Beauty Full Stories with Erin's Faces

Latest Episodes:

26. Should I Allow My Partner to Dim My Light? with Thomasina Gross Dec 08, 2020

Show notes

Our guest today is Thomasina Gross, a TV, film, and Broadway actor to talk about her experiences as a Black woman in the entertainment industry, from being told that her thighs were too thick to be a ballerina to being cast as the white girl’s stereotypical sassy best friend.
Thomasina shares how, while she has her parents to thank for her positive attitude, they taught her to know her place as a Black person ever since she started walking and talking, coaching her on staying out of trouble and not letting anyone feel uncomfortable or threatened.
The conversation turns to the topic of ambition, and Thomasina talks about the double-edged sword of walking into a casting audition as a Black woman, suggesting what people can do to keep opening up more opportunities for people of color in the world of entertainment.
Listeners will also hear Thomasina share about her divorce and the hard process of getting out of an abusive relationship. She talks candidly about the red flags that she tried to ignore at first, how the abusive behavior escalated, and how she managed to work through her feelings of shame.

Our email today (51:53) is all about how you can help your dry skin in the winter. Erin gives two game-changing tips for upping your face and body hydration levels to keep your skin looking dewy all through the winter!

Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:

“Don’t ignore the differences; they need to be celebrated.” — @thommigross [0:13:32]

“If you are already tired, imagine the world for a person of color. This is my everyday. So, if you are already tired, imagine how I felt my entire life.” — @thommigross [0:30:53]

“I knew that, no matter what happened, if I leaped I would be caught by my family and my friends.” — @thommigross [0:38:26]

“No one can do you better than you can.” — @thommigross [0:49:18]

Come have fun with us!

Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

25. Should I Hate My Gray Hair? with Lisa Fennessy of The New Knew (Part 2) Dec 01, 2020

Show notes

Today, Erin continues her discussion with Lisa Fennessy, founder of The New Knew (formerly This Organic Girl), and the conversation turns more personal, with Lisa sharing her decision to go gray with her hair and fighting the feeling that she doesn’t fit in because of how tall she is.
When the thought of going gray first occurred to her, Lisa had found concerns popped up. She wondered what people might say and think and struggled with her own limiting beliefs about what it meant to stop dying your hair. But after after starting her journey to gray she has almost exclusively received positive comments from her audience (and random people on the street) since then. She has gone from hating her hair to loving it and getting heaps of compliments. Lisa also shares how she reminds herself of the strength her body has instead of judging her size.

Our email today (22:34) is about what to do if you break out but struggle with dry skin. You might be surprised to learn that the secret is a very special oil!

Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:

“I went from absolutely hating my hair to absolutely loving my hair.” — @thenewknew [0:10:26]

“Your habits and your daily whatever you are doing really does change the way you look .” — @thenewknew [0:19:26]

“Tamanu Oil literally changed my skin and I could use it and it did not break me out. — @erinsfaces [0:25:38]

Come have fun with us!

Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com

24. Should I See Green Beauty as Black & White? with Lisa Fennessy of The New Knew (Part 1) Nov 24, 2020

Show notes

Our guest today is Lisa Fennessy, an incredible blogger and the founder of The New Knew (formerly This Organic Girl). Erin and Lisa get into the topic of beauty influencers, and discuss the importance of holding fast to integrity when the information you put out there has a huge impact on what people buy and which direction the market ultimately goes.
Lisa shares her philosophy on green products, saying that, while she goes green whenever she can, there should also be room to use synthetic products on the odd occasion, like a bright pink lipstick and that long-lasting foundation when its really hot outside. She is also passionate about making clean beauty more accessible by changing the fact that it is always the most expensive product on the shelf.
After touching on the pros and cons of micro-needling, Erin inquires about Lisa’s obsession with Retinol and asks her to explain how exactly it has improved her skin. The two share how, as they learned more about clean beauty, they became less rigid in their approach and discovered that things are not always as black and white as they once thought.
Our email this week (51:06) is all about the best way to remove your makeup. Erin shares two methods, both of which will leave your skin and lashes in tip-top shape!
Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:

“I really value the facts; I want to know that this is proven. When I find something that works, that’s when I look into it and see what it’s made with.” — @thenewknew [0:10:25]

“I think this is the way of the future. Big brands want to have their namesake in green beauty. They want representation there because this is where the beauty scene is going.” — @thenewknew [0:16:47]

“It is easy to pigeonhole yourself into a corner of saying, ‘This is everything that is right and this is everything that is wrong’, but it is not like that. Clean beauty is a very complex issue. It is very situational.” — @thenewknew [0:41:00]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

23. Should I Have Kids to Make My Cab Driver Happy? with Merrady Wickes Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

Today’s guest is Merrady Wickes who is the Brand Director at Crème Collective. In this episode, we cover how Society tells us as women that our worth is attached to our physical appearance. So, what is our value then if we strip away those outward symbols of beauty? How can we find our goodness in a way that does not use looks as a starting point?
Merrady's playful approach to makeup is inspiring, and while it has always been something fun in her life, Merrady candidly shares how it has been a crutch at various times. Now, at a stage where she feels freer, less judgmental of herself and others, she is back to finding the joy in makeup once again.
As someone Erin admires for their introspection and self-reflectivity, we hear more about how Merrady has questioned her ideas of beauty having been raised in a family that was vocal in their judgments. Another set of questions Merrady has found herself confronting is around her worth as a child-free woman in a world that expects women to be mothers. Although her struggles with infertility forced her hand in choosing this path, she has done some serious work to understand her programmed beliefs that she needed to become a mother to feel fulfilled. We talk about how society claims ownership of women’s bodies, the line of questioning she faces when people find out she is child-free, and why we should all stop wasting our time with worrying about how we look.

Our email today (1:02:42) is about what the difference between physical and chemical exfoliants. Be sure to tune in to find out more how these different products work and which one might be best suited for you and your needs.
Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:

“The way that I view beauty, it’s been a full paradigm shift from when I was young to now. 100 percent.” — Merrady Wickes [0:29:07]

“The things that we are really concerned about, people aren’t looking at them, 99 percent of the time. And if they are, screw them.” — Merrady Wickes [0:41:51]

“I think that unfortunately, even in the year 2020 and living in Los Angeles, that a lot of women’s importance in life is tied to motherhood and procreating.” — Merrady Wickes [0:52:02]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

22. Should I Look Like Someone Else to Be Beautiful? with Nina Crawford Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

On today’s show, Erin is joined by Nina Crawford, an organic beauty advocate and a business and mindfulness mentor. Nina has an eclectic background, having been raised in Ivory Coast in West Africa, spending her teenage years in France, and later coming to the US in her twenties.
Growing up in West Africa, she was raised to honor her natural beauty and use only ingredients that come from the earth, an approach that started shifting when she arrived in France, where beauty is more often equated to elegance. When she came to America, she was in for a massive culture shock and suddenly started feeling the pressure to conform to certain impossible beauty standards.
After sharing her fears around raising a Black son in America, Nina talks about representation in beauty for Black and Brown women, implicit bias, and fair trade, giving listeners a glimpse into the lives of the African women who harvest some of our favorite products, such as Shea Butter and Argan Oil. Erin and Nina also speculate about why some brands have not yet expanded their products to accommodate darker skin tones, and share helpful tips for beauty brands who are thinking of launching new colors.

In line with our discussion with Nina, our email today (48:11) deals with a question about the meaning of the term “sourcing” in the beauty industry. Be sure to join us for another fabulous episode!
Call Outs from the Episode:

Clarins
Fenty Beauty
Vapour
Kjaer Weis
The Person You Mean to Bebook by Dolly Chugh
Dior
Martin Luther King Jr.
Kahina Giving Beauty
Erin’s Faces Pumpkin Enzyme Peel
Erin’s Faces Argan Oil
Erin’s Faces Tamanu Oil
Erin’s Faces Monoï Tiaré Oil
Argan Oil blog post
Neem Powder for Dogs Erin uses

Tweetables:

“In Ivory Coast, the messaging in my childhood was close to the earth in terms of beauty. The ingredients that we were using were natural and it was about magnifying the beauty that we already had.” — Nina Crawford [0:06:02]

“It is time to close a door and this is an opportunity we have to make sure that the killing of young Black men doesn’t happen anymore; that the discrimination against Black and Brown people doesn’t happen anymore.” — Nina Crawford [0:18:08]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

21. Should I Choose Money Over Happiness? with Jamie Lewis Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

Our guest this week is Jamie Lewis, who, as an esthetician, professional makeup artist, and skincare influencer, does a bunch of beauty stuff.
In this episode, she opens up to Erin about not having kids and what it means, what it was like saying goodbye to a solid career to embrace her passion for beauty, and which clean beauty brands she can’t live without. The two get into the representation of different body shapes, sizes, and skin tones in the beauty industry.
After reflecting on her transition from corporate finance to beauty, Jamie talks about how she made it through the first six months after quitting her job, what she did to educate herself in the makeup department, how she got interested in skincare, and what she did to stay afloat during the most stringent pandemic restrictions. She and Erin uncover the sometimes nebulous concepts of ‘clean’, ‘organic’, and ‘medical-grade’ skincare, talking about the impossibility of establishing a standard everyone agrees on and sharing some of their favorite clean beauty products. Don’t miss out on another inspiring episode with Erin and her guest!

Our email today (47:07) is about the best apps for checking how clean or dirty your products are . While not everything is cut and dry when it comes to clean beauty, these resources will provide you with some great guidelines for making greener purchasing decisions. Stay tuned!
Call Outs from the Episode:

Come have fun with us!

Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

20. Should I Apologize for My Emotions? with Bri Braggs Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Erin welcomes Bri Braggs, another fabulous female brand founder, on the show! Fertile Alchemy is a personal care company that produces the most enchanting oils, bath salts, and balms that promotes relaxation, emotional wellness and hormonal balance.
Erin and Bri get into a real conversation about self-care, women’s cycles, and having a baby the day before the pandemic was announced. She shares her unique perspective on balance, why she feels women should plan their productivity around their cycles, and why, despite the popular beliefs about female emotions, we make excellent leaders of organizations and countries.
Bri also gets honest about the realities facing Black women and men in the US, what their mothers go through and how she plans to prepare her son for the American society we see today.
Remember to stick around to get the discount code for erinsfaces.com to get 10% off your purchase!

Our email today (53:24) is about how to recycle your Matcha Mascara – packaging, tube, and wand. Be sure to tune in to learn how your old wands can be used as tiny hair brushes for squirrels and other small animals!

Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:
“Cutting off my relaxed hair was so freeing and liberating and I felt for the first time that my hair wasn’t attached to my beauty.” — @BriBraggs [0:20:10]

“My son is six months old and he was born at the start of the pandemic, so I don’t have much me-time. But over the past three months, I’ve started taking that beauty time as my me-time and it feels so good.” — @BriBraggs [0:22:27]

“Sometimes certain things are going to get more attention than others and that is the balance rather than me trying to divide my time into equal portions. That is not realistic.” — @BriBraggs [0:27:52]

“I always recommend my clients to learn how to live with their cycle and work around their cycle because you can be so much more productive because you are not working against yourself.” — @BriBraggs [0:34:30]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

19. Should I Sacrifice My Health for My Business? with Tamar Vezirian Oct 12, 2020

Show notes

Today’s amazing guest is the Founder and CEO of Gotham Glow in NYC and she's probably tanned your favorite actress - for real.
Tamar discusses her experiences as an Armenian immigrant, the hustles she made to get her business off the ground, and the beauty standards in American culture that can cause such damage. Tamar and Erin are great friends, and they kick the show off reminiscing about their memories working together in the beauty department of Bergdorf Goodman.
Tamar shares the story of her childhood years in war-torn Beirut, how her family managed to make the move to the U.S, and some of her first experiences with the new language and culture. We also discuss being an entrepreneur and balancing health with work after Tamar was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s.
Our email today is "can oily people use facial oil?" (58:55) - and the answer is yes you can!

Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:
“I would bring my tanning kit with me and put it in security down at Bergdorf’s and then during my lunch break I would just go and bang out a bunch of tans.” — @GothamGlow [0:07:01]

“I don’t like to cover people up, I just like to enhance what they have already.” — @GothamGlow [0:23:39]

“I thought beauty was having blond hair and blue eyes and straight teeth, coming here from the Middle East and then growing up in American culture.” — @GothamGlow [0:32:33]

“It pisses me off, like if I haven’t seen someone and I go and I see an auntie or whatever and they are like, ‘Oh, you have gained weight,’ and it’s like, ‘You don’t know anything about my life.’” — @GothamGlow [0:36:316]

“In New York, there are so many people with so much money. And we don’t come from that, so we have to work ten times harder.” — @GothamGlow [0:46:18]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

18. Should I Feel Ashamed That I Can’t Get Pregnant? with Lisa Yaeger Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

Today on the podcast we have Lisa Yaeger, the first-ever client at Erin’s Faces from back in 2011! We talk about her journey with infertility into adoption, getting into their decision-making processes, how they picked an adoption agency, and learning that there are many paths to parenthood.
After a great deal of emotional and financial investment, Lisa and her husband decided to stop fertility treatment and to consider the possibility of adoption, a process that has added two beautiful boys to their lives. Lisa gets candid about suffering an early miscarriage, being told that her uterine wall was scarred, choosing an agency that aligned with their values, and why it is so important to educate yourself as an adoptive parent, especially if your child is from a different ethnic background than you or your partner.
Becoming a parent virtually overnight is an exciting event, and Lisa shares how she and her husband responded to and bonded with their sons when they first arrived, what kind of connection they have to the birthmothers, and how they have initiated the conversations about adoption with their sons.

Our email today (40:10) is about what to do (other than using a body moisturizer) about dry skin in the winter. Erin and Josey give you all the details on body scrubs, butters, and balms to restore your perfect glow!

Call Outs from the Episode:

Tweetables:

“Honestly, when the doctor told me that we were done and that we shouldn’t do it, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulder. I was just so relieved.” — Lisa Yaeger [0:14:04]

“Be kind to yourself and don’t sweat the small stuff.” — Lisa Yaeger [0:38:52]

“If you want to have a family, there are so many ways to do it.” — Lisa Yaeger [0:39:58]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

17. Should I Photoshop My Instagram Pictures? with Nancy Chen Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Wellness blogger and personal trainer Nancy Chen is strong and athletic, but her tan skin and muscular body aren't ideal in the traditional Chinese culture that she was raised in which values fair petite women.
In this episode, Erin talks to Nancy about her journey of learning to love her body, walking in authenticity and truth, and celebrating the wonderful things her body allows her to do. With social media filters increasingly allowing us to change our faces and bodies to fit into an unattainable beauty ideal, there is more and more pressure to look a certain way and to hide what we perceive to be our imperfections. But, as Nancy argues, we are busy creating an extremely damaging society that promotes body-image issues, eating disorders, and feelings of inadequacy. That is exactly why she is on a mission to head in the opposite direction with her Instagram account, wanting to encourage people to be at home in their skins and to embrace their “flaws”, ultimately creating a world in which all shapes, sizes, and colors are appreciated.

Our email today (45:28) is all about which products to change up for fall as your skin starts to get more dry (spoiler alert: one of the products we talk about goes perfectly with a pumpkin spice latte!).

Call Outs from the Episode:

Perfect Keto
Nancy's IG post we discuss
Nancy's article about her eating disorder
Her follow up article
Erin’s Faces Mineral Liquid Powder Foundation
Erin’s Faces Argan Oil
Erin’s Faces Tamanu Oil
Erin’s Faces Soothing Aloe Cleanser
Erin’s Faces Clarifying Charcoal Cleanser
Erin’s Faces Pumpkin Enzyme Peel

Tweetables:

“It had taken a lot from me to love that concept of my body instead of trying to fit into what Chinese standards deem as beautiful.” — Nancy Chen [0:05:38]

“I have built my entire mission around empowering people to feel good in their own skin and I’ve always tried to be as authentic as possible, and that means sharing my struggles; sharing those thoughts I have with the whole world. I just didn’t want to perpetuate that idea or concept of being so fake and not presenting something that is real on the internet, because that is super damaging.” — Nancy Chen [0:16:34]

“We can have well intentions but that does not mean they have positive effects all the time.” — Nancy Chen [0:33:59]

“You’ll never feel beautiful enough if you keep comparing yourself to other people.” — Nancy Chen [0:40:49]

Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
Website: erinsfaces.com

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