COSMOFACTORY

Deanna: [00:00:00] This episode is about the vision and value of local cultures. It's about the relevance of regional ingredients. It's about global travel and global beauty trends. And it's about some of the people and the places that inspire our industry to create captivating products. Joining me today on the CosmoFactory podcast is Stephanie Flor, founder of Around the World Beauty.
Deanna: Welcome, Stephanie.
Stephanie: Thank you so much for having me.
Deanna: Yeah, you're welcome. It's nice to be speaking with you. [00:01:00] Um, Around the World Beauty is something I would describe as a specialty travel company, and it's certainly well known in select circles, and we can touch on that later. Um, but I imagine that this is the first time many CosmoFactory listeners are hearing of it.
Deanna: So if you don't mind, um, please just tell us more about Around the World Beauty.
Stephanie: Absolutely. I, I started around the world beauty because I love beauty culture and travel. And like many people out there, I said, how can I make this into a career? You know, I've been working in the beauty industry for over 15 years and I just knew that there was more out there. I think once we start traveling, whether it's to a conference.
Stephanie: Or an event, you get exposed to things that inspire us to see the world differently and for many of us to see our brands differently and what we create in the world, working in the beauty industry. So around the world, beauty is a beauty and travel company. We curate beauty field trips, uh, for people who are in the beauty industry.
Stephanie: We bring them to [00:02:00] destinations. We go to Morocco, India, Tanzania, Latin America, and we deep dive into beauty culture. You know, there's so many beauty products out there that say. are inspired by the Amazonian clay. Well, I want to take you there. I want us to swim in the Amazonian clay so we can understand the impact that, um, that place has with our inspiration.
Stephanie: But also when you get to see things come to life, you have more respect for them and you give credit where it's due. And so my goal is to inspire the beauty industry to see. And redefine beauty through their own travel experiences. And we host a yearly trip to one of our destinations. And we also have a beauty brand that is inspired by these global beauty secrets.
Deanna: You have your own brand and around the world beauty brand.
Stephanie: Yes, we have our own products that we, uh, curate beauty boxes inspired by the destinations that we go to. It's a way for us to give back while we're not traveling. That started out of COVID. Absolutely.
Deanna: sure. No, that [00:03:00] makes that makes very good sense, you know, and you've done a nice job of explaining the reasons for travel, I think, but, you know, some folks might say that that we're so connected today, right? We're very aware of what's happening around the world through social media. We have a portal to.
Deanna: people and places and, you know, news and beauty culture, you know, around the world that we can access really, you know, from our desktop or our phone or what have you. Can you say more about why travel is so relevant and why the destinations that you've selected and mentioned?
Stephanie: So there's something about, especially in the Western world, um, because we're not able to just jump on a plane and go across the world, um, to a whole different world, right? You know, I think Europe might be a little bit differently. There's so much exposure to one another. So I think being part of the Western idea of beauty there is even for myself and it's, it's intimidating.
Stephanie: I for me, and I'm pretty sure for all of my friends who work in beauty to speak [00:04:00] authentically on what beauty is globally. When we travel, we tend to stay in our little box of comfort and we get to have a peek into each other's world, but we really never have the right words or conversations to create from a place of all possibilities because we're intimidated.
Stephanie: We're afraid more than ever to be cultural appropriate. You know, there's so many limitations on us building. So what travel does, especially with a company like ours, is that we really get on the ground. And the reason I chose the places is because beauty still exists at its source. There's still products being made from raw ingredients.
Stephanie: There are founders that are there who are. sharing their beauty rituals and traditions with the world, making their income for their families through these ingredients and through their stories. And so I chose these five destinations because the beauty is still very much alive. This Western idea of just consumerism isn't quite alive there just yet.
Stephanie: You know, they're still making shea butter. They're still [00:05:00] going to the ocean to pull seaweed. And that's what we want to experience. So we can have a different respect for beauty and be able to say, Hey, We've been there. We pull seaweed with our hands. We know the impact it has on the world. And we want to make sure that our companies are doing something about it.
Stephanie: There's something about experiencing versus just reading about it. So I think that's why what we do is so important and travel is very essential, especially with a group of women who are creating the new future of beauty.
Deanna: Yeah, no, and I like the, the way you're using the word experience there. I, I think, um, you know, the, the guests that join you on these, on these field trips, I, I would almost describe what they're getting as experiential data. You're, you're talking about how they're, you know, physically touching things and, and encountering, I would imagine, you know, sights and sounds and sense and, and, you know, tasting things.
Deanna: It's, um, you know, a, a real physical and, and immersive, immersive experience. Aspects of all the destinations. Can you say more about those, those really [00:06:00] hands on experiences? As you've said, so many of us travel, right? For, um, you know, who work in the business of beauty. And, you know, and we get to, you know, stay in lovely destinations.
Deanna: And see a bit of the culture. But what you're talking about is different.
Stephanie: Absolutely. You know, I think, you know, I've been building this business for 10 years and what I love about it is that my natural way of being is a connector and I actually love, love, love people who are in the beauty industry. So, for me, I, I've done the work. I've met the locals on the ground who are women.
Stephanie: I think that's why it's been so hard to build my business because we really have created every part of our business to be a touch point that's connected to the community. Um, And so for, for me creating these experiences, it really is to allow people to be able to have a conversation about what beauty is.
Stephanie: And not just for five minutes, but for a whole dinner experience, while women are making Argan oil in the back [00:07:00] who are being paid fair wages because they're part of our community. And now we get to say that we've been in Morocco and we see what Argan oil is coming from. So those are the kinds of experiences that we kind of bring to life.
Stephanie: Um, our dinners are all theme inspired by different ingredients, um, at the dinner table and everything, of course, has what I like to say, a beauty inspiration, whether it's where we're saying to how we're traveling through the Sahara, I, I literally tell my drivers, please, um, have copal in the car, you know, uh, share with us what copal is, palo santo, these scents, like you were saying, every part of it is meant to ignite it.
Stephanie: Thank you. Curiosity through the conversation of beauty. So those are the kinds of things that we do on our travel experiences. Plus the normal things that you would do on any tour, right? Like go to the waterfalls, you know, go to the market. But when we go to the market, we have, you know, a bingo card on finding ingredients and how to meet local founders that are selling their product, you know, coffee stands, those kinds of things in a way, [00:08:00] it's, it's things that I'm looking for when I'm traveling, right.
Stephanie: And content that I need to get for my brand. So I know other brand founders are also looking for this as well.
Deanna: Yeah, yeah, no, that's lovely. so sometimes in terms of ingredient stories, sometimes in terms of brand founder stories, um, the content we see. Can become a bit, I hesitate to say it, but can become a bit repetitious, right? That we start to hear sort of, you know, the same story. Um, you know, I, I, I hear a lot, you know, from the ingredient sector.
Deanna: So, you know, extremophile ingredients that have, you know, sort of had to live in really challenging environments. And then, so of course they're, you know, um, producing. Um, you know, with certain molecules that help protect themselves and, and it, it almost starts, um, it almost doesn't matter at some point you're hearing the same story about each ingredient, right?
Deanna: And, um, and the ingredients then that really do stand out are somehow differentiated from that story, right? They tell, um, something that's sort of more colorful and more nuanced than, than [00:09:00] what has become standardized. And I, I, I would imagine there's sort of a risk of that happening with travel like this, right?
Deanna: So you're going to one destination, and like you said, we go see a waterfall, and then we go to the market, and I imagine you might go to the next destination and see a waterfall and see a market. How do you make it so these experiences are not repetition, you know, sort of one to the next? How, how is their, you know, personality in the place?
Deanna: Yeah.
Stephanie: each destination is so different is because globally, it's completely a new place. It's a place where has different colors, different people, different ingredients. Part of the reason why I love to do this is because I come from the skincare world I was a spokesperson for one of the largest skincare brands in the industry representing a whole world of Claiming the fountain of youth right and I was like, it's all kind of the same Like everyone's claiming that they're going to take 20 years off or the wrinkles and at the end of the day It's going to happen But [00:10:00] that's where travel comes in It's that youthfulness that comes from experience.
Stephanie: Um, that, that experience that allows us to evolve confidently into our skin. And I think that's the messaging where the world is going when it comes to beauty is not to be afraid of mature skin and that. Only to embrace it, but also to accept it, to understand that it's part of who we will be. But how can we glow from the inside, right?
Stephanie: You know, that's a philosophy in itself. But travel, how do we keep it different is that it's different. It's different because every destination has so much more to offer. There is also stigmas that we've built being individuals in this world that as we travel, we break those stigmas. We create a new story, what it means to be from these places.
Stephanie: And we're Universally and eternally inspired and that's something that you can't take away and you know, that's why I didn't want to just create another product in the world. I wanted to create a brand that was [00:11:00] inspired by travel where you could actually travel with us to the ingredients and meet the people behind them because to me, that's what's going to give you beauty from within.
Stephanie: And it's going to also give you that youthful, you know, energy because you're a wanderer, you're wanderlust and that is something that glows and no one can take away from you. Nobody can give you that either.
Deanna: Yeah, right. Um, you know, and I think I described, you know, some of the takeaways of these travel experiences, um, earlier as, as experiential data, but we know that One of the challenges folks face is analyzing any data, right, and then turning it into some sort of formulation, a product line, a brand, a whole company.
Deanna: That's, that's a big challenge. So I, I'm wondering how do you, how do you facilitate that, um, sort of the value add for, for a business leader? What, what do they take away from a trip like this besides, you know, some, some scrapbook material?
Stephanie: Exactly, right? I had that question very early on when we started doing these trips. Because, you know, at first it was people who just [00:12:00] wanted to experience different cultures, be inspired. I mean, you know more than anyone, doing what we do can become very mundane. And at one point you're like, I need a recharge.
Stephanie: I need to know why I'm doing this. What is beauty? Because we're so in our world that we forget. What global beauty looks like and really that is our market. It's not just a consumer that is right where we are. It really is expanding what it looks like because more than ever, we are becoming a global connected community.
Stephanie: Um, so in order to make that available to people like yourself that are professionals, I wanted to create something called a beauty field guide where I could forecasters, experts on the ground and take what I've experienced and translate that to Different sort of information where they can recreate it for their brands, whether it's inspiration for a campaign or whether it's inspiration for a new ingredient or a new product, or maybe they just need experts here in the U.
Stephanie: S. in order to interview that are on the [00:13:00] ground to show that they are, you know, doing a cultural appreciation, which is Versus a culture appropriation. So I'm hoping that with this field guide, we get to do the work for you guys. So you can just introduce this to your boss or introduce this to your manager and say, here's the information.
Stephanie: These are the trends that we already discovered or actually experienced. And we want to collaborate to bring these to life.
Deanna: Yeah, yeah, and these field guides incorporate, um, color schemes that would reflect the local environment, um, other visual elements, um, you're highlighting ingredients, you're highlighting brands, I would assume, um, and correct me here if I don't have it right, but brands that are both native. Native. Native.
Deanna: On the ground where you're visiting, but then also global brands, um, that might be drawing inspiration or, or using select ingredients, um, you're showcasing products and there are actually, um, multiple concepts for each destination as well. It's not like there's, you know, there's one way to represent Costa Rica there.
Deanna: There are multiple, um, sort of, you know, trend [00:14:00] storylines, if you will. Can you share a little bit more about this sort of information that someone might be able to take back to their team?
Stephanie: Absolutely. Um, one of my favorite parts about travel and what we do with our beauty field trips is that we try to do as much places within the country so we can see the differences, right? When you go to the coast on or an island, there's no way of not being inspired by that island life energy or go into the mountains.
Stephanie: You're all of a sudden, you know, wearing your fleece, your, you know, all the colors that are like beige and brown. You are inspired by nature's beauty, and what we try to do with our trend report is show you all the different destinations within that country and what trend lives there. You know, one of my favorite places is Morocco, um, and there's no way of traveling to Morocco without falling in love with that beautiful blue.
Stephanie: That is known throughout the country from the scarves that the Berbers wear to the color of the YSL mansion. The blue lives within the culture. And so that's a trend, right? And you [00:15:00] see it in the Medina, but then when you go to the Sahara, the energy is very cleansing. It's quiet. It's sacred. So that's a trend in itself.
Stephanie: So each place has at least three to four trends that we're bringing to life through our term report and the brands that we represent that are usually local, but also global. Cool. Cool. tend to lean into those specific touch points of those cultures. And so we try to give you that. So you're, even when you get there, you could be like, Oh, I get it.
Stephanie: Like I'm on an Island and I'm, you know, I'm experiencing that Island energy that really you can't explain in words sometimes, but you're feeling it. It's in the color, it's in the rustic, it's Brown all of a sudden. Um, And we try to bring that with our trend reports, depending on the destinations within that country, because there's so much to see.
Stephanie: So I can't promise you'll see everything, but you can go back and be like, Hey, there's more to explore. And I rather you have a trend report than you go to work and be now a full on hippie after traveling to Costa Rica, which happens to all of us. There's [00:16:00] no way of going there and not feeling like, Oh my God, like I know the secret to life.
Stephanie: You know, uh, there is the blue zone there. So.
Deanna: yeah. No, I'm glad you mentioned Costa Rica again. You know, I personally, um, you know, I've mentioned my passion for ingredients, but I, um, I have a, you know, a particular interest maybe in ingredients that are, or are sourced, um, from, you know, sort of dirt and mud, clay, um, you know, silt, soil, ash. It sort of goes on and on.
Deanna: There's so much going on there with, with the earth as it, as it were. Um, I, yeah. So I wonder if you wouldn't mind just to talk us through, um, one of the concepts that I know you explore as part of your travel to Costa Rica. And I think it's what you're calling the earth goddess concept. Can you say a little bit about maybe the ingredients or the sensibility that's at work there?
Stephanie: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, the earth goddess is one of my favorites. Like you said, it's an idea that we are one with the earth. We tend to experience that when we go to outdoor festivals a little bit, you know, I don't know if you know, we've been to Burning Man, you go to festivals that take place in Costa Rica a lot.
Stephanie: [00:17:00] And you get to feel that vibration of being one with the earth. Um, and so this trend primarily is all about leaning into the feminine, leaning into the earth's natural ingredients. Because when you are one with earth, you do feel that goddess energy. You realize, oh, I am so connected. And that's what Costa Rica, um, really is known for.
Stephanie: That's why you'll find a lot of healers, a lot of women who are doing cacao ceremonies, drumming, all these things exist in Costa Rica because you're so connected to the rainforest. As well as the jungle. So one of my favorite ingredients when I go back home was actually I'm Costa Rican, um, are the thermal waters.
Stephanie: You know, we are along a volcanic, um, kind of array within the country. And so there you'll find tons of thermal baths that are natural heated because of the thermal, you know, volcanoes and you can go and bathe and they're known to be healing. They're known to you. Purify from the inside out. So you'll see that in many parts of Costa Rica.
Stephanie: So we're giving you that within the field guide and really you're being connected to [00:18:00] the planet earth You're seeing beauty at like its rawest form and you're like, how how is it that this water is so Hot and you're like wow, it's because of the volcanoes like they're This energy is here and you can feel you just like feeling refreshed and feeling connected.
Stephanie: Um, so the earth goddess is about being connected to mother earth and you'll see it. You start wearing no shoes. You start feeling like, you know, you are one with earth and nothing really matters. You're feeling the more alive than you've ever felt. And, and that's what this trend is all about. It's being connected, um, to know that you are part of something bigger because nature is all around you, you know, Costa Rica.
Stephanie: It's so green, it's so rich, and there's a lot to see when it comes to beauty and wellness.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. No, excellent. Thank you so much. And you know, um, I do want to touch on, you know, who this sort of tour is actually for. I know your background, um, is in makeup artistry. You've worked with, you know, various beauty editors, whether they're in trade [00:19:00] media or the consumer press. You mentioned trend forecasters.
Deanna: Um, but, but what sorts of professionals does this tour really make sense for, um, in terms of, um, you know, it sounds like it would be a wonderful experience for anyone, but in terms of, you know, a real value add for their business, who, who belongs on this?
Stephanie: Yeah, I would say an R and D team, you know, people who are really behind the making of new products to do research on what ingredients are out there. Um, I think the biggest takeaway for beauty professionals is that inspiration element, but also a refresh to see things differently. It's kind of to clean our glasses, to create from a place of.
Stephanie: connected and also a place of respect for these places. So I think anyone from marketing, uh, research and development, um, trend forecasters, beauty professionals, indie beauty founders, um, who sometimes I, you know, me being one, we're so used to talking about the same thing, right? Sometimes we're like, Oh my God, I'm exhausted.
Stephanie: If I tell the story one more time, [00:20:00] getting out. Into the world will allow you to see, um, to hit refresh and to see things where you can be inspired for your new campaign. But I love my beauty professionals. I love creators that are indie founders, because I think that the inspiration is endless for one another.
Stephanie: And to, to be honest with you, real success. Is cultural, um, community connection. It's once we are able to kind of work together where we can kind of reach the stars. And so I think that any beauty professional that has a passion for creating and need to refresh, this is for them for sure. Definitely research and development and marketing as well.
Deanna: yeah, no, that makes very good sense. Well, this was lovely. Stephanie. I thank you for sharing around the world beauty with us here on the CosmoFactory podcast. [00:21:00]