Introducing: Madame Speaker Says with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene

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BONUS EPISODE

📣 INTRODUCING our new podcast bestie Madame Speaker Says hosted by Magogodi oaMphela Makhene. 

For this special bonus episode, we did a podswap and the featured guest is skin educator, beauty editor and founder of ThisThatBeauty, Felicia Walker. 

The skin is your largest living organ and Felicia believes it is not vanity to care for your skin. It needs care like any other part of your body and she'll tell you how you can radiate beauty from the inside out in every space you enter. 

You'll love this episode which is about a personal and professional journey, because it features all the themes you've come to expect from and love about Shades and Layers: being seen, representation, authenticity and successful living.

✨ GET: Your Glow Up Guide
📲 FOLLOW Felicia: @thisthatbeauty 

ABOUT MAGOGODI AND MADAME SPEAKER SAYS

Author, Speaker and Storytelling Coach Magogodi oaMphela Makhene helps helps women founders become famous experts. 

She knows that being an "expert" isn't about being perfect - it's about being brave enough to share what shaped you, often the experiences that felt most shameful. 

🎧 Listen to Magogodi’s podcast, Madame Speaker Says and subscribe to her newsletter for bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello and welcome to Shades and Layers.
I'm Kudronos Kwasana Ritchieand usually your host, but today
I'm doing something different.
I want to introduce you to apodcast that I think you will
like.
Before we get into it, here's alittle bit of background.
When podcasting or in anyindustry for that matter you
often come across people wholight you in a fire, and this is

(00:26):
how I felt when I saw MahuhudiWanpele Makhene's email in my
inbox.
Her energy, the fact that she'swritten one of my favorite
short story collections, inertsand the work she's been doing in
uplifting women of colorresonated very strongly with me
and I just knew instantly thatwe had to work together.
So this Pod Swap is our firstcollaboration, and there will be

(00:48):
more on the way.
Maho Hudi is an author, speakerand storytelling coach who helps
women founders become famousexperts.
Her podcast is called MadameSpeaker Says and, as you'll hear
on this featured podcastepisode, she's truly passionate
about getting women to the nextlevel of their professional and
personal journeys.

(01:09):
She's been transforming howpeople show up and speak for
years and she's helped leadersmove from a shame-based activism
to what one of her clientscalled a more loving activism
that can affect more change.
I can't wait to tell you moreabout her own journey and her
coaching practice in a futureepisode, so you need to stay

(01:30):
tuned for that.
What you need to know right nowis that she is the woman you
can consult if you need tools tohelp you fully inhabit the
person you were meant to be, andshe's more than qualified to do
that, having spoken on stagesthat include Georgetown
University, the BBC and the NewYork Public Library, to mention

(01:50):
a few, and her short storycollection Inerts received rare
reviews from the New York Timesand was named 2023 Best Book by
the Guardian, so today I'd liketo introduce you to her podcast.
Madame Speaker Says, do considergiving her a follow and liking
it.
Wherever you listen to podcasts, I've selected an episode that

(02:11):
features beauty editor andfounder of this that Beauty,
felicia Walker.
I thought you'd like it becauseit echoes many of the themes
that are the backbone of Shadesand Layers.
Felicia Walker is a skineducator and an entrepreneur,
and she takes the guesswork outof caring for your body's
largest living organ your skin.
In this episode, she shares herjourney to becoming a beauty

(02:32):
editor and an entrepreneur inthe beauty space and, without
further ado, let's get into it.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
She literally is the queen of pretty.
Okay, she is the queen ofpretty, and let me qualify what
I mean by that.
We're talking to somebody whois a skincare expert.
We're talking to somebody whois a beauty editor.
I'm talking to somebody whounderstands the science of how
beauty meets, the depth of whatit means to be a woman and how

(03:00):
to glow, not just with productsbut from the inside out.
When you see her, like you, sheis a walking campaign for
everything that she writes aboutand teaches about, because
she's an educator.
If you're not following her atthis, that beauty on Instagram
and all the socials to get allof the tea on how to make your

(03:20):
skin glow, I don't know, I don'tknow.
I don't know, I don't know.
Like't know, I don't know, Idon't know, like I just I feel
for you.
Her name is Felicia Walker.
Felicia is going to share somany gems with us.
I'm really excited, from a verypersonal place, about this
conversation because, like, I'vegot my notepad, here's my

(03:43):
notepad, here's my pencil.
This is like for my skin gameis going to be on a different
level, felicia, I'm so excitedto see you, to be here with you.
How are you today?
You're listening to.
Madam Speaker Says your nofluff cheat code to becoming the
voice everyone listens to.
I'm your host, makho Khodi.

(04:05):
If you've been waiting forpermission slip to straighten
your crown and take up spacelike you invented the blueprint,
madam Speaker says got youcovered?
No whispers, no apologies, justyou, me and some bold ass moves
.
Let's get into it.
Welcome, welcome everybody.

(04:26):
I am so delighted to have youhere.
Thank you for making time,thank you for grabbing your tea,
thank you for being ready forthe most delicious Okay
Conversation.
And, girl, let me just tell yousomething.
We're about to make sure thatyou stay in your pretty game.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
Okay, oh, thank you so much for having me.
I hope you didn't oversell it,girl.
I'm like no, thank you, I'mreally honored?
I really don't think so.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
I read the bio.
I did my homework there's Iundersold it.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
Oh, thank you for for inviting me on.
This really is such an honor.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
I appreciate it, thank you, and I want to start
with something that I said whichis definitely not overselling.
When I say beauty queen, I amalso harking back to your days
starting out as a pageantcontestant or queen, or and I
was so delighted to hear thisthat you started out in the

(05:24):
pageant world.
That's where some of yourinterest in beauty came from,
because I am South African, I'mfrom Soweto, south Africa, and
it's so interesting to me.
I've been thinking about this,for you know, I've been thinking
about it recently.
Pageants and what they mean inthe United States, it's not the
same thing as what it is aroundthe world.

(05:44):
Okay, for me growing up, likehonestly, I still remember who
Miss South Africa was in 1995,in 1994.
They were such a big deal andthey were role models.
It wasn't, and they werefeminists, like big time.
So I'm curious for you one howdid you get into that game?
And then two, I'm curious foryou one how did you get into

(06:15):
that game?
And then two I'd really love toknow what, what, what did I get
ready with me as a pageant girl?

Speaker 3 (06:20):
Laughing.
What did that look like?
Because we didn't even call it.
Get ready with me right beforeInstagram.
Oh, of course not.
First of all, I'm like lockedin.
Locked in now because, how youknow, that is for me.
So you definitely did yourresearch, because I've talked
about that very little.
I do have pageant roots.
I think I was once asked if Icould kind of trace my beauty
roots and how I got into beauty.

(06:42):
And I thought a lot about itand I know, ever since I was a
little kid, I was just reallyenamored with beauty products
and the beauty supply store andmaking my own concoctions and
mud packs and things like that.
And when I was really young Igrew up in Newark, new Jersey we
did not have a lot of financialresources at all.

(07:02):
My mom did not have a ton ofeducation and so whenever
something came up if it was apre-college program, an
afterschool program, anythingthat was about scholarships,
school, whatever she was likeFelicia.
This is where you're going tonow be on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
You're going, honey.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
There's no choice.
And that's how I got involvedin pageants, because it was
actually more of a scholarshippageant.
So you have to do an interviewand you have to do an essay and
you had to do all of thesethings that were about like
poise and presenting.
So it wasn't like a typicalbeauty pageant.
These were scholarship pageantsand you had to have great

(07:38):
grades and all of these things.
But what I realized inretrospect is the pageant
director I believe she workedfor Mary Kay and the pipeline
for meeting her Mary Kay At thisMary Kay starter kit.
I was like, wow, she really hasa pipeline system going on here,

(08:01):
because that was a part of,like, our registration.
Everyone had to have thismakeup kit and it was like, I
mean, you had girls that alllook completely different but we
all had the same makeup andlike the instructions on how to
use it was just, I remember it'slike a frosty pink and like a
metallic burgundy and it waslike the frosty pink on the
lower and the burgundy in thecrease.

(08:22):
I'm like I don't really have acrease, it was just a mess.
It was just a mess but that wasa really, I think, pivotal
point in my like, kind ofunderstanding of beauty and
makeup, and I was already veryinto skincare, so that is
definitely a core memory for mein terms of, like, my first
experiences with makeup andbeauty and skincare and trying

(08:46):
to tailor it specifically for meand my needs.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
I love that point about specificity right and I
also love the vision of thisyoung, gorgeous little girl.
Maybe you had pigtails.

Speaker 3 (09:03):
Gorgeous is definitely overselling.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Oh, oh, come on, I'm looking at her, I think, like
the evidence is on there.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
I always.
I mean, I, I'm very honest, Ithink when I was a kid.
I do not think I was anattractive kid.
I really don't, I think, andI'm in retrospect.
I'm glad that I kind of wasn't,because I know that it forced
me to develop my personality, mysmart sense of humor, how to
get along with people beyond Imean, I grew up in the 80s and

(09:35):
really being attractive, itwasn't even so much about your
facial configuration, it wasabout what you wore, what your
clothes look like, what yourhair looked like, the kind of
sneakers, the jewelry you wore.
So, even if I was a cute kidand I look at those pictures I
definitely was not a cute kid,but I also didn't have the you

(09:57):
know the fixings either.
No, I was not this gorgeous kid.
I'm just going to be honest andyou have to trust me on that.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
I don't, first of all , I don't.
But I'm curious about thatbecause I'm interested in how we
become beautiful, right, and assomebody who is a beauty editor
, I think there's somethingreally interesting that you're
saying behind those layers of.
I actually didn't grow upeither seeing myself as really

(10:27):
beautiful and I didn't have likeall the accrued amounts I
definitely.
I resonate with that.
I was not the kid I also wasn'traised that way.
Three girls my mom was kind ofdeliberate about.
Like the beauty, like who toldyou that?
Like you, yeah, you're nicelooking, you're a good girl, but
like you're smart, but like youknow how self-worth and inner

(10:47):
worth, what that is in dialogueto this other stuff that is also

(11:12):
beautiful.
I mean, we enjoy it, right.
Beauty, skincare and I'mcurious what your take is on
that.
Hey, pull up, pull up, pull up.
Just you and me for a second.
Are you an exec, a founder or anentrepreneur who's sick of
shrinking in rooms?
You're overqualified to lead.
It's time to stop playing smalland start owning your expertise

(11:33):
.
But how, makhokhodi Girl, I gotyou.
I offer coaching that helpswomen of color, just like you,
to claim your place as a thoughtleader, whether you want to
command a room craft and shareyour signature story, or finally
get that book out of your headand onto bookshelves.
I've got the strategy and spicyaccountability that you need If

(11:58):
you're tired of seeing lessqualified folks shine while you
stay behind the scenes.
Girl, the wait list is open.
Follow the link in show notesto stop waiting for permission
and claim your VIP spot now.
My mission helping women justlike you to snatch the spotlight
, shake the table and take yourdamn seat at the top already.

(12:22):
No begging, no detours and,nope, no apologies, just bold
ass moves.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
I think it's a process and it's a beauty, is a
spectrum, and I, of course, itis an inner thing.
I think it it starts on theinside and I think for me, my
idea of like what's beautiful,for me it's a spectrum it's
changed over time.
So at one point maybe, beautyfor me looked a certain way and

(12:57):
over time it looks a little bitdifferent.
I think it's always evolving.
I feel most beautiful when I amconfident.
If I know what I'm talkingabout, I feel really beautiful
in that.
That gives me a certain levelof assurance.
Just, yeah, that gives me acertain level of assurance.

(13:17):
I again, I think that I didn'tgrow up with the fixings of what
people would call you know,people in my generation labeled
as, like, traditional beauty,and so I think I learned to
connect with people in ways thatwas like no one was going to
come and talk to me because Ihad, like, the dopest gear, and

(13:39):
in the 80s that's what it kindof was.
So the shoes, the right shoes,oh so in like, we just didn't
have money like that and I, youknow, so no one was going to be
my friend because of thosethings, and I'm not even saying
like.
I had that awareness back then.
I look back at it, I'm justlike you know, I really had to
learn to navigate certain thingsand kind of find out and create

(14:01):
what beauty meant for me,because it wasn't going to be
the conventional.
I grew up in an all-blackenvironment so I can't even look
, I wouldn't put like the whitelens on it, like oh this, like
honestly, that was veryconfusing for me growing up,
because the things that whitepeople thought were beautiful,
like I was like what, like thatjust just didn't enter my view

(14:26):
at all.
So it wasn't even about that.
It was within my community andwithin Blackness, what the
things that made people popularand stand out.
I didn't have that awarenessthen.
But when I look back now I'mlike, oh yeah, I did have to,
you know, learn to get alongwith different people and all of

(14:48):
these things, because, again,no one was going to be my friend
on on looks alone.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, nobody.
Nobody stays in a friendship onlooks alone, so that's kind of
a good skill to have you knowfor life.

Speaker 3 (15:02):
I would, I would agree with.
Agree with that.
I mean I don't think I wouldchange it.
I do like, and over time you,you decide like what's beautiful
for you.
Yeah, I don't think like.
Once I got a little older, Iwas always pretty secure with my
looks.
I never felt like, oh, I don'tlook pretty, or anything like
that.
I think I typically felt prettyconfident, but I was.

(15:23):
I didn't think I was like themost attractive, but I felt like
I'm pretty good and I'm okay.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
Yeah, yeah, when did you discover the beauty store?
Cause I've heard you describethe beauty store as your happy
place and I just want to paint apicture here, because not
everybody who's listening isnecessarily based in the States.
For me, experiencing andunderstanding what the beauty
store in the States is, it wasjust like a whole education.
It's like oh, so this is so,this is where you go to get your

(15:51):
real, real tea Right In SouthAfrica, in Soweto.
Now, sure, we do have thingsthat look like a beauty store,
like in the States, but itlooked very different when I was
a little girl.
It was like there'll be alittle bit of our beauty things
in this puzzle shop which islike a bodega, you know.
So the idea of like a dedicatedspace, and sometimes I mean

(16:13):
these places can get like largerthan life.
There's a place in North Phillywhich is just about the whole
block.

Speaker 3 (16:21):
Wow, I would love to go there.
Yes, well, growing up, when Iwas growing up, we didn't have
like Sephora and Ulta like wehave now, and particularly in
urban areas you didn't haveplaces like that.
So maybe if you went to themall trying to think of, like,
what would have been similarwhen I was a kid, I really can't
think.
But we had beauty supply storesand they were very, very ethnic

(16:43):
place Like this is where blackwomen went to get their gel,
their nails, their skincare,their hair care products, and so
it was.
I mean, they're called beautysupply stores, so it was kind of
more like.
It seemed like more of a supplystore than it was like you know
, like a Sephora experience.
But this was indeed my happyplace as a kid.

(17:03):
Even now, I can go and roam theaisles.
It's like a mental health dayand I can just roam the aisles
and try different things.
I'm still very much enamoredwith beauty supply stores.
It's very hard for me to go inand not buy anything.
Now, conversely, I can walkinto Sephora and not buy, but
there's something about I don'tknow if it's like the

(17:26):
accessibility, it's like thekitsch yes, just drives me like
insane in the best possible wayand that was my experience as a
child spend my allowance at thebeauty supply store.
I would go and buy like little99 cent deep conditioner mud
packs and different kinds oflike hair oils and learning to

(17:50):
do my own acrylic nails.
Like whatever my money couldbuy, I was grabbing at the local
beauty supply stores.

Speaker 2 (17:58):
Listen, let me tell you something, felicia, like the
amount of money that is,specifically the ones in Harlem,
the beauty supply stores, theamount of money that they,
specifically the ones in Harlem,the beauty supply stores, the
amount of money that they havemade from me.
I mean they must be standing onlike millions or something,
because, yeah, and one of thethings I think is so interesting
too is we're drawn to themcontinuously, right, I mean, I,

(18:21):
I'm so aware of me living in NewYork and not necessarily being
I wasn't even living in Harlem,I was living way out in the
Hudson Valley, in Burbia kind ofcountry, and the only place
that had what I needed was likelet me drive all the way out,
like go right to where like theheadquarters of Blacklandia is

(18:46):
and get what I need from thisbeauty supply.
And I don't know, I thinkthere's something, um, there's
something there that's kind ofsticky for what it means to be
especially a professional Blackwoman who cares about our beauty
.
And yes, of course we're goingto Sephora, we're going to Ulta,
but we still all day, we'restill trucking going to the
beauty supply store right it is.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
It remains my happy place.

Speaker 2 (19:10):
Which ones are your favorites, and is there anything
that you've recently boughtthere that made you particularly
happy?

Speaker 3 (19:17):
Oh gosh, I just bought hair elastics the other
day and sadly, where I'm from,there are less and less beauty
supply stores.
There used to be a lot and I'mhearing that landlords and the
price of real estate is reallyforcing it's forcing the closure
of a lot of beauty supplystores, which is really sad
because downtown I mean, youwould have like two and three on

(19:40):
one block and there's likebarely one or two.
There's just a handful.
So I've had to explore and Ihave neighboring towns and their
beauty supply stores that I goto and also finding new ones.
I've been exploring new placesbut I mean recently it was just,
I think, hair elastics and Ithink I bought some like

(20:01):
dermaplaning thingies and whatelse.
I've got to go tomorrow to getsome hair because I'm getting my
hair done.
Yes, but it's always such adiscovery and then, like they'll
have things like fancy hosiery,you know, and it's so

(20:21):
inexpensive compared to you know, if you buy online or you know
other shops and things.
So I like the discovery of ittoo.
There's a huge discoveryelement of things that maybe you
didn't expect to find.
So it's like beauty supply, butit also has like a little
general store element too, whichI really enjoy.
It's like a bazaar, you know.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
Yes, yes, and speaking of enjoyment, you know,
yes, yes, and speaking ofenjoyment.
So the way that I connectedwith you, I mean I've been
following you and absolutelyloving your content, this, that
beauty for folks who aren'tfamiliar with it, and what I,
what I was so shocked byfollowing you is you announced
your 50 years on planet earth.

(21:05):
I was like, like, where, where,like, like, like, show me the
face that is 50 years old, right?
So, first of all, happybirthday.
She's going through her faceLike this, is it?
This is the 50 year old face?
First of all, happy birthday.
But second of all, too, too, Iwant to know how did you

(21:26):
celebrate your birthday?
And then we're gonna get into.
I want to talk about somereally yummy things around.
What does it mean to be 50years old?
But first, let's start withwhat was?
What was enjoyment?
What felt good aboutcelebrating?

Speaker 3 (21:42):
um, well, I feel like every day is such a blessing
Like I hate to sound like reallyold school, but every day above
ground is truly a blessing.
So I've always been very proudof every milestone.
I remember when I turned 40,red Door Spa did a big brand
trip for me with like friends.
We did a spa day.
So I've always let with my age.

(22:04):
I've never tried to hide.
I don't understand that, buteveryone makes the choices that
work for them works for them.
When I turned 50, I was tryingto decide what I wanted to do,
and my birthday is in Januaryand it's very cold, and I don't
know if you've ever seen thefive heartbeats, but the thing
that kept coming to mind is whenhe's like ain't nobody coming
to see you, otis, I'm likenobody wants to come out, and I

(22:28):
didn't want to drag people outin the freezing weather.
So I really just wanted torelax, though, because I
typically go away every birthday.
So I wanted to relax and justchill and just be tired of being
on vacation, and that's exactlywhat I did.
But but I've decided to do inJuly is have a 50 and a half

(22:49):
birthday.
I do want to party, but not inJanuary.
In January.
I just wanted to like relax.
So my husband and I went onvacation and we chilled out and
spent a long time just likegetting tired of vacation, like,
oh, you're tired of it, letlet's go back.
So that was exactly what Iwanted to do, okay.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
I I'm taking a serious note from that a 50 and
a half.
Like every single year now on,I'm gonna be like, oh yeah, but
I'm 43 and a half now, so we getto celebrate that too.
It also takes off the pressure.

Speaker 3 (23:26):
Yeah, I mean, you're in Mexico, but here we have a
felon as president.
You can do what the fuck thatyou want.
So I was like, because I'm abig family person, like family,
friends, huge community of folks, you know that I love and love
me, and I really wanted to havea party.
But I was just like I didn'thave the energy for one in

(23:49):
January, so decided to do a 50and a half in July.
So we'll do a big barbecue, bigbash at the house.
I'm excited, I love it, I loveit.

Speaker 2 (23:57):
If it's a street party, I'm coming um.
So you know, on the flip sideof that, 50 really is a big and
beautiful and like worth all thebells, the whistles, the
vuvuzelas, right South Africa,like that loud thing that you
heard when we had the world cup.

(24:17):
What?
What does 50 mean to you?
What was, was the significance?
Yeah, what does 50 mean?

Speaker 3 (24:25):
Oh, what did 50 mean?
And what does it mean now?
Again, just honestly, deepgratitude for more life.
Like it just meant, honestly,just like more life.
And I just have unfortunatelyexperienced, like you know, loss
and we just like, every day isa gift.

(24:45):
You know, I just have animmense amount of gratitude for
reaching this milestone and Iprayed that.
You know I see many more.
I just feel blessed to be hereand contribute and get to do
what I want to do.
I don't have anything profoundto say.
I kind of just got here at 50.
So maybe if I got willing I'llhave more thoughts, but at this

(25:09):
point I'm just, I was really,really, really happy to see 50.
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (25:14):
You know it's so funny.
You say that that's notprofound.
I I listen to what you'resaying and it's two things.
Like I know it in my heart.
I know how life changes fromyou for you when you live from a
place of gratitude.
You know one of the things I'vebeen training my mind to say

(25:38):
when it's on autopilot and thenstarts wanting to go to places
and you know, like inner chatter, just nonsense, one of the
things I'm trying to train mybrain to then starts wanting to
go to places and you know, likeinner chatter, just nonsense.
One of the things I'm trying totrain my brain to then go back
to a default is why am I sograteful?
Just that question.
Why am I so grateful?
And there's so many things in aday to be grateful for.
And then when you multiplythose days and take it to 50

(26:01):
years, I mean listen like mymind goes there and thinks about
how real that is at a soullevel if you practice it.
But then I think about yourskin.
Okay, if this queen is drinkingthis gratitude tea and it gives

(26:22):
you skin like this at 50.
I'm a chug all day.
Okay, cheers Like.

Speaker 3 (26:28):
I'm here for that.
You're very sweet.
You're very sweet.
I mean I've been taking careI've just been very intentional
about my skin since probably myearly twenties.
So that means I've been doing,uh, wearing sunscreen since my
early 20s.
I think that that's a big gamechanger.
A lot of times people will say Ithink you know, it's genetics.

(26:50):
And I do agree that geneticsplays a role, but it's kind of
like good looks, it kind of getsyou in the door but it doesn't
always like walk through, youknow.
So I think, yeah, you may have,like you know, the genetic
gifts, but it's really up to youwhat you do with it.
And I always explain to peoplethat our external conditions are

(27:12):
so much more severe and ourexposure is very different from
our parents.
So you know, you're a Mexiconow and you know you probably
vacation a lot and, like myparents didn't have that
experience, they didn't vacationa lot several times.
So our exposure is different.
We're commuting.
So you really, you knowgenetics kind of, you know, give

(27:32):
you a little push, but youreally do have to take care of
your skin.
And I have lots of friends whoare my age, one friend in
particular in Florida, and shealways gives me permission to
share this, but she's like we'rethe same age.
Why is our skin so different?
And I'm like girl, I've beentelling you like you need to
wear your sunscreen and, but herexposure is different.
She's in Florida, so you knowshe has some of like the deep

(27:54):
lines and different things.
So you really have tounderstand your skin what it
needs, give it what it needs,understand whatever your
skincare goals are or yourchallenges, and what you're
doing lines up to those goals,lines up to that challenge and
adjust as needed.
And I think that's a big whitespace for a lot of us.

(28:16):
A lot of people don't know whatwe're doing, why we're doing
what we need, what our skinresponds to.
I'm sensitive, doing what weneed, what our skin responds to.
I'm sensitive, but sensitive towhat.
So there's a lack of educationand consistency and habit.
So a lot of us aren't gettingthe skin that we want.
So for me it's been a processof like learning my skin what my

(28:37):
skin needs and being able toyou know pirouette when
something isn't working and knowlike, oh, this isn't working or
now I've got thishyperpigmentation so I need to
switch to this or switch to that.
So I've been in tune with myskin a long time and I think
that that has helped me toarrive at 50 and have the skin
that I have.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
Yeah, it definitely shows.
And the education componentsthat you're talking about is so
important.
I can definitely tell you I'mone of those people.
I just have never reallyunderstood beauty.
I've been intimidated by it, Ithink, and especially when you
walk into a place like Sephora,I'm like, oh my God, oh my God,
so many choices.
But this is why I'm trying toput people if you're listening,

(29:20):
I'm trying to put you on game.
You need to follow this, thatbeauty.
If you're listening, I'm tryingto put you on game.
Okay, you need to follow this,that beauty, because you're so
great at breaking down thingsthat are complicated and making
it something all of us canunderstand and digest.
And and and and.
To that question, I'm reallycurious.
Looking back, I mean, I knowit's different for you because
you started in your twenties,but if you can walk us through

(29:42):
twenties, when you turned 20 orsome, let's say you're speaking
to somebody who is in hertwenties, someone who's in her
thirties, someone who's in herforties let's take just those
right.
Three young, beautiful womenwalk in once 20, 30, 40, what
advice are you giving them?
And feel free to give us auntieadvice about life.

(30:05):
At what do you wish you'd knownwhen you were 20, when you were
30, when you were 40, anddefinitely we're taking notes on
your tips.
Beauty wise, what should you bepaying attention to?
What do you wish we had knownat 20, 30, 40?

Speaker 3 (30:22):
That's a great question.
It's pretty broad, it's a bigwalkthrough.
I'll do my best, I think,starting with skincare, because
that really is my area ofexpertise.
My work has always sat at thisintersection of skincare
education, skin health andself-care education, skin health

(30:42):
and self-care and not toshameless plug.
But I think 20s, 30s, 40severyone should buy my new book,
your Glow Guide.
It is a skincare workbook thatwas designed to address exactly
what we're speaking to.
It's designed to help the usertrack their skincare routines
and develop the habits thatactually lead to the skin that

(31:02):
they want.
So if you're in your 20s, you'rein your 30s or your 40s, what
is your current skin condition?
What are the products that youhave on hand?
What is your goal?
Hyperpigmentation what are youdoing in the morning?
Your AM, what's your PM routineEach day?
What are your results?
What changes are you noticingin your skin?
Wash and repeat for four weeks.

(31:23):
You know this is the workbookand then at the end you're
evaluating.
I use this product starting thisdate.
These were the key ingredients.
This is what I noticed in myskin, so that you begin to learn
your skin and like what worksfor you, not what works for you,
what works for me.
That's why I always say it'scalled your Glow guide, because
it's about you and removing thatconfusion, organizing your

(31:45):
routines and really helping youbuild those habits.
So that's the first thing thatI think a lot of us need,
because we see things onInstagram where they might
people, someone may see me andsay, oh, my God, your skin is so
amazing.
What are you using?
And I might say, well, I likevitamin C for dark spots, but
you might be allergic to vitaminC and if you have no tracking,
no accountability, no habit foryour skin, you won't really know

(32:07):
that.
And then you're triggered andpulled in every direction from
every trend and every TikTok andevery this.
And so I've never been thatkind of like beauty editor or
skincare educator, educator,content creator where it's like
do this and this thing is goingto give you what you want.
I'm always like let's have thatconversation about your skin.
What are your challenges?
You know what are you using?

(32:28):
Okay, does this align to yourchallenge?
Does this align to your goal?
That's where we need to start,and I feel like that is still a
huge white space, which is why Iwrote my book, because I feel
like there's still so muchconfusion.
You know so much isdisorganizations at a word.
Nothing is really organized.
I think people are just kind ofgoing off what they see on

(32:50):
TikTok or what they'reinfluenced by, but they don't
really have a true understandingof their own skin.

Speaker 2 (32:57):
Oh my God, I could just weep over the importance of
what you're saying for somebodylike me and, I think, a lot of
people who are probably turningto you as students I'm probably
more like those people than notright Overwhelmed by the beauty
industry and how much is comingat us constantly.

(33:19):
Turn to resources, like I go,you know, on social media to
people I admire.
I'm like, oh my god, what arethey doing?
And it's like, but like you'vegot 500 products.
Where do I begin?
And then also this reallyimportant thing that you're
saying of understanding andknowing your own skin, which I'm
curious if you can talk alittle bit more about that and

(33:41):
how that's played for you inyour own journey, because I
notice, even just here on thisplatform, people ask me things
like well, we have the samecomplexion.
What do you use on your skin?
I'm like I also have lifestylehabits that play into what my
skin looks like.
You know and I'm not saying I'mvery far from having it figured

(34:02):
out, like I just admitted, I amone of those people who doesn't
understand beauty like at all,but I'm curious that lens that
you have is so sophisticated andit's so nuanced.
What, where, where in yourjourney.
Has that been the big aha oflike oh, actually what people

(34:23):
need, especially as a beautyeditor, because it's quite a
prescriptive job, right?
Usually it is here's theproducts that we're putting out
that we think will help you withX, y, z, especially for women
like us who have very specificskin needs as black, brown woman
.
To then go even more niche andsay, actually you're one of one,

(34:45):
let's think about that, that'sthat's.
That's not capitalism, that isno capitalism.
Speaking.

Speaker 3 (34:53):
Yeah, and you know it's.
It's always been a challengefor me because I've always been
a long form girly.
So if someone says, what do youdo, it's really hard for me to
say do this, do that.
Like I will say, if you listento nothing, just wear sunscreen.
Because sunscreen is such agreat catch-all, because if a
lot of women of color blackwomen, the number one concern is

(35:13):
hyperpigmentation, dark spots,uneven tone, and sunscreen is
going to give you a barrieragainst that.
It's going to protect thecollagen that you have, it's
going to slow down the um, theaging of your skin.
So, whatever, if you always say, if you listen to nothing else,
wear sunscreen after that itreally is a personal
conversation about because I can.

(35:35):
I never apply like my thoughtsand ideas about skin on someone
else.
You know, like sometimes people, people will say to me okay,
tell me everything, what do Ineed?
And I'm like that's not mybusiness to be like you need to
do this, you need to do that.
If you tell me what concernsare, because I may say, well,

(35:58):
for your dark circles, they maybe like what dark circles
circles, they may be like whatdark circles.
You have to be aware that,culturally and just personally
there.
Everyone should see themselvesdifferently, you know.
So it's like that.
I might say, well, I don't wantthese sideburns, I'm going to
dermaplane, but you, they mightremind you of your late mom and

(36:22):
you keep a connection to yourfamily.
So it is such a personalconversation.
So I always say, well, arethere challenges that you're
having?
You know, what things do youwant to improve or change?
Are your products notperforming Like?
I'm never going to say you needto use this, this, this,
because sometimes people say Ijust use black soap and alcohol.

(36:43):
Do you like the results you'regetting?
Yes, girl, keep using it.
I'm never going to say that isterrible for your skin, because
if it's working for you, don'tchange it.
So if someone does say, hey, Ihave hyperpigmentation, I will
then want to know what productsare you using?
Well, I don't use sunscreen.
I put Vaseline on my face whenI leave out.
Okay, so Vaseline is attractingthe sun.

(37:05):
It's actually doing theopposite of what you want it to
do.
Vaseline is an occlusive.
It does not actually moisturizeyour skin.
It locks in whatever'sunderneath.
You're not moisturizing.
Nothing's getting through.
So we can have thoseconversations, but, as you can
see, I really struggle with Ithink I said long form, I meant
to say I struggle with shortform because people want easy
answers and it's not really easyalways, and that's how I kind

(37:30):
of started this journey in thebeginning, almost 20 years ago,
when I wrote a blog post.
That kind of was the firstthing that sent my blog viral.
It was about hyperpigmentation,because I was sharing my own
struggles and and and chartingwhat was going on with me and
then wrote like this epic blogpost I'm like all the things you
need to do when most peoplejust want a product.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
Tell me what to do, okay, tell me what to buy.

Speaker 3 (37:57):
One thing you know, and the one thing is you have to
learn your skin.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
Oh, why?

Speaker 3 (38:03):
why?
Why are you going to make ithard?
Oh, why are you going to makeit hard, Like, why are you going
to make it hard for us, Felicia, oh I actually made it easy
with work.

Speaker 2 (38:12):
You know, hold that up again please, Because we do
need to get their hands on this.

Speaker 3 (38:17):
This is my prototype.
This is actually not even likethe real, real.
Well, this is a prototype, soright and it works.
I was just like kind of quicklyflip through.
It's like you have your monthlyskin planner so you might set
your month and products you wantto buy, and then you have your.
You know you start the week andwhat's your goal, what's
hyperpigmentation, your AM, yourPM routine and then each day,

(38:41):
you know you have your days ofthe week and you should know how
your skin is responding tovarious things that you're using
.
People have no idea.
And that continues for likefour weeks and then you get to a
point where you have your endof month analysis about like
your ingredients and productsand like your before and after.
This was like a before myhyperpigmentation and the after

(39:02):
you can see there's a hugeimprovement.
So there's like your, yourbefore and after.
And the thing is, like you,what you don't track, you don't
know.
You know I don't know if youever sat down with like a
financial planner and they'relike, hey, so we need to do your
budget and, um, how much do youeat out?
And you're like, oh, a coupleof times a month, you know a

(39:25):
couple hundred dollars and yougo through the receipts and
you're like I spent $800 on foodlast month.
You have no idea because you'renot tracking it, and so that's
why this type of book isimportant, because it gives you
that accountability and all thethere are all these like cute
little fill in the blanks andcheck-ins like wash your brushes
, check expiration dates, do acancer, self-screening all these

(39:46):
things advice dispersedthroughout your glow guide as
well, and I think honestly, thisreminds me so much of like my
viral post of 20, uh, of a longtime ago, because it was very
foundational and giving peoplethat foundational knowledge of
hyperpigmentation what it is,how it works, how you need to

(40:10):
attack it a variety of ways.
It's not just like one littleserum, and this feels like a
return to that.
It's.
It's kind of simple, but it'svery needed, and there is a
white space where this kind ofthing doesn't help.
There's a lot of product but alot of practice, and there's not
a lot of education in this gap.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
Yes, yes, which is why I'm so excited to number one
, have it, I'm definitely goingto put my order in.
But then number two, to speakto you and to explain the
importance of what you'retalking about.
I mean, even as you weredescribing, I'm like I've never
come across or heard of anythinglike that.
The closest that I come to itis visiting my dermatologist and

(40:54):
the questions that she walks methrough, which, honestly, if I
had this handbook in like hand,we'd have so much like, we'd be
able to cover so much moreground because she'd be looking
at something that's real data asopposed to me being like well,
yeah, I guess I don't know.
I do use sunscreen.

Speaker 3 (41:14):
I know I do that and you know what's really
interesting about you sayingthat is both affirming and
confirming the need for this indoctor's offices.
So I have two doctors that arecarrying the uh, your glow guide
in their offices now, becausedermatologists will have
patients come in and they'll gettheir treatments and then maybe
the doctor will recommendproducts to you in four weeks

(41:36):
and they come back in four weekshey, so did you use?
Well, I kind of, but it doesn'twork.
And it's like well, how does itnot work if you didn't use it?
There's no trust, noaccountability and I it's funny,
I was inspired.
I mentioned my mom earlier and Iwas inspired to create this
because my mom, for as long as Ican remember, whenever she goes

(41:58):
to the doctor, she alwaysbrings a notebook and she will
write down every single thingand, like my mom, doesn't have a
lot of education, not supersophisticated when it comes to
medical things, but my mom'shealth is on point and it's
because she brings her notebookand she will write her vitals,
her blood pressure, her weight,the medication the doctors

(42:20):
recommend, and she comes backfor the next appointment.
She brings her book and there'sa big jump in weight If it goes
up or down, she's going to sayhey, I think that medicine that
you gave me last appointment isthe reason, so she can track it.
My mom has boxes of these Wow,a little dollar store notebook
and once it's done, she starts anew one and they go with her to

(42:42):
every single doctor'sappointment.
If there's a word she doesn'tknow, she writes it down and
she's like hey, felicia, theysaid this thing, let's look this
up.
What is this?
That tracking andaccountability has been super
important and impactful in herhealth, in the maintenance of
her health.
So, even without a lot ofeducation or anything, just that

(43:03):
simple tracking of what's goingon with your health, and that
continuity has made a hugedifference in her health.
Wow, wow, wow.

Speaker 2 (43:13):
I mean I love your mom, I love her for that work
and then how that inspires this,because this allows us to take
control right.
We don't have to outsourceeverything to somebody at
Sephora who's on.
And God bless the beautifulgirls at Sephora because they're
trying really hard to help youbut they don't necessarily have

(43:36):
all the deep science andknowledge of your skin the way
that you would if you paidattention.

Speaker 3 (43:42):
Agree, agree and like once you begin to understand I
think you were asking me aboutlike when I first started in
skincare and like changes indifferent things and a thing
that I've noticed because I'maware of my skin and the
ingredients that my skinresponds to, it's really like a
handful of ingredients that havebeen consistent for me.
So it's like glycolic acid,retinol, sunscreen, maybe

(44:05):
niacinamide.
On vitamin C, so when I see youknow new things that come up,
I'm not kind of triggered in animpulse to try everything
because I know these are thethings that work and I'll also
know when things give me areaction.
So, like, one thing that I'mallergic to topically is honey,
and so if I see something and ifevery influencer under the sun

(44:26):
is like oh my God, this honeyturmeric mask, I don't care what
it did for your skin, I'm goingto freak out.
So I know I can't use it.
Same thing vitamin C.
I told my sister-in-law I waslike you have to use this, it's
so good, it's so good.
She's like I'm itchy, I'm like,oh my God, maybe you're
allergic.
And she realized she's allergicto vitamin C.
So understanding your skin isso empowering.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
Yeah, amen to that.
And also, I know that you aresuch a huge advocate for
self-care and I know that youlove your self-care routines.
I'm curious from a dailyperspective like what can
self-care look?
I'm curious from a dailyperspective like what, what can
self-care look like if it'sreally quick on the go, day to
day?
But then also, what are some ofthe things that we could be

(45:11):
getting into that are like hey,I have a weekend and I'm a
little bit more relaxed, I havetime.
What are some of the thingsthat you would recommend folks
to get curious about?

Speaker 3 (45:21):
Yeah, you know it's very personal and it's a sliding
scale, you know so sometimes itmight be, you know, a thing,
like I have these favoritecotton like pads that I like for
my skin Shiseido and like $11,you know and sometimes like so.
For me sometimes it's somethinglike that.
That's special.

(45:41):
And then sometimes, you know,it's something else.
I think for everyone it's alittle bit different what the
self-care looks like.
It might be a walk I don'tagain, like you know, magic
bullets but it really isdifferent and personal to
everyone, you know so, again,sometimes for me it's a splurge

(46:03):
on those $11 exfoliating cottonpads and that makes me feel good
.
And sometimes it's justlistening to a podcast while I'm
in the bathroom and doing alittle at-home facial.
It changes, it really doeschange.
I just kind of listen to what Ineed.
Sometimes it's a quick fix.
Sometimes you have a little bitmore time, you know, to dig

(46:26):
into more of a ritual.
Sometimes one of my bigself-care things lately is I
have an LED sphere and sometimesI just sit with it for like 20
minutes.
I'll do like an amber light,I'll do a blue light.
What does that mean?
I don't know what that meansmean.
I don't know what that means.
So LED is a light emittingdevice and has different colors,

(46:47):
so typically blue, it's forclarifying the skin.
Red is for collagen production.
Amber, it's actually very likecalming and soothing.
Purple is a combination of likehealing acne and collagen, and
so I've been using led deviceslike a mask or a wand for

(47:07):
probably maybe like six or sevenor more years Now.
I now I have a standalone one.
It's like a little sphere and Isit it.
Sometimes I sit and I work atit and I just changed my little
lights and it really I it reallyhelps my skin.
Um, so, sometimes like thatfeels like self-care.
Wow, yeah, it's.
It's such a personal thing.
I hate to be like, oh, get amassage, do this, but it really

(47:28):
it's so different.
Sometimes for me, self-care isjust like going and just start
cooking and shopping.
Like that to me, just feelslike I did a thing.
My brain can like go elsewhereand I can just go on out.
Yeah, it's beauty products, andsometimes it's just like
mundane things.
I wish I could be more exciting.

Speaker 2 (47:48):
I'm sorry no, I actually um, I want to call it
out because I think one of thethings that you're saying and
correct me if I'm wrong I reallyresonate with the taking back
self-care from a corporatepackage into a practice of life.
Yes, it's wonderful, because alot of times it does coincide

(48:11):
with beauty products.
Sometimes, that's true.
Right, you were just talkingabout the beautiful face thing
that you use or the LED light.
But a walk in the park, that isbeautiful self-care.
Calling your mom, that is oneof my favorite forms of daily
self-care, and there's nobody onthe other end of that where

(48:31):
there's a check.

Speaker 3 (48:34):
Yeah, I think, like I often think about like what I
have time for, what I can fit in, like I think last week I just
had a couple of days where I satat like two o'clock and veg out
on the couch for a couple ofhours and to me, like that was
definitely self-care I'm caringfor.
Yes, like you know, when I seea window like two hours where I
can just kind of sit and bestill for a little bit, so

(48:54):
you're, it doesn't have toalways be like corporatized yes,
yes, which nothing wrong withthat, like for all the girlies
that want to go out and do theself-care.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
That is, you know some lovely bundle at Sephora or
Ulta.
Please do that, but justremember there's other options
too.

Speaker 3 (49:12):
Yeah, I do have those days.
I used to have this ritual whenI was like, if I feel like I
was like down to like my lastdollar, it's the weirdest thing.
It is probably reallyirresponsible.
If I felt, if I had like nomoney, I swear I would just go
and take myself like the nicestmeal, cause I'm like I don't
know but really I should save it.
But I just I ritual of doingthat and I just go and I sit by

(49:37):
myself and I just have like thenicest meal that I can afford or
really can't afford because I'mlike I don't know where the
money's coming from, but I justlike to kind of sit and have
that time with myself.
That's a very weird thing thatI do.

Speaker 2 (49:52):
No, it could also be an affirmation of the abundance
right Like let me put this in mystomach because I know more is
coming and let me enjoy, likethe thing of and this goes back
to our beginning of ourconversation around worth and
what does it mean to bebeautiful and connecting inner
worth with outer beauty.

(50:13):
But I really think that part oflike no, I'm, I'm worth.
Like I don't care what my bankbalance is, I am worthy of
treating and me doing it for me.
I'm not waiting for somebodyelse to come out, take me to a
fancy place.
I deserve this and I deserve totreat me on any budget to a
really fine time.
So that's what's going to be.

(50:34):
Yep, absolutely.
Before we wrap up, I would loveto hear your hot take on
plastic surgery, and I'm askingyou this because I heard a
conversation that you did and Iwas so enlightened by you saying
everybody should have sayingyou have in your what do you

(50:59):
call in your phone book, youhave your dermatologist, you
have a plastic surgeon, you haveall these people that you turn
to for supporting your skincareand supporting your growth.
Please tell us, say more.

Speaker 3 (51:15):
Yeah, I do believe in a beauty roster.
I think that you should havethe pros in your roster and your
stable.
So it's great to have anesthetician that you can go to
on a regular basis to assessyour skin at that level.
It's great to have contentcreators and online beauty

(51:36):
educators that you can relate to.
Like you said, someone may say,oh, we're the same complexion.
I have girlies like that onlineI always want to see.
May say, oh, we're the samecomplexion.
I have girlies like that online.
They're like I always want tosee what their makeup is.
Because we're the similarcomplexion, I'm like, oh, that
looks good on her.
So it's like you may have acontent creator.
You have an esthetician that yousee a few times a year for a
facial, your dermatologist thatyou check in on real medical
issues, because your estheticianand your content creator

(51:59):
they're not qualified to addressmedical issues.
So you want to have adermatologist for your medical
issues.
And there might, you know, aplastic surgeon as well.
I believe at the time of thatinterview, the person that was
doing my peels, she is a plasticsurgeon.
I thought she was adermatologist.
You guys were like, baby, I'm aplastic surgeon.
I was like my bad.

(52:20):
But I do think that thereshould be levels to your beauty
roster and it's great to havethese people within your
community that you can go to forthe appropriate level of
support, you know, so thatyou're not trying to figure a
medical issue out with anesthetician or going to your
dermatologist, for you know ablackhead when you could have

(52:41):
just gone to your esthetician,or going to your dermatologist
for you know a blackhead whenyou could have just gone to your
your esthetician, you know.
I do think that that isimportant.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
I love that and it resonates and it also makes me
curious about what you see asmaybe some of the gap.
This is something that I pickedup on an earlier conversation
you had too, and I thought thisis brilliant.
We need to talk about it.
What is the gap betweenespecially black, brown woman

(53:07):
and plastic surgery and ourunderstanding of what is
possible and not being sointimidated by the worst case
scenarios?
And also, you know they don'tnecessarily have the best
reputation on the block.
You know they don't necessarilyhave the best reputation on the
block.
What are we missing out?
Like?
What information do we not have?

Speaker 3 (53:33):
Yeah, as black women, we are missing out on a lot.
There's a huge white space andI think that there's more
information today than there was10 years ago, but there still
is a really huge gap when itcomes to skincare education,
when it comes to aestheticsinjectables and when it comes to
plastic surgery.
I've always felt that, like twoof the biggest issues is one
bad work has the best PR, youknow.

(53:53):
So you see a ton of bad workout there and that's what people
don't want.
And two, a lot of theseprocedures and practices speak
to white women.
They're not talking directly tous.
So, again, there's moreeducation than there was 10
years ago.
There are more people like mebeing very open and honest about
it, but there's still so muchwork to be done.
In your glow guide, at thestart of each month, I have a

(54:16):
quote from either doctors orfriends, and there's the first
quote in it.
It says I just drink water andmind my business, and then it's
like quoted by every celebritywho's ever been asked how they
stay looking so good.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
Oh my.

Speaker 3 (54:31):
God, yes, nobody's doing filler, nobody's had a
facelift, no one's doing laser,no one's doing LED, no one's had
threads.
Everyone is drinking water andminding their business and going
to Pilates three days a weekand looking like a dream.
Be honest and have theconversation.

(54:53):
So it's just not happening onso many levels.
Again, it's happening more, andI've worked with pharmaceutical
brands over the years.
I've been very transparentabout every cosmetic procedure
that I've had.
I first started Botox at 45 or46.
I was transparent about that.
Had filler for my smile linesat 46, transparent about that.

(55:15):
Everything I do I've alwaysbeen very transparent about and
I would love to see more of thatand we are seeing more of it.
I want to see even more.
Again, historically, we have notbeen included in the
conversation.
So the whole black don't crackthing has kept us out of the
conversation because we're ledto believe that skincare doesn't

(55:39):
apply to us.
And then, when we get to thoseages where we're kind of seeing
the things, we're like oh am Idifferent, is something wrong?
Yes, everyone else they'reblack, didn't crack, but here I
am all cracked out.
So it's like you know what'sgoing on with me, but it's
because we're not a part of theskincare conversation.
So we're not learning the toolsand the words and the
ingredients.
We've missed out on a wholeeducation and a whole learning

(56:01):
because we were believing.
You know, black don't crack andit's like our skin just ages
differently and that's somethingthat we have to be mindful of
that.
Our skin ages differently andskin is an organ.
It still needs care.
It's not vanity to take care ofyour skin, to cleanse your skin
properly, to moisturize itproperly, to protect your skin

(56:23):
properly.
That's not vanity.
That's caring for your body'slargest organ.

Speaker 2 (56:29):
Excuse me, Amen Like amen.
Yes, mic drop, that was a whole,a whole fucking mic drop.
Like your skin is an organ,like, treat it the way that you
would your liver, with care, youknow, with also experts.
You wouldn't treat your liverwith just like, oh, who's down
the block, what do they knowaround the way?
Like, no, you'd go to an actualliver experts, right.

(56:51):
So, but you know, it'sinteresting.
As I'm listening to you speak,I'm really curious.
There's something that I'vewitnessed in my lifetime which
is black women specifically, notbeing open to each other, and
I'm not talking about likeoutside and definitely to the
outside world, but for a longtime talking about our hair and
how our hair comes to be allthese beautiful, different

(57:14):
iterations.
It was kind of like you, like Imight give you a compliment oh,
my God, you look amazing.
How did you get your ponytail?
Oh, you know, girl, I'm just,I'm blessed like that, right?
Not?

Speaker 3 (57:25):
me.
I tell everything to a fault,Like if you're like girl, these
things are 12 years old.
Let me tell you I don't knowher.
That is me.
To a fault I can't say thankyou.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
That's what makes you stand out as a content creator
and as an educator, and I thinksomething has shifted in our
culture where more people arecomfortable even admitting like,
yeah, I wear a wig and on stagetaking the wig off.
So I'm hoping, and what I'minspired by your example is, can
we take some of the?
I just drink water and mind mybusiness Like girl?

(58:07):
Let's see your face peel.
Let's see what's going onbehind that beautiful water
you're drinking.
Okay, oh, I hope so, you knowthis has been so special and
also so informative.
I've learned a lot.
I'm really excited about yourglow guide and getting my hands
on that so I can start actuallybecoming an expert in my own

(58:29):
skin.
And I want to close with someintention here.
I want to honor you for these50 years and 50 and a half in
July, when we celebrate anddance in the streets, because I
love this.
What are you most proud of?

(58:50):
And I'm asking you this.
Let me just explain why thisquestion matters so much.
There's so many women, feliciastarting with the woman that
you're speaking to who look atyou with admiration, who look at
you for inspiration.
Your daughter is one of thosepeople, but that's somebody
who's in your life every day.

(59:11):
I think sometimes, when we'rein our everyday, we forget what
our impact is as human beings.
Like you have a really long ass, gorgeous shadow, all the way
over here in Oaxaca, and I feelthe reverberation of your life,
like you're touching somebody.
I don't know you from, likedeep, like that, you know, but I

(59:31):
feel as though there'ssomething that you've given me,
that's given me some glow, and Iwant to know for you when you
look back at all of those 50years, because this is what you
say.
This is where that auntie vibecomes in, because what you say
does matter to those who arecoming behind you, right?

(59:52):
What have you learned from 50years?
What feels significant?
What do you want to impart?
What are you most proud of?

Speaker 3 (01:00:01):
Oh my gosh, you keep forgetting that I just arrived
at 50.
Okay, we'll come back to it inJuly, expecting, but you know, I
feel very proud of the workthat I do and the need that I
saw within my community andcommunity of Black women almost
20 years ago.
That's like one of the firstblack beauty bloggers to lay

(01:00:24):
foundation to the space.
So everything that we'reexperiencing now online with
tiktok and um and all of thesethings where skincare routines
and caring for your skin is apart of our lexicon, that was
something that didn't exist like, not even just for like for
black women, but in general thatdidn't really exist.
So, having being like anarchitect in that space, I'm

(01:00:47):
really proud of that because itwas a need that I saw that
served my community and my workhas never pivoted from that.
I've always been very lockedinto the needs of women who look
like me and continuing to carveout that space and build it out
.
And that's gone from, you know,starting a blog to my editorial

(01:01:09):
work, to working with brands,be it luxury brands, consumer
packaged goods, retailers,pharmaceutical brands always
trying to bring the information,the service, the need to our
population.
That hasn't changed.
That continues with the launchof my book and my future work.

(01:01:30):
I'm really just.
I'm really proud that I've seenthis need and I've stayed the
course, that it continues toevolve and I'm very excited to
see where it goes at 50 and ahalf and beyond.
I'm proud of myself, yeah, andwe're proud of you.
Contribute to our collectivecommunities.

Speaker 2 (01:01:51):
We are I?
I let me speak for myself.
I'm so proud of that legacy andthat work, and there's a really
powerful words that you usedearly in the conversation about
gratitude.
I'm so grateful.
I'm so grateful, like the stuffthat you've done, the work that
you have laid, the foundationthat's ongoing.

(01:02:12):
I mean, you know, sometimes wethink about beauty and we think
about it as something that'slike it's, it's cute, it's like
you don't really you know it's's, it's this thing that we do,
but like you know songs but whenyou don't have it, you know,
when it becomes the thing thatpeople that look like you don't
have exactly and it's no longera vanity thing, it's like you

(01:02:36):
need.
You know exactly exactly how itfeels like oh, you know, kind of
fluffy, but yeah, it's so deepand it's I mean the, the focus
on us, that part about actuallylike being seen and making it
possible for, like a fentybeauty to pay attention and to
understand, like actually, whenyou come out the gate because of

(01:02:59):
the work that felicia walk hasbeen doing.
It needs to be this manyproducts Like, it needs to
include everybody, right.
I'm so grateful for that andI'm so grateful that we got to
have this conversation here.
I am absolutely like, if you'renot following Felicia, and
especially if you're a black orbrown girl, everybody is welcome
to the party too.
Please do follow her, butespecially us.

(01:03:22):
Yo, you need, you need to doyourself and your skin a favor.
It's this, that beauty, and youalso I highly recommend cause
I'm going to do it Please get acopy of your glow up so your
skin, your glow guide, so yourown skin can go on a glow
journey, because who does notwant glowy skin like Felicia?
Tell me, please, glowy skin,absolutely.

(01:03:45):
Thank you so much, felicia.

Speaker 1 (01:03:47):
That is all from me this time around.
Thank you for listening.
If you found this episodeuseful, please share it with
your friends.
If you have a moment, pleasegive us a five-star rating and
review wherever you're listeningso that others can find the
podcast.
I'm Kutlanos Kosana Ritchie,and until next time, please do

(01:04:07):
take good care.