Glow Journal

In episode twenty six of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Manny Barbas and James Hachem, co founders of Alya Skin. Within one week of launching Alya Skin, the brand had hit the $50,000 revenue mark. That figure grew to $1 million dollars in four months and, at the time of recording, the Alya Skin founders had made over $7 million dollars.  James and Manny are both in...

In episode twenty five of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Dr Dennis Gross, dermatologist and founder of Dr Dennis Gross Skincare. Every question you’ve ever had about peels and acids- answered, by the man who pioneered them.  One of Dr Dennis’ first childhood memories involves him experimenting with topical ingredients and discovering the immediately visible, transfo...

In episode twenty four of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Christine Chang, co founder of Glow Recipe. Christine Chang, and her Glow Recipe co founder Sarah Lee, are responsible for introducing K Beauty to the Western world.  The now New York based duo met while working for L’Oréal Korea, during which time they underwent the strangest intern initiation process I have...

In episode twenty three of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Blair James, co founder of Bondi Sands. Bondi Sands are an Australian brand that have truly dominated the market- both locally and internationally.  Blair James, the brand’s co founder, has always had an affinity for branding, with a fascination for the Nike effect forming one of his earliest childhood memori...

In episode twenty two of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Dr Yannis Alexandrides, founder of 111SKIN and 111 Harley Street.  Born in Athens and now based in London, Dr Yannis opened his skin clinic at 111 Harley Street in the year 2001 and, following demand from his clients, launched 111SKIN soon thereafter.  Dr Yannis is truly ahead of the curve. He created his...

In episode twenty one of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Dr Des Fernandes, founder of Environ Skincare.  We’ve all heard of Vitamin A and, if you use any kind of topical skincare, chances are you’ve used it on your skin. Dr Des Fernandes is the man responsible for both pioneering and championing the use of Vitamin A in skincare- an idea that, in the early 1980s,...

In episode twenty of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Sarah Hamilton, co-founder of both Sand & Sky and Bellabox.  Sarah and her twin sister Emily are serial entrepreneurs. They pair worked on a commerce assignment together in high school, which their parents then turned into a fully fledged business, and from there, their passion for startups was born. The year 2...

In this very special live episode of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with four of the world’s biggest makeup artists; Uzo, NARS Global Artistry Director, Chanel Temple, Hourglass Global Makeup Artist, Elyse Renee, TooFaced Global Pro Artist, and Steve Kassajikian, Urban Decay Global Makeup Artist.  Gemma here! I am so, so proud of this episode for a number of reasons. As...

In episode eighteen of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Jules Von Hep, celebrity spray tanner and founder of Isle of Paradise, Jules Von Hep.  Jules, born in the UK and with a background in fashion, has worked in the beauty industry for upwards of ten years spray tanning the likes of Kate Moss, Blake Lively, Kendall Jenner, Sienna Miller, and his tanning brand, Isle o...

In episode seventeen of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Dimitri Weber, master perfumer and founder of Goldfield & Banks. Dimitri Weber’s first job was at YSL when Yves Saint Laurent himself was still working in house on scent development, and he’s since worked with Narciso Rodriguez, Issey Miyake and THE Tom Ford as a consultant and spokesperson. Given his passion for...

In episode sixteen of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Elle Ferguson, entrepreneur, influencer and founder of Elle Effect.  Elle Ferguson is, quite literally, the original Aussie blogger. Her look has become something of a signature- long, tonged blonde hair, denim cutoffs and perpetually bronzed limbs. Having studied visual merchandising, interior design and architec...

In episode fifteen of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Carla Oates, author and founder of The Beauty Chef. Carla Oates was only 13 years old when she first recognised the link between health and beauty. While she now sits at the forefront of the global “inner beauty” movement, some twenty years ago you would have found Carla Oates working in magazines. It was during her ti...

In episode fourteen of Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Melanie Gleeson, the founder and CEO of Endota Spa. When Melanie opened the first Endota Spa in 2000, spas did not exist- in fact there were so few day spas in Australia that upon applying for a business permit, the local government thought Melanie was applying to open a brothel.  Today, however, it is safe to say th...

In episode thirteen of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Rhiannon Hall and Maddy Balderson, founders of Luna Bronze, founders of Summer Fridays. Interest in beauty or otherwise, I am of the belief that this is one of the most important conversations we’ve had on this podcast. Best friends Rhi and Maddy grew up on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula as avid tanners and sun worsh...

This bonus episode of the Glow Journal podcast is the most emotional to date.  In this special episode, host Gemma Watts sits down with Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores, founders of Summer Fridays, to ask them YOUR questions. If you are yet to listen to Part 1 of this conversation, we highly recommend doing so before listening to this particular episode. In this incredibly raw and refreshingl...

In episode twelve of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores, founders of Summer Fridays. Prior to launching their own brand, Marianna and Lauren spent years cultivating their own social media following and in fact Marianna was one of the very first people, globally, to champion the YouTube beauty tutorial movement. Having both studied Broadcast J...

In this bonus episode of the Glow Journal podcast, I (Gemma Watts, your regular host) am getting candid about the state of the beauty industry.  We’re eleven episodes in and, up until this point, I’ve managed to remain as objective as possible and have made a concerted effort not to insert myself into the interviews- however, following last week’s episode with Fluff founder Erika Geraerts, th...

In episode eleven of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Erika Geraerts, founder of Fluff and one of the original co founders of Frank Body.  A few years ago, Erika made the decision to walk away from the 20 million dollar business that she had helped to build. The reason? A wish for a cosmetics company that challenged every parameter previously set in place by the beaut...

In episode ten of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Mukti, the founder of Mukti Organics. Mindful beauty, green chemistry, organic skincare- whatever term you favour, the move towards natural beauty and holistic health practises has boomed in recent years. Mukti, founder of Mukti Organics, was ahead of her time. For close to 20 years, Mukti has been at the very forefront of...

In episode nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Kate Morris, the founder of Adore Beauty. Regardless of whether or not you have a vested interested in beauty, there is something you can learn from listening to Kate. It was in 1999 that she launched Adore Beauty, an online beauty store, in a time when the internet itself still felt new, let alone e-commerce. Kate had to...

In episode eight of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Pippa Hallas, the CEO of Ella Baché. Ella Baché is a household name in Australia. Founded in 1936, the brand came to be stocked in Australian stores following an incident involving leg wax and the foyer of a David Jones store- a story you’ll hear in this interview. Pippa Hallas, the now CEO of the brand, is the great nie...

In episode seven of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Christophe Robin, celebrity hair colourist and founder of his namesake hair care brand, Christophe Robin Paris.  Christophe began his career during the Supermodel Era of the 90s, a time when actresses and singers could truly only dream of reaching the level of celebrity that the decade’s supermodels had attained. Ch...

In episode six of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with James Read, celebrity tanning expert and founder of his namesake brand, James Read Tan.  Lady Gaga, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Kate Moss and Mariah Carey top James’ client list, and the man is quite literally responsible for turning a tan into a trend. Before James started working with global beauty powerhouses L’Oréa...

In episode five of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Jess Hatzis and Bree Johnson, co-founders of beauty empire Frank Body and content creation agency Willow & Blake.  Founded in 2013, what began as a humble brown paper bag of ground coffee beans has grown into a 20 million dollar global beauty brand. Frank was the first company of its kind to truly capitalise on s...

In episode four of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with Napoleon Perdis, co-founder of his namesake beauty empire. One of the most recognisable characters in Australia, Napoleon Perdis is a household name regardless of whether or not you have a vested interest in beauty. Within a mere two years, between 1993 and 1995, Napoleon Perdis managed to co-found his namesake cosmetics...