Shamini Rajarethnam | CEO of Rationale

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 tells me she’s not so sure she’d ever want to do again), Jose’s story is really just one of the best I have ever heard. She, naturally, tells it far better than I do, but this is just an objectively great founder story regardless of whether you’ve got an interest in beauty, business, or neither. In short- she got fake clients in the salon to secure a Vogue feature, she had a Legally Blonde moment in which she bought back her business, she can claim ownership of one of the funniest first date stories I’ve ever heard, and in 2015 she lost $500,000 of product- and against all odds, O&M is now one of the biggest haircare and colour brands in the world. In this conversation, Jose shares how she worked to earn back the trust of hairdressers country-wide after a major manufacturing error, how a first date became her first board member, and the advice from her late father that she always comes back to. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow O&M on Instagram @originalmineral.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20% off sitewide at thebeautychef.com with code GLOWJOURNALIn 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, actually identifying a gap (easier said than done in the beauty space). I last had Carla on the show in season 1, almost 6 years ago, but we’ve worked together several times since and I really do find her to be one of the most interesting and innovative founders in the country. For those unfamiliar with The Beauty Chef, and Carla’s story, The Beauty Chef really was the first of its kind on launch in 2009- Carla totally pioneered the “inner beauty” category that most of us are well and truly across now, but keep in mind the market looked very, very different then.Carla is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to inner beauty as a category, but also on the business of beauty. There is, of course, a huge education piece that needs to come alongside being first to market with anything, and I’ve always found Carla’s approach to this really, really interesting. Since our last episode together, the range has grown to include 14 inner and 3 outer beauty products, the most recent addition being Body Protein+ which launched just last week. In this conversation, Carla shares how her background in fashion and beauty has shaped her own relationship with beauty and self worth, how she ensures her products always have a point of difference as the market grows saturated, and how she differentiates between a fleeting wellness trend and one worth investing in.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow The Beauty Chef on Instagram @thebeautychef.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, and over long conversations during lockdown they realised just how much their stories and interests overlapped. A few years ago, all three of them decided it was time to reevaluate what they were doing professionally and finally go after their dream- and so the seed for Glow Culture was planted. Holly, Donna and Lori had taken a particular interest in the science surrounding fermented ingredients, and while they’d seen the occasional mention of probiotics in skincare marketing, they’d never seen an Australian brand as single-minded about fermentation in that way that Korean skincare brands had. They felt there was a gap in the Australian market for skincare rich in fermented ingredients, as opposed to products that only contained one or two, and it would appear that their instincts were correct- less than 10 weeks post-launch, Glow Culture has already been picked up by retail giants Adore Beauty and Chemist Warehouse. In this conversation, Holly, Donna and Lori share why they feel Australia has been a bit of a late adopter of K Beauty trends, their take on the rise of niche and independent brands, and the pros and cons of being digitally native vs being available in physical stores. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Glow Culture on Instagram @glowculturehq.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 meet people like Jacqui, who truly are doing something new, feels really special.Dr Jacqueline Beltz is a Melbourne based ophthalmologist (ophthalmology being the specialty medical field of diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases), and last year she launched OKKIYO with a mascara specifically formulated for people with eye sensitivity. That in and of itself is impressive, but her commitment to creating something accessible and inclusive extends far beyond just the formula.The packaging of OKKIYO’s mascara is the first I’ve seen to use braille in equal hierarchy within the branding, the tube itself is a square which makes it easier to identify and negates the risk of it rolling off a bench top and the user having to rifle around to find it if they have vision impairment, the name and branding were chosen based on visibility, and even the external card packaging has been designed in a way that allows for greater readability- there’s a lot more to it, which Jacqui explains in our conversation far more eloquently than I can. What Jacqui is doing with this brand, in my opinion, really sums up all the best bits of the beauty industry- it’s innovative, it’s fun, it’s not exclusionary and, at the crux of it, it’s a really great product. In this conversation, Jacqui shares her take on the power of naivety when it comes to launching a brand, the importance of beauty on our confidence when we’re struggling with our health, and the pressure that comes with launching a brand with a singular SKU. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow OKKIYO on Instagram @okkiyoeyes.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Lerner, founded Urban Decay in 1996 with a distinctly grunge, “punk” if you will aesthetic. That in and of itself was revolutionary, when you consider that the most popular brands at the time were the likes of Clinique who were championing that very clean, very fresh look. Urban Decay was dark and bold and edgy, and thanks to some serious guerrilla marketing from Wende it quickly found its way into the hands of Gwen Stefani and Garbage front woman Shirley Manson. Urban Decay was acquired by the L’Oréal group in 2012, with Wende staying on as CCO until 2022, soon after launching her latest beauty venture- Caliray, a brand that harnesses Wende’s love of and expertise in beauty with her longstanding passion for the environment and sustainability, with industry sources estimating that the brand generated between $20 and $25 million USD in retail sales in 2023. In this conversation, Wende shares what it was like officially working with Gwen Stefani about 20 years after hunting her down at a music festival, what she believes it takes to create a truly iconic beauty product, and the full story behind the now infamous Urban Decay Naked Palette.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Caliray on Instagram @caliray.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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; the second reason being that LUI was developed out of a very real gap in the market; and the third is one that regular listeners will know I love, and that is that LUI exists in a space where most consumers shop habitually. Bec first started thinking about LUI many, many years ago upon realising that there were no razors for women that didn’t play into that bright pink, heavily airbrushed trope, and there was really nothing on the market that placed an emphasis on design, sustainability, and the overall experience of use. The idea was strong, but razors are difficult to create and businesses are difficult to grow alone so Ingrid entered the fold as co-founder in 2020, and LUI was officially launched in August 2023. LUI was self funded, all of the brand’s products were formulated with female chemists, and what began with a razor and shaving cream has already extended to a moisturiser and exfoliant with more products on the way. In this conversation, Bec and Ingrid share the benefits of being a direct-to-consumer brand, the power of sharing your ideas, and what it’s like being a startup playing in the same space as multinational heritage brands.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow LUI on Instagram @luibody.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 brand’s Marketing & Digital Coordinator. By September 2014, Shamini was Rationale’s General Manager, and by 2017 she was CEO. I’d met Shamini before and I just think she’s amazing, but I took SO much from this conversation- there’s obviously some gold in here given she’s a young female CEO so you can imagine the unique obstacles that alone has presented, but also on that really fine balance between keeping a 32 year old brand true to its DNA but also ensuring it feels current and modern. In this conversation, Shamini shares her thoughts on the intersection between AI and wellbeing, the question she asks in every job interview, and why she’s still not entirely sure she understands the plot of Pretty Woman. Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Rationale on Instagram @rationale.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 but two beauty brands (Milk & Co with her ex husband Michael back in 2008, and Fig Femme in 2020), but her own relationship with beauty has taken a significant amount of work. Lindy was the only Asian girl at her school in Tasmania, an experience she talks about in this conversation, and she started modelling in her late teens which led to a really, really complicated relationship with her body- a relationship she tells me she was only really able to heal once she had children. Lindy’s founder story is a particularly interesting one because her brand was deemed so controversial by the press pretty much immediately upon its launch. Fig Femme is intimate care brand, and it launched with a vulva mask (think of a sheet mask you’d put on your face, but for your vulva) which led to a lot of negative press. The tide has well and truly turned since, but it was SO interesting to hear from Lindy on the mental toll it takes when you spend years and years developing a brand with the goal of removing a stigma, only to have it more or less dragged over the coals within minutes of taking it live.In this conversation, Lindy shares why she thinks Australia has been pretty far behind the rest of the world when it comes to intimate care, how she pitched a vulva mask to a boardroom full of men in suits, and details on the five year distribution deal the brand has just signed in the Middle East.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Fig Femme on Instagram @figfemme.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 growth in US. If that’s not interesting to you, I’m not sure what will be.More interesting than that, however, is Jess’ story from childhood to now- I was a bit floored by how open and vulnerable she was. Jess tells me that she always felt what she describes as a “weird, gravitational pull towards vitamins,” collecting them as a teenager like I might have collected Lip Smackers, and while her initial interest in wellness began as innocent, she soon fell into spiral of fad diets and an obsession with her own weight.Jess got herself healthy and well, and then started documenting her journey in the form of a blog. That blog had about 20,000 readers within a couple of weeks of going live, the blog became an e-book, then an 8 week program was launched and then, in 2018, Jess and Dean launched JSHealth Vitamins with absolutely no intention of making waves within the industry- as Jess explains, they just wanted to create a sense of community. In this conversation, Jess shares what she feels it is about her approach to wellness that is resonating with so many people that a bottle of JSHealth Vitamins now sells somewhere in the world every 10 seconds, how she was scammed before bringing a single product to market, and how she physically went about launching a vitamin brand into such a heavily saturated market.Read more at glowjournal.comFollow Jess on Instagram @jshealth.Follow JSHealth Vitamins @jshealthvitamins.Stay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemdimond and @glow.journal, or get in touch at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 believe as many people know her story as well as they probably should. Jo grew up in South East London and following a very, very early introduction to the beauty industry, she discovered her sense of smell was a bit of a superpower. She built her own brand, opened her first store in 1994 and sold that brand to Estée Lauder in 1999 while staying on as Creative Director. In 2003, Jo was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, and although she beat it, she completely lost her superpower- her sense of smell. She chose to exit the brand in 2006 and, exactly one month into a five year non compete, her sense of smell returned. Following what she describes as probably the hardest five years of her life, she launched Jo Loves in 2011- her second global fragrance brand and one she describes as bringing the best parts of herself to the world. This was so, so special for me, I’m so grateful to have had this time to physically sit down with Jo- no one tells her story like she does and I hope you love hearing it as much as I did. In this conversation, Jo shares why she has her father’s work as an artist to thank for introducing the Jo Loves brand to a new generation, why we can thank a woman named Doris Hilderbaker for Jo’s love of beauty, and what happens both physically and mentally when you walk away from a brand with your name on it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.