Naked Beauty

Before Amy Liu built Tower28, the company that currently sells products every 10 seconds in Sephora, she was working in the beauty industry and struggling with sensitive skin. With encouragement and investments from close friends, Amy leveraged her 15+ years of experience to bet on herself and build Tower 28, a company that keeps sensitive skin at the core of its product development. During our conversation, Amy shared that she dealt with chronic eczema and sensitive skin her entire life. However, despite working in major roles at companies like Kate Sommerville and Josie Maran and having firsthand experience of how product efficacy could change her life, she still didn’t feel ready to leap. Shortly after turning 40, Amy was in conversation with a former business school classmate who asked what she was waiting for. This friend affirmed her skills and experience, and then offered to invest in her dream. She reached out to other friends and family, all of whom were excited to support her vision for Tower 28. In the seven years since launching, Tower 28 has blossomed into a brand beloved by everyone from essential workers to “gym rats,” to celebrities, and influencers like Hailey Bieber and their recent collaborator, Toni Bravo.

Amy offers us a glimpse into her life as CEO, mom, and lifelong advocate for clean beauty in this chat. She shared what it was like growing up in Los Angeles, in a predominantly white community, instead of a Chinese-American neighborhood. Amy details her parents' decision to move to America and why her dad, an entrepreneur, tried to dissuade her from starting a business. It’s exactly this persistence that has allowed her to become a strong leader, despite having been exposed to some of the worst bosses you might imagine. Amy’s leadership skills are defined by not only what she has done but also by her commitment to educating others. In the summer of 2020, she decided to develop Clean Beauty Summer School, a professional-development program that gives BIPOC founders industry access and education that they might otherwise not have access to. Amy has built a brand that is 100% compliant with the National Eczema Association and regularly gives back to minority founders. Amy Liu’s story proves that a true commitment to inclusivity benefits every single one of us.

Tune in as we discuss:
(2:35) What Amy Learned In Her First Beauty Role At Smashbox
(4:15) Growing Up In Los Angeles Without Close Proximity To Other Chinese People
(6:00) Her Belief That The Beauty Industry Shapes Confidence
(7:05) Her Family’s Immigration Origin Story
(10:48) What She Learned From Her Worst Bosses
(15:00) Why Turning 40 Emboldened Her To Start Tower28
(17:30) How A Friend’s Investment Pushed Her To Take The Leap
(21:10) The Organic Marketing Initiative That Helped Them Thrive During COVID-19
(26:00) Why Eczema Affects 25% Children
(30:00) The True Cost Of Creating Products For Sensitive Skin
(34:18) The Secret Behind The Tower 28 Swipe Serum Concealer
(37:22) Her Mission To Support BIPOC Clean Beauty Founders
(46:07) Amy’s Favorite Beauty And Wellness Products
(49:29) Her Advice To Anyone Wanting To Take A Professional Risk
(51:44) When She Feels The Most Beautiful

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Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray Hypochlorous Acid
Tower 28 Swipe Serum Concealer
Celluma Pro LED Light Therapy
Shani Darden Smooth & Glow Essentials
MARA Universal Hydrating Face Oil
Sophie Pavitt Mandelic Clearing Serum
RŌZ Foundation Shampoo

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Today's episode is all about what I've learned from doing the 75 Style Hard challenge, created by fashion TikToker Mandy Lee (Old Loser in Brooklyn). The rules are to get dressed intentionally every day for 75 days, buy nothing new, document outfits, and set personal style goals. For me, daily styling has revealed that fit issues were the main reason I avoided many items in my closet, so tailoring has been the key to success in this challenge. I've realized I wear durable fabrics most and I've leaned into using hair, makeup, and accessories to refresh outfits. Tune in as I discuss the novelty effect, impulse buying, and the importance of “domesticating” clothes into a signature style, because ultimately, style is a relationship with what you already own.

Check out my hack for boho braids with clip ins

Shop Bellami Clip-ins

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Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you’re listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard
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In this special encore episode of Naked Beauty, you'll hear three generations of women in my family talk all things beauty! I interview my Mom and Grandma on their perspective about beauty & style. My Grandma preaches on the necessity of Spanx, how growing up in the 1940s has informed her standards of beauty, and the importance of having a space to feel beautiful at home. My Mom explains natural hair is nothing new, and encourages me to embrace my youth & wear those short & tight dresses while I still can!

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Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you’re listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

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Molly Sims is a true Renaissance woman. From gracing the covers of French Vogue to acting to founding the YSE beauty brand, she’s done it all in the beauty and entertainment industries. After years of hearing that she should model, she accepted an opportunity to take a semester off from Vanderbilt to give it a try in Europe. Her career ramped up quickly, and she soon found herself building a new and unexpected career overseas. Molly is very transparent about that time in her life, and how modeling quickly changed her relationship to her body. Her time in fashion enabled her to build a robust portfolio, which she leveraged into an on-screen career on MTV’s House of Style, Las Vegas, and more. She’s also worked behind the scenes as a producer on multiple shows and has built strong communities across nearly every major social media platform.

No stranger to pivoting, Molly realized that she no longer wanted to be the face of a brand; she wanted to build something of her own. This realization was coupled with serious bouts of melasma and hyperpigmentation that may have been caused by ageing and or pregnancy. None of her usual treatments and products were working for her, but like always, she accepted this as a personal challenge to solve. She quickly realized that the skincare market for women over 35 was missing affordable products with scientifically backed results. Women with similar skincare needs were not being marketed to, and Molly knew just how to fill that gap: enter YSE Beauty. Built on years of professional experience working with makeup artists and skincare professionals, Molly built a brand that is now in hundreds of Sephora doors. During our conversation, Molly shared other examples of how she has faced challenges head-on and refused to accept any subpar answers. We talk openly about our health challenges and how we’ve had to advocate for ourselves when we know that something in our bodies is not quite right. Molly also talks about why she is called the Barrier Queen, her favorite beauty treatments, and why you should never ever settle.

Tune in as we discuss:
(18:45) Did She Feel Beautiful Growing Up In Kentucky
(24:15) Being Thrown Into The Heroin Chic Era
(25:15) On Thinness Being Mandatory
(27:07) How Modeling Changed Her Relationship To Her Body
(32:52) Why Create YSE Beauty
(33:35) How Motherhood Shaped Her Professional Choices
(40:41) YSE Is Clinical And Regulatory Focused
(44:50) Marketing Without Anti-Aging Language
(46:00) Lessons On Using Retinol
(50:42) Cutting Over Filling or Surgery Vs. Filler
(52:45) Peptide Injections Are The Next Big Thing In Beauty
(53:20) The Importance Of GLP-1 And NAD Wellness Transparency
(1:00:35) When She Feels The Most Beautiful
(1:03:05) Reminder To Never Settle

Naked Beauty Listeners get a discount on YSE beauty with code NAKED15

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Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you’re listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard

Follow Molly @mollybsims
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In today's episode of Naked Beauty, we're discussing a trend I'm sure you've seen across your timelines: The Morning Shed. This trend might seem like a harmless way to optimize your beauty routines, but I wanted to examine it more closely, especially as extreme beauty interventions become more and more common. In this mini episode, Charlotte Palermino joins me to explore what this trend says about our endless search for perfectionism through beauty.

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Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you’re listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard

Follow Charlotte: @charlotteparler

Products Mentioned:
Naked Beauty Rollers
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