucky girl because I have been exposed to so many products and I have a lot of products, but oftentimes, and this is just how I am like I find myself using, I don't know, maybe a cleanser, maybe serum, maybe a moisturizer, maybe those three that I go with.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I've never been um a huge consumer, um, you know, when it came to beauty.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I love and I enjoy beauty products, but using many products at a time, that's I don't know, like sometimes I don't have the time, sometimes I don't have the patience.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes my skin does not need all of that.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's it's very personal.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, who am I to tell people, like, okay, don't use five products if you like to use five products?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I feel like it's very important to really listen to your skin and really listen to um, you know, your overall well being.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because if applying five products will stress you out and you'll start breaking out because of that, maybe that's not the right way.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to stick to the products that will maintain your skin health and maintain the glow and the rest.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: just use it as as needed.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like, yeah, it's really very personal.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's all about you.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: And luckily we have this opportunity to pick and choose and we have exposure to so many products.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: So people can easily find maybe by trial and error, but there is still a way to find things that would work really well for you and your lifestyle and something that will make you feel special.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with you.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_02: Now I, you know, one question I do have is that um I know that you have you know six brands right that you guys are like kind of introduced into the US market.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I I that's a that's a beautiful you know number in terms of giving people you know more choices.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: But how do you go about now like in terms of you know really searching for that that talent you know from like Russian you know founders and and more beauty brands from Russia.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like how is that process for you since you live in New York?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: Like are you um constantly working with people back home?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like how how is that like in terms of finding new new brands and even more products?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah so it's interesting because we um we got the idea my husband and I who is my co-founder we got an idea to start a business uh during the pandemic and as you can imagine traveling um to remote places like Russia wasn't possible so I was so lucky that on my trip to Moscow at the end of 2019 I was actually able to try a few things and um some of the brands uh those that I didn't try they were actually able to send the samples to test so we got in touch with the brands we work directly with the brands we don't work with third party resellers or distributors so all of our products they come straight from the source and yeah we we tested all of the products we uh we also had conversations with people in Russia who spent a lot of time in the beauty industry uh looking through media coverage back there looking through social looking through reviews on um various platforms that sell those products to just see what people have to say because in my mind it was all very important right like what industry has to say what brands have to say and what consumers have to say.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: So all of those things we had to put a check mark next to them.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And now you know I I am having conversations with a lot of brands that are not part of the portfolio right now because there is so much more to explore and there are so many different things that we um have not had an opportunity to bring over here just yet we wanted to start small we wanted to start with six brands that we felt really communicated that natural connection and still having the modern edge and you know the modern technologies and manufacturing practices.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: So for us it was important to just uh see what the appetite is here in the US because Russian beauty is new we are lucky to be the first ones but then it also comes with a lot of responsibility yeah yeah and we've got to do it right.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly yeah so we we started this way and then now we're thinking what is that next step for us um are we introducing new brands are we introducing other categories because some of the brands that we already work with they have hair care products they have body care they have makeup so there are definitely lots of avenues that we can take um I'm not sure which avenue we will take eventually because uh we have to consider a few things and then we still we don't want to bring I don't know 20 brands and then um not know what to do with them we still want to uh take it one step at a time and really test the market here and see what people are responding to uh what's resonating uh which ingredients make sense for the US consumers uh which brands make sense so it's it's a process but um an interesting thing that I've discovered after we signed all of the six brands is that they are actually all founded by women either founded or co-founded by women that's amazing yes yes it was absolutely unintentional and I was just looking and like updating my contact sheets and I saw like oh my goodness like all of them are female founders or co-founders.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: You know I think that's that is so important to highlight because I it's very very you know important.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_02: I know that the beauty space and the skincare space is you know there's a lot of women here we're you know we're the majority but the thing is you know we just we we know what we're doing you know and it's it's so important to keep like you know fueling this entrepreneurship and this this vision and this you know whole idea in the female community is like you know just you can do it no matter where you're from you know no matter where like what your restrictions are you should always try to like aim higher.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I love that I love that you you know work so closely with female entrepreneurs that's really really inspiring.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes and this is also a testament to how modern the industry is because you know as I mentioned before like even back in the 90s even in early 2000s the industry the beauty industry it was not really on the radar and all of the brands that we have now those that we have and those that are out there in Russia they started to emerge about 15 years ago maybe maybe less than that.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: So the industry is so modern and I feel like this is really a very good thing because the mindset is very modern too and that's why we have so many female founders at the helm of the brands uh that's why brands are clean that's why they are adhering to cruelty free practices and um most of the products are vegan and some of the products are organic those that we carry.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's like really keeping the tradition from the ingredient side but then blended with all of those things that um have emerged just recently as part of the modern beauty space.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah yeah no I mean you know I I do have one thing though because you know let me let me just say this and tell you a little story because this is what this makes me think of like your vision and what you're doing.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_02: When I was growing up there was this um store that my mother always took me to it was called it was an international store right but it was giant like I mean I'm talking like a huge warehouse and the way it was divided was um you know not just by like the country like for example they had like two aisles that were all like Indian food you know what I mean two aisles that were all UK you know dedicated to UK products directly from there we had like Switzerland you know all just all the countries right but they never took away from the actual art and the way that the you know things should be displayed like in terms of like you know if something was Russian then the Russian language was on the bottle you know what I mean and the and the those kind of little things and I remember as a child like going through the store it was like a you know it was like a fun trip for me every time because I discovered something new about a different country in a different place.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_02: So you know when I think about what you're doing um here with rumor beauty I it takes me back to that because I think you know to introduce people to you know say for example in in our case here it's Russian beauty you have to stay true to the roots you know what I mean and you know and if you do that I know one of your products for example there's a scrub I was looking at in the article and it has you know Russian text on it you know the writing and it's and and I that's beautiful to me you know because I think everything becomes so Americanized in this beauty industry you know I don't like that I think that that doesn't need to happen.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: We need to embrace the the differences and the and the way that things are presented in the culture that they're you know originally from so I want to ask you about that.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like how do you feel about that and is that something you you keep in mind when you um explore brands and who you'd want to work with like in terms of like how rooted they are in promoting that that yes we are a Russian brand and you know we're proud of that and we want to you know show our culture yeah that that that's a great question and by the way I would like to visit that store that you just talked about oh my God it's called Jungle Gyms it's called Jungle Gyms in Cincinnati Ohio I'm telling I will take you one day you'll love it.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh I love the idea and I mean also it's I mean I would be less surprised if it was somewhere in let's say New York City where it's like such a melting pot of different cultures but like also if you think that it's um you know in Ohio uh that just makes me even more excited because I feel like this is such a great exposure to all different cultures and different languages and foods and traditions.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I I'm loving this idea so much.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah no so so yeah no I I agree and I I think that that's why I asked you that because it's like you know I I want to I want to get your take on that is that do you think that you know Russian beauty is represented the right way I mean I don't know what the right way is but you know what I mean like yeah staying true to the culture yeah right yeah and um it's interesting because at first uh when we started to look for brands and for products I was debating about it because I'm like okay yes I mean I I can read this packaging and I know exactly what it says because I speak the language and I you know I'm Russian.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: But I started to think like oh what about our consumers?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: Will they be comfortable with that?
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know there could be some uh comfort level associated with not knowing what you are buying and of course we made the translation so every single product although the front isn't Russian the box isn't Russian there is a translation on the panel.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we we were very mindful of that but still you know when you see a jar and it's in a completely foreign language and it's uh also like a different alphabet it can make you think twice um as a consumer who may not be exposed to that language.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah we thought of that but then on the other hand yes it adds a lot of authenticity and it it it truly makes it feel like this is something different.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you know we have some brands that have part of their packaging translated.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: So you know they have one piece of the box that is in English and then the other side of the box is in Russian.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we have those brands too um but for the most part yeah it they they they are available to the Russian consumers and this is their main audience back home and this is how they um you know label the products and this is how they talk about themselves.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: For some brands coming to the US was their first international expansion as well.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: So that adds a little bit of that authenticity as well because that was the giant leap that they made from being a Russian or you know former Soviet Union countries brand to expanding to a totally new market, a totally new audience.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: But to add to that, you know back to my concern whether or not American consumers will be interested in a packaging that has Russian language the scrub that you've referenced the one that has Russian writing that's been among our ultimate bestsellers so far.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's wow yeah so for people it's just it turned out to be not a concern.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's really more about the ingredients it's more about the product it's about it's it's about the texture um what it looks and feels like versus the language and you know anyway it's uh it's different it's new it's exciting uh it's a bit of a discovery and I feel like during the pandemic too you know people did not have a chance to travel so we offer them an opportunity to travel to Russia without traveling to Russia.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh I love that I love that yeah yeah so it's kind of like going on a journey like crossing a thing off your bucket list without hopping on a plane and spending 10 hours journey to Moscow I love it you know it's it's a beautiful thing.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_02: I I really think you know you really hit the nail on the head with that.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean you know we've all been kind of landlocked since this pandemic and I think there is a natural craving and desire in all consumers you know globally to really want to see the world again you know and I think you know being able to see it through something like a beauty product or a skincare product that you know that goes a long way and that really does add to our self-care because you know when you do self-care like for example you you know you use the scrub right it's got the Russian uh writing the language on it you're you're sitting there doing your ritual and now it's going to provoke a you know a natural curiosity in your mind about that culture it's gonna make you wonder you know what I mean like what's life like in Moscow what's life like in St.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_02: Petersburg and you're gonna be more likely to go look that up you know what I mean and so in a way it's like it reminds me you know kind of like the concept of the babushka doll right layer after layer after layer right like so once you uncover the the top layer which is just good beauty products you then you see all these amazing other things you know that are attached to the culture and that are attached to the consumerism of you know that area of the world I mean it's a learning experience.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_02: So I think what you're doing Maria is it's fantastic on a different level you know I I think that you know more people should be doing this in a way that we are able to say okay well this part of the world does their rituals like this and I want to be able to experience all of that.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: So you know hats off to you.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: This is brilliant.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much and you know um yeah I've also realized that it's not just beauty from Russia that hasn't been exposed here in the US it's also the modern culture.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like and probably you know this through your um you know studies of the language uh back in school but I feel like people know Russia maybe for some of the writers from like I don't know 18th or 19th century they may know the ballet which is also you know goes back like I don't know how many years ago but when it comes to modern culture I personally have a very hard time pinpointing um you know some like fashion designers who come from Russia or thinking about other like music uh I mean of course I know those uh performers and I know the designers because again I'm still you know kind of in the loop especially now more than ever yeah um but here in the US like I and this is also it's interesting because in New York we are exposed to so many different cultures whether whether it's through food through music through fashion through beauty and I did get a feeling that my country has been not it has not been represented at all when it comes to all of those cultural elements.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely yeah yeah so my hope is that like with beauty we are just opening like you know we are cracking the windows the window open slightly just like opening the door a little bit but this is also beauty is part of the culture and this is how people um you know like as you mentioned before it's a sensorial experience it really takes you transports you into that environment evokes certain emotions and feelings makes you curious at least so my hope is that through beauty we will be able to start this conversation and I don't know where it's gonna take us but um you know I'm very I'm I'm very excited to see um how Russian beauty uh does here in the US so far it's been very promising and uh hopefully there will be other areas and other cultural elements that will follow suit.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_02: I hope so I really hope so because you know what like everyone listening out there you know the Russian culture to me has been one of I don't know why you know maybe we all have our own you know predisposed like since childhood for me it's always been this beautiful magical thing and I I've always wanted to learn more and more and more you know and like for example like I'm a gamer you know so I get onto these international games and I'm talking to gamers who are from Russia you know and they're typing in Russian and like you know you get to and it you just you learn so much and I think that there is so much depth in the culture of that region.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like for example one of the you know one of the um beats I use for our podcast is by a very small you know small level Russian uh artist he's phenomenal yeah his what's that small world yes yes and and you know and I use his beat because I even reached out to him I said listen to me this is one of the best beats I've ever heard in my life like you know I it is just so good and like the music like you know there's so many hidden gems in the music industry you know what I mean that come from Russian artists and Russian DJs and you know so I I hear what you're saying.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_02: I completely agree with you.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's a whole area of untapped you know art and beautiful things that we just don't know enough about in America.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_02: So what you're doing is definitely you know a huge leap in the right direction and I commend you so much for it.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know, thank you from an American you know that you're introducing us to all this and everyone out there I really urge you go check out rumor beauty you know you really do a deep dive into the brand and learn because you know there like I said there's so much that the Russian culture can offer and I think that the more we learn as consumers the better our decisions will be.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: And so um yeah this has been wonderful Maria thank you so much.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you Ekta it's been such a pleasure speaking with you and talking about all things beauty and culture and everything else in between and again it's uh it's so rare to find someone who studied Russian or who speak who know who is very familiar with the culture.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_02: So it's uh it's been a wonderful conversation thank you so much for that thank you and Dasu Dania all right everyone I'll be back next time thank you Maria thank you 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.
• 40:34
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• 41:04
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• 41:09
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