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Exploring the Sacred Ritual of Beauty Products and the Power of Mindfulness · Skin Anarchy

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is your host, Lisa, and my guest today is Chris Big Nominal.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: I am so excited to be chatting with him and to be learning from him actually.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and this is going to be a very fun interview for all of you out there that love makeup products and cosmetics, and especially if you've followed the industry for a while, because he is truly a veteran and a true beauty expert with over 30 years of industry experience.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Nick Gavrelis, who is the founder and CEO of Eero Beauty.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show, Nick.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to be hosting you.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh hi, Dr.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Ecta.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: It is such a pleasure to be with you and to meet your community.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I am very honored to interview you.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: I know you have quite uh an extensive background in the beauty industry and you know, in terms of being a true expert.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love to start there, Nick, if you could tell us about yourself and your career and all of the wonderful things that led up to the creation of the brand.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I perfect place to start.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And everything always comes full circle in life.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um my professional journey um actually began.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and and just to back up, I I feel blessed because I truly have touched almost every function um within the beauty industry.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: It began as uh as me in university.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: I was an aspiring um fashion beauty photographer.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I crossed into makeup by accident.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: One of the photographers I was assisting asked me to step in one day that we had a call out of our stylist and our makeup artist.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I've always been obsessed with light and how light plays off of the skin and it animates us and gives us this radiance or punctuates our radiance.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And she kind of knew I was obsessed with that um in terms of like my geekiness and how I love to play with lighting.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um, she gave me the opportunity to kind of step in, also not just as photo assistant, but makeup artist.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: And makeup artistry supplanted my love of photography.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still a big fan of art, but that began my journey as a commercial and editorial makeup artist and into the retail sect.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Growing up, you know, down in the Washington, D.C., Maryland area, there wasn't a lot of opportunity uh as a commercial fashion photographer.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's funny, the makeup work just was more plentiful.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, I got introduced to Mac as I started to load up my makeup kit in Mac's early days.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the next thing I know, I'm working for Mac, um, where I played numerous roles, but I began as a retail artist and a retail manager at a Nordstrom in the capital region, um, which was the combination of everything that I loved back then.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Nordstrom has always represented, you know, the ultimate service experience.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and working for Mac, being on the cutting edge of true makeup artistry, being allowed back then in the industry in the 90s to be able to use makeup artistry tools.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what a difference it made for me with my customers to be able to teach and empower.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that led me to a really wonderful um chapter in my life where Nordstrom recognized, you know what, we need to up the skill level of all of our artists, their skill level, their confidence, their artistry, and their service abilities.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I was drafted into a new program to pave the way.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was the first national beauty director.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and my job was to really uh tackle that, tackle the skill and service that the consumer was receiving uh from all beauty advisors within Nordstrom, cosmetics, no matter what brand they worked for.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And we were able to kind of change the industry in that the next thing we focused on was all right, let's get the cotton balls and q-tips out of the hands of the beauty advisors.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let's have them focus on truly upping the artistry ability of our consumer, giving them that confidence, showing them the shortcuts, showing them the importance of blending and placement of color.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it was really an amazing time, really when there were no other makeup artistry brands.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Another part of my job was to scout for new and emerging uh brands.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I got to meet and work with founders, everything from every brand from like Trish McAvoy, um, NARS, uh Makeup Forever.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: It was very exciting to launch Makeup Forever within Nordstrom back then.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then of course Smashbox and numerous other brands that have grown to be the big giants today were some of the early projects that we worked on to create the next generation within Nordstrom.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: That led me back to Mac, where I led uh global artist training and development.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm sorry, where I led artist training and development for East Coast, North America.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um then that obviously opened an opportunity to create a brand with dear friends and co-founders.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I had an entrepreneurial experience in the late 90s launching this brand called Pretty Pretty.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that led me back to Mac, which has been home away from home.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and that was really beautiful.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: I spent almost 20 years in global product development, um, honing the art and science and craft of you know product ideation and leading um the efforts of the chemists and RD to create amazing high-performance products created for makeup artists by makeup artists.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that was really the secret sauce of Mac back in the day and still is to this day.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so all of these experiences led me to a couple of conclusions.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the first and foremost from all of these roles, the most important thing I learned was to parlay all of this into a true, sincere interest and love of the consumer.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: See through her, see through his, see through their eyes, feel their journey, and understand what their needs are and meet them and elevate that meeting of those needs to the next level.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so this I carry forward to this day, and I'm really so grateful for all the different aspects within beauty and retail that I got to touch and I got to interact with because it's influenced me.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: But something maybe more on a uh a spiritual level that emerged from all of these practices, starting as literally setting up lights to doing makeup on skin, to getting into formula and how it behaves on skin and what it delivers.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: I learned something really cool.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think many people can see it, but they may not believe it's real, and it is.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that is that authentic beauty and confidence radiate from within and illuminate out.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that to me um is was one of the most beautiful lessons.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: What it is about this woman or this man, that, you know, they may not have the bone structures that meet up or bone structure that um traditional beauty standards are applauding.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Who cares?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: What they are giving out into the universe, what's coming through them, this thing that the very thing that animates them is breathtaking.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: And how can we nurture that um and amplify it in each of us so we understand it's our job and duty to illuminate out into the world, especially I love that you said that, Nick, because honestly, I think there is truly, I mean, and I'm sure you can speak to this much um better than I could, but the shift that has occurred, you know, in the beauty industry and beauty consumerism over the past um, I think a couple of decades has been truly, you know, very kind of eye-opening, you know, for lack of a better term, because it's really it's like we went from you know, not knowing anything about what happens with true artistry and what makes these you know the models or these wonderful like, you know, campaigns, like the way the models look in that and what makes them as beautiful as they're looking there compared to what we bring people home with us.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: When we buy a beauty product.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's that whole process and consumerism has shifted so drastically.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's a lot well, you know, I I do believe that it's mostly due to the way that makeup artists and professionals have kind of come forth, you know, over the years and said, like, let us show you, you know, let's explain why these colors work together, or why this is how you do a smoky eye, or you know, the little tips and tricks.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you had mentioned that you worked a lot with the tools that, you know, um that we are now so, you know, readily using, right?
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as consumers, we we use all of us use brushes, all of us use, you know, sponges and these tools to get our makeup right.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, I remember 20 years ago, I was not taught with brushes, you know what I mean?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like I was not taught with certain things.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it's so interesting to watch this evolution as a consumer.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: But I would love for you to, you know, speak on it from your perspective, you know, where you've seen or, you know, how you've seen it evolve, you know, in terms of overall beauty and just the way people are interacting with this space.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think, you know, bottom line is it's it is about how we project ourselves and everybody wants to put best foot forward uh to obviously achieve and create what we want to bring to the world.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: So this aspect of beauty and self-care that has just burst forward in the last 20 to 25 years, and it's I've never experienced anything like it.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Over 200 brands have launched in the last less than two years since COVID.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, so many of us founders have been um inspired to try to bring a new voice or uh a new energy to the space.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what I want to really punctuate is, you know, through the campaigns, and it's so interesting because now we're seeing things that are feeling a little bit more raw, that are um user-generated, inspired.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that to me brings it back to reality.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: But the classical advertising, which I always found as a photographer very inspiring and breathtaking, is all illusionary.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's two-dimensional, and it can be very intimidating, um, and and actually eclipsing for many women and men um to look at because they compare themselves.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, energetically, spiritually, when we compare ourselves to others, and whether it's that negative chatter or it's a very confident chatter inside, that's our ego.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so in the last 20 years has just um gone to new heights with it, I think accentuating um ego.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And ego is not a bad thing, it just needs to be put into check.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I what I found was that everybody wanted, you know, very much um to look like their favorite celebrities.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we can thank and I'm looking at like the Kardashians and the amazing contributions they have made to beauty, fashion, lifestyle.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm in awe.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but what I wanted to do and what I wanted to bring with Yoro uh beauty was a very different approach.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that was you know what, arm yourself with confidence, um, nurture yourself with self-love.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Pause, take a moment for yourself and experience the beautiful present moment.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but how you present yourself needs to be authentically you, how you illuminate that life force, that spark within you, which is related to this, you know, divine radiance I'm talking about, is everything.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And to not try to copy others, to find your own authentic beauty and know that that confidence within you is what others will fall in love with because you're being genuinely you and true to yourself.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that's what really led to this incredible journey with Yoto Beauty was what can I bring to the market that um that that I'm not seeing that will also challenge me with my personal experience and experiences, not experience, experiences um and and and knowledge, um, but at the same time align with my personal philosophies and beliefs.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so with this, you know, we took the lead from Mother Earth, from nature, um, and from you know, the beauty of that, and returning to one's breath and incorporating beautiful, efficacious products that are clean, um, that deliver immediate and long-term results, um, with an experience, um, a multi-sensorial experience that will nurture all of you, not just your skin, that literally that that you are multidimensional.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're not just in a 3D reality, we're much more than that.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so when we come back to the present moment, and if in the process of self-care, whether it's your skincare or it's your skincare linked to your makeup um application, it is all part of your self-love moment to get yourself um armed, um, recalibrated, um, and confident to face the world, but it must be authentically you and it must feel right.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what we wanted to do was to go about it in a different way.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: This multi-sensorial experience was how we began formulating uh with literally some of the most genius uh cosmetic chemists and scientists in Italy.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Our products are produced in Italy.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and at the same time as we were beginning, or as I was beginning to drive product development, um, and you know, I challenge them.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's gotta be clean, gotta have high naturality.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, I want to create an experience for the consumer that will elevate and make self-care more rewarding to oneself.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we've incorporated aromatherapy, chromatherapy, mindfulness cues, and we link it to ritual.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: And through the development process, I worked very closely in between rounds of submissions with our healer, who is my second-born niece.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: She is uh, she she would she likes to say I'm a vibrational alchemist, but her background began as an aesthetician.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, her travel into massage and energy work with Reiki, she's a Reiki master.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've learned so much from her ever since she was a little girl to work this aspect um with her and to take the experience into uh a self-care experience that nurtures your whole self was the goal of it all.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so between rounds of submissions, we actually would sit down together and remotely, she would meditate, I would meditate, we would come back together, and I would follow her lead in terms of how will the consumer re-engage with the breath?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: How are they gonna find it easy to pause at this moment when there's adrenaline and cortisol running through their veins?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: How can we make this feel like a reward and not like a chore or a task?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that is, it starts with the formula, um, beautiful texture, a comforting feel on skin, a result that you see immediate benefits in terms of the radiance and the moisture and the continued benefits as you use skincare that is designed for efficacy, but linking in these other dimensional aspects of scent, light, sound, and it can be as stupid as we have amethyst chips that actually come with our um serene essence replenishing list.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing you do when you open the package is you empty the sachet of amethyst chips into the palm of your hand, take a moment to bless it with heartfelt intent as you return to your your breath, load it onto a formula, and every time you use, you swirl to activate, and there's color, there's sight, there's sound, and then there's the experience of scent and feel that come into play.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: These are all things that are integral to pulling you back into the present moment.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And when it's linked to things that make you feel good, meaning, how does my skin feel to make you feel you look even better as far as radiance and optical diffusion and really enhancing you, not altering or changing you into something you aren't, and how it all links together is really a beautiful journey into self-discovery and self-love.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this is how I see the industry changing and where there's a future playing ground uh for us to really be genuine and loving to our consumer.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that that is such an interesting take because um we don't really talk a lot about, you know, when it comes to just energy work and as it pertains to our daily routines, you know, whether that's our beauty routine, our skincare routine, whatever that is for us, we don't bring that to the light, you know, and completely just say it for what it is.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, every time we are engaging in any kind of self-care, there's a moment that's taken, right?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's a moment for ourselves.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: And we might not recognize it, you know, if we're in a hurry to rush out the door, but it's it's there.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, to be able to bring that to a brand and you know, divert people's focus there as they're consuming, you know, a product that they like for makeup or you know, beauty rituals, it's absolutely phenomenal.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that you did that because it's it really kind of grounds you in that moment.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that's something I think when it comes to our daily routines, we we kind of miss out on that.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you do your skincare, you do all of the stuff, but then it's over before you know it, and you don't know what you were doing while you were practicing it.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning, were you focusing on your breath?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Were you focusing on anything that had to do with, you know, clearing your mind, resetting yourself?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: We don't know.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: And oftentimes I don't think we're doing that.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: We're just kind of, you know, I'm gonna pilot in our minds, and we're just doing what we need to do.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: And this is a routine, you know, but it's like there's so much more.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I think something um it sounds like a simple step, it's absolutely profound.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, you look at everything, and then you think about it, and then you put it into the lessons model.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you're doing these things, it's bringing your mind in.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's my point.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's creating focal points for your mind to really focus and think about something other than all of the craziness that it is in the world, right?
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's absolutely beautiful.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to tell you actually, I your brain really reminds me of um, I don't know if you're familiar with Muslim Murko's work um with the the water um he had basically loving his his work, like I think a lot a lot, a lot of times people don't realize like that is very similar to what we're doing with our intentions when it comes to beauty, you know, and how we perceive ourselves because the human body is, as you know, you know, Nick, it's over 70% water.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: So if you come to you come to the realization that beauty is within, and whatever you're perceiving is a reflection of what you're projecting from that inner feeling that you have.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so simple for us to sit here and talk about, right?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: But it just becomes more convoluted when people put it out there and they're trying to like, you know, I think just over-justify it.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: But it really comes down to everything you were you were mentioning, which is just you know, you have to focus on that inner radiance and that inner light and whatever that is exuding out, that's what you're looking at in the mirror, you know?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: So everything revolves around that.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: Your whole day, your whole perception of who you are, what you look like, how you're feeling, that all comes from within.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I love it, Nick.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's beautiful what you've created.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: And and the whole thought behind it is absolutely phenomenal.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, huge kudos.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm blown away, one that you just brought up, uh Dr.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Imoto's work, because you know, that definitely is something that really rang within me.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, clearly, how do we make self-care um feel like more of a reward?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, whether we're arming our ourselves to face the day, or we're trying to recalibrate and recenter and end our day.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so for me, you know, going back to the whole premise of water and the fact, just as you mentioned, you know, that the majority Of our makeup within ourselves is water.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: That our thoughts, our feelings, um, our um intentions and what we let out into the universe, our words, directly create and affect our reality.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And incorporating this into self-care is a nurturing moment to kind of come back and reset how the mind and how the spirit is processing.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: I need to charge myself to face my day.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm feeling anxious already, to give yourself that moment.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: And much like you discussed on on a beautiful podcast you did with um Rachel Brath and Yoga Girl, creating a sacred space.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: For me, as so many of us, my bathroom, my shower, wherever it is, whether it's up in New Jersey or down in Maryland, this is my sacred space.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And in the morning or in the night, this preparation becomes a reward for me.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Not only do I feel like I'm taking either, you know, the anxiety that I'm projecting into the future of the day away when I care for myself.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, not only am I purifying my skin, but I'm purifying my auric field.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm cleaning my energy, raising it up, getting rid of these lower um vibrational, more negative um energies, these moods that can really affect us adversely.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm I'm I'm recalibrating and changing my inner narrative so I am more authentically me, so I can be my best.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um our vision is to go hand in hand with you in that experience and let you know you're sacred.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Your light right now is the most important thing that's needed in this world, not only for your well-being, but because we are interconnected for the whole.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's what I think so many of us need to be reminded, and me included, the interconnect, this action, this self-love action, self-love and being in heart space and heart brain coherence, elevating my thoughts, my intention, uh, my feelings has a direct effect on others as well, whether I am interacting and speaking, or whether they're just sensing people experience it through you about themselves.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is so important um to remember.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: But how to make it easy was to parlay for us this into your self-care regime, and this will extend into obviously in the future, another franchise of products.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll talk about like the energetic approach we're trying to take and even into color categories, building them one by one um within the brand IOTO.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um I wanted to share, you know, the the name was really important for us in this journey.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like it, what should the brand be called?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it has to come from the heart.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I just kept thinking, you know, uh the word namaste, um, the divine in me bows to the divine in you.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: There needs to be an honor and gesture to the consumer to let them know, you know, that they're important.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so the name Iaro comes from my ancestry, but way back from ancient Greek, Iro or Iros means sacred.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: And sacred as a name for us is our homage to you and that gorgeous, authentic light that you illuminate out into the world.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's a double entendre.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, the sacred in me, or meaning the sacred within us all coming together to create this brand, is bowing to the sacred in you.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, the double entendre is that we want to remind you with a name like this, you are sacred.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, it is your responsibility right now to illuminate, you know, to show your beauty.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, I love that you put that in, you know, so much thought into the name because you know, I was Nick, I was gonna tell you, I don't know if you can relate, but when I was growing up, I remember very, very distinctly, like, you know, my mother had maybe four different beauty products, right?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's all she had.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like she didn't have, you know, now we see girls have, you know, drawers and drawers full of makeup, right?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: That wasn't the case.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: That wasn't the case at all for her.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: She was um an immigrant woman who came here with one lipstick.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: She found one foundation that worked for her, and her makeup was very simple, you know.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I grew up with this mom, this, you know, the figure in my life that taught me about beauty and all these things, but she was so minimalistic.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: But here's what I noticed though, and it kind of I think trickled off into me was this idea of like everything she had was sacred to her.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that lipstick made her feel a certain way.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: It made her feel confident and beautiful.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that is what she preferred.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: That was her preference.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: She didn't need another shade.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: She didn't need, you know, 15 other renditions of the same color.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: She needed that one lipstick.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason I'm saying that is because I think we have forgotten that there is a ritual.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, again, using the word sacred here, because what we're using on a daily basis, whatever those items are, they're imprinting our energy onto them every day, you know?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so they become this part of our routine, but also a part of us.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we start feeling a level of comfort with them.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you could even talk about the psychology of that and how meaningful that is.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know sometimes when you're, you know, and I know a lot of us can relate, when you're really frazzled or you're really busy and you gotta get something done, or you know, you have to meet with somebody.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: What do you do?
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: You grab that lip gloss or that lipstick or whatever that is for you that you know is gonna work and it's going to do what it's supposed to do every time.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's something you always throw in your bag or your purse.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Those are all items that you've imprinted your energy on, meaning you've trusted them, you put faith in them.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, like that is a part of you that goes with you everywhere.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we as a beauty community, we have to understand that this is a part of consumerism.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like that we are looking for that um little piece of, you know, joy and just comfort and I guess something we can fall back on, you know, day in and day out.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: And those are our beauty products, whether that's your skincare, whether that's your makeup, whatever that might be, every single one of us has that one item.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I think of your brand and when you mention the name, it really resonates with me because you're so right, you know, like for me, makeup, uh beauty, anything like that, it is sacred.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's something I am, you know, my favorites are my favorites.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can't sway me.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very, very connected to them, you know, in that way.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's just a beautiful name and it's a really, really gorgeous concept, you know, that you've created.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's funny, what we're sharing right now um with the world uh is the very first, you know, grouping of products uh called Moonkist, which I think you got to experience a little bit, you know, and when you look at Moonkist, you may think immediately, this is nighttime.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's much more.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for me, this is the first kind of proof of concept of our work that we're trying to do, and that is taking, formulating a multi-sensorial experience, starting with base formula, loading it with beautiful plant-based actives and crystal-derived minerals that deliver immediate and long-term feeling of product that is gorgeous to go on, but you know, giving it a multi-dimensional effect, as we discussed, with again scent, sound, um, feel, and experience of ritual where you can really recalibrate and think about what is my intent?
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: What do I want to accomplish or create today?
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: All of this within Moonkist is designed to bring you back to center.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Moonkist is not night.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: It is about any time you need calming, soothing, centering, you know, the aromatherapeutic blend in the oil are very important.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: I needed, I knew we needed to curate energetically a combination of oils that would do just that.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: So there's natural lavender, chamomile, and frankincense in the products that you're encouraged, breathe in this living energy, return to your breath, and then get into application and taking that moment through application to connect with yourself eye to eye in mirror and to watch how you're nurturing yourself, watch how you're gliding on the product with your fingertips.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're coming back in and pressing in the oil, you know.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm feeling a little stiff in the back of my neck.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm, you know, I start to massage like these pieces of um of self-love that can be kind of um automatically infused into the experience are really beautiful too, because you start to listen to not just that inner chatter that we need to quiet down, but you start to listen to how do you feel?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: God in my neck, I feel tired.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, why do I look this way?
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then through honor and respecting and loving yourself, you begin to work through that negative and start to feel and sense um and evolve into that higher, you know, state of being, um, which again is what arms you to face the world or to end your day and to climb in to recharge much more um grounded and centered than where you were before.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's so critical, so important.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think that you know, you're really kind of hitting a topic that I am really curious to see more of in our industry because I think that, you know, at the end of the day, we have to start understanding that mind, body, soul connectivity.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like it just has to become ritualistic, you know what I mean, for everybody.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think if there's anyone listening out there that's like a small brand founder or if you're thinking of creating a brand, like you cannot, you know, it's it's like we can't ignore the things that we can't see.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: I I think with science, we fall into this realm of just facts or everything.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, you know, there is a lot in our world that we can't explain.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's energetic, it's something that you can only feel.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I know most of us can relate to that.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: We've had those that, you know, at some point in our life, but more so, it really matters how we push that out to the world and how as an industry we're putting that out there, you know, because the beauty industry for me, Nick, I mean, growing up and even now, it's always been like a safe haven.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's a place you can come to and feel like there's something here for me, you know, there's something, there's comfort here for me.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: I can find something that's going to really make me happy.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, finding that perfect blush or makeup product or skincare product, it brings joy to your world.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: So incorporating it into this realm is so obvious, you know, from where I'm standing, like it needs to be uh what you guys are doing here with, you know, Eero, it needs to be something that we see across the board because I think that's how we're gonna really educate people, you know, in the long run.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it is gonna happen by just saying, okay, well, here's another red lipstick or here's another lineup of fall colors, you know.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: No, it has to be a lot more than that.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: And we have to have that connection and really push that connection.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a huge fan and I love it.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the essence is absolutely wonderful, by the way.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to mention that the product itself is so good.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I would love for you to take a minute to talk to us about the real um formulas that went into these products because they're really high quality and I have just been loving them.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: So if you could tell us a little bit more.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, thank you so much.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's uh that's beautiful to hear.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I starting about loving, I can say that everybody that touches the brand, you know, from the chemists to literally in the in the factory during production, we've got a lot of love being touched.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you know, Jen, our healer, is blessing um the formulas.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's all wonderful.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's back of house.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: But when you think about like the scientists and the technicians and the engineers on site as these things are being um produced, they're putting a lot of love.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: The formula, when it comes from the base, I uh which I always like to say it's the chassis of your formula experience.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: The base is beautiful.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, yes, we've got you know purified mineral water, but we did a combination of hydrolyps as well.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: So there is um sage and chamomile hydroliths uh and rose hydrolit in this.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then you talk about actives that we've worked in, and generally, you know, a water spray is many makeup artists and you know, real women and men that will use Evian and other uh products, mineral water sprays, you know, they love the fact that, hey, I'm I notice it's very refreshing, it feels good, my makeup goes on better.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: We wanted to take it a step further, and so as far as the botanical aspects, we've worked with um beautiful, again, auspicious Mediterranean ingredients.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a gorgeous grape extract, um, there's a gorgeous pomegranate extract.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there is um uh, oh my gosh, uh the essential oil combination, which again not only nurtures the skin, but it's the aromatherapeutic benefits of the lavender, chamomile, and frankincense that you're actually going to return to your breath and experience.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we did a beautiful combination of apple and lentil and watermelon, all auspicious in Mediterranean culture, um, to work on immediate and long-term hydration.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: So for a spray-on product that then you'll usually follow on its own, it's a beautiful instant hydration mechanism.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: But for me, it was about the experience.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so water, and being that we are, as you beautifully said, predominantly water, this experience of water, after you cleanse, to balance the skin's pH level, to make sure that the skin is saturated.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: So then when you get into your moisturizate, true moisturization phase, meaning either our emulsion or our serum oil, they can be interchanged and they can be layered based on how you want to feel and how you want to look.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: The beauty is between layers of skincare and makeup, I always find as a makeup artist, when I use water numerous times, I'll do it right after cleansing to prepare the skin to receive moisture.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'll trap another layer of moisture and radiance, which this is designed to really help to punctuate before I do my oil or moisturizer.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then after I'll do another light mist to then segue into whether I'm getting into primer or I'm segueing into foundation, or for guy grooming or my own grooming, maybe a little bit of a gel bronzer, and then I'll spray after.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it just creates these this beautiful layering process, few products, but working synergistically together that are delivering a lot of the same actives and punctuating and working in synergy with each other, you know, like the oil.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: The whole reason I really wanted to do oil in a unique multi-sensorial way was I wanted to take like the best benefits of a face oil, you know, the radiance and the comfort, and combine it with everything you would want in terms of again, hydration, anti-aging, more radiance in a serum and combine it in one.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we're talking beautiful, a beautiful chassis or base of sunflower and alba seed oils, which are incredibly um comforting, anti-inflammatory, and protective to skin barrier to help to rebuild and to protect.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then we really work to infuse gorgeous plant-based actives.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: So there's an upcycled grape extract that comes from the winemaking industry in Italy.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's the ancient Greek Alianico grape that we were able to get.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing because it's levels of resperatrol, the anti-inflammatory agents in this, truly beautiful.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: There's an upcycled um pomegranate um extract that comes from uh the Italian pomegranate juice making industry.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: And pomegranate is truly an adaptogenic ingredient.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: So mitigating and managing levels of stress, um, helping to work as an inflammatory anti-inflammatory, and even speeding up cell turn in a very subtle way while encouraging radiance.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, these all of these things work beautifully together, down to, as I mentioned before, the Ayurvedic blend of botanicals that we've used to create the indigo color, are flower and plant extracts that also condition and nurture the skin.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: So all of this is about comforting, nurturing, nurturing, protecting, taking inflammation and redness down.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: So then anything you choose to do over, i.e.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: makeup, um, down to like me, maybe I'll do a little bit of a gel bronzer or nothing.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to take my redness down.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: I want to feel my best.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: I want my skin to look plump and healthy and glowing.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to feel good while it's on.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be comfortable.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we really wanted to infuse all of that into the RD to make sure that these formulas worked, that they felt amazing to the touch, and that most importantly, they felt beautiful on the skin, and that they could layer over and link you into makeup or prep you for rest and recuperation and bed.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that they could be versatile and work with other things that you have that that are important to your own self-care regimen.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense because I can feel that you have poured a lot of creativity into the formulas.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know with the with the essence mist, it's so lovely for me because usually mist for me leaves a residue on my face.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like I can feel it afterwards.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I noticed with this one, I do not have that.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's just very refreshing.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's lightweight, it leaves you balanced, but it does not feel like there's any kind of film on your face, you know, which is huge because I know a lot of times with our makeup, I do very minimalistic makeup.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, it's important that things stay the way they are, you know, instead of adding like extra shine or whatnot.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: And the mist has just been so amazing for me in that regard is that it will refresh you and just make your skin look wonderful and plump and dewy again, but it won't go overboard where you have this now reflective barrier, which we can get sometimes.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate that.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: Really important for me.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, also, I mean, returning to the mist throughout the day, whenever you need to take a moment for yourself, not only to refresh the complexion, but most importantly to return to your breath.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: And again, the that beautiful blend of aromatherapeutic oils will really um nurture a vibe of of serene calm.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know, like for me, before I go into an important meeting or podcast, um, I find, you know, like it's it's just a part of now.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: Intuitively, I'll grab things that bring me the comfort and the love and boost my confidence.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at the same time, I know are going to make my skin feel and look good too.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I love the notion that you're experiencing this.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just saying encourage you to use it.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: However, you can even mist your pillow at nighttime uh before you go.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: And the level is not obnoxious, it's very subtle.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_00: But again, the ollofactory experience um, you know, of these beautiful aromatherapeutic oils will will help you in terms of cutting off and and winding down so you can sleep better.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um we have to say, inspire sweet dreams and beautiful downloads as you sleep.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: No, I love that.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the yeah, the scent is absolutely not overpowering at all.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's very calming.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I think um for me, um, even the the amethyst uh pieces, when you put them into the essence, it creates like a really comforting like when you're tilting the bottle, like these kind of little things, like just sounds or sensations, like they help relax me.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I have like for me, I have always had anxiety, you know, like growing up and even in my adult years, I've always struggled with anxiety.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: So these little little things help me a lot, you know, in terms of when I'm winding down and you know, just taking a minute for myself.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I just feel like it's so beautifully executed, you know, in the brand and the way you've created it.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: So huge hats off to you.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a huge fan.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope everyone listening out there, you guys have had a chance to check out um Eero.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: And if you have not, I'm going to be linking everything in the concept art for this episode.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's an absolutely beautiful brand.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: The products are phenomenal.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're looking for something to add into your routine that is a one and done, it's a your go-to, this is a wonderful option.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I really, really recommend it.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: So uh check it out.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_01: I will link everything like I said, but Nick, it has been such a pleasure to host you.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for coming on to the show.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: The privilege has been all mine, and I'm so happy to finally meet you face to face.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, likewise.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: And for everyone listening, I will be back next time.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 44:59
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• 45:04
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• 45:06
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• 45:09
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• 45:12
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• 45:21
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• 45:28
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• 45:38
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• 45:42
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• 45:47
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• 45:52
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• 45:58
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• 45:59
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• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.