The Confidence Lounge: Conversations that fuel your ambition & move your career forward.

Fear is expensive.

It costs you:

• Opportunities
• Visibility
• Money
• Growth

And most of the time…

You don’t even realize it’s fear.

You call it:

• “Overthinking”
• “Waiting until I’m ready”
• “Wanting to get it right”

But it’s not that.

👉 It’s fear of being seen.

In this episode, I’ll show you:⚡️ Why 70%+ of women experience this⚡️ How it’s keeping you stuck⚡️ And how to move through it in real time

Because confidence isn’t something you wait for.

It’s something you build.

🎧 Listen now.

And to get tools to support you in overcoming the fear that is holding you back, DM me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or ⁠Instagram⁠.

I am here to help.

Building my biggest vision…in the hardest season of my life.

This episode is one of the most personal I’ve ever recorded.

Behind the growth you’re seeing…

Behind the podcast hitting the top 2.5% globally…

Behind the expansion in my business…

There’s been grief.

There’s been pressure.

There’s been moments where my body has literally forced me to slow down.

And I’m learning something in real time: You don’t have to wait for life to feel perfect to step into your next level.

You can hold both.

Success and sadness.

Expansion and exhaustion.

Vision and uncertainty.

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of what this year has really looked like with my losing mom, my dad's declining health, my health, and the mantras that are carrying me through it all.

I’m also sharing where The Confidence Lounge is going next and asking for your voice in what we build together ⚡️

Because this isn’t just my podcast anymore.

It’s ours.

🎧 If you’ve ever felt like life is heavy...but you know you’re meant for more - this episode is for you.

⚡️ Send this to someone who needs it

⚡️ And come tell me: what do you want more of from this podcast?

→ Message me on LinkedIn

→ DM me on Instagram

→ Or email me directly at [email protected]

I’m listening. We’re building this together ⚡️

We thought we were done with Faces Behind Beauty Special Edition Podcast Series.

But then this conversation happened.

Right before Beauty Connection kicked off at Makeup in Los Angeles, I sat down with Morgan, Millie, and Urzsula from Berlin JANSY — our headline sponsor and a true standard of excellence in the beauty industry — to talk about something that doesn’t get enough attention:

Connection is the competitive advantage.

Behind every product on shelf is a room most people never see. A room filled with cross-functional collaboration, strong opinions, strategic decisions, rejection, resilience, and leadership under pressure.

In this episode, we unpack:

• ​What high-performing beauty teams understand that others don’t.
• ​What separates transactional contributors from strategic partners.
• ​What actually makes a product launch successful.
• ​What breaks down between development, packaging, and marketing.
• ​And how to build confidence when you’re the expert in the room.

Whether you work in beauty or not, this conversation is about the foundation of business:

• ​Relationships.
• ​Collaboration.
• ​And how you show up in the rooms that shape your future.

If you want to understand how industries actually move forward — this episode is for you.

Because it all starts with who’s in the room.

This episode feels like a full-circle moment for me.

Today in our final episode of the special edition Faces Behind Beauty podcast series, I’m sitting down with my very first boss, mentor, and one of the most influential leaders of my career - Carol Shaw, the visionary founder of LORAC Cosmetics.

Carol didn’t just build a beauty brand - she built standards.

She created LORAC by honoring a real, overlooked need: skin sensitivity. Long before the industry was paying attention, she listened closely, trusted her vision, and stayed rooted in why she was building - not what was trending.

This conversation is about so much more than makeup.

It’s about:

⚡️ Trusting your dream before there’s proof

⚡️ Building with integrity instead of noise

⚡️ Leadership that is firm, feminine, and deeply human

⚡️ Knowing when to build and when to let go

⚡️ What legacy really looks like beyond a logo

Carol gave me a seat at the table when I was 23, invested deeply in my growth, and modeled a level of excellence that shaped the leader I am today.

It is one of the greatest honors of my life to share this conversation and to close out the Faces Behind Beauty series with the woman where it all began.

This episode is for you if you’re building with purpose, navigating reinvention, or craving examples of women who lead with clarity, conviction, and heart.

🎧 Listen now and take this one in slowly.

⚡️Legacy work lives here⚡️

AND - If this episode resonates, share it with a woman in beauty who needs to hear it because mentorship and legacy are meant to be passed on.

In Episode 11 of the Faces Behind Beauty podcast series, I’m joined by ⁠Anne Laughlin⁠⁠ - who went from powerhouse roles at Estée Lauder, LVMH, and Marc Jacobs to co-founding Dillie and most recently, launching Sloane Studio, a brand, product marketing, and innovation studio at the forefront of beauty tech.

Anne is a beauty industry innovator who continues to redefine what’s possible at the intersection of creativity, technology, and brand building.

We originally bonded as podcast hosts, and from our very first conversation, all we could talk about was the future of the beauty industry.

The truth is - no one has a clear answer for where beauty is headed and that is what we are here to change.

Anne is actively building what’s next & using AI to innovate powerfully in beauty.

Since recording this episode, Anne has gone on to found ⁠Sloane Studio⁠ - helping consumer brands leverage AI & AEO as a creative engine, not a replacement for human storytelling.

In this episode, not only are we talking beauty AI, we also dive into what it really looks like to reinvent your career in an emerging space after years of success on the corporate side of beauty.

You’ll hear about:

• ​What the future of the beauty industry actually looks like as AI continues to evolve
• ​How AI is influencing the beauty industry right now
• ​What it takes to confidently pivot from corporate success into entrepreneurship
• ​How failure can become one of your most powerful tools for growth and innovation

This conversation is honest, forward-thinking, and a must-listen for anyone curious about what’s next for beauty and how to evolve with it.

If this episode resonates, share it with someone in beauty who needs to hear this conversation, and don’t forget to rate and review the podcast - this helps more women find these stories to fuel our confidence & keep our success growing.

LINKS:

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-michelle-laughlin/⁠⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.sosloane.com/⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/so___sloane?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@so_sloane?_r=1&_t=ZP-93XZaCMAeEA⁠

Substack: ⁠https://sosloane.substack.com/⁠

Podcast: ⁠https://www.sosloane.com/so-sloane-podcast

So many of you have been DM’ing me saying:

“WHAT actually happened in that room?”

“I have major FOMO.”

“I wish I could’ve been there.”

This episode is my behind-the-scenes download.

I’m sharing:

⚡️ Why I created Beauty Career Lab LIVE in the first place

⚡️ What it really took to bring this vision to life (mentally, emotionally, energetically)

⚡️ What was happening before we ever walked into the room

⚡️ What shifted once we were all together - the conversations, the connections, the realizations

⚡️ The power of integrity, self-trust, and why not burning bridges matters in an industry this small

⚡️ What women walked away with that had nothing to do with job titles and everything to do with confidence and clarity

If you were in the room and want to relive the magic, this episode is for you.

If you weren’t there and want to understand why the energy was so electric - this episode is for you.

If you just want to sit in a high-vibe, grounded, career-expanding space for a minute - this episode is definitely for you.

Tune in. There is so much here for you ⚡️

🎧 Listen to the Beauty Career Lab LIVE recap now

LINKS:

Join us for Part 2 of Beauty Career Lab Live at MULA on 3/4 at 4:10pm: ⁠Register for free here⁠

Join our next Beauty Career Lab Virtual Session: ⁠Register here⁠

Welcome to episode 10 of our special edition Faces Behind Beauty Podcast Series!

Today, I’m sitting down with Hana Holecko - to this day, the best hire I’ve ever made and one of the most brilliant innovation minds in this industry.

Hana is a 3x patent holder, former founder, and now a strategic innovation consultant + fractional head of innovation and in this conversation, she tells the truth most people don’t want to say out loud.

We talk about:

⚡️ the heartbreak no one warns founders about

⚡️ why copying competitors isn’t innovation

⚡️ what makes a product actually deserve to exist

⚡️ the founder myth of “once it launches, it runs itself”

⚡️ and how motherhood clarified her priorities, focus, and power

This episode is for every woman in beauty who has ever:
▪️ dreamed of launching a brand or consultancy
▪️ questioned if the timing was right
▪️ wondered why innovation feels so hard
▪️ or realized success doesn’t look the way she was told it would

If you’re building something, evolving something, or letting something go - this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

This one is special & I cannot wait for you to meet one of my absolute favorite women in the world.

🎧 Listen now
💬 Share with a woman in beauty who needs this conversation
🤍 Follow + connect with Hana here:
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanaholecko/
👉 Website: https://www.hanaholeckoconsulting.com/

What happens when you’re leading at the highest level of your career while quietly carrying grief, responsibility, pressure, and everything no one sees?

This conversation is for the woman who is:

– leading at a high level

– expected to show up composed, capable, and confident anyway

– exhausted from holding it all together

In Episode 9 of our special edition Faces Behind Beauty podcast series, I’m honored to be joined by Shauna Lahiri, President of No Makeup Makeup.

(And ICYMI - NMM is also Beauty Career Lab LIVE's founding sponsor + the sponsor for today's episode & we are SO GRATEFUL for their support!)

Together, we talk about the kind of leadership no one trains you for...

How to lead with power, clarity, and trust when your personal life is heavy - when you’re navigating sick parents, identity shifts, burnout, or a season that’s asking more of you than ever before.

This is not a conversation about pushing through.

It’s about staying powerful without hardening, and resilient without abandoning yourself.

In this powerhouse conversation, we explore:

• What it really means to surrender fear without losing authority or credibility
• Why resilience (not confidence) is the skill that carries you through hard seasons
• The hidden cost of muting intuition, empathy, and emotion in male-dominated leadership spaces
• How to lead when you’re expected to be unshakable -even while life is shaking you

This isn’t a highlight reel.

It’s a real conversation between two women who’ve lived it.

Shauna has worked at the highest levels of the beauty industry, helping build category-defining brands including Meaningful Beauty, JLo Beauty, and Guthy-Renker.

Her expertise spans brand and performance marketing, e-commerce, product development, operations, and leadership.

But what makes this episode special is her willingness to share the raw reality of navigating senior leadership for some of the biggest beauty brands in the world - while caring for critically ill parents.

I have so much respect for who Shauna is as a leader and how she shows up during hard seasons.

She proves that power doesn’t disappear when life gets heavy - it refines.

If you’re the woman who carries everything at work, at home, emotionally - this episode will feel like validation, permission, and grounding medicine all at once.

🎧 Let’s get into it.

👉 If this resonates, please share this episode with a woman in your network who needs to hear she’s not alone.

LINKS:

🔗 Learn more about No Makeup Makeup: https://nomakeupmakeup.com/

🔗 Connect with Shauna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunalahiri/

PS: Loved this episode? Put yourself in the room with us.

If this conversation resonated with you - this is your invitation.

Join us at Beauty Career Lab LIVE on January 24th.

This is where the future of beauty is being built - starting with conversations like this.

You’ll experience the incredible event that No Makeup Makeup has proudly sponsored to help bring this vision to life.

If you want to be in the room with us - learning, connecting, and leading alongside the women shaping what’s next...

👉 Join us here: ⁠https://www.soulmakeup.com/beautycareerlablive⁠

⚡️We can’t wait to welcome you in⚡️

Welcome to episode eight of the special edition Faces Behind Beauty podcast series, inside The Confidence Lounge.

Let me ask you something...

What would change if you didn’t have to choose between being kind and being powerful?

What if leadership didn’t require hardening - but asked you to become more grounded, more honest, more you?

What if telling the truth - even when it’s uncomfortable - was actually the most loving thing you could do?

This episode is about that kind of leadership.

The kind that builds people, not just companies.

The kind that protects teams, not egos.

The kind that holds a standard of excellence - with heart.

Today’s guest is Kim Wileman.

Co-Founder & CEO of No Makeup Makeup.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• ​Building strong teams as the foundation of long-term success
• ​Setting and upholding a true standard of excellence
• ​The value of staying true to yourself in an industry driven by noise
• ​Leading with integrity & honesty when it would be easier not to
• ​Empowering the next generation of beauty without repeating outdated norms
• ​And what it really means to leave the industry better than you found it

One of the things I respect most about Kim is that she believes in investing in women in the beauty industry - not just with words, but with action.

And this is why I am honored to partner with Kim as founding brand partner and featured speaker at Beauty Career Lab LIVE.

Having No Makeup Makeup as a sponsor, and Kim on stage, isn’t just support for an event.

It’s a statement about the future of beauty - who we elevate, who we invest in, and who we build with.

Thank you to No Makeup Makeup for sponsoring this episode and Beauty Career Lab LIVE, and for being a true champion of women in business and evolving beauty careers.

Because this conversation is exactly how confidence is built in real life - through leadership modeled in action.

Listening to women like Kim helps you raise your own standards.

For how you lead.

For how you build teams.

For how you make decisions that last.

This episode isn’t about becoming someone else.

It’s about becoming more grounded in who you already are and leading from there.

Let’s get into it.

🔗LINKS:

Learn more about Kim Wileman and the work she’s doing to evolve beauty from the inside out:

No Makeup Makeup: https://nomakeupmakeup.com/

Kim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimwileman/

Kim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimmykimkimkim/

Loved this episode? Put yourself in the room with us.

If this conversation resonated with you - this is your invitation.

Join us at Beauty Career Lab LIVE on January 24.

This is where the future of beauty is being built - starting with conversations like this.

Kim will be on stage with us and you’ll experience the incredible event that No Makeup Makeup has proudly sponsored to help bring this vision to life.

If you want to be in the room with us - learning, connecting, and leading alongside the women shaping what’s next...

👉 Join us here: https://www.soulmakeup.com/beautycareerlablive

⚡️We can’t wait to welcome you in⚡️

Episode 7 of the special edition Faces Behind Beauty Podcast Series is filled with firsts.

For the first time ever, I fully crowd-sourced the interview questions.

I wanted this conversation to be built with you, not just for you.

And in another first, I brought back the only guest I’ve ever invited twice inside The Confidence Lounge.

And she is, Debbie Johnson.

Debbie has over 20 years of recruiting experience, 15 of them dedicated exclusively to the beauty industry.

She’s helped shape careers across marketing, digital, product development, sales, and operations & has seen firsthand what actually gets candidates hired and what quietly holds them back.

Together, we answered the questions you asked:

• How do you stand out in a crowded job market?
• What are the best questions to ask during an interview?
• Is there something a candidate has said or done that made them an immediate hire?
• Is it more valuable to have your LinkedIn updated or your resume?
• What should you say (and not say) in job interviews?
• How do you walk into an interview feeling confident instead of over-prepared and anxious?

This wasn’t about hacks or trends.

It was about clarity, positioning, and confidence.

Debbie also shares what she’s seeing right now in the beauty hiring market and how candidates can stop trying to be everything and start being memorable.

She’s also one of our featured speakers at Beauty Career Lab LIVE on 1/24, and this episode is a true preview of the depth she brings into the room.

If you’ve been feeling invisible, unsure how to stand out, or stuck in over-preparation mode - this episode will change how you think about your career.

🎧 Listen now.

And thank you for building this episode with me.

Make sure to share so other women get to experience the magic we co-created together.

LINKS:https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiejohnsonpremier/
https://premierexecutiverecruiting.com/

PS: If this episode sparked something in you, just know - listening is only the beginning. The real magic happens in the room where women speak truth, take up space, and rise together.

If that’s the energy you’re craving, I’d love to see you at Beauty Career Lab LIVE on 1/24 in LA.

The first-ever event dedicated to helping women in beauty rewrite the rules, redefine leadership, and shape the future of the industry.

🎟️ Join us here: ⁠www.soulmakeup.com/beautycareerlablive⁠