On this episode of On The Rise.

If you're not a well-rounded makeup artist,

if you can't pick up any brush and be able to do any skin tone,

any age, any gender,

you have to give your all because there's so many people out there that can do

makeup, but there's not enough people that are true makeup artists.

I truly feel that.

Welcome. Welcome. Welcome to the On The Rise podcast,

a space for some authentic dialogue, some

and just some good old fashioned homespun. I'm your host, Dawn Speaks

Welcome, welcome. Welcome back to this second episode of on the rise podcast.

We started this podcast in a space that I feel is so important and that's

discussing diversity, equity and inclusion.

And our premier episode featured the fabulous Danessa Myricks, makeup artist,

extraordinaire. And I am just in awe of how many of you picked it up.

You listen, you engage. And that's what we want here.

We wanna start a conversation that just continues on topics that really matter.

So thank you.

Thank you to all of you who are listening and subscribing and sharing and

continuing the conversation.

I am happy to say that this podcast is now available on Spotify,

Amazon, and apple podcast. And for those of you who are hearing impaired,

we do upload a transcript for you to follow on the audioboom platform.

Thank you for listening. All right, well, listen,

it's time to continue our conversation with this. Week's amazing guest.

So let's go.

I wanna introduce you to Nydia Figueroa.

And she is a gorgeous, beautiful, vibrant woman.

She's a Latina woman. She's a beauty expert.

She's a global educator.

She's a beauty director for fashion God's magazine,

celebrity makeup artist.

And she's worked in the Miss New Jersey and Miss Universe

pageant circuit. She's uh,

done Victoria's Secret fashion shows the Grammys, the Emmys, you name it.

This young woman has done it all and seen it all in her 15 years of experience.

And I've been so honored to get to know Nadia.

And I knew she would be the exact right fit for our

conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion within the beauty industry.

And of course I wasted no time getting into the thick of it. One,

I wanna know what the industry was like when you first came in, like right.

Were you seeing representations of yourself? And secondly,

the second part of my question is,

and how were you treated in the industry when you first started out?

Yeah, that's actually pretty easy questions. I remember that very clearly. Um,

so I was part of a brand that was more on the

inclusivity side. Yeah. Which was helpful,

but I did a lot of fashion shows. So I was, I, I did,

I did multiple seasons of fashion week throughout my career.

And it was actually heartbreaking backstage I'm I'm sure you probably heard this

or you haven't,

but this is something that is like so sad where there were models

coming in,

bringing their own foundation because makeup artists didn't have their color in

their kit. Almost every fashion show.

I went to almost every single one.

I would be taking all of the women of color because I made it a mission to

be able to do makeup on women that looked like me or,

or deeper because there was times that I was the only woman of color backstage

doing makeup period. Um, because I truly felt like,

and I actually had this conversation with another,

a few other Latina makeup artist recently is, um,

we were always told to be quiet, to not be loud, not wear my lipstick. I mean,

you guys can't see me right now, but I have this bright FIY red lipstick.

It looks.

Gorgeous. She's gorgeous.

<Laugh>. And, um, we were just told to just, you know,

not be so loud, not be out there, not be confident, not, you know,

but when it was time to do someone to make,

but that was a deeper complexion and everybody was having trouble doing their

makeup. They would call me and say, Hey,

Nydia can you help me out with this model? And it,

and this model would be in tears or sometimes they'll be like, I'm ready.

I have my own foundation. I have my own hairbrush. I have my own desk ready. So,

um, a lot of that was happening and I,

I really still feel like it's still happening. Um,

but it was running rampant back then. Um,

as far as when I first started, I did work at a makeup counter. So,

uh, it was always a learning process for many people. Um,

but not there wasn't many makeup artists out there working in the field.

A lot of them worked at makeup counters, or they were really big makeup artists,

you know, um, that were in the industry right now.

There's so many makeup artists that are self taught, you know, YouTube.

And you would think that that would help them with servicing women of color,

but they're still such a big miss.

And there's so many people who just can't and it's not fair.

It's not fair that it should be such a hard thing for artists to do and to

understand the importance of it. Yeah.

But when I first started definitely was a really big problem when it came to

color matching and making them look like, like them, you know.

From your perspective as somebody who's Latina

and who, you know, who identifies as a woman of color, like,

and somebody who's been in this industry for the length of time that you've been

in, has it changed? Has there, do you see, you know,

more diversity and inclusion?

Um, I definitely have seen change.

I don't think we're done yet with the work that has to be done in this industry.

I still think we have a long way to go,

but I definitely can say it has been, um,

a big leap as far as inclusion and,

like when it comes to certain brands. Um, but,

we still have a long way to go. That's definitely what I have to say about that.

I.

<Laugh>.

I saw the face, so, and others can't see your face cause this is podcast.

But tell me what that was like when you say,

cause I get the long way to go. What do you see?

I think maybe what I can ask is what's the gap.

I think the gap is when it comes to many brands,

as far as foundation colors, they're adding darker shades,

but the majority of the shades are still fair to medium skin tones.

So to me,

it's showing that they're doing it just to do it because it may be a trend or

they have to, but not because it's the right thing to do. I am happy.

There's a lot of, uh,

brands like lime life that has came out with an array and an amazing, uh,

color range. But there's, it's just not enough of it. I feel. And,

um, I still feel like a lot of makeup artists are not well versed in,

in how to do makeup on women of color. Yeah. Still to this day.

Okay.

Y'all I just need to take a moment here right now and speak to something you

may not have picked up on. You might have. And I don't know if you did,

did you notice the hesitation from Nydia? See, you couldn't see her, but you,

she and I were, you know, were on screen together. Right.

And I could see her and you couldn't see her, but I could see.

And what she was saying was definitely gentler

than what her face conveyed now. Why is that? Well, you know,

one of the things I think about when it comes to beauty

and people of color and looking at all of these aspects

is to really look at what is actually happening

and what we actually see taking place in the world.

What we're really talking about here.

And for those of you who are in the beauty industry, the makeup industry,

you will have noted that something really palpable

took place in 2017.

And that was the launch of the Fenty beauty line in 2017.

And when Fenty beauty dropped the scene,

it came out with like 40 foundation shapes. And that was unheard of,

especially for a line, you know, in its first launch.

And then right behind that other high end and mid-range

brands began to launch their new complexion lines.

It was like literally a train rolling through the station,

like every week with some new range of shades

from some product line. Right. And that also included them expanding,

you know, their product lines as well. And I, you know,

I was reading an article from Maimoonah Shafqat

and one of the things that Maimoonah points to is that she said,

I love to think that they did this because there was some desire to be

inclusive, but the real reason was like most likely for profit, you know?

And so when Fenty dropped its line in 2017,

then all these other brands just became ferocious,

like beast at the trough to get in on what was

taking place in the beauty industry.

And that included expanding shade ranges,

because why we wanna take advantage of this multibillion dollar industry that's

out there. And so even, you know what Maimoonah points to,

and it showed up for me as well, is that, you know, I thought to myself, well,

shouldn't we be happy that those, you know,

companies are expanding their shades and shouldn't we be happy that that's,

you know, now showing up and shouldn't that be what this is all about?

And the answer to all of that is hell to the no that's insufficient.

Like, yeah, I may like finding my shade,

but that's insufficient.

Cause if all it took was a shade to have people be settled or to have this

be complete, then that would be one thing, except we're not talking about that.

We're actually really talking about the fact that beyond

shade,

there is an absence of inclusivity in the

beauty industry.

And so that face that Nydia made to me that day when we were having this

conversation spoke loudly than any words, what she was saying was,

yeah, there may be the shades,

but I still don't have the experience of being included.

I still don't have the experience of being really thought of,

I still don't have the experience of being heard or acknowledged or understood.

And that's what she was speaking to.

Even from my perspective, as somebody who's not been like, you know,

makeup is a very new world for me, you know, I'm not a makeup artist,

I'm not a professional makeup artist. I,

I could do my own makeup and that's about it. But when I look,

you know, and, and even when I researched and read, you know,

one of the things I noticed was here we are, you know, it's 2022,

and what I've noticed,

especially in the wake of black lives matter, or,

and even in the wake of George Floyd,

like a lot of companies got really like on fire.

So to speak about, we,

we believe in this and we believe in diversity and we believe in inclusion and

everybody put the verbiage everywhere.

You looked on every company's website, you could see it,

but then nothing in my opinion or from my perspective,

none of it stuck. No. What do you, what would you,

what do you say to that? What do you say?

Like how can brands get better about really

being inclusive or being diverse beyond adding more

shade ranges or something like that?

Yeah. I,

I strongly believe that they need to have more than one person of color

on their team. As far as product development,

marketing a strategy, you know,

they need to have an entire team of people that are from different

backgrounds, as far as color, color tones,

their backgrounds in life, their experiences,

that what I'm feeling and what I see from corporate America with makeup brands,

I have been involved with makeup brands on the corporate side is that they're,

they don't have that voice.

They see it and they're trying to emulate what needs to be done,

but they don't have the right people in the trenches to make it happen.

That is so good. I like that the right people in the trenches.

Yes.

It's really good that you say that about the right people in the trenches,

but let's say they get the right people, but it's still not moving.

What then is, I guess my thing is like, what's the recourse.

When I look at myself as somebody who's an empowerment officer for a

skincare and cosmetics company, one of the things I real, you know,

like one of the first things,

when I came on board to my company was I said,

what I want to do is make an impact for women of color.

I want women of color to have an experience of being included.

I want them to have an experience of, we see you.

I want them to have an experience of,

we acknowledge you and not like I'm not talking about preferential treatment.

I'm talking about, I see you, your contribution, who you are and what,

and what you do and how it matters. Yeah. Just from your point of view,

why do you think that's such a missing for companies?

Why do you think that that is the case where like what I'm talking to,

I'm not the only person saying this, but why is it such a doggone missing?

Uh, you know, I, I think honestly, and you know, I adore you so dearly.

I don't think people have the heart that you have and the passion that you have

about really being a pioneer for women of color in this industry.

You're not a makeup artist,

and you're still wanting to see the change as a woman,

as a reflection of what you need as a woman of color. I truly feel that way.

And I think it's a numbers game personally, when it comes to brands,

if a brand has never sold, this is my opinion, the brand has never sold,

you know, a, a dark, rich, beautiful shade of brown,

uh, you know,

or a really deep complexion they're they're and they're trying to match the

demographic of their clients.

So if the lightest shade has been selling a lot for many years,

they probably don't see the value in adding a darker shade.

If they feel like it's not gonna sell, that's what I truly feel.

They don't see that there's someone pioneering and pushing and saying, Hey,

we see you. And there's a need out there, truly a need statistically,

there is need. That's why there's so many brands that are thriving.

They would do it, but they just, to them, it's all a numbers game.

It's not a morals game. It's not a game of heart.

It's not a game of what women and men really need. Um,

especially people that are not seen.

As you were talking. Something just popped up for me. You know,

I think that one of the things I recognize for myself is that

diversity in...one of the things, when we talk about diversity and beauty,

it really does mean it's the recognizing of all ethnicities,

everything from light to dark, it's the,

it's the recognizing of race and culture and skin

tone and body types and yeah. Backgrounds, you know,

and recognizing that all of those are beautiful and all of those have value.

And it also means giving some, you know, giving space,

giving opportunity to all of that richness. Right.

And then to your point, you said something that struck me, product development,

marketing, like all of that speaks to it.

I'm wondering then, if you know that, and that's so clear,

but you did say it's a numbers game.

Like who's the biggest constituency of buyers.

Is that what you're speaking to when you're talking about demographic?

Exactly. So like,

let's see a brand that does never cater to a woman of color in the correct way,

you know,

instead of introducing more colors and maybe risking them coming at

a loss, they're just saying, well, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

That's how I feel. Instead of thinking outside the box and saying,

you know what, we need to be extending our shades so we can make more money.

It's almost like,

and that's how I feel like when I see brands come out with makeup that they

obviously put together, pulled together, you know, foundations are too red,

there's no foundations for anyone with a olive skin tone. It's, it's just,

it's not working. You know?

So that means they're throwing it together because they have to be a part of the

trend of what's going on, which I truly feel like it's a trend.

It they're just trying to keep in the trends. It's a marketing move.

I don't truly feel like they want to really find the right shades for every

woman that's out there in the world.

I had mentioned before about, you know, this aspect of, you know,

beauty companies, just giving lip service to a trend, you know,

just, and, and any points to it as well,

and what it actually looks like or what it would take to

actually become inclusive and diverse in their products and in their

marketing. And one of the things that showed up for me is like, you know,

so listen,

there are a number of companies that could certainly be considered part of that

inclusive and diverse category. And for many of you listening out there,

you may already know who they are,

and I'm not gonna name names and do all of that,

but you have a sense of who they are. I wanna be clear though.

And earmark something that I have noticed.

Diversity and inclusion are not synonymous terms.

They don't mean the same thing. See if we're talking about inclusion,

inclusion is the practice of providing equal access to

opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded

and, or marginalized, and whether it's their excluded, you know,

based on the fact that they may have a physical or a,

a mental disability or their, uh,

members of some other marginalized group. See,

when we talk about inclusion, I'm talking about inclusion, includes

creating the environment where success can absolutely be achieved.

And to be clear, y'all inclusion is a real doggone slippery slope.

You know, I'm at the end of, uh,

my diversity and inclusion course with Cornell university, you know,

I'm doing this course online.

And one of the things that my professor says is that, you know,

to define inclusion is like trying to make jello stick to the wall.

See that's an ever evolving area and it demand

that one keeps their eye fixed on it diligently. See,

you don't get to be like, I dropped 10 new shades. So now we're inclusive.

No, honey, that's not it. So I'm not talking about more shades.

I'm talking about inclusivity on the level of product and ingredient

transparency. I'm talking about making products accessible and affordable.

I'm talking about the representation of underserved communities.

I'm talking about beauty across different ages and, you know,

age ranges and generations I'm talking about,

even I'm talking about gender-neutral beauty products,

I'm talking about male personal care, that's inclusivity,

not just shade ranges.

And I think that one of the things that's happening in the beauty industry is

that it's getting collapsed. Like we're diverse and inclusive. No,

those are not even a little bit the same thing.

They're not even if I'm talking about diversity,

I'm talking about that practice. You know,

even the dictionary is like the practice or quality of including or

involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of

different genders, sexual orientations, et cetera.

See how those aren't even the same thing.

Inclusion includes the experience

of belonging, the experience of being thought of,

I said this before the experience of being heard, acknowledged, understood,

not just, I see a face that looks reminiscent of me. No,

I have the experience that when I look in the direction of a company I'm being

heard, I'm being thought of I'm being taken care of. I'm acknowledged

again, that's inclusivity,

again, not just shade ranges,

hashtag whatever company that might be that thinks is just shade

ranges. <laugh> what,

from your perspective, and I know you did mention a few things about marketing,

what companies can do and, and all of that.

Are there ways that you can see from your view that

the beauty industry,

do you see ways that the beauty industry actually is becoming more inclusive?

Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, I see it with LimeLife. Of course,

I see it with the collaboration with Vanessa and, you know,

really coming out with a bigger range of shades.

It was like the, the nail,

like that sealed the deal for me when it came to being a part of this brand,

it was so important for me to be able to retail and show clients

and be able as a,

as a makeup artist with a really important reputation that I've built so many

years to be able to retail makeup to clients that match them.

And a lot of my clients are, I have an array of clients,

but a lot of them are women of color. So for sure,

I do see some other makeup brands that are mostly developed by women of color

that are doing it and are, are making strides. And, and,

but I just, I'm just,

I really want it to be where it's every single makeup brand. Yeah.

Not just a certain brand by a certain person, a woman of color.

I want it to be where every single brand that's out there. And,

and even something I saw recently is,

was a girl that was going into a drug store, trying to look for her foundation.

It could not find one color, not one that matched her face. And it's just like,

how alienated would you feel? Yes,

you go into a store and you can't find something that matches you,

that you just wouldn't feel as beautiful as everyone else.

But I do feel like that we've gotten better. And I, I am gonna say again,

there's still a long ways to go,

but we've definitely have made progress on a broader spectrum where more brands

have developed, especially a lot of small businesses, small indie brands.

That wasn't something that was big before. It was always that one brand,

that second brand that, that took over the world when it came to makeup.

But now there's smaller businesses that are coming in. And, and,

and I'm really glad that, um, bigger companies that are worldwide,

like LimeLife have came in and,

and made the step to have people like you and to have their beauty guide and to

have come in and, and really make a difference and, and make a stamp.

And I just can't wait till we take over the world and people can see,

everyone can see that LimeLife is just incredible when it comes to being

inclusive.

I really love that. I mean, not just because I'm here at LimeLife, but,

you know, I, I think one of the things that stands out for me as I,

you know, I've been doing a lot of work around, um, diversity,

equity and inclusion. And I have my own thoughts about that,

but I'm gonna set that aside for a second, but one of the things I've,

when we talk about inclusivity, you know, of course there's always,

what's right. There always is like, you know, people of color.

But then I also started to think there were other things to be thinking about

when we talk about inclusivity, you know, we're talking about, you know,

there's a whole, or let me say it another way.

There's people who still are excluded when we talk about these conversations of

inclusivity, right? Yeah. Not just based on color, but we're talking about men,

you know, like the whole world of male, personal care,

beauty routines, gender neutral, uh, the,

the thing you talked about, which is the,

the shade ranges for people of color that's, you know, right.

Beauty across generations, like, are we including those people who are in the,

the older sect, you know? Yeah. Um,

the other thing I really just love about not just

about lime life,

but a number I would say of other companies who are doing better in when we talk

about inclusivity, because I think we get,

we get a little granular when we talk about inclusivity,

we just like limited to, about being people of color.

But it's also about part of being an inclusive brand is being transparent.

What's in your bucket, what's in your product,

that kind of inclusivity that, you know, a,

a company that's about beauty initiatives. You know,

one of the things I do love about the work that I get to do here at, uh,

LimeLife is that I get to create initiatives that allow

for number of people to participate beauty guides and their allies.

It's not just, you know, beauty gods of color it's, you know,

and their allies, those people who advocate for stand for committed to,

you know, that there's a whole, uh,

range of, you know, people included in these conversations.

And then really, you know, there's just all of those aspects. So I,

I think that I don't wanna be kind of derelict by saying,

just limiting it to women of color.

I also wanna include when we talk about inclusivity, all those elements as well,

and you did so great about pointing to that aspect about,

you know, the shade ranges and all of that,

because that's really that's one piece,

but then there are all these other pieces too.

Absolutely. I, I agree with you and I, and I,

I love that you said all of those things, cuz it's so important.

And I, I,

LimeLife really does such a great job when it comes to beauty across generations

because since makeup is just so trendy,

there's so many social media and this and that and, and,

and it's great because LimeLife does not fit into a box of one thing.

There's so many companies that just cater to one demographic.

And that also goes for people of different ages.

And I really feel like my life caters to all ages and it's not where

someone could come to the company and say, well, this,

this brand is too young for me. This brand is too mature for me.

It's just a well rounded, um,

feel when it comes to the marketing comes to the field team and the

beauty guides. And, um, I love it. I, I really, really do. And I agree that,

you know, there's so many other people besides women of,

of color that are in that, you know, that box of yeah.

That in that box, that, in that bucket, they fit in there.

Yeah.

I think you, I could talk with you all day. Me too,

but I do <laugh> Here we are at this point in time,

2022, and you know,

what would you say to those artists,

those makeup artists coming into this industry? What could,

if we're really gonna have an inclusive beauty industry,

it's gonna demand a certain type of person it's gonna demand. You know,

what would you say to those people coming into the industry?

What do they need to be bringing with them?

Or what do they need to be prepared to do or thinking about or looking to,

to implement, to transform the industry? What, what would you say to that,

that cohort coming in

address to the class of 20 you're addressed to the class of 2022.

So yeah, I know it sounds really cliche,

but I really wanna tell them to be the change,

be the change in the way that you

change someone else's lives. Because as a makeup artist,

you don't realize how much you can change someone's lives truly. Right?

So if you're gonna be a makeup artist, you're gonna be the best makeup artist.

You're gonna know everyone's skin tone. You're gonna understand color theory.

You're gonna understand different textures.

You're gonna understand people's needs people's social cues.

You can't just say, okay, this is what I wanna learn. I'm gonna focus on that.

And to me, you're not a true makeup artist.

If you're not a well-rounded makeup artist,

if you can't pick up any brush and be able to do any skin tone,

any age, any gender, you have to give your all,

because there's so many people out there that can do makeup,

but there's not enough people that are true makeup artists. I truly feel that.

That was hard hitting right there. Like you could do makeup,

don't make you a makeup artist, put a bell and a whistle on that.

That is yes. Amazing. I really get that. And that is,

that's like what I call responsible beauty, by the way, that's like responsible,

like responsible.

I love that.

Responsibility. Yeah. There's such a thing I might have just made that up,

but I really there.

Really cause I'm gonna use that now go. I love that.

Yes. Yeah. It's responsible beauty, you know,

like what can I be responsible for as somebody in this industry?

And I'm, you know, like I said, at the beginning, I'm not a makeup artist.

I learned makeup as I went, you know,

and I was one of those people who struggled with, you know,

going into a store and finding something that spoke to me.

I remember very clearly like, you know,

high school and my senior prom and going to some makeup counter.

And I remember that the woman, she put something on me, I looked so chalky.

I was like a whole other shade. And I'm a, you know, you never see me.

I'm a dark skin chocolate sister. And like,

I just remember my mother, who's not a make, was not a makeup person.

Herself was like, what in the world? And like we had to pat it,

the makeup off of me and, you know, tone it down and smooth it out.

And you know, it just, I, I had a, and the thing was I had a dream,

like it would be, I'd be like this glamorous looking thing. And I was just like,

it was heartbreaking. But here's the thing I discovered though, you know,

as time went on and I started to dip into makeup for my own

personal, you know, benefit,

I started to really find out what worked for me.

But that also was because I had people who were willing to teach me and,

and guide me through the process of makeup. And now, you know,

when it comes to makeup, what I'm really thrilled about is like

what's available and it's not the end all be all,

but there is something way more available at this juncture in the game

than it was when I was 17, which, oh yeah. With 30 years ago I was 17.

And oh, I just said that 30 years ago.

Whoa. Well, you're looking good, Dawn. You're looking good <laugh>.

I'm, I'm keeping it together. Yes.

But really I'm,

I am proud of what the industry looks like now,

and that is inside of, you know, what something you just spoke to,

which is really good. That's that, you know, that's that Mahatma Gandhi quote,

be the change that you wish to see. Yeah. You know, like,

and really advocating for that people, makeup artists,

whoever you may be that you be that kind of change. So yes.

It's I love it. I love it.

Nydia it has been a pleasure having you.

You, oh my gosh.

Tonight, like it's been a pleasure having you on the podcast.

Thank.

You. Just.

Being with you,

having you share and really bring your perspective of what it is to be

a makeup artist and really, you know,

kind of still we're cracking the code. Right.

Cause there's no finite answer about inclusivity and what that means. Right.

But certainly as we continue to crack the code on what will make the biggest

difference in an industry that has largely ignored, you know,

I will say not even women of color, I would say people of color.

Yeah.

And have support them and, you know,

and not been responsible for those, you know,

different communities that they could impact. Um,

and I'm really glad to be on what I would really consider the cusp of something.

Cause it's still so, relatively new,

but I'm so thrilled to have had you as somebody who's been in this industry who

can speak to and share her thoughts and perspectives and

even ideology around what's needed and necessary in our

industry. So Nydia, thank you so much. It's been great to have you.

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

You are like literally one of the most amazing inspirational women of

color. I know, but women that I know, not only women of color,

but women that I know.

So thank you so much for painting the way for people that look like me.

Um, and, and that can help me feel seen and heard within this company.

And just in general, you know, like thank you for everything that you do.

So I really appreciate it. I love you very much.

Well, you gonna make me cry.

Cause I'm gonna cry. You're gonna cry.

<Laugh>.

It's just gonna happen.

<Laugh> oh my gosh. Well, on that note, we going complete.

You're amazing, oh my gosh.

Before we go, I just wanna leave you with a few kinda,

like Dawn's personal reflections, right.

You know,

I talked earlier in tonight's podcast about

responsible beauty at which is not my term by the way,

but I'm gonna tell you what I mean when I say responsible beauty,

what I mean is what say, can I have about,

and for the beauty industry,

how can I have my voice be heard and what actions can I see to take

that will make a difference going forward?

I told y'all a lot of what will show up in our podcast.

Uh, ongoingly is what I like to call Ethelisms. My great grandma,

Ethel,

who I've told y'all before was the most wonderful human being one could ever

meet.

And all these little jewels and nuggets that now show up for me at

48 years old, which didn't show up for me when I was eight.

And she would say these things, but certainly are clear for me. Now,

she would say, if you gotta dime, save a nickel.

And every nickel you save going build to a dollar.

And now at the time when I was a kid, you know, saving a nickel was like, what,

what for, I could go to the store and buy candy and you know, do all that.

But as I got older and I thought about what that meant,

she wasn't really talking so much about saving money though.

That was how my grandmother, um, had grown up, you know,

like growing up in rural South Carolina, my family's from,

Buford South Carolina. And it was, you know,

important that you save that nickel. And back in her day,

my grandmother was born in 1918 and saving a nickel was a big deal.

You know, it was like the equivalent of having like a $10 bill. Right.

But what I got older, here's what I understood that to me,

it meant do one little thing,

take one small action and see what grows,

but see that nickel, you put enough nickel together,

you'll get you a dollar and you put enough dollars to get together.

You'll have 10 and you put enough tens together and you'll have hundreds and

you'll pull enough hundreds together. You'll have thousands. And pretty soon,

what could you do with that? Anything you want now for my grandmother was,

you know, owning her own home and having home property and, you know,

being able to create a legacy for, you know, not just her self,

but for our family that we could have for generations.

And that was important to her. The same thing applies here.

What's the one small thing you can do to impact this industry.

This multibillion dollar beauty industry that has left

a number of people largely ignored or the experience

of not being included.

So take one small action and see what grows.

Thank you for joining us for the On The Rise podcast tune in next time

for more home wisdom, some deep realness and authenticity. I'm your host,

Dawn Speaks.

On the rise is brought to you by LimeLife by Alcone where true beauty is worth

sharing.