Pretty Hard

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

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.

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. 

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/

@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.

"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

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

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. 

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.