Glam & Grow - Beauty Business Podcast

Irene Forte is the driving force behind her namesake brand and a renowned leader in wellness. Using the private organic farm Verdura Società Agricola to sustainably source the brand’s principal ingredients, Irene partnered with renowned pharmacologist and 35-year industry veteran Dr. Francesca Ferri to help formulate the brand. They worked for years to develop a line that distills the sun-soaked r...

35-year veteran Gail Federici never met a beauty white space she couldn’t fill. Gail is a pioneer in the haircare space with experience ranging from developing the first “prescriptive” remedy for frizzy hair as co-founder of John Frieda to now the first heat-activated, humidity-shield sealant for “glass-like” tresses as founder of Color WOW. Beyond that, I can almost guarantee you have a product a...

In this episode of the Glam & Grow Podcast, we sit down with Olivia Landau, the AAPI fourth-generation GIA certified gemologist and founder of The Clear Cut. From a “side hustle” jewelry blog to creating one of the fastest-growing brands in the space, Olivia's journey has been nothing short of remarkable. The Clear Cut is a direct-to-consumer diamond engagement ring and fine jewelry company, provi...

Kate McLeod, the founder of the award-winning and zero waste beauty brand, created her collection of Body Stone solid moisturizers in her Brooklyn kitchen. With her classical culinary training, she was able to transform cocoa butter into a unique beauty solution that brings intentioned moments of self care to everyday routines. The brand's founding mission to create safe and effective products con...

Chelsea Riggs, CEO of AMIKA, joins the podcast to share her journey from founding team member to CEO and how the standout brand is reimagining haircare. You probably wouldn’t guess Chelsea found this job on Craigslist 13 years ago having no idea where it would take her. Today AMIKA continues to grow and dominate the haircare industry as a leading brand. The brand started out creating innovative to...

When Sara and her brother Sean learned of the toxic chemicals used in traditional air care and home scenting products, they set out to create a better alternative for people and the planet. Inspired to rethink how individuals could vastly improve the air quality in their homes, they started the company blending and creating their first collections by hand. Today they lead a passionate team with th...

BeautyStat Cosmetics Founder and CEO, Ron Robinson , dropped out of medical school and  accidentally started his career as a cosmetic chemist. Clinique hired him on the spot due to his medical background. Since then, Ron has developed patented award-winning products always keeping the consumer in mind, most recently developing rhode (by Hailey Bieber).  In today's episode, Ron shares the secret be...

Celebrity hairstylist and Founder, Harry Josh , started from humble beginnings and has since created one of the most innovative hair tool brands in households and salons today. His movie-worthy story of how he became exactly who he wanted to be is one of the most inspiring to date. Harry Josh Pro Tools focuses on his signature mint tools that are built with the most innovative technology from arou...

Health-Ade was founded over 10 years ago by a husband, wife, and best friend. Daina Trout co-founded the brand during a summer at their local farmer's market and Health-Ade has since become a leading kombucha brand. Today the brand champions gut health while making kombucha appealing to all households.  Listen to this episode to discover benefits of kombucha that you didn’t know and the inspiratio...

After covering beauty for the New York Times, Bee Shapiro fell in love with the beauty industry. Even though she loves telling the story through written word, she also enjoys the magic of telling stories through scent. Thus, her fragrance brand was born. Ellis Brooklyn focuses on clean ingredients, sustainable sourcing, and unforgettable scents. In today's episode, Bee shares the moment she decide...

After a career in marketing and speech writing, Susanne Norwitz began her "second act" in life with her passion for formulating skincare. Inspired by her father's trips to Guatemala when she was a child, she created Maya Chia in the beautiful city of Charleston. Harnessing the brand's patented chia oil and its unparalleled health and wellness properties, Maya Chia has become one of the most decora...

Shortly before dropping out of high school, Rosie Jane Johnston unexpectedly found a love of the beauty industry. She spent some time as a celebrity makeup artist, but eventually found her passion for fragrance. By Rosie Jane is a clean, cool, everyday fragrance and bodycare brand dedicated to feeling good, smelling good and doing good. In today's episode, Rosie discusses the advantages and challe...

With a background in corporate law as well as beauty pageants, Jeff Lee leveraged his unique history and interests to create award-winning desert island beauty products, ie DIBS . DIBS focuses on makeup essentials designed to deliver a flattering finish with no-nonsense application and good-for-you ingredients. In today's episode, Jeff explains how having a legal background allows him to think dif...

Boscia was founded in 2002 and remains an industry leader over 20 years later, listen to find out how.  With her Japanese roots and allured by her family's unique beauty practices, Lan Belinky was destined to join Boscia and lead the global skin care brand. Boscia revolutionizes beauty routines around the world with products made with natural and plant based ingredients including cactus water, chi...

Amy Errett founded Madison Reed and has rapidly scaled it into the leading Professional Hair Color brand. In today's episode, Amy shares her most important learnings as one of the most successful Founder/CEOs in all of consumer brands.  In this episode you’ll learn: Amy’s top learnings as a venture capitalist that accelerated the success of Madison Reed How the brand excelled at navigating challen...

blendSMART is the original rotating makeup brush - that effortlessly applies makeup and skincare products. In today's episode, President Lori Machiorlette explains how her prior experiences and patents prepared her to launch blendSMART and the importance of learning how to be your own advocate and storyteller. Lori also discusses: Navigating supply chain challenges Developing the world's first rot...

Mesmerized by her uncles' beauty rituals and using her degree in psychology, Karen Young wanted to start a conversation around not just hair removal, but bodycare. Thus, she founded Oui the People , a skincare brand that focuses on expanding skincare to bodycare using effective, clean ingredients that work for everybody. In today's episode, Karen explains how her brand gives the beauty industry th...

Coming from 30 years in tech marketing and using her biggest learnings from working in top organizations, Jaleh Bisharat co-founded NakedPoppy . The brand is a clean beauty boutique with the safest, cleanest, and most luxuriously crafted makeup and skincare. In today's episode, Jaleh explains how her personal beliefs and challenges inspired the brand and the importance of being a perpetual student...

After finding herself frustrated with the lack of diversity in the hair care industry for textured hair and unable to convince existing brands to address the issue, Julian Addo took matters into her own hands and founded Adwoa Beauty . Adwoa Beauty is a modern, non-toxic, gender-neutral beauty brand catering to multi-cultural hair textures. In today's episode, Julian explains her first introductio...

Joey Healy started his career on the forefront of the eyebrow industry, leading him to become one of the most influential and sought-after eyebrow specialists in the field. Joey launched his namesake eyebrow empire over 10 years ago. Since then, he has expanded the brand and grown his team to what it is today. In today's episode, Joey gives insight into how he has become a favorite among celebriti...

Carol Han Pyle founded Nette during the pandemic, shortly after she lost all her marketing clients at the start of the pandemic. Nette is a candle brand that focuses on clean ingredients, sustainable practices, and luxurious materials - going after whitespace in the multi-billion dollar candle industry. In today's episode, Carol gives insight into the inspiration behind the brand, the aesthetic vi...

After working with top beauty brands, Céline Talabaza was approached by Nobel Prize winner Sir Fraser Stoddart to help start a skincare brand harnessing his scientific discovery of Organic Super Molecular Vessel™ Technology. Thus, NOBLE PANACEA was born. The brand merges science and beauty while emphasizing efficacy, precision, responsible beauty, and naturality. In today's episode, Céline explain...

With a background in Chemical Engineering and a love for Greece, Lena Korres co-founded KORRES . The skincare brand leverages Greece's unique plants and herbs to create the most effective natural products possible. KORRES has also focused on sustainability initiatives from day one by owning every step of the product life cycle. In today's episode, Lena explains Greece's biodiversity and what makes...

Even after failing out of design school, TA3 Founder and CEO, Leila Shams, still felt called to a career in the fashion industry. While designing for top brands in New York City, she created her own celebrity-loved label which eventually led her to launch TA3 and her mega sculpting patent-pending shaping swimsuits. In today's episode, Leila gives insight into the inspiration behind the brand and i...

Rose Fernandez began her career as a makeup artist, but the founder of Algenist saw her true potential and promoted her to CEO, right at the outset of the pandemic. With no prior c-suite experience, Rose used her 20 years of beauty experience to become the leader she is today and take the brand to new heights. Algenist focuses on ingredient-level innovation with the discovery of their hero ingredi...