EWB 6.5 V1 [00:00:00] Nick: Hello and welcome to Eyewitness Beauty, the podcast where we talk about the biggest stories in the beauty industry each week. I'm Nick Axelrod Welk, [00:00:20] joined by Diamond Creekbaum, [00:00:21] Annie: who came dressed for success, [00:00:24] Nick: who came dressed like a young professional, [00:00:26] Annie: and I have a lozenge because I can't even listen to my own voice in the latest episodes. [00:00:33] Nick: So just want to keep things lubricated? [00:00:35] Annie: You know, you really do have to try sometimes. When I don't [00:00:40] try, I do vocal fry and say like, like, like, like, like, and I realized I think my vocal fry is from A combination of smoking and bulimia, baby. [00:00:58] Nick: Just like really aggravating [00:01:00] the throat. [00:01:00] Annie: Well, I was wondering, I was like, why does my whole family have like nice, smooth, my mom has the most beautiful voice. she's the one person I can never do an impression of. And I'm really good at impressions as you know. And I was like, why do I have such an annoying voice? And I thought it was because I was partly raised by SoCal SMU [00:01:20] sorority girls. Such as not Kourtney Kardashian, but that era when remember when she was a kappa at SMU. No, Kourtney [00:01:29] Nick: Kardashian Yeah, [00:01:30] Annie: she went to SMU first. Did she [00:01:32] Nick: graduate? [00:01:33] Annie: I don't think I graduated, you know, but she went for a semester And so that's why I thought I talked this way. I think it's a combination of everything. [00:01:40] But [00:01:40] Nick: it, it might be life, there might be lifestyle factors. Nature versus nurture. [00:01:45] Annie: I think the fry is more of a physical thing. [00:01:50] Nick: Versus like a learned trait. Versus a learned [00:01:51] Annie: behavior, yeah. [00:01:53] Nick: Here's what I have to say to you. What? We had a bang up episode with Miss Calloway. [00:01:59] Annie: You know [00:02:00] what? [00:02:00] Nick: People really liked it. I know. As fast as we got her, we lost her because she's been MIA since we released the, the episode. No, she, she [00:02:10] Annie: said it was, she said it was her favorite podcast she's ever done. She said she really After or during, yeah. Yeah. We were texting. [00:02:18] Nick: It just means that we [00:02:20] missed two weeks of beauty news. So I feel like we should just do a beauty news packed episode [00:02:26] Annie: Let's go [00:02:29] Nick: Okay, so Annie you were the first I feel like you were the first news outlet on the eyewitness beauty Instagram to break euphorias What is it [00:02:40] like a day late and a dollar short a month late? [00:02:42] Annie: Oh my god [00:02:44] Nick: response to the pitch black foundation shade that they launched? [00:02:48] Annie: Well, it had been live for eight hours, so I was kind of surprised I hadn't heard anything about it yet. But yeah and it's so insane because there's not a ton of engagement on the post. [00:03:00] I don't know if they're deleting particularly nasty comments, but you would think. [00:03:05] Nick: Can you quote clip the best lines from the response? [00:03:10] Annie: Yes, I'll do that. But I just wanted to make one statement about The engagement on the post, it only got, got 1, 483 likes and 503 comments. that's interesting to [00:03:20] me with how big this has gotten. You would think that there would have gotten much more traction. It was in [00:03:25] Nick: the New York times. Yeah. We are right. [00:03:26] Annie: Okay. So we posted it on ours and you guys. No, [00:03:32] Nick: no, we just need the headline of the apology, quote unquote. [00:03:36] Annie: That would be, that would be good context. So first of all, [00:03:40] as one of our readers said, they made it in Canva. they used a brand image for the background of like stacks of their product boxes. so it's all branded and then. They did like a cute sans serif font in all caps because they're screaming their apology to the world and it's two slides. the [00:04:00] first slide is in a white box, black, all caps text over this image, our commitment to providing inclusive products. So, okay, they have their headline and then you scroll same image, same layout everything. But this is their statement. We care about our customers. And as we continue to drive [00:04:20] change comma, we are creating a new position internally dedicated to examining both our current products and those in development. So we can best meet your needs. You can read more about our values on our website and learn more about. The role on our careers page. What the fuck [00:04:36] Nick: is that? Hold on, but did they okay. That [00:04:40] was the text in the box on Instagram But did they say sorry no or anything anywhere? Nope. I feel like a lot of people very quickly pointed out was that this one job Which I haven't read the job description, but people in the comments did is asking someone to do both diversity [00:05:00] and inclusion, like work as well as product development. So now you're like giving one person more work to, like, Fix your mistake. And also like, it's not a product development issue. [00:05:13] Annie: also, that's not the same skill set. A product development person is not your DEI person. Trust me. [00:05:20] If they were, we wouldn't have the problem that we have in the beauty industry. [00:05:24] Nick: I almost wanted to say this in the comments and then I felt a little bad, but I feel a little bit safer in this less public space. The CEO needs to go. clearly she's leading the company badly.[00:05:40] And it's not like we have a Charlotte Tilbury on our hands who we need artist, you know, the artistic, [00:05:47] Annie: she literally [00:05:48] Nick: worked in consulting in Ireland or something for a semester and then started Euphoria after business school. Like we don't need her. I think she can leave the company. I mean, [00:05:58] Annie: yeah, yeah, we agree. We agree on [00:06:00] that. She, she should leave in a perfect world. One thing we need to also make clear, this statement was released a month after that video came out from the influencer. So a month later, they're saying we're hiring someone to fix this rather than like, this is the work we've been doing over the past month, which tells me this. Yeah. Founder has been maybe like curled in the fetal position in her like closet for [00:06:20] four weeks. I would personally if I fucked up this badly also No salary listed in the job description. So I don't know where euphoria is based [00:06:29] Nick: is I feel like that's normal Isn't it? No, it's required [00:06:33] Annie: now in Maybe it's, maybe it's just New York, but I don't know where Euphoria is based. Something tells me [00:06:40] California. They also don't list where in the world this person needs to be. I just feel like they're running like a real Mickey mouse show over at Euphoria. Like, I don't think it's a real company. I feel like they've, you know what I mean? Like, I don't think they have offices and. [00:06:54] Nick: Okay, do you want to hear I hear I'm actually now looking at the director of product development. This person will lead [00:07:00] product development efforts with a focus on inclusivity and the creation of a diverse product line See what's fucked up with like it's they're so racist they're conflating product development with DEI, right? which we've already said, and more so than that, a [00:07:20] product ahead of product development should be focused on product innovation, [00:07:24] Annie: right? [00:07:25] Nick: Not on diversity. Like, I mean, diversity should be the entire, the entire companies, [00:07:31] Annie: yeah. , [00:07:31] Nick: correct. Like it's, if you , [00:07:36] Annie: look, I'm sweating. I mean the person, it's making me [00:07:38] Nick: sweat. You're, this is making you [00:07:40] sweat, but like the person in charge of your product should be focused on delivering the most innovative, wonderful formulas to your consumer. If you're a makeup brand, which this. Brand purports to be, it's like the best makeup should be what the product development person's job is to check some [00:08:00] balances of diversity and inclusivity. And all of those things are company wide. And should be reflected throughout the different layers and organizations within the company. Correct. [00:08:14] Annie: See how many people work at Euphoria? I have a feeling it's like four people. [00:08:19] Nick: [00:08:20] So this also just kind of feels like, Oh, they're up there upset. Quote unquote, like give them a black shade. They're upset. Tell them we'll hire someone to design a black shade. Basically. That's what they're saying. You know what I mean? they're thinking. [00:08:35] Annie: I, I just realized I know some of their investors also Mark Cuban is the one who [00:08:40] invested in them and I'm very serious about like [00:08:43] Nick: TV show. [00:08:44] Annie: He liked the post. I was like, Mr. Cuban, did you read the post? Did you, do you think this is, but he also hired Jason Kidd known wife beater to And then they did like a PR campaign to be like, he changed [00:09:00] and the Mavericks are going to the finals. So, I mean, [00:09:02] Nick: so it's literally hold on. Sorry. I'm still on this. I'm this career listing. So they literally thought. It should be the job of this new product development person to simultaneously while [00:09:20] managing product development process from concept to launch for the entire company, overseeing product life cycle. [00:09:27] Annie: So she has to also like keep up, like, uh, do quality assurance. [00:09:32] Nick: From creating the marketing brief to delivery at the warehouse, including formula development, packaging development, cogs and margin, [00:09:40] and ensuring alignment with the DEI goals. Then simultaneously, they're supposed to be conducting a thorough review of existing and planned products to identify opportunities for expanding shade ranges and inclusivity, whatever that means. Expanding inclusivity collaborate with key vendors, marketing, and creative to ensure DEI considerations are integrated at [00:10:00] every stage. Lead initiatives to increase representation and inclusivity and product. Like what they're trying to do is sort of like, I guess they're trying to isolate. Is perceived as the issue as a product development issue and not as a founder issue, [00:10:20] a CEO issue or a brand issue. Right. They're trying to say like, okay, you didn't like this color, quote unquote, black's not a color. You didn't like this, you didn't like this thing we did. So guess what? We'll hire someone and their job will be to like mix other colors into the pigment. I don't know. It's, [00:10:40] it's baffling. She needs to go. Okay. [00:10:42] Annie: She does need to go. I mean, [00:10:44] Nick: I support all women except for this one. And guess what? She made a mistake people make mistakes, and she made it in a public way, on a big, on a mass scale. And she didn't follow, she didn't [00:10:57] Annie: follow the three rules of crisis management. The [00:11:00] top guy has to take the blame. The top guy has to note the problem and take the fall. She didn't do that. We haven't heard from her at all. [00:11:12] Nick: No, and the other thing I just wanted to say, and I think we already said this, but like, to name a company Euphoria, [00:11:20] it's like the joke is on us. [00:11:22] Annie: you know what, she's very Trumpian in this way. Like, I kind of, This could actually be a genius PR move. Like she's breaking all the rules. [00:11:32] Nick: Like it's a dog whistle to like white nationalists. [00:11:35] Annie: There's that. [00:11:36] Nick: Being like. There's [00:11:37] Annie: that. [00:11:38] Nick: It's like an eye roll. It's an eye [00:11:40] roll to non white people. [00:11:42] Annie: Yeah. No. And it, and it, but it's also an eye roll. I think. All of it. I think it's an eye roll to like woke culture, you know? And I think that maybe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's being I think maybe she's just leaning into this like, Deny placate, [00:11:57] Nick: Avoid, Isolate the [00:12:00] problem [00:12:01] Annie: where foundation shades that no human should be. It's like very Trumpian. [00:12:05] Nick: And this is also, okay, so in the qualifications for the for the job, a minimum of seven to 10 years of experience in product development. That's quite a lot of experience. And then in addition to that, they have to have [00:12:20] demonstrated experience in leading DEI initiatives within a product development context. So number one, that's not a, like, that's not a thing that someone has. Like, so basically what they're saying between the lines is they were like, we need to hire a black person. [00:12:38] Annie: Also, isn't. Hasn't it [00:12:40] come out that, like, DEI roles have, like, become incredibly fraught in and of themselves, like, people are leaving their position because it's become so, like, almost violent. [00:12:51] Nick: Complex. And, yeah. Right. And, like, the, sort of, like, internal politics of that, and it's, like, an optics thing versus a true, uh [00:13:00] Commitment, right? [00:13:01] Annie: They're literally like, we're hiring a sacrificial lamb for like, the next time we fuck up. Oh my god. Or [00:13:09] Nick: no, they're hiring someone that they can take a picture of and say, See, like, we have someone, look at this person who's not white, who like, actually is helping us make [00:13:20] foundation. I don't know. I don't know. I was gonna like say that someone should just like get the job and take the money But I doubt they have enough money to like offer this person to do two jobs [00:13:30] Annie: Okay, nobody say anything. But should I apply just to see like how much they're paying? Yes Okay, nobody say anything. Nobody say anything. [00:13:39] Nick: [00:13:40] Oh guess what state if you had to guess what state the CEO and founder of Youthphoria lives in, according to LinkedIn, what state would you say? [00:13:49] Annie: California. [00:13:51] Nick: Florida. [00:13:53] Annie: See? See? You know who she should hire? George [00:14:00] Santos. [00:14:04] Nick: That is true. [00:14:06] Annie: It would be like almost like Jeffree Star, like it could be that. Euphoria could be [00:14:11] Nick: him into a Jeffree Star. Yeah, [00:14:15] Annie: no, but it could, you know, in the same way. I mean, [00:14:17] Nick: maybe the, uh, maybe the white space in the [00:14:20] market is [00:14:20] Annie: white people, [00:14:21] Nick: a tech, it's a white space. it's for people. Proud, proud [00:14:26] music: white [00:14:27] Annie: people. [00:14:28] Nick: It is, this is re and again, people make mistakes and like, I, as a white person, I. Have spent time thinking about [00:14:40] the many ways in which I've been insensitive and shitty. Right. But be proud. And you know what? Don't be scared. We can all, I forgive her. [00:14:51] Annie: It's honestly, it's becoming harder. It's becoming harder to defend her. Like as each day goes by, there's no defending her [00:15:00] at this point. She's just really bad at her job. [00:15:02] Nick: Not a, not a bright person [00:15:06] Annie: in my opinion, because too, there's been so many think, there's been so many think pieces written about this with suggested playbooks. I wrote one of them on my subsock. It's free. She doesn't have to pay to read it, but also, you know, legitimate news outlets, [00:15:20] you know, picked this apart and interviewed experts. And she literally could have just taken a page out of any of those books. And she, I do think that she's in the fetal position. I think that that's what's happening. [00:15:35] Nick: Yeah. Also, like, I don't know how many full time [00:15:40] employees. Euphoria hat. That's [00:15:41] Annie: my point. I think it's her, I think it's her. And like, I think she's probably had interns, like unpaid interns. [00:15:47] Nick: Yeah. Okay. Anyway, on to brighter spots in the beauty. landscape. Elf, which I still [00:16:00] get tickled every time I remember that it stands for eyes, lip, face. Elf beauty. Is officially a billion dollar business. This was according to women's word daily. in the fiscal year 2024, which inexplicably ends March 31st. They surpassed a billion dollars in sales and [00:16:20] they were up 77 percent from last fiscal year. [00:16:24] Annie: were they one of the ones that did a Superbowl? [00:16:27] Nick: I get Elf confused with Knicks, but I think it was Elf. I think it was Elf. [00:16:31] Annie: I feel like they have the same retail strategy, too. Like, they're everywhere. They're everywhere. [00:16:37] Nick: this quarter was the first time that they passed L'Oreal [00:16:40] Paris. [00:16:40] Annie: Wow. To be the [00:16:40] Nick: number two brand nationally. They also passed Maybelline. To be the number one unit brand for the first time. [00:16:49] Annie: Okay. [00:16:49] Nick: And at Target, they were the number one brand and they had 23 percent of their entire category, the makeup category. Wow. [00:16:58] Annie: I actually recently bought [00:17:00] their putty primer because I kept on seeing it all over Instagram and I say that close to the mic. It's bad. It's terrible. I don't understand why people, so [00:17:10] Nick: will you explain to me the, what's good about Elf? Like, explain its success. [00:17:16] Annie: I believe what I've noticed recently, at least, is [00:17:20] they do dupes of Mastige popular products. And they sell them for a fraction of the price. [00:17:29] Nick: So it's like dupe culture, [00:17:31] Annie: highlighter, contour wands. They have primers that are based off of like, I believe like the milk makeup primers, like the hydro grip and all of that. Yeah, I think [00:17:40] it's, but I think that then they've had some of their own kind of hits, but I'm just not familiar enough with the brand. They're kind of hard to shop. Everything's packaged up and like blister packaging and like cartons. So, and they're always at like CVS's where it's like. You're a prisoner while you're shopping. Everything's behind a cage. And [00:17:58] Nick: But like [00:18:00] for clarification, Knicks is that, was that, is Knicks the one that was created by like the former news anchor who like needed good TV makeup and then like, It that's it. Okay. That's totally different. So what's the difference between, well, what's the difference between it and elf? [00:18:17] Annie: Oh my God. So much. It is like also a different price [00:18:20] point. It is. That's [00:18:21] Nick: what I was going to say. I thought that, I thought that. Right. Okay. So if it's more expensive, [00:18:25] Annie: it is like almost like a mix of Paula, it cosmetics. [00:18:30] Nick: Right [00:18:31] Annie: there at Ulta, [00:18:32] Nick: like Paula's choice of makeup. [00:18:34] Annie: Yeah, exactly. And they have skincare too, that I think people really like. No, that's a totally different, there's [00:18:39] Nick: like miracle, [00:18:40] like filter in a jar or like they have one really popular cream or something, but so hold on Nick's and elf [00:18:47] Annie: and then Nick's is more like almost like hard candy for like the millennial generation in a way. they have a lot of their own formulas. like the brow glue. That's like very [00:19:00] unique to NYX. Like they're, I would say their formulas, their products are way more innovative and they also have a zillion colors, like the zillion shades. ELF is much more like, yeah, just dupes of like, Almost like clean girl makeup, [00:19:13] Nick: Okay, do you want to hear about the who created this brand? Elf was founded by Joseph [00:19:20] Shama and Scott Vincent Borba in 2004 with the assistance of Shama's father, Alan. So Nepo babies, white male Nepo babies. The pair met at a party in 2002. Shama was a 23 year old New York university business student and Borba was a [00:19:40] 31 year old Los Angeles beauty industry veteran responsible for previously launching brands such as hard candy cosmetics. Both were enthusiastic about an inexpensive high quality cosmetics line for women and decided to form a company together. Borba claims that the idea originated from seeing [00:20:00] women with expensive cars, such as BMWs and Mercedes Benz is buying bargain price cosmetics at 99 cent stores in Los Angeles. [00:20:13] Annie: I love finance bros that like what they, what they notice about the beauty industry. [00:20:18] Nick: But you know what? It's actually a [00:20:20] kind of interesting thing that I've definitely, not to compare myself to Joseph Sharma. [00:20:28] Annie: Listen, I think you're both, you're both beauty. [00:20:31] Nick: or the other Borba, I think is the guy who made this, like, [00:20:36] Annie: I think that's an Iranian name, but go on. [00:20:38] Nick: I think he did see was [00:20:40] interesting is like there, there was some sort of a disconnect. He didn't maybe put it so eloquently between like socioeconomic status and like I still doesn't really make sense how this happened. [00:20:51] Annie: Why did they get his father involved? Is it just from money or is his father like famous? Yeah, what was Alan doing? [00:20:57] Nick: Oh, he is really, really rich.[00:21:00] He owns Shama Properties, which is a multifamily assets privately. It's, I don't know, it's asset management and real estate. [00:21:10] Annie: Everybody is managing assets [00:21:13] Nick: and his father. [00:21:16] Annie: No, you're telling me there's another father. [00:21:20] [00:21:20] Nick: So Alan's father, Joseph, who I assume the Joseph who created elf is named after was actually the one who started, this is talking about Trumpian. We have like, uh, generations of wealth [00:21:34] Annie: so Joseph A. Shama, the grandson, this is according to Guru [00:21:40] Focus, but it's based on share prices, estimates that the grandson is worth at least 1. 3 billion dollars. This is the founder of ALF. There you go, ladies. [00:21:55] Nick: Because in the filing, he has over, he has almost 7 million [00:22:00] shares of Elf Beauty. And the share price was like 184. You [00:22:03] Annie: know what? I'm starting to notice a trend. I'm going to call it. Boy bossing. Stock price. It's the boy boss era. I think we're It's [00:22:11] Nick: the era of the boy boss, you're right. So anyway, congrats to the, to those men. [00:22:18] Annie: We love [00:22:20] that. [00:22:20] Nick: Who started Nyx? Should we be rooting for Nyx over, over Elf? [00:22:24] Annie: I would. I'm a Nyx customer. Oh, we, okay, so NYX, we definitely should be supporting, because it was founded by Toni Ko, when she was 25, using a 000, oh, a 250, 000 personal loan from her parents. [00:22:36] music: Hmm, [00:22:37] Nick: Toni. I know. Well, you know [00:22:40] what, money does not, Ensure or guarantee success certainly not in beauty. [00:22:46] Annie: Also. So [00:22:47] Nick: I'm not going to hold that against her but also Tony Co has a venture capital firm as well as a beauty brand accelerator. [00:22:55] Annie: I love that. What the fuck? Let's get her on the pod. [00:22:58] Nick: And she lives in L. A. [00:23:00] [00:23:00] Annie: Let's take her to lunch. And also it was named after the Greek goddess of the night, who is obviously named Nix. [00:23:10] Nick: Okay, moving on. What else do we have? [00:23:13] Annie: I have a true crime story. So I have been doing [00:23:20] some research on fat transfers, fat grafting, because There's been so much conversation around of the big face. Which is basically just skin lexicity because you're losing so much weight so quickly. What people don't realize is skin can bounce back. So, I think a lot of this [00:23:40] fear mongering about, around Ozempic face is a little Unfair or damaging for people whose skin will probably like return to normal over time. Especially if they're younger, but if they're older, they're dealing with skin lexicity and they need a facelift. And it's really the only option as we've discussed so many times on this podcast. [00:24:00] But then there's also fat grafting where they can harvest fat from a different part of your body. They put it through a machine to process it and I think make it more injectable. And then they put it in your face, and it's like permanent filler. [00:24:17] Nick: Well, that's the issue, is that it's permanent. Yeah. [00:24:20] [00:24:20] Annie: Why is that an issue? [00:24:22] Nick: Because you, in order to remove it, you would have to get it surgically removed. But they, you have to do that [00:24:28] Annie: with Juvederm now. They're seeing that Juvederm, you have to take an ultrasound and [00:24:33] Nick: Yeah, I mean, like, I guess it depends, but at least with [00:24:40] conventional hyaluronic fillers, you can dissolve or at least sort of, like, minimize their appearance with like, there's something to counteract it. Well, some would argue that that's [00:24:50] Annie: a benefit, that it doesn't dissolve, that it is permanent. [00:24:54] Nick: Just depends who you're going to. [00:24:56] Annie: Well, yeah, that's why I'm I'm trying to research like who's who are the top [00:25:00] guy. So I've been really impressed. I [00:25:02] Nick: got it for fat grafting or fat. I'm [00:25:04] Annie: trying to find the top plastic surgeons in the world. I want the short list so that when my time comes, it's no stress. I just don't want to hit 45 and be like, Oh, what am I going to do? You know, which I don't think will happen anyway. [00:25:17] Nick: You want to have your ducks in a row. [00:25:19] Annie: Yeah. I [00:25:20] actually do see a vision for myself where I age, like naturally with Botox. [00:25:27] Nick: Um, because I dilute myself into thinking that Penelope Cruz and Monica Bellucci haven't had work done. And I think, I think I can look like that when I'm their age without having work done, you know? Yeah. [00:25:40] I mean, I think, well, number one, I think it's, you know, comes down to genetics. Like there's certain things that just happen to people based on their genetics. You gotta love your [00:25:49] Annie: dad's thick, greasy skin for keeping you young. [00:25:51] Nick: What? Exactly. Or like, whatever it is, like, that is one thing. And then. I was talking to, it's funny, I was talking to Casey last [00:26:00] night and he was saying that in his opinion, you get basically two facelifts if you want to like maintain your face, you get one. He like the, the sort of like perfect version of events is you get a facelift in your like mid to late forties [00:26:18] Annie: and then [00:26:18] Nick: you get a facelift [00:26:20] in your. Mid sixties. [00:26:22] Annie: Yep. That's what I'm seeing. Except for there's, then there's people that want to get other elective procedures that are not related to aging necessarily. And I found an incredible doctor in Italy. I mean, he is. Maestro. [00:26:37] Nick: What about that guy in Turkey? That's literally [00:26:40] giving people like head transplants. [00:26:42] Annie: No, I think they also found out that those photos were photoshopped and, [00:26:46] Nick: or I could have, and you know [00:26:47] Annie: what you need to watch out for, even though the doctor I'm about to talk about does this. Apparently if they do a silhouette of black around the faces, It's almost like doing Photoshop because they're perfecting their profile and everything. So if you see doctors that [00:27:00] have like a harsh black line around the faces rather than just a normal background, just, you know, question that a little anyway. So there is a doctor in Beverly Hills who does incredible fat grafting and facelifts. I mean, really great work. There's actually a couple, but There's one that does this V procedure that I follow That's very interesting to [00:27:20] me. But this story is not about him. This story is about Dr. Gary. And this is his true life is an episode of NipTuck. So specifically with fat grafting. I think he's. Very good. I think it's hard to tell with some of his patients who have had other work done, like a lot of filler and stuff, like how I've [00:27:39] Nick: seen he's, [00:27:40] this guy's like a big tick tock doctor, doctor. [00:27:42] Annie: Oh, he is. Yeah. Yeah. He's definitely a content creator. So I was impressed with his fat grafting results specifically. I Googled him, you know, you can't just believe everything you see on social media. I looked on real self, people seem to give him good reviews. He's like, Um, you know, people really love this guy. And then I found a news [00:28:00] article and this is where it gets crazy. So there was a data breach at his Office, [00:28:07] Nick: plastic surgery office, plastic surgery, [00:28:08] Annie: and all these Beverly Hills women were his patients and These hackers they stole all of their personal information, their contact information, everything, and their photos, and they [00:28:20] were going to them and they were holding their photos hostage and they, they're threatening to release them unless each individual patient paid them like $40,000. Isn't that crazy? And then, and to top it all off, they found videos of him masturbating in the, like, [00:28:40] company. [00:28:40] Nick: That is so wild and horrible. [00:28:43] Annie: I don't think that any of that sexual stuff was related to any of his patients or anything. But I'm like, of course they have to find his masturbation videos. Like poor guy on top of everything. And if you know what, I support my, I have a lot of thoughts on like, [00:29:00] if my doctor needs to, you know, relax before the procedure. So he has like, like, I I'm all for that. If that's his process before, after, during just wash your hands, like I'm fine with that. [00:29:15] Nick: I mean, they, yeah, they have to scrub in anyway. [00:29:17] Annie: And the thought of going to an [00:29:20] Italian plastic surgeon very much intrigues me. It's where all the great artists, [00:29:26] Nick: yes. I don't know. I don't know. I wouldn't get, I wouldn't, I don't think I would go under anesthesia in Italy. [00:29:35] Annie: Yeah, I know. The Italian guy that I was seeing for a minute was like, and he's a doctor, was [00:29:40] like, he described Italy as very unserious. [00:29:43] Nick: Yes, I mean like, remember Berlusconi, like, the president? He was, yeah, it's, listen, the Roman Empire was a long time ago. Anyway, moving on. [00:29:57] Annie: Caligula. [00:29:59] Nick: Mmm, [00:30:00] Oedipus. Anyway. [00:30:01] Annie: Anyway. [00:30:02] Nick: Oedipus was Greek. Hold on, I have to pee, one sec. [00:30:06] Annie: Okay, well Nick's gone, I'm gonna tell you guys a story. I think that we should abolish the Reformation retail experience. they've tried it, what, for almost a decade now, this whole, we're [00:30:20] not a, we're not a regular store, we're, we do things differently around here at Reformation. I went into reformation in New York. Cause I was like, I want to wear my red skirt this weekend, but I'm out of red tops. Where can I get a red top at this hour [00:30:40] in New York city? And so I go into reformation at like five 30. It's pretty busy. This location is always pretty busy and there's racks and racks and racks of clothes. So what do I do? I shop for clothes. I go, I see a red top. Oh, it's my size. [00:31:00] I take it off the rack and I hold it. I do this. Three or four more times finding other red tops holding them in my hand. I make my way to the back of the store Oh, there's a huge line for the fitting room. Do I have time? I decide I have time. I mosey on over to the back of the [00:31:20] line and who I thought was a retail employee stopped me, but she was actually a crowd management Security officer and she said you need to put those clothes back on the rack For the other customers to shop those clothes stay on the [00:31:40] rack. I'm talking about reformations like Stupid fucking system for shopping at their store. You're not allowed to just, you're not allowed [00:31:46] Nick: to, [00:31:47] Annie: you're not allowed to take clothes off the rack apparently. And then I was like,Oh, I want to try them on. and she was like, you can take photos of them. And stand in line. I was like, I can take photos of them. What? She was telling me [00:32:00] to take photos of each individual thing that I wanted. And then I guess they would [00:32:04] Nick: bring it to you. [00:32:05] Annie: I was like, absolutely not. I got to go. And then I was like, okay, well, I think I'll just come back another time when it's not so busy. Like, should I put these back? And then she's like, you can just leave them right here. And I was like, Okay, you guys are the ones with the weird fucking system. Don't get mad at me. they need to [00:32:20] stop. I don't think anybody thinks that this system like, Is any better than just [00:32:26] Nick: I don't like that system. [00:32:27] Annie: It's so bizarre and it feels so inefficient. There's just no way the store operates better that way. [00:32:35] Nick: I agree. No, nope. I mean, we can already look back now, but [00:32:40] like, remember the whole thing with DTC companies where they would have like a store where you like, couldn't buy anything. You like try it on and they send it to you. If I'm going into a physical store, I want to leave with a physical product. [00:32:52] Annie: Yeah. [00:32:53] Nick: Nothing is worse than, like, the anticipation and the, like, patience you have to [00:33:00] exercise to wait for something. Well, [00:33:01] Annie: nothing is worse than an employee there being like, no, no, no, it's so much more convenient. [00:33:07] Nick: You're like, thank you. I'll be the judge of [00:33:09] Annie: that. I also hate when they're, when employees are like, oh, we don't have that in stock, but it's at our, like, Hampton store. We can mail it to you. No problem. And they, like, whip out their laptop and I'm like, no, no, no. I [00:33:20] came here to walk away with something. I don't think you understand. [00:33:22] Nick: Get something else. And then they're like, [00:33:24] Annie: but I thought you really liked the shoes. I'm like, I like them so much. I want them right now. We don't have any other beauty stories. [00:33:31] Nick: Oh, we have one other, which is everyone's favorite. Prebiotic soda poppy [00:33:40] is the subject of a lawsuit, which I thought, I mean, as the person who has been on the truth and advertising beat, I found pretty interesting. Essentially. The lawsuit alleges that poppy misleads customers in its [00:34:00] claims to be like gut friendly because it doesn't contain enough of like the gut friendly ingredients in a single can to actually Help your gut health. You know, it says it has prebiotic fiber and all of these types of things, which apparently are according to The lawsuit which was filed in [00:34:20] California is not true. The complaint alleges This is a USA Today article that poppy sodas only prebiotic fiber Which means quote a consumer would need to drink more than four poppy sodas in a day to realize any potential health benefits Drinking enough poppy to promote gut health would cause consumers to drink [00:34:40] harmful levels of cane sugar. And too much cane sugar has been shown to harm gut health. [00:34:45] music: Mm [00:34:45] Annie: hmm. [00:34:46] music: Mm [00:34:47] Annie: hmm. Um, so [00:34:48] Nick: this is the, this is the probiotic soda reckoning. [00:34:51] Annie: Weren't they also in trouble for having Alex Earle go to like Coachella and not say it was an ad for poppy? [00:34:58] Nick: maybe. I mean they just like, [00:35:00] The thing about poppy is like they've skyrocketed to success, right? [00:35:06] Annie: I don't know. I've never had one, but this is like really interesting timing. Cause they just released a report this week about colon cancer and young people. And they, because there's been like a huge spike and [00:35:20] colon cancer cases of people that are like our age and they have linked it to Eating too much sugar and not enough fiber. So that's very interesting. [00:35:31] Nick: All of which means. Eat your fiber, kids. [00:35:36] Annie: If you guys aren't on Banana Island, Drink it if you have to drink [00:35:39] Nick: [00:35:40] it. Bananas, I don't think, are the answer. I think that Metamucil, um, Psyllium Husk, you know what? Here's what, without going into too much detail to the women listening to this podcast, ask your gay friend for fiber recommendations. They'll have them. [00:35:54] Annie: Can't you just eat oatmeal? [00:35:56] Nick: Again, ask a gay person, they'll set you [00:36:00] straight. I, it's, I don't want to go into it. Speaking of which, my product of the week is Metamucil. It's a specific one. [00:36:10] Annie: Wait, but what is, is it, what is Metamucil? the only thing I know about Metamucil was I remember specifically a Metamucil commercial growing up and it was a school [00:36:20] bus driver that had to take Metamucil. [00:36:24] Nick: Okay, well, consider me that School bus driver. So Metamucil is like one of the oldest consumer brands of fiber. So it's like a fighter fiber powder. You like mix into water and you drink it. It tastes [00:36:40] orangey flavored, but you know, the original Metamucil had fake colorants and fake and sugar, I think. Or then there were sugar free ones that had, you know, aspartame. you know, I, I go on and off fiber, but then I always come crawling back to one called premium blend and maybe [00:37:00] this is just marketing, but it's working on me the premium blend, which is 34. 99. includes psyllium husk, which is the main fiber, maltodextrin, citric acid, natural orange flavor, stevia, and paprika and turmeric extract for color.[00:37:20] So instead of like the fake,flavors and the fake colors and the fake sugars, this one uses stevia. And I feel better about it. And when I take it every day, I feel amazing. My one piece of advice is to [00:37:40] start slow. Don't go in with a loaded teaspoon, you know, in water the first time you talking about? Meaning like, you have to like, over a couple weeks, get up to the dose. You don't want to just like, bombard. If you're not someone who's like, taken fiber, you want to kind of work yourself up. Work yourself out. [00:38:00] Side note. All of the links to our products of the week will be in our show notes. If you use those links, then we get a affiliate money, which goes to our producers. [00:38:14] Annie: Okay. [00:38:14] Nick: Continue. [00:38:15] Annie: Have you ever tried, I mean, [00:38:16] Nick: the people who make the show. [00:38:17] Annie: So I don't like drinking [00:38:20] things with that are meant to have medicinal value. I like to just take a pill. Are there fiber pills? There are, right? [00:38:28] Nick: Yeah. Here's my thing about fiber pills. I mean, again, I guess you are asking a gay guy. I like the drinkable fiber because. the [00:38:40] complication with taking any kind of fiber is if you don't have enough water with it, it can like expand and like, you know, like, It could expand in your throat or in your whatever, your airways. And so with the capsules, I always just like, I always over drink water because I'm just like, I'd [00:39:00] rather have too much water so that the fiber can, because essentially the capsules are just dissolving in the water that you've drank, you know, in your stomach. So I'd rather kind of like do the science experiment. In front of me, you know, and like, let my body just, [00:39:17] Annie: you want to pre wet the fiber. [00:39:20] [00:39:20] Nick: I want to pre wet the fiber, but you do have to drink it immediately after mixing because it'll otherwise turn into sludge. [00:39:28] Annie: Okay. [00:39:29] Nick: So that's my, what are your, what's your part of the week? [00:39:31] Annie: My part of the week is really new. So. And normally I like to use a product several times before I recommend it, but I was just really impressed with this [00:39:40] formula. And I think it's quite differentiated than any other. I've seen. We talked momentarily about primers earlier in this episode. And this is a. Primer I picked up at the face shop, which is a Korean beauty retailer. And it is a brand I've never heard of before called S A A T [00:40:00] insight. Which looks like an acronym on the back. It's like spelled as a single word, which is satin insight or satin site, satin site. Anyway. And it's called soft watery cream primer. And it is like. It's such a good formula. the texture [00:40:20] is so nice. And I feel like if you don't like to wear makeup, you could just use it as like a daytime moisturizer that kind of helps just blur your skin. It doesn't, and it feels like it has like a little bit of grip to it and a little bit of cushion. it's like almost like the most beautiful feeling moisturizer you've ever put on your face. [00:40:40] But it doesn't [00:40:40] Nick: have any tint or anything? [00:40:42] Annie: No. [00:40:43] Nick: Like, makeup properties? Mm [00:40:44] Annie: mm. And it just, no, it just leaves like a soft matte finish. Like, I think it has like, the normal like, silicones, maybe, that fiber, or, okay. That primer would have in them. So, to give you that, like, soft blur effect. But, like, [00:41:00] It doesn't give you that siliconey finish if you know what i'm talking about that like pills up I think it's made to like use under dewy products, but it's just so nice. It's such a good formula but we're [00:41:12] Nick: gonna put a link in our show notes on apple podcast [00:41:15] Annie: you're trying to get me in in trouble with our producer You [00:41:18] Nick: Yep. [00:41:19] Annie: Okay. [00:41:19] Nick: No, [00:41:20] we're going to put a link to that and we'll be back next week where we are going to talk about the names of a certain beauty brands products, which make me absolutely crazy. But more on that next week. Eyewitness Beauty is produced by Jonathan Corman, a friend of the [00:41:40] pod and edited by AJ Mosley. We are on Patreon, which is where you can support us at patreon.com/eyewitness Beauty and on Instagram at Eyewitness Beauty. And you can email us at hi@eyewitnessbeauty.com or Nick at or Annie at, [00:42:00] and we'll be back next week. [00:42:01] music: Bye.