Glow Journal

Six years in and it’s time for my first solo episode. The botox bit is clickbait. Hi! Gem here. This is probably the most honest and open I’ve been about a bunch of things on the internet. This was cathartic! We're talking my studies, how I got into the beauty industry, my career prior to leaving my job and going out on my own 8 years ago, career advice... you understand. Thank you to everyone who...

In episode 138 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co founder of Augustinus Bader, Professor Augustinus Bader.  The Augustinus Bader brand turned over $7 million USD in 2018, the year it launched. Within 2 years that figure had grown to $70 million, and this year it’s reported that sales will have topped $130 million. That is the power of Augustinus Bader, both the man...

In episode 137 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of O&M, Jose Bryce Smith.  When we talk about a founder being “ahead of their time,” Jose Bryce Smith may well be the very best example. Jose co-founded Australia’s first ammonia-free hair salon and launched one of the first ever ammonia and PPD free hair colours, but beyond being a pioneer (something Jose...

20% off sitewide at thebeautychef.com with code GLOWJOURNAL In episode 136 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks once again to the founder of The Beauty Chef, Carla Oates.  Something of an unintentional theme over the last couple of months of the podcast has been founders who’ve truly been first to market with something- not just saying they identified a gap for something, actu...

In episode 135 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founders of Glow Culture, Holly Holub, Donna Chan and Lori Pirozzi. Holly, Donna and Lori have a number of things in common- two of those things being an early wish to run a business and create something of their own, and a deep seated love of beauty. The three women met years ago, working on the corporate side of beauty, a...

In episode 134 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the OKKIYO, Dr Jacqueline Beltz.  I’ve talked a lot recently about how my favourite brand stories to share are the ones that really are offering a solution to a problem; founders who genuinely have identified a gap for something no one else is doing. The fact that we’re now six years into this show and I’m still able to me...

In episode 133 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co-founder of Urban Decay and Caliray, Wende Zomnir.  Wende Zomnir is beauty industry royalty. This is the woman behind the Naked Palette, Urban Decay’s now-iconic 2010 launch that ensured this already wildly successful brand would go down in beauty history.  Wende, alongside the tech mastermind that is Sandy Lern...

In episode 132 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the co founder of LUI, Rebecca Harding and Ingrid Kesa. This is my favourite genre, so to speak, of founder conversation to have for a number of reasons: the first being I know both Bec and Ingrid personally, and how often in life are you given an opportunity to just ask your friends questions about their job for an hour? Never...

In episode 131 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the CEO of Rationale, Shamini Rajarethnam. Despite Rationale having been founded in 1992, Shamini and I agreed that it does still feel like an insider’s brand to an extent. Those of you have heard of Rationale likely first heard of it in 2011 and beyond, which is not a coincidence as this is when Shamini was brought on as the b...

In episode 130 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Fig Femme, Lindy Klim. I don’t really think Lindy Klim needs an introduction, however I can say fairly confidently that this interview does show a side to Lindy that I’m not so sure the general public will have seen before, despite her having spent over 25 years in the public eye.  Lindy has founded not one...

In episode 129 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of JSHealth Vitamins, Jessica Sepel. Top level- at age 27 or 28, Jess Sepel and her now-husband Dean bootstrapped JSHealth Vitamins, which they launched in 2018, and it is now worth a reported $600 million, is available in 1800 retail stores in Australia, over 1000 in the UK, and has experienced 300% year-on-year gr...

When I first started planning season 1 of this podcast, that I thought would be a mini series, back in 2018, I wrote a list of dream guests- bucket list, beauty industry stalwarts whose brains I wanted to pick. Jo Malone was, of course, on that list, and on her most recent trip to Australia last month, we made it happen. Jo’s story is unlike any other, and while we all know her name, I don’t belie...

In episode 127 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Viviology, James Vivian. When I connect with someone over a love of beauty, whether it’s on this podcast or away from it, the thread or the through line always comes back to a feeling. I think it’s that feeling that separates people who truly love this industry from the people who do view it as solely superficial...

In episode 126 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Yours Only, Ashli Templer. We obviously talk a lot on this podcast about identifying a gap for a product and developing out of a really genuine need, and I think the Yours Only story is probably one of the best examples of that that we’ve covered across all 6 seasons. Ash grew up, in her words, “not being able to...

In episode 125 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of IKKARI, Adrian Norris. I have thought Adrian Norris to be one of the most interesting brand founders in the country for many, many years now, since he co founded fashion house Aje in 2008, and I have loved watching him enter the beauty space upon founding skincare and wellness brand IKKARI last year. There’s so m...

In episode 124 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Hairification, Jordan Mylius. You’ve heard of Hairification- from a distribution standpoint, they’re the fastest growing haircare brand in Australia having launched into 840 Coles stores in 2023 (that’s 840 retail locations from day one) and, as of last month, hitting the shelves of all 470 Priceline stores. Quic...

In episode 123 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founder of Maison Crivelli, Thibaud Crivelli. I’ve made no secret of the fact that fragrance is probably my favourite category to talk about, particularly from a storytelling perspective. Thibaud talks about fragrance in a way that is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before and that is, again, why I’m so fascinated by this c...

In episode 122 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founders of Sunset Daze, Alessia and Marco Angele. What I love about talking to founders at this stage in their brand’s development (for context, Sunset Daze launched their first product, Liquid Rays, in December of 2022) is that all the really tactile bits that come with a launch are still so fresh in their minds- they’re...

In episode 121 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Dimond talks to the founders of Fresh, Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg. This is one of the best founder stories I’ve heard in over 5 years of hosting this podcast.  I don’t want to give anything away, but there’s just so much gold in here- particularly a story Lev towards the start of our chat. I could have sat and listened to Lev and Alin...

We're back- and with a whole new surname! Gemma Dimond (fka Gemma Watts) returns to host Season 6 of the Glow Journal podcast from January 31. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our final episode for Season 5! I met Dr Rocio Rivera on a La Mer brand trip to Singapore in July and have been trying to get her on the show ever since.  I have had a relationship with La Mer for many years now both as consumer and a working relationship, and even I have found it to be a brand with a lot of mystery surrounding it- I’ve known the products work, I’ve seen first hand what...

In episode 120 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co founder of Sunnies Face, Martine Ho. Martine Ho comes from a family of artists and performers, so where many people grow up thinking of creative pursuits as hobbies, Martine knew first hand that a career in the arts is entirely possible if you work for it. Born in Manila but largely raised in LA, Martine grew up passionat...

In episode 119 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Lust Minerals, Stacey Hollands. If you’d told a teenage Stacey Hollands that she’d one day be the founder of the country’s biggest mineral makeup brand, I don’t think she’d have doubted you for a second. What she may not have believed, however, was that in a matter of years she’d grow that brand from one that star...

In episode 118 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Tomorrow-Today Beauty, Indianna Roehrich. If you’ve worked in the fashion, beauty, or lifestyle media space in Australian in the last decade, you know the name Indianna Roehrich.  Indi started her own social media management agency, Simply Social Management , in 2015 when she was just 22 years old. I first me...

In episode 117 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of People Haircare, Katherine Ruiz. Katherine never pictured herself starting a beauty brand, but she has always had an interesting relationship with her hair, and that relationship was sort of a visual representation of the relationship she had with herself. Katherine has naturally curly hair but, as so many of us d...