Pretty Hard (Erika Geraerts & Ellen Jenkinson)

We're talking about Erika's relationship to beauty: how she thinks it's changed over time and specific influences including work and relationships, why she started Fluff, and how the business influences her personal choices around makeup and consumption.

We’re talking to Ellen, Fluff’s Head of Brand, about her relationship to beauty: her confusion around identity, the influence of location and circumstance, and how she has accepted its evolving nature. And finally, the role that Fluff has played.

Ellen and Erika discuss the year that’s been: one of experimenting, learning, growing, tiring, and ultimately feeling energised for what’s next. What exactly is that for Fluff? Listen and find out. 

We chat openly with Erin Deering, Co-founder of Triangl, about her relationship to beauty: her exploration of injectables and the process of altering and undoing it all; as well as her experience and learnings across business and motherhood.

We talk with Jenna Holmes, Founder of Plant Mama, Pasta Club, and P Mami, about her casual approach to beauty: her mother's influence, her experience with getting older, her challenges with being in the public eye, how her ADHD diagnosis has helped her understand herself,  and finally, accepting the evolving parts of herself with and without makeup.

We discuss the journey of exploring, finding, losing, and reconnecting with your highest, evolving self. How relational support and being your own healer requires being brutally honest with yourself, and why sometimes you need to look in the mirror and be your own therapist.

We discuss the influence of growing up in a Christian family, how beauty can feel artificial especially when comparing yourself to everyone else, why we ultimately have the choice to choose our own unique expression of self, and the internal debate of whether or not to start an only fans account.

We talk about the magic of our industry, or lack thereof at present. Does meaning matter anymore? How the business of beauty is as interesting as the expression of identity, and the often exhausting expectations of being a founder.

We discuss the concept of choosing when to blend in or stand out, the pressures of conventional beauty vs natural skincare (is it all just a lie?), whether trends becoming mainstream are in fact a good thing, and the impact of a mother's projection of beauty.

We talk about the importance of personal values and being stubborn in the beauty industry. How no product is a must-have, Gemma’s reputation for being difficult, and accepting you can’t make everyone happy.

We discuss the influence of an anti-beauty mother, the physical and emotional journey of experiencing cystic acne and using makeup as a crutch, how dating in your 30s impacts your sense of self, interrogating why we consider anti-wrinkle products in our 20s, and the exciting but exhausting role of being a fashion editor and writer. 

We discuss growing up in Germany without access to a shade range, the pros and cons of having an internet persona, the stereotypes and systems at play for women and queer individuals in comedy, and the joys of a simple makeup and skincare routine.

We discuss how growing up in Australia in the 90's and attending an all girls school drove a certain kind of defiance against convention. We look at the differences between teens now and 15 years ago, going grey at 30, seeing ourselves the way other people see us, and the conflict of feeling comfortable internally but not in front of a camera. We talk to her role as designer of Jewellery brand Cleopatra's Bling, about beauty as an action or a manifestation in what we do - our careers - as opposed to external validation. We look at concepts of feminism in different countries and cultures, the aspirational qualities of French women who enhance rather than alter their appearance, and misconceptions around anti-feminism. And finally, we talk about the importance of being curious about beauty and fashion references and origins, and how living overseas cultivates an insatiable desire to learn through experience, so as to develop your own sense of style, be it minimalist or maximalist.

Ellen and Erika discuss how the last five months have been, and our theme for season 2: beauty under the lens of sexuality and identity. It's everything mating, monogamy, masculinity, matriarchy, and meaning, as well as talking to the highs and lows of running a business in the ever-evolving sex space. As a tangent, we discuss current influencer pricing models and whether it’s possible to calculate ROI.

Chantelle is a Psycho-Sexologist whose work is centred around empowering people to feel good about their sexual health, self-esteem, communication and education. We discuss the impact of having one’s private life so public, the expectations of a professional within the sexology space, and the issues that come up in a session for many clients - spoiler, it’s so much more than sex.

A quick note on content - this conversation covers a range of topics including disordered eating, sexuality, and identity.

Mon is founder of Sabi the label. She’s also a writer, model, and casual advocate for all things sexual wellbeing, which we get stuck into - no filter. 

Find Mon via @mons.monday @sabi_thelabel @nakedhungry

A quick note on content - this conversation covers a range of topics including sexual assault, rape, pornography, and issues relating to body image. If you find these topics triggering we recommend skipping to the next episode.

Zoe is a Nike yoga teacher and integrative psychotherapist. She is the founder of Loop Wellbeing, which aims to bridge the gap between between the current system and the demand for a new approach to mental health care. We discuss her own journey through therapy and understanding her internal family system, and how it has impacted her perception of self and definition of beauty.

Find Zoe via @zoekleinyoga and @loopwellbeing

A quick note on content - this conversation covers a range of topics including disordered eating, mental health, and family of origin.

Yoko is an author and the founder of organic raw food and living food cafe, Shoku Iku. In this episode we discuss Yoko’s cultural background and influence on beauty and identity, as well as her work in the world of raw and living foods. Find Yoko via @inoue.yoko and @shokuikuA quick note on content - this conversation covers a range of topics including disordered eating and experiences of racism.

Marc is a Creative Director and founder of Happie Holl, a modern wellness brand, centred around promoting better butt care. We discuss his relationship to beauty under the lens of sexuality and identity, and his experiences as a new founder within our industry.
Find Marc via @marky_makes_ and @happieholl happieholl.com.au

Caroline Moreau-Hammond is many things - relevant to this conversation, she is host of The Philosophy of Sex podcast and founder of Becuming, the online sex toy retailer. She has an incredible knowledge across different and often esoteric modalities, histories, and individuals within the sex space, and we discuss the evolving and nuanced world of such, including a sense of spirituality around beauty, the influence of two supportive parents growing up, sexuality not as a spectrum, but rather a constellation, and the idea that sex doesn’t have to involve wellness.

Soumeya Beeow is a professional runner and model who recently featured in Fluff’s Lip Oil campaign. We were drawn to her willingness and openness to discuss the cultural differences surrounding beauty, growing up as a West African women in Australia, the growing number of people using skin bleaching creams, and the expectations, crossovers, and contradictions of the professional sporting and modelling space.

Avigon Paphitis is a Beauty industry marketing consultant, and founder of Paphitis Advisory. She previously worked at Beautycounter and Youth To The People, and has a wealth of knowledge across global makeup and skincare brands, and the changing consumer landscape over the last 10-15 years. We discuss the expectations of beauty brands vs the reality, and the ugly side of the beauty industry as she turns the questions on us as to why we started, and how things are going.

In season 3 we’re discussing beauty under the lens of career and community: everything from societal expectations to how your work can be the truest expression of your identity. (For some, not everyone).

As a tangent, we discuss the evolving (and debated) definition of self-care and how the beauty industry continues to exploit it; and the responsibility of having a platform (in this case podcast) and following.

Ellen and Erika reflect on the season ahead, what they learned from each guest, as well as what they're focussing their attention on and away from, including their explore feed hacks.

Robyn Morrison (Bobby Clark) is an artist, creative director, interior stylist and creative consultant. She speaks openly about her experience growing up in Scotland, how her art has been the truest expression of her identity, how becoming a mother has influenced her perception of self, and the positive and negative impacts of social media in her life. There is a beautiful moment where we discuss recognising beauty in oneself, for the first time. We hope you enjoy this honest conversation.

Find Robyn via @bobbyclark____

Zac Waters has been a touring musician for the last 11 years. In 2019 he started Adult Art Club which blends music and art in immersive exhibitions. Zac opens up about the role of ego in identity and creativity, and the importance of appreciating the small moments. Zac turns the questioning on us about Fluff’s origins, our growth over time, and our evolving, personal relationships to beauty.

Find Zac via @zac.waters & @adult.art.club

Aumi  is a fashion designer and brand mentor. She made the leap from the finance world after finding her community at Burning Man and a home in NY in 2012. We discuss the importance of finding your people and your place - and the freedom it allows. Aumi opens up about her own limiting beliefs and exploring new ways of seeing herself. We look at her own creative process and the various influences over time.

Ziggy is a yoga, philosophy and meditation teacher and guide, bridging disciplines from the East and West. Having studied extensively in India, as well as his current Psychology studies in Melbourne, he’s also played semi-professional soccer for the last decade, giving him a unique insight into team success and performance.

In this chat we explore identity through the lens of spirituality. We discuss the various spaces in which different versions of ourselves appear, the idea of internal vs external growth, and the role of social media in understanding ourselves.

Find Ziggy via @ziggyrazuki.

Erika & Ellen discuss the series ahead, the current state of the industry, the current state of their personal lives, and what the future of beauty looks like, right now.

Jessica Defino is a former editor for the Kardashian-Jenner Apps and a freelance beauty journalist for The New York Times, Vogue, WWD, Allure, and more.

Jessica's writing has influenced Fluff greatly, being beauty-critical content that publications can’t, won’t, or don’t cover. 

In this episode we discuss the idea of beauty behaviours as coping mechanisms, the pressure consumers are under being perceived constantly, and the moral obligation of brands to deal with such.

"If we want to deal with sustainability, we need to address beauty standards, and why we feel compelled to consume so much, and manipulate our bodies so much. If these things are addressed, sustainability will be addressed. There are feelings driving our consumption." 

Find Jessica via her Substack, The Unpublishable. 

We spoke to Erin Deering a year ago on the podcast and since then, a lot has happened. Erin has had a melanoma removed from her face, her breast implants removed, and has launched her memoir, Hanging by a Thread.

"My face looks like mine again."

We discuss how the last year's events have impacted how she feels about herself and her internal vs external identity, and how she's balancing her growing following with family life and business ambitions. 

Find Erin via @erinkdeering.

Sam Wood is a father, husband, and self-proclaimed 'fitness guy'. Having worked in the health industry for almost 2 decades, we were keen to discuss with Sam the idea of beauty under the lens of aesthetic vs mental and emotional health.

This was a beautiful discussion about how Sam sees and has experienced himself as a man, his role as a father of 4 daughters, and finally his relationship with his wife and their responsibility in the public eye.

Find Sam via @28bysamwood, @thewoodshed_ @thewoodlifepodcast

"You’ll care less, strive further, and feel more,” 

Leonie Akhidenor is the host of the Parenthood Podcast, a model, and mother, who was introduced to Fluff via mutual connections. In this conversation we explore her experience as a bi-racial woman growing up in Australia, her journey through pre and post natal depression, and her learnings from hundreds of conversations with other parents, including the tension for some mothers to find their ’sexy’ or to feel good in their ‘new' body after having children. She discusses with us the struggle to find time for self care and how it can result in women feeling as though beauty has taken the back seat.

Whether you have children or not, this episode is a reminder to acknowledge the self you were, the self you are, and the self you want to be.

Listen via the link in bio.

Find Leonie via @leonie.akhidenor and @parenthoodpod

@lesley__hunter came into Fluff's world for one of our campaign photoshoots and we fell in love with her curiosity, energy, and approach to beauty. In this episode we discuss her experience with beauty over time, through motherhood, work, and yoga, and the journey of connecting and discovering herself.  As a 62-year-old model we get stuck into the idea of 'acting' your age and other labels that are put on women, including terms like pro-age and anti-aging, and what these really mean for women. Finally, we chat about what we want ultimately for the industry.

Please note: this conversation includes topics of abuse and rape, should you wish to skip this episode.

Lucinda Price is a writer, comedian, and performance artist. We've crossed paths over the last ten years, and have wanted to talk to Lucinda in detail for a while. We finally got the opportunity and we loved the amount of crossover we had, being writers and working in advertising and media. We talk a lot about her upcoming book, titled, ALL I EVER WANTED WAS TO BE HOT’ and her journey/relationship to beauty that inspired the content. 

Please note this episode contains topics including disordered eating. If you would prefer to skip this episode, we recommend doing so. If you are looking for support or further resources, the Butterfly Foundation is available by phoning 1800 33 4673.

Find Lucinda @frooomes
https://www.froomesworld.com/

Sam Guggenheimer is the co-host of Just For Girls, a podcast discussing everything that plays out in the day to life of just that, being a girl. We loved talking to Sam because she had a very balanced perspective on the work she's doing in her industry and within the social media space. We get stuck into topics including growing up around a camera, online bullying and trolling, privacy and control, structure vs going with the flow, and being as candid as she can online. 

Please note this episode contains topics including disordered eating. If you would prefer to skip this episode, we recommend doing so. If you are looking for support or further resources, the Butterfly Foundation is available by phoning 1800 33 4673.

Find Sam at @s4mguggenheimer and @justforgirrls's on IG, and @shortgirltalldreams on TT. 

Lydia O'Donnell is a Marathon Athlete, Nike Pacific Run Coach, and the Co-Founder of Femmi, a dedicated running app for women, focused around learning about one's cycle and it's impact on movement and exercise, as well as a weekly run community across Australia and NZ. 

We met a few years ago and eventually joined the Femmi run club, which has been a chance to meet new people, get outside, add a few kms to the week and explore community. 

In this episode we discuss Lydia's relationship to beauty and how it's connected to her journey and relationship to running - a huge part of her identity and one that provides a vehicle to challenge the health and fitness industry in relation to the personal nature of women's running.

Find Lydia at @lydiaodo and @femmi.co

Please note this episode contains topics including disordered eating. If you would prefer to skip this episode, we recommend doing so. If you are looking for support or further resources, the Butterfly Foundation is available by phoning 1800 33 4673.

An interruption to our usual podcast schedule, to (re)introduce Fluff to new listeners, customers, and followers, on behalf of Shopify Masters and host Shuang Esther Shan.

​​Fluff was created in 2018 as an antidote to the current beauty industry narrative, for anyone who thinks that the world doesn't need more products, just better products, and responsible, transparent messaging.

​​Founded in Melbourne, Australia, we ship our refillable Cloud Compacts around the world, for anyone who wants natural, vegan ingredients and refillable, plastic-free packaging without animal testing. 

We operate on a quarterly drop model, meaning that our website is only open for a week, four times a year, to purchase the iconic Cloud Compact - designed to last a lifetime, as a heirloom piece that can be passed on. Existing customers can log in with a password at any time to purchase refills. 

This allows us to manage supply and demand, and ultimately, determine the pace at which we do business, and the content we deliver to our audience. We believe it's a better outcome for our customers, our industry, our brand and our team.

Fluff was founded by Erika Geraerts who has spent 10 years in the beauty industry, previously co-founding international beauty brand Frank Body, and thinks that makeup is great, but not essential, and that the idea of skincare and makeup as a form of self expression, and taking care of oneself is a beautiful thing that should be celebrated, never exploited.

We believe that it's ok to feel more with makeup, so long as you don't feel less without it.  Our products are all about keeping it simple: good for your skin, your thoughts, and the planet.

Find Erika on IG @erikageraerts
Listen to Shopify Masters here: https://open.spotify.com/show/77uc0yX736H3nBx8r9GdUG

Stacey Burt is the founder of Little Company, a holistic skin studio that offers a focused approach to the body’s largest organ, that being the skin. We love Little Company's approach to facials - it is truly a meditative ritual that we believe everyone should experience if they can, and their approach to simple, supportive routines just makes sense. Stacey is also working on a Training School for beauty therapists - a term that's polarising for Stacey and of which we go into detail. She's also a mother of 3, she's been with her partner for over 17 years, and she's about to turn 40. This was a beautiful, honest chat about the layers surrounding beauty and its connection to identity. 

Follow @_littlecompany

Diana Mishka is a NY based model, marketing manager, and friend of Fluff.

We recently collaborated on a PH colour-changing Lip Oil, after getting to know Diana and her love of makeup. We thought, why pick another colour when we can work with the people that love and inspire our brand each day? What do they want to see?

In this episode we caught up across different timezones, to discuss Diana's experience growing up in Russia, being bullied at school for not fitting in to the ideal beauty aesthetic, moving to Los Angeles at the age of 18, and changing locations to New York - and the differences between the two cities.

We talk about beauty as a feeling seperate to external aesthetics, how this comes as a result of focusing on oneself and three important things: community, career, and hobbies. This conversation is for anyone who has felt lost at times, struggled to fit in to those around them, or is wondering where to start in reconnecting with themselves, or connecting to new people in a new environment. 

Find Diana at @mishka_dii 

Carol Green is a dancer, model, and teacher, who at 67, is still dancing en pointe - having been a professional ballerina with the Australian Ballet School and having danced since the age of 5. We chat about many things including the most poetic definition of beauty, how her style has changed (and been reclaimed) over time, why she believes dance is an art form for people of all ages, and the legacy she wants to leave in terms of beauty, style, and identity. She refuses to become invisible and I left our chat feeling inspired in more ways than one.  

Find Carol at @carol_green_dancer_model on Instagram

Alice Edgeley is a fashion & costume designer, stylist, and a self proclaimed fashion history/ beauty nerd. If you live in Collingwood or Fitzroy, you will definitely know her work. Alice is all about questioning established notions of ‘good taste’ and challenging conventional aesthetics - and this has meant an exploration of bold glamour and following her instincts rather than the dictates of current fashion trends. We spoke about the positive influence of Alice’s mother over her life, her daily makeup ritual, and her intuitive approach to fashion and self-exploration. 

Find Alice at @ms_edgeley on Instagram.