In episode 105 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Verso, Lars Fredriksson. It was a love of interaction, communication, and connection that led Lars Fredriksson to the beauty world. Having spent years in business, sales and marketing, he found himself talking to a stranger at a music industry party. Lars and this man were the only two guests who didn’t work in music, and it was this conversation that led Lars to his first role in the beauty...

In episode 104 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of FaceGym, Inge Theron.  From early ambitions to become a CNN correspondent to a job as radio DJ, founding a branding agency to launching a board game, it was a job in the wellness space that really made Inge Theron feel as though she was home. Inge spent 11 years as the Financial Times' Wellbeing, Beauty & Spa writer, a job that quite literally saw her trialling the best and, in some cases the worst,...

In episode 103 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founders of JB SKRUB, Julie Bowen and Jill Biren.  USE CODE GLOWJOURNAL15 FOR 15% OFF YOUR JB SKRUB ORDER. Julie Bowen has been acting professionally since 1992, perhaps most notably spending 11 years in the role of Claire Dunphy on Modern Family. Jill Biren spent close to two decades in publishing at Condé Nast, working across titles including Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair.  Both mothers of sons, Julie and Jill got to...

In episode 102 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Recreation Beauty, Nedahl Stelio.  Despite steadily building a name for herself as one of the country’s most influential voices in fashion and beauty media, Nedahl didn’t enter the industry with a specific niche in mind. Having worked at Girlfriend Magazine as Beauty and Features Editor, Cosmopolitan Magazine as Beauty Editor, Features Editor and Deputy Editor, and as Editor of Cleo Magazine, she tells me...

In episode 101 of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Saint Louve Skincare, Elly Seymour.  The wheels of Elly Seymour’s career journey were set in motion when she was a child with a very specific dream of wearing surgeon’s scrubs. Elly decided she wanted to be a cosmetic nurse when she was just a teenager, convincing her parents to allow her to study a Diploma of Makeup in lieu of Year 12. Her reason was a pragmatic one- when she turned 18 she’d be able to enrol...

We're back! Season 5 of the Glow Journal Podcast begins on Feb 1st. Make sure you're subscribed! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Season 4, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder and CEO of Floral Street, Michelle Feeney.  Michelle is, quite literally, a beauty industry icon.  Headhunted by Estée Lauder Companies in 1993, Michelle is largely responsible for turning Crème de la Mer into a cult product before becoming Vice President, Global Communications of MAC Cosmetics, helping to increase the company’s net worth from $65 million to $1 billion in less than 7 years bringing mainstream awareness to...

To celebrate 100 EPISODES of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Paula’s Choice, Paula Begoun.  Paula was my first ever international guest back in 2018, Season 1, Episode 3, and I still receive messages about that episode to this very day.  To celebrate 100 episodes and 4 seasons, we’re taking it back to basics and doing what Paula does best- myth busting. Should skin flake when we first try retinol? If a product makes our skin tingle, does that mean it’s...

In this Bonus Episode of the Glow Journal podcast, Trinny London founder and CEO Trinny Woodall returns! It has been three years since Trinny’s last visit to Australia and her last appearance on the podcast, so I headed to her suite on her most recent trip to catch up on three years worth of beauty and business (and for Trinny and I to do our skincare routines together, which you can see on my TikTok).  Since we last caught up, Trinny has launched an entire skincare range, which she trialled...

In episode ninety nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Tribe Skincare, Kayla Houlihan.  Kayla Houlihan understands first hand just how debilitating acne and inflammation can be to a person’s confidence. It was her understanding of the impact skin heath can have on one’s confidence that led Kayla to study skin, and what drove her to want to help clients in clinic.  The idea for Tribe Skincare came to Kayla whilst running her own skin clinic in Geelong....

In episode ninety eight of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the Chief Commercial Officer of Alpha-H, Tina Randello.  Alpha-H was founded in a garage on the Gold Coast, in 1995, by the late Michelle Doherty.  In the year 2000, Michelle launched Liquid Gold- a glycolic acid based resurfacing treatment the likes of which had never been seen before by the global beauty industry. Liquid Gold soon developed a cult following, elevating Alpha-H from Queensland’s best kept skin...

In episode ninety seven of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder CEO of Vintner’s Daughter, April Gargiulo.  The idea for Vintner’s Daughter came to April when she was working on her family’s vineyard. She was pregnant and, as many do, was studying the ingredients lists of each product in her existing skincare routine. April wanted a product born from a similar ethos to that of winemaking- one centred around quality and craftsmanship, and how those factors drive...

In episode ninety six of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Holme Beauty, Hilary Holmes.  Hilary discovered her love of makeup in her final year of high school, and although she tells me that initial affinity for beauty may not have come from the right place, to this day she connects to the transformative energy she felt upon that discovery.  Despite her love of makeup, Hilary studied and worked in agriculture. In 2009 the recession hit, and after being made...

In episode ninety five of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founder of Korres, Lena Korres.  When Dr Clara Hurst opened Perth skin clinic, Blanc, having relocated to Australia from the UK, she sought the help of a pharmacist to compound prescription skincare to her clients. That pharmacist told her that, just down the road, there was a GP prescribing the very same ingredients and having them compounded into solutions for her patients. That GP was Dr Deb Cohen-Jones....

In episode ninety four of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founder of Korres, Lena Korres.  Korres began as the oldest herbal apothecary in Athens, Greece. Whilst working there, George Korres began formulating topical cosmetics for his friends and loyal customers of the pharmacy, and word quickly began to spread. Lena Philippou, now Lena Philippou-Korres, a chemical engineer, commenced work at the pharmacy in 1996 and, following consumer demand, the KORRES brand was...

In episode ninety three of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Joanna Vargas, Joanna Vargas.  Joanna Vargas tells me that caregiving is her love language.  Following a number of years working as an esthetician, Joanna had grown tired of seeing clients given the same facials and being sold the same products. Driven by a wish to create her own treatments and be guided by each individual’s needs, Joanna opened her first namesake spa in New York City in 2006.  By...

In episode ninety two of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Conserving Beauty, Natassia Nicolao. Natassia, 28 years old and a qualified biochemist, spent the first years of her career immersed in the beauty industry, working across brands like Swisse and Elle Macpherson’s WelleCo, counting the latter as a valued mentor. Following her time at Swisse, Natassia was one of only five offered a position at private equity fund The Foundry, a fund that exists to...

July 14 is Bastille Day, the national day of France, so to celebrate we’re heroing all things French beauty- and who better to help us than the co-founder of French Beauty Co, Emilie Roberson.  French skincare sales, as a category, are reportedly up 25% in the last quarter, and the appetite for hard-to-find French brands and products has never been higher. In this bonus episode of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts discover the secrets to mastering French girl beauty.  This episode is...

In episode ninety one of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Susanne Kaufmann, Susanne Kaufmann. Beauty has been something of a constant thread woven throughout Susanne Kaufmann’s life. Growing up in the westernmost part of Austria, Susanne’s earliest memories are of the beauty rituals she shared with her grandmother of a weekend as a child. Her family owned a hotel, with Susanne growing to become the fifth generation hotelier to run the retreat, and in the mid...

In episode ninety of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the co-founder and Creative Director of Resoré, Evah Jackson.  With a background in fashion, Evah Jackson has always had a fascination with aesthetics. In 2014, she co-founded Harpers Project, one of the country’s largest online homewares stores and one of the very first to really capitalise on the power of social media.  A few years post-launch, Evah and the Harper’s Project team decided to extend their furniture...

In episode eighty nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the CEO and co-founder of Nécessaire, Randi Christiansen.  Randi Christiansen has always been interested in the intersection of business and beauty.  Having studied business at university and taking a particular interest in entrepreneurship and small business growth, Randi found herself in a role at Estée Lauder Companies, where she would remain for next 15 years. Despite being a major multinational, Randi was able...

In episode eighty eight of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Kissed Earth, Rachael Finch. Rachael Finch grew up in Townsville as an athlete, with little to no interest in beauty until she was about 15. It was at this age that she was encouraged to enter a modelling competition, which she won, and subsequently spent the next four years travelling for her new career- first to Brisbane, and then internationally, an experience she describes as changing her...

In episode eighty seven of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of tbh Skincare, Rachael Tyers. In 2019, Rachel Tyers was working in marketing for a B2B company that sold medical devices. It was during this time that Rachael was made aware of a patented topical skincare lab sample and, having struggled with acne for the better part of a decade, decided it was worth trying. Rachael read studies, learned the science behind the formula, and saw real results in her own...

Do all skin types need the same sun protection? How often should we actually be getting a skin check? Do we really all need sun protection in winter? In this bonus episode of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts is joined by by pharmacist and Medical Communications Manager at L’Oreal Australia, Rachel McAdam. Rachel’s role sees her provide L’Oreal brands with insight into consumer skin health needs from a formulations perspective, so I thought she would be the perfect person to answer...

In episode eighty six of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Larry King Haircare, Larry King.  Larry King’s earliest ambition was to work in the film industry, a dream that saw him spend much of his early life watching many, many movies. It’s a task he encourages his staff to partake in today, often setting them projects so they can understand the references to films and movie stars of eras passed that he weaves into his hairstyling work across runways, red...