Where Brains Meet Beauty

When you first read the name, Thrive Causemetics, you know that this is a different sort of beauty company. A former makeup artist, founder and CEO Karissa Bodnar launched her company with dual purposes: to create quality, vegan, skin-loving makeup and skincare and to support organizations that help women. Both missions have equal importance—for every product sold, another is donated. The inspiration for this makeup/ movement is a poignant personal story of love, loss and resilience. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast   wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com  

Like so many beauty leaders in this moment, Natasha Cornstein, CEO of Blushington, has had to rewrite the playbook from scratch, as they’ve closed their brick-and-mortar beauty lounges and have had to pivot overnight from one-on-one, in-your-face makeup applications to an emphasis on ecommerce and their curated selection of independent female-founded beauty brands. No mean feat. Hear how this smart, resilient exec is trying to keep her company afloat, planning a future that is un-plannable and cherishing and supporting her team every day. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Paige Novick, Founder, Paige Novick Jewelry and Lifestyle

Jhoana Heras, PR manager at Base Beauty Creative Agency, was headed for a career in accounting when a PR internship serendipitously came her way. She thought it might be an interesting summer diversion but it turned out she really loved it and discovered that she absolutely did not want to be an accountant. Good to know! Listen to her full story, including her truecareer goal, being on The Real Housewives.  #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

After a five-minute career on Broadway, David Pirrotta, founder and CEO of David Pirrotta Brands, discovered his passion for the beauty world and his talent for scoping out and launching fledgling brands. He also realized he was still fulfilling his desire to perform but on a different stage, as he stood front and center promoting and presenting young brands to the beauty marketplace. With over 80 launches in his portfolio, this “brand whisperer” offers wisdom for brands of all sizes. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Inessa and Alina Vike have a collaboration that started in utero. These ultra-confident twins have used their award-winning influencer platform as a launchpad for an innovative product that they plan to grow into a global makeup brand. Their family story—including how they are striving to give back and honor their refugee parents’ sacrifices and dreams—is poignant, heartfelt and not to be missed.   #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Leetah McGee, account manager at Base Beauty Creative Agency, was destined for a career in fashion like everyone in her family. But after graduating from FIT, she wasn’t loving what she saw ahead and took a year to figure out what was next. Lessons learned: It’s okay not to know. It’s okay to change your mind. Hear all about Leetah’s career pivot and how this remarkable young woman made her way to Base Beauty’s door. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

It took a long time for Deborah Lippmann, celebrity manicurist and founder of Deborah Lippmann, to finally realize how much she loved nail care and her work as manicurist to the stars. Her first love was music and she originally learned the manicurist’s trade to support herself while pursuing her singing career. Now that she’s created her eponymous nail line and singing has become her side hustle, she has lots of sage advice and gentle nudging for those ready to zig and zag towards their own dreams. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Listen in as Sasha Plavsic, founder of ILIA Beauty, confesses how difficult it was to rebrand the business she had conceived and given birth to nine years ago. It was time for the update, for sure, but it also involved letting go of a lot of her past…and it felt like losing an old friend. You’ll want to hear Sasha discuss this painful but necessary part of growing a business and how she’s getting comfortable with the next phase of her “baby’s” journey. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

When Amy Carra, Sr. Director of Brand Innovation and Universal Beauty Products, Inc., was working for Air France and traveling the world, she never imagined a career in beauty. Her love affair with the beauty industry began with a position at Revlon, where she saw colleagues “playing” with makeup as part of their jobs and thought, “Hmm…this could be fun.” Hear the rest of Amy’s story, from more jobs in big beauty to developing her own innovative skincare line as a “corporate entrepreneur.” #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Sarah Kugelman’s catalyst for creating the skincare line skyn ICELAND was her personal story of stress and illness, a story far too many of us—especially women—have experienced as we try to juggle our complex lives. As she healed herself, the CEO and founder focused on the toll modern life takes on skin and decided to do something about it. Tune in to hear all about Sarah’s amazing journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship and her path to health, wellness and beautiful skin. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty@wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Starting her career in advertising, Wende Zomnir, Founding Partner of Urban Decay Cosmetics, figured out pretty early that writing cat food copy was not going to cut it for her. A serendipitous call connected her to the partner with whom she would launch Urban Decay, the ultra-disruptive brand that took the girly, sugary makeup of 25 years ago and turned it on its head, offering looks for women who didn’t fit—and didn’t want to fit—the conventional beauty-consumer mold. Wende shares her story, including thoughts on empowering the women around her while doing the same for herself. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

In our episode with Emily Culp, CEO of Cover FX, this beauty heavyweight shares her leadership style which is much more people-centric than that of many of her C-suite peers. For Emily, empowering her team by creating a business environment built on respect, diversity, transparency and humanity is where the fun is. She also loves shepherding an amazing brand that reflects some of these same values with its clean, customizable, effective products. Her impressive experience both inside and outside the beauty world gives Emily a perspective that will resonate far and wide. Make sure to catch this episode. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcastwherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

There’s enough wisdom in our podcast with Stephanie Kramer, SVP Global Marketing and Product Innovation at SkinCeuticals, to fill four episodes. The heart of our conversation is about surviving and thriving within the massive, regimented corporate culture. Stephanie calls herself an interpreneur for the way she has carved out a sweet spot, figuring out how to use the resources, get the projects, find the colleagues to partner with and nurture the talent just like an entrepreneur would but within L’Oreal, one of the world’s biggest beauty companies, all while climbing the ladder and being a caring parent and partner. Don’t miss a word. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

One day when she was on set, doing makeup for one celebrity or another, Rea Ann Silva became frustrated by the angled edges of the only makeup sponges available, which left tiny ridges and streaks picked up by the newest HD cameras. “Hmm,” she thought, and grabbed a scissors to snip and soften the shape for a totally smooth application. The rest is history…or at least the key to Beautyblender, her amazing beauty business that offers an array of blenders, tools and makeup. Rea Ann’s personal journey is as compelling as her business smarts. It’s all here…so make sure to listen. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

While he might look like a serial entrepreneur, Dr. Marc Ronert never set out to be one.  He just wanted to accomplish a few things in the beauty and wellness space and each of them became a different enterprise. These include Image, a science-based skincare line created with his wife, his authorship of an amazing book on aging, “Age Later,” written during a sabbatical boldly taken as Image was blossoming, and his wellness company Hush & Hush that takes a holistic approach to being your best at any age. In this episode, the board-certified plastic surgeon shares how each evolved from the other, the importance of taking time to step away and look at what you’re doing from a distance and how lucky he is to have found his soulmate and business partner in one person. Do listen!   #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Early on in her work with her nutrition patients, Tanya Zuckerbrot, CEO and Founder of F-Factor, discovered an essential truth: traditional diets don’t work because dieters feel deprived and hungry. She knew that the key to weight loss and wellness lay in a program that offered freedom, flexibility, plenty of fuel, room for dining out and having a cocktail, and a smarter, not longer, exercise routine—in other words, a program that was sustainable. And she knew that fiber was the key. This rock star in the world of nutrition went on to create the F-Factor Diet that’s been reshaping bodies and improving health for years. Hear about her science-based, easy-to-live-with approach and her journey to this amazing, multifaceted business. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

Launching her business, Fur, at about the same time she was having a baby, Laura Schubert harnessed her background as a strategic management consultant to figure out how she could do it all. She developed a system she calls “ruthless prioritization” which involves constantly asking herself if what she is working on is the most pressing thing she should be working on. It sounds simple but it’s not—when you’re wearing all the hats, distraction is everywhere. She became fierce at focusing, whether it was on her strategic plan for Fur or her babysitter’s schedule. A couple of things her experience has shown her: working mothers make amazing leaders and it’s possible to create the culture you want with work/life balance for yourself and your team. Listen in to hear lots more wisdom from this remarkable mompreneur. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

It truly bothered Kirsten Kjaer Weis when, as a professional makeup artist, models would point to the conventional brands in her makeup kit and say, “Oh don’t use that, it makes me break out,” or “That one is so drying.” She also knew that women crave beautiful packaging. In the early 2000s, there were virtually no makeup lines that combined healthy formulas with stylish colors and luxurious packaging that also spoke to sustainability. So she made one. Her eponymous, refillable makeup line is creating lots of buzz as it accomplishes what so many brands could not. Listen in for the details of how this of-the-moment line came to be. #wherebrainsmeetbeauty @wherebrainsmeetbeautypodcast wherebrainsmeetbeauty.com

The first thing we spoke about in my conversation with our Base Beauty publicist, Morgan Krause, is how fast she talks…even faster than I do, which is saying something. For the reboot of our original super-sonic session, Morgan consciously tried to slow down, which she realizes was a really helpful exercise for her. Morgan shared how she found her way to New York and to Base Beauty through her work with one of our clients, Au Naturele Cosmetics, a clean beauty brand based in her hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin. A company that also lobbies for stricter regulations to make beauty products less toxic, Au Naturele appealed to Morgan’s interest in global health. She spoke thoughtfully about the importance of using our consumer dollars to affect change and how she’s observed that responsible brands are slowly becoming more affordable and accessible. I hope you’ll join us to hear my full conversation with Morgan, delivered with her usual high energy but at a more reasonable speed.