July 23, 2025 • 49 mins
From 35,000 feet in the air to millions of views online — Shima Katouzian’s journey is anything but ordinary.
In this deeply personal episode of The BASIC Show, Shima (@sheemoma) opens up to host Viktorija Pashuta about her unexpected career path: how she went from being a flight attendant in her early 20s to building BODO MAKEUP, becoming a viral influencer, and redefining beauty on her own terms.
Shima shares the real story behind the glam:
· How she transitioned from aviation to entrepreneurship
· Building a beauty brand from scratch in a crowded market
· Life behind the filters as a digital creator
· The power of authenticity, faith, and trusting your timing
· What she’s learned about confidence, femininity, and staying grounded online
This episode is a must-listen for beauty lovers, aspiring creators, and anyone on the edge of reinvention.
👉 If you enjoy the show, please follow, rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, and leave a review — it truly helps spread these incredible stories to more listeners.
🎙 Hosted by Viktorija Pashuta, award-winning fashion photographer & Editor-in-Chief of BASIC Magazine.
Full length video episodes available on YouTube
Subscribe to the Print Edition of BASIC Magazine — A Collectible Work of Art Delivered Quarterly - https://buybasicmagazine.myshopify.com/products/basic-subscription
🎥 Recorded at The Maybourne Beverly Hills www.maybournebeverlyhills.com
🎵 Music by Brandon Dalo: brandondalo.com
Our official location partner for this season’s interviews.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
When I was a flight attendant in Russia with private
jets, then I started working atUnited Nations.
So I was working with refugees.
So I started my own business inIran.
Who's the writer?
Oh, she's a beauty influencer.
How a beauty influencer who doesmakeup is writing a book.
Okay, scared, but also proud.
Such a disgrace to like thewriter's community.
(00:20):
I would be if I had a wife.
More than like 500,000 peoplewere like involved in like
creating this.
The bruises are covered underthe makeup.
Wow.
They are like so worried to wearsomething that it's not showing
the roses on their body.
Do we have men telling eachother that like, hey, you should
not treat your wife like that?
Fights need to have a result.
(00:41):
Otherwise, it's just a fight andit's a loop that we're stuck in.
I could be angry.
I could be upset.
I could just like have a wrongopinion.
I could just make mistakes.
I could do all of that and stillbe the same person and still
have the same respect.
They say luxury is a lifestyle.
I say it's a mindset.
And this one comes with roomservice.
(01:04):
Here at the Mayborn, whereEuropean charm meets California
flair, I don't just check in, Ireset.
Because real power isn't loud.
It's knowing when to ghost thenoise and draft something far
more lasting behind the scenes.
The Mayborn, Beverly Hills.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
Welcome
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
to The Basic Show.
We're here, this gorgeous suiteof the Mayborn in Beverly Hills
in California.
And I have a stunning guest,Shima Katuzian.
An amazing beauty influencer,entrepreneur, the mogul, a
person who millions of peopleare looking up to.
But how everything started, Ilooked in one of your earlier
(02:04):
interviews that you actuallyused to be a flight attendant.
Yes! Can you tell us about thisamazing journey being a flight
attendant?
Now you're this beauty guruonline?
I love how I had no idea howyour questions were going to be
like.
Yes, I was in my early 20s,actually.
I'm not that young anymore.
(02:24):
Oh, you look fabulous.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
But when I was a teenager, Idreamed of being a flight
attendant because in my head, itwas all about you have to be
beautiful, pretty, having agreat body and flying and then
just traveling and being onvacation for free and absolutely
being paid for it.
So at that time, it was thelimit of the best of best for
(02:47):
me.
So I was dreaming about it.
So as soon as I turned 18, Istarted looking into how can I
become one.
And then when I was 20, I becamea flight attendant.
I was flying around.
But that's like more than 15years ago.
It was an absolute fun part ofmy life.
The experience was wild.
And I'm so happy I did what Idid.
Well, speaking of that, flyingand moving.
(03:10):
So you are an Iranian-Americaninfluencer.
You came all the way fromTehran.
to America.
So tell us about the journey andchanges you had to go through
coming from your country to theUSA.
Absolutely.
I actually did a lot ofdifferent things in the middle
of that.
So I was a flight attendant andthen I moved to Turkey and I was
flying there.
And then I moved to Russia and Iwas a flight attendant in Russia
(03:31):
with private jets and I wentback to Iran again.
Then I started working at UnitedNations.
So I was working with refugeesand that was my life for a
while.
Then I was also tired of that.
So I started my own business inIran.
And yeah.
So you had that entrepreneurialspirit from the start.
All of that.
I feel like there is this age ofeveryone's life, especially
(03:54):
women, that nobody puts it outthere for us, like who we should
be.
And especially if you have thefreedom of actually dreaming
about bigger life, like havinglike more than what's put in
front of us, we actually trymultiple things.
We don't know what we're doing.
We would try studying, going touniversity, changing the
subjects, like going fromboyfriend to boyfriend to find
(04:16):
out like who is the best guy forus or doing different jobs, like
starting a business, doingdifferent things.
I feel like I am a good exampleof a woman who always wanted a
big life but didn't know whatshe should be doing.
So I was trying multiple things.
And yes, that was the wild eraof my life that I absolutely did
a lot of different things untilI found out what actually I need
(04:38):
to do, what is satisfying forme.
And now I'm living that life.
Well, so by going through all ofthese challenges and trying
things, you actually found outwho you are.
And we need to have theseexperiences to really truly find
what we want and also what wedon't want.
And maybe by trying thesedifferent activations, you find
out, okay, I'm good at this.
(04:58):
Or maybe my heart lies towardsthis.
you know, specific area that Iwant to explore more.
And I want to give a few notesto our viewers because you're
extremely talented.
You speak four languages, right?
Is it French, Turkish?
Yes, Farsi and English.
Farsi and English.
So extremely talented.
You traveled and visited 29countries.
More than that, actually.
(05:19):
More than that now.
Okay, old information.
Forty-something now.
Forty-something now.
Yes, and which was interestingfact for me that I found out
that you also...
wrote a best-selling book inFarsi called Stupid Me.
So can you tell...
I was trying to find the correctexplanation and then I saw one
of your interviews that, oh,it's Stupid Me.
Can you tell us a little bitmore what this book is about and
(05:41):
how did it come along?
And congratulations, it's abestseller in your country.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
So when I was 20...
One, I wrote a list of thingsthat I want to do in my life.
Writing a book was on that list.
Getting a tattoo was also onthat list, but I never got a
tattoo.
So I guess not everythingactually happened.
However, writing a book was onmy bucket list.
(06:01):
So at that time, just to make ithappen, I started writing this
story.
And I wrote this story, which atthat time I was a flight
attendant.
So the story is also about aflight attendant woman.
But it's a fiction story.
It's not about my life.
It's like a heartbroken girl whojust happens to be a flight
attendant.
And I'm not even talking muchabout her job.
It's mostly about herrelationship on the story and
(06:23):
the stupid things that she'sdone.
And then she's the narrative ofthe story.
So she's telling the story, butI wrote it.
I wrote this 14 years ago,right?
And I just started writing thestory only to put it out in the
universe and just make it happenone day.
And when I became big onInstagram, like I had like a
huge following.
One day I just wrote a story andI said, yeah, I always had this
(06:45):
dream of like publishing mybook.
I don't know if it can everhappen.
That's just one of my dreams.
I posted that.
A few hours later, one of myfollowers, she would just like
write back to me.
She's like, I'm actually awriter too.
I have a publisher.
I would love to help you withthat.
Like you are my inspiration.
Whatever I can do for you tojust like make your dream
happen.
Let me do that for you.
And I was like, okay, why not?
(07:07):
And I sent her my story and Iwas like, if like an editor can
edit it and just a publisher, ifyou can find that can do that.
She did everything for me andthe book was published and I
didn't have a copy of my ownphysical book in my hand yet,
and it was published.
And it made it to the book fur,which is like one of the biggest
book furs in Middle East, but itwas happening in Tehran.
(07:31):
And I just posted one storysaying that, oh my God, my book
is published.
Like it's there.
You can go get it.
I still don't have my book in myhand.
What?
Exactly.
We need a copy.
And as soon as I post that, afew hours later, I'm being
tagged on so many pictures, somany posts.
And I see people lining up likejust to get the book.
(07:51):
And I see like the securityclosing the booth because it was
so out of control.
And then and also it washappening in Iran.
So the government was not superhappy with someone being that
influential to actually beingable to gather those many
people.
So that's not something theylike.
They started like going againstwhat I'm doing, saying that, oh,
you cannot go to the book fairbecause we cannot.
(08:13):
control such crowd around oneperson and I was like okay
scared but also proud so yeahand then when it happened it was
just like mind-blowing and I waslike wow and then when the news
came out this is the most thebest-selling book at the book
fair who's the writer oh she's abeauty influencer how a beauty
influencer who does makeup iswriting a book this is such a
(08:36):
disgrace to like the writerscommunity then I was like what
well because I guess it wasrelatable to many young women It
was, it still is.
I still, to this day, I get somany girls writing and they're
like, I saw this book that itwas on a bestselling book shelf
at the bookstore, but your nameis on it.
Is it just a coincidence or isit you?
Still, I get people who arefollowing me and they see the
(08:58):
name on that book too.
They don't know I'm the sameperson.
They're still doubting if it'syou or not.
Yes.
I just love that.
And it just happened.
And I would love to have mysecond book published too, but
with everything going on withthe first one, I don't know,
like I'm on the radar of like somany people and that's like a
little scary.
It's going to be a little harderfrom now on, but I'm still
dreaming.
(09:18):
Well, the thing is, theinteresting thing you mentioned,
you said, oh, it's justhappened.
And at first glance, it may seemit was a miracle or luck, but at
the same time, I feel youalready put the work, you wrote
the book, you know, you already,it's not like you just put, oh,
I dream one day to publish abook.
And you had nothing in works,right?
So you already wrote it, youalready put your part into it.
(09:39):
And then you just kind of putphysically, I don't know if it's
manifesting, right?
But you put it out there.
Obviously, I did something aboutit.
Yeah, obviously.
Yeah, I manifested because itjust seemed so unreal at the
time when I wished for it.
But also, yes, I wrote it, I didsomething, I talked about it.
And when you talk about it, youactually like, attract people
who could possibly help you whenyou talk about something there
(10:02):
should be someone in the crowdand saying that oh I can help
you with that and when they helpit's not luck it's you asking
for it and someone raising handand saying that I'm here to help
and like letting things to justlike happen I guess like when I
say like it just happened in away that it was so unexpected
like it was a very unexpectedtime and usually I'm so used to
put so much energy into thingsthat I want and for this one I
(10:26):
just didn't like put that muchenergy that I'm so used to.
So maybe that is why.
Because it was natural.
Sometimes if you work hard onsomething, it means it's not
natural.
For you, it was something youneeded to get out of your
system.
Absolutely.
And another thing I like whatyou said that you are a
storyteller.
Yeah.
From writing that transcendsinto your beauty products.
(10:49):
And if I'm not mistaken, theplot of the story is about the
immigrant girl, right?
And you are the immigrant girl.
Yes.
And you use that storyline inyour personal experience that
transcended to your cosmeticline.
Yes.
So tell us a little bit moreabout your brand, the Bodo
Cosmetics.
Bodo Makeup.
Bodo Makeup.
Tell us, I'm not going to give atease.
I want you to talk about thepalette and what it means and
(11:11):
the story behind it.
No, absolutely.
Absolutely.
So I just didn't wake up one daywhen saying that, oh, I need to
start my own brand.
No, absolutely.
It happened throughout the time.
So there was a time that I wasdoing makeup and putting my
makeup on and telling a story.
That's how my platform becamethe platform that I have today.
Because people love hearing thestory and I was putting makeup
(11:33):
on.
It was before the Get Ready WithMe era.
It was the time that I was justtalking about myself, right?
And At that time, I wasn'treceiving any PR packages from
brands.
It was me putting my own makeupstuff and just going to Sephora
and Ulta and buying stuffmyself.
And I just learned that somehowthe kind of makeup that I put
(11:55):
on, it's bold.
It's like colorful.
There's a lot going on.
And so many girls are not usedto seeing that kind of makeup.
But me putting that on every dayand posting that every day and
them seeing that, it justclicked for them.
Like, wow, I can be this bold.
I can do that makeup too.
So that became my signature.
That people knew me and mymakeup with bold, dramatic eye
(12:17):
makeups.
So I started going with thatroute and just finding more
colors, more stuff for eyemakeup.
And I go to Sephora and Ultaevery week spending$500 on
products, but I still don't findlike the colors that I actually
want.
So I was like, maybe the markethas a problem.
Maybe the product that girlslike me want is not out there.
(12:39):
So I started thinking aboutcreating eyeshadow palettes,
which is like mostly for eyemakeup, but also like bold
colors, like weird colors,things that not everyone would
use.
So when I started doing that, Iwas like, wait a minute, I can't
just create something withouttelling a story.
There has to be a story.
So I told the story.
However, the difference betweenmy products to any other product
(13:02):
in the market or any brand inthe market is that I didn't
create this on my own.
This is something that I createdwith my followers.
How?
I told this story and I writethis story for them.
And I'm like, okay, so we needto find the colors.
What colors do you think shouldbe on the story?
And they're like, oh, with thisstory, the colors should be
purple, should be orange, shouldbe like out of this world.
(13:24):
Like they named the colors.
So I find the colors, I sendthem to the lab and I'm like,
this is the color that I want.
When the colors come, I'm like,okay, now the packaging, what
color do you think the packagingshould be?
They're like, This should be ona white packaging.
So we do that.
We do everything together.
So how did you communicate withthem?
Through stories?
On my stories.
On your stories.
Yes, the questions on thestories, them sending me
messages, me reading it, ordoing polls and asking
(13:46):
questions.
So more than 500,000 people wereinvolved in creating this.
So we, all of us together, wecame up with the names.
We came up with completing thestory, finding the colors, the
packaging, everything.
the little details of thepackaging.
So when it was out, it feltlike, oh my God, I had to stay
(14:06):
into this.
This is not just a product thatI go to the store and buy.
I said, I voted about stuffabout this.
It's a collaborative project,but also at the same time, very
smart marketing strategy, right?
Because everybody whoparticipated, they wanted a
piece of it.
Absolutely.
And it felt like, and I neversaid my brand with my followers.
It was always our brand.
It was always our product.
(14:28):
So yes, even before the brandwas out there, even before the
name was out there, they knewabout it.
We talked about it.
And it felt such a family thingfor us.
It wasn't just a regular brandjust opening like another day,
another brand, another product.
So it wasn't commercially, it'smore of you connecting with your
community as well, who supportedyou because you are a role model
(14:50):
for them.
Okay, there's a girl from Iran,you know, making these big waves
and she's authentic and she's,you know, successful.
So, and plus she's making usfeel a part of her product.
I mean, I hope that's how theyfelt, but yeah.
And let me confirm.
So the palette that you had hadnine colors, each representing a
story of an immigrant girl.
Is that correct or no?
(15:11):
The story was one story.
So the words that we used on thestory was under each shade, like
a different word, which was partof the story.
So the shade colors are tellingthe story too.
And the story is also written inthe back of the product.
So back of the product is notjust the ingredients.
It's not just the website orlike, Expiration date whatsoever
is also the story of the productthat you're holding.
(15:32):
So it's like a little book inyour hand.
It has the colors and you canput the makeup on.
We've had three products forBodo Makeup and all three of
them are telling a story and allthree of them were like made
with my followers.
So what's your three favoriteshades with the story on your
product?
Extra luggage on Immigrant Girl.
(15:53):
Okay.
UNKNOWN (15:53):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (15:55):
It's like what I like.
Fear on Eye Exist palette iswhat I like.
And these are my favoritebecause it's like black and it's
like yellowish gold.
And I love that.
It's just a combination.
It's usually like a good makeupfor me.
I love that.
I need to check it out.
You should.
Which one would you recommendfor me?
I mean, you have the mostbeautiful eyes.
(16:15):
So I feel like, yeah, the grayand darker colors on the Eye
Exist would probably like...
make your eyes even moregorgeous.
You know what?
I usually wear minimal makeup,almost no makeup.
Today is probably the most I'veglammed up, but you inspired me
to try...
to try different more boldcolors.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Because I thought it would maybelook something too extravagant,
(16:35):
but I feel now looking at you,you look so gorgeous.
Maybe I can try that gray lightblue.
Yes, I totally will.
No, you should just be bold.
Be bold.
Yeah.
Bodo.
Bodo.
Be Bodo.
But Bodo in Farsi means let'smake up.
So Bodo make up means let's makeup.
Oh, I see.
So there's also meaning behindthe name.
Yeah, it's Farsi word.
Bodo in Farsi means like let's,like yalla, like come on.
(16:58):
It's a Bodo make up.
I love it.
Yeah.
And Then another palette,correct me if I'm wrong, it was
a black and blue palette raisingawareness for gender-based
violence.
Can you talk a little bit moreabout that and your activities
for refugees and victims of sexcrimes?
Absolutely.
It's actually like the storystarted when I was working at
(17:20):
United Nations.
Okay.
Part of my job was like, Istarted as an intern and then I
just got into this wholeindustry as like helping
refugees.
But part of my job was tointerview refugees or asylum
seekers who are under violenceand just deciding what's best to
do for them.
Most of the time, what we wereoffering was not even a solution
(17:41):
to what they were going through.
It was mostly like a temporarysolution for them.
And even I knew that at thattime.
However...
It just clicked that, oh my God,there are so many people living
so many different lives that Ihaven't seen.
I don't need to go through thesame thing they did to just
understand what's going on.
I just need to hear their storyand just be the voice for them.
(18:04):
So it just started from there.
And then from then, I startedlooking at women with a
different eye.
As like, you never know what'sthe story behind a beautiful
girl with all dolled up, likeall makeup done and everything.
You don't know what they wentthrough yesterday or even this
morning before getting out ofthe house.
Because so many of those women,their story was so
(18:24):
heartbreaking, but also at thesame time, you wouldn't see that
in them.
You're like, hey, what's goingon?
And wow, the bruises are coveredunder the makeup.
Wow, they are like so worried towear something that it's not
showing the bruises on theirbody.
So...
Talking about violence againstwomen became a thing in my
stories.
(18:45):
When I tell the story, I'malways talking about it,
especially because most of myaudience are women.
I want them to feel they'reheard, they're understood.
But when it came into creating aproduct for it, and I was
telling to my followers too, Iwas like, listen, we can change
the color of the bruises andjust...
(19:05):
separate all these colors andbeautify it and just put it in a
palette and just put thesecolors separately the way we
want it which is black and blueeverybody knows black and blue
is the color of the bruise andit's just like that's how like
violence is shown in just twocolors in your creativity to
support so we just put ittogether and I was like listen I
know bruises could be purplebruises could be like painful
(19:28):
but also like we can separatethese two and just create
different colors and justbeautify Put makeup on.
Why not?
I love that.
That's genius and authentic andreal and so great that you went
a step further to help andfacilitate and bring awareness.
So speaking of bringing theawareness, is there any way we
can help or bring more exposureto this issue?
(19:50):
Is there any hashtags or anyorganizations we can reach out
to to help and spread out theword?
That's amazing you're sayingthat.
I feel like we should...
kind of stop like categorizingourselves into like different
organizations that works towardsthis i feel like we should try
to personalize it a little moreokay talking about our own loved
(20:12):
ones our own family we don'tneed to just put a name out
there we don't need to put acampaign on it it's just about
being the voice of these peopleand like telling the story as
like i'm just telling a storylike It shouldn't be shame.
It shouldn't be like peoplesaying that, oh, we should not
be talking about that.
We should just like talk aboutthat more often, I guess.
And just like normalize talkingabout it.
(20:34):
So then people would actuallylook at themselves like, am I
doing anything towards this?
I always talk to my audience.
I'm like, yeah, we're women.
We're so used to telling eachother, yeah, you should do this
for a man to like you.
Yeah, you should wear that so aman would just like love you.
Or you should talk like that.
Do we have men telling eachother that like, hey, you should
not treat your wife like that?
(20:54):
I don't see men saying that toeach other.
But I see women saying that,hey, you should not talk to your
husband like that.
Hey, you should make sure yourhusband likes this food, this
dress, this outfit, this makeupand all of that.
But men don't say that to eachother.
I feel like we need to, at somepoint, normalize men telling
each other what they should notbe doing towards women
because...
That's how, like, it seems likethat, yeah, in that case, then
(21:17):
yes, we're doing something.
Yeah, very good point.
Because usually women try tofind all these tricks and
educate themselves and improvethe life and work on
relationship.
But the men usually verystraightforward, very simple.
Like, oh, this is how I am.
Yeah, this is how you are.
Oh, this is men, right?
That's what they do.
But you're absolutely right.
There need to be moreconversations amongst men to how
(21:37):
to treat better.
But I guess it's all coming fromthe culture, from the
upbringing.
Absolutely.
But look at the content creationindustry.
I create content.
There are so many other womendoing the same thing.
We talk, we tell stories, we putmakeup on.
Sometimes we jokingly talk aboutmen.
We do a lot of things.
But how many men do you seedoing that?
(21:58):
How many men do you see tellingstories and telling other men
how they should be?
I don't see that that often.
It was on my expert page and Isaw this guy talking how he
was...
supporting his wife.
And I saw my husband followingthat guy and liking that video.
I was like, oh, that feels sogood because not only there is
someone who's talking aboutthat, but also my husband is
(22:18):
following them.
That means if we have more mencreating content about how they
should actually act righttowards women, I feel like I
personally would support thatman.
I would just help them to justgrow bigger on Instagram or
wherever they're working onbecause we need more content
creation.
towards like men teaching eachother how to be like.
But if you think about it, nowyou made me think how low are
the standards for men, right?
(22:39):
Oh, he just said he's supportinghis wife and he gets all the
praise and all the ah and ah.
He's such an amazing man, but itshould be by default.
The man is a provider.
Make sure he makes his wifesecure and cherished and loved
and supported.
And I know there's so many menout there, but like you said,
publicly, for some reason,they're not speaking about it,
right?
They're not publicizing thatbecause maybe it's a sense of
(23:00):
weakness, right?
Or maybe they don't think that'swhat needed to be heard
publicly.
But you absolutely gave anamazing idea and encouraged more
men to talk about it, how theycare for their loved ones, how
they're supporting them.
That will maybe cause a chain orsnow reaction for other men to
follow and give that support.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It's just like some sort ofcontent we are not seeing.
(23:22):
And I feel like If men want tomake money with the content
creation, this would be a goodidea for them.
Please just stop going out likeasking women for their numbers
and just making a joke out of itand posting it online because
that's so weird.
Have you seen that kind ofcontent?
Maybe that's why there's so manythings wrong with the modern
dating.
Oh my gosh.
This has become my absolutefear.
(23:45):
there's these meta glasses thatmen wear they go out there and
they're like they have theglasses on so they're recording
the girl in front of
SPEAKER_02 (23:51):
them
SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
and they're like hey can i get your number hey you
look so beautiful to just getthe reaction take the video post
it online and that is theircontent i'm like bro you're so
wrong on doing this then i wasjust so many ethical issues now
about it i never thought and ijust like i don't know how
people are following this personhow this person is like still
like creating content with thatnature i just don't address that
(24:12):
I guess nowadays we're runningfor hype you know we're running
for followers for likes andwe're missing the authenticity
and we think that's what'smaking money making successful
but the long term you are theproblem with the society that's
exactly making this you knowchanges that creating more
problems creating more problemsand like it's so many people
following these people you can'teven question that person like
(24:33):
why are you following thisperson because You don't want to
be too nosy about who theyfollow, but also at the same
time, you're also part of theproblem.
That person creates that kind ofcontent and you follow that kind
of content.
So it's like, oh, you're...
You're giving energy.
Yeah.
You're part of it.
So if there's guys out theretrying to figure out how to get
(24:56):
more following and exposure onsocial media...
Please be nice.
Just be nice.
Just be nice.
Shima will give you a littleboost.
Teach others how to be nice.
so I will have you on camerayou're gonna repost more of this
stuff I will absolutely do thatjust like create some content
about how you make coffee foryour wife in the morning because
why not that would be cutecontent so what so what are the
nice things that your husbanddoes for you oh he's an absolute
(25:19):
angel okay I don't cook so hecooks he makes my coffee in the
morning and I love how he knowswhat time I need my coffee oh
And I love how he knows how tomake my coffee better than me
because like the time that likehe's not home and I act like I
can make my own coffee and I goto the kitchen and I'm like,
okay, how much of creamer shouldI put?
(25:39):
Like how much of sugar?
Like which flavor do you put?
How does this coffee machinework?
Like none of that.
He knows all of that.
He makes my coffee.
He makes my breakfast.
He actually makes a breakfastwhen I'm still in bed.
Oh, wow.
Lucky you.
I know.
I guess it's also the gesture,right?
I guess it's just the attentionand Showing him he cares.
(26:00):
It also took a long time for usto communicate about these.
He wasn't like this from firstdate.
No, absolutely not.
We actually, we obviously asmany, many couples, we fight, we
just talk about things.
But that's my thing.
I keep telling him all the time.
And I'm like, fights need tohave a result.
Otherwise, it's just a fight andit's a loop that we're stuck in.
(26:22):
And we are going to be fightingfor the same thing over and over
and over again.
So when we fight over something,we need to come up with a
solution and we need to work onthat.
It cannot be the same fight.
Don't bring it over a monthlater.
Remember one month ago.
Exactly.
Which I am like that too.
He could be telling me the worstthing.
The worst thing.
And we fight about it, right?
(26:44):
I'm pissed.
I vent, we fight, but if we comeup with a solution and he stops
doing that, I would also notbring that up ever again.
So this is just the progress forlike two mature people to just
like learn things about eachother and just like work that
relationship together.
What comes to communication,right?
(27:04):
So you need to communicate.
I feel like if you know how tocommunicate, there's no fight or
argument that can bring youapart.
Anything is solvable.
So I guess in your case, do youbelieve that you should never go
to bed angry?
No, I can go to bed angry.
But it's just never like, hey,you cannot sleep in bed with me.
You need to sleep on the couch.
No, you can sleep in the bed.
(27:24):
I was just like, not at all.
Will you address it the nextday?
I am the kind of person that Icannot be angry at the same
thing for like a long time.
And my husband like, when westarted like when we started
living together he saw me and mysister fighting fighting right
(27:45):
sister how sisters fight wefight right the worst thing is
to observe right so he's likescared he's like whoa like
they're fighting right we saythe worst things to each other
right a few hours later mysister will come to me and
she'll say something and he'slike the hell what happened you
were just like killing eachother like two hours ago and i'm
(28:05):
like yeah but okay it ends andhe could not understand that
because he was like when wefight we fight and just we
stopped talking to each otheruntil like whatever happened and
i'm like oh not with me not withus like this is not how i was
like raised like sister's loveis different absolutely even
with my mom even with my dad wefight we went and then that's it
(28:27):
like we get back to likeeverything normal it's never
like oh i want to see your faceever again no Obviously, you're
still my family.
I could hate you today forwhatever you said, but we're
going to work it through.
So no, I'm not that kind ofperson who would just like, no,
you cannot sleep with me.
I'm not going to talk to you.
No, we can do whatever.
(28:48):
You don't hold grudges, right?
You don't hold grudges.
No, not at all.
So who's doing the chores?
Oh, he does.
I love that.
So he does the chores.
He makes breakfast.
So what do you do in therelationship?
I'm just being weird.
You're the dream girl in arelationship.
(29:10):
I love that.
Hey, I'm just being me.
I'm just being pretty, doingmakeup.
I'm just pretty.
Well, I guess he has to begetting something out of it.
So I guess, I mean, does he getlike nurturing, loving affection
from a beautiful wife?
So no, we actually, so I makemoney.
He helps me.
(29:31):
Okay, so he would be like astay-at-home dad.
Yeah.
I love that.
But we don't have kids, though.
Yeah, but I'm saying, I mean, Idon't know if that's in the
plans for you, but down theline, he could be.
No, absolutely.
I'm like, I don't mind makingmoney.
Honestly, I feel like, have youseen women, when they start
talking about it, do you knowhow successful I would be if I
had a wife?
(29:51):
Yes.
Someone who takes care of me.
So I'm living that life
SPEAKER_02 (29:54):
now.
SPEAKER_01 (29:55):
That's great.
Every woman needs a wife.
Right?
Every successful woman needs awife.
Yeah.
So he lets me to be six.
He lets me shine.
He fixes my crown.
He's like, oh, you got it.
He makes sure that my dress isalways right.
My makeup is right.
My lighting, like my content isalways out there.
Like I'm working.
Like when I'm down, he wouldtalk to me and make sure that
(30:16):
like I'll get out of the bed.
I would just like put like allthe depression aside.
And on my period, he would takecare of me.
He would just like.
Give me everything I need justto make me feel better.
He's like, do you want me to getto Tylenol?
I love that.
I mean, we need all men supposedto be the support system, right?
Because as women, we have to doso much.
(30:37):
So many responsibilities, somuch pressure.
But when you have the rightpartner who supports you, that
makes it so much easier in arelationship.
So you're a hardworking girl.
You build your brand.
Before talking to you, I askedif you make up artists.
to ask me which questions theywould like to ask you.
And one of the questions was, sowhat is the first thing you need
(30:59):
to know if you do want to startyour own brand, your cosmetic
brand?
How did you start?
What was the most difficult,challenging part in starting
your brand product?
Okay, I'm sure that people knowthat when they're starting a
product, like making a product,they know that they need to
solve a problem.
UNKNOWN (31:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:19):
That's like given.
Everybody knows that.
You know your why.
And I'm sure everybody knowsthat.
But when it comes to cosmetics,only because the competition is
like huge, especially in thelast 10 years, maybe 10 years
ago, it wasn't as much that weare seeing right now because all
the celebrities, they're makingtheir own brand.
Influencers coming out withtheir own brand.
(31:41):
Like everybody is like the nextday, yeah, I can have my own
brand too.
It's like a cool thing to do,right?
But It's always about whatproblem are you solving and what
makes you different fromeverything else going on in the
market.
For me, obviously the story,obviously packaging, obviously
like working with my followers.
(32:02):
It was my why.
It was like creating somethingthat we don't see in the market,
bold colors.
Because so many people were likeso into, oh, the neutral makeup
or the nude colors or no makeupmakeup.
I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
Full glam.
Bring 2016 back.
Yes.
So that's what I love.
And I was like feeling that atthat time, it was a kind of
(32:24):
product that the market didn'thave anywhere.
So I added in there.
The difference was that I toldthe story, not a brand was doing
that.
I was doing it with myfollowers, not a brand would do
that.
So it's like the uniquenessneeds to be there.
They need to solve a problem.
They need to stand out.
They need to tell a story.
(32:44):
tell their own story I startedthis because of that whatever
reason that they have what aboutthe production the technical
part of it did you experienceany problems in that or that's
the easiest thing well actuallyokay the formula and everything
was made in US for me but alsowith the packaging obviously
with the labor the cost andeverything I felt like if I was
doing it in US the cost would belike a lot higher so I started
(33:07):
looking into like manufacturersin like other countries and
obviously with all things goingon with the tariffs right now
it's like It fluctuates things alittle bit.
But I feel like eventuallythings come together when you
have a clear vision of whatyou're doing.
Because if I have a vision oflike, hey, this is the bottle
that I want.
(33:27):
This is the product that I want.
There is no way that I wouldjust go wrong with that.
Because when I know what I want,I will find it.
You'll find the way.
I'll find it.
So as long as the vision isclear and out there, finding the
way, like...
with production or everythingand that is the most essential
part to figure out why to figureout the story how you're
personally connected to thebrand because i feel most of the
(33:50):
beauty influencers they're goingfrom the uh from the area i need
to make money i want to besuccessful they're looking
backwards they're not lookingwith what you said finding out
what's the problem in themarket.
And because right now the marketis always saturated.
I mean, there's so manythousands of different brands.
I mean, every single influencerhas their own brand.
So you need to find a way how tostand out on the market.
(34:11):
And the only way to stand out isbe yourself, is find your true
story, your core, why you'reconnected and why you want to do
this.
And that creates a very stablefoundation of the whole brand.
And then the marketing canMm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
(34:33):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
creates a whole vibe of like ohi know what influencers i need
to work with to promote this youwill know everything when the
(34:54):
foundation is set right you willknow everything after so i feel
like now there's so many optionsso many choices so many
resources just go and create soanother question was um
obviously you have your ownproduct and you are the face of
your product your brandambassador for your product uh
the makeup artist asked thisquestion Do you have to be on
(35:15):
camera and do you have to be aninfluencer to be successful if
you're a makeup artist or abeauty influencer?
Is there any way to reachsuccess without being on camera
if you're shy, if maybe you'renot ready to put yourself out
there, I mean, your face outthere on the internet?
No, absolutely.
The only difference is that youprobably need to put a little
more cost into marketing, toadvertisement, the way that the
(35:37):
website looks, the way that youput yourself out there and the
kind of influencers you workwith to promote your brand.
You just need to know who has ahand on your product, who talks
about it and what they say aboutit.
It's just, you just need tostrategize your marketing a lot
more deep and detailed comparedto like someone who has their
face out there and they'reknown.
Because when I'm known,obviously like at the very
(36:00):
beginning, I don't need to payanyone for the marketing.
I would just go out there and belike, hey, I have my own
product.
You can buy it from here.
And so many people who love mewould actually buy it, right?
But are those people are goingto be coming back again?
That's about the product.
Or am I going to reach peoplewho don't know me?
That's about the marketing.
And I will do all of those.
But if I'm not known, then Iwill need to strategize all of
(36:23):
the next steps as the firststep.
So it's going to be, oh, whatinfluencer I'm going to work
with or...
Oh, what kind of verbiage am Igoing to use for my marketing
and all of that?
Which again, it has to alignwith your vision and with the
story.
Absolutely.
Right.
So it's still the same formulais applied.
Either you're promoting your ownbrand or if you, I mean, are
(36:44):
they using yourself promotingyour brand or you have models
or, you know, other influencersto help you to promote it?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
So in terms of, are you alwaysloyal to your own brand?
Would you do promotions forother cosmetic brands?
Have you worked and collaboratedwith other brands?
Of course.
(37:04):
Well, here's the thing.
With cosmetics, especiallycolored cosmetics, you really do
not have to be loyal to onebrand, one color, or one
specific type of product.
You can explore.
You can do a lot of things.
You can mix and match.
You can come up with mixing andcoming up with a new idea, a new
design, a new makeup.
Maybe like the only thing thatwe could like possibly be loyal
(37:27):
to probably is like what productI use for my hair or what
product I use for my skincare.
That, yes, you could just stickinto one sort of ingredient.
Not competing.
Well, when it comes to colorcosmetics, just go on with
whatever you want to do.
And I absolutely do that.
Of course, I promote otherbrands too.
I love that.
Who is your dream collaborationthat you want to work in the
(37:48):
future with?
In the future?
Yeah.
I actually, there are so manybrands that they're under the
umbrella of L'Oreal that I loveworking with them.
So I hope that happens.
L'Oreal.
Yeah, right?
We're here.
Make notes.
Putting out there in theuniverse.
(38:10):
Watch me.
I'll make a phone call.
Right?
From my email.
Yes, me.
I know, knock on the door.
Right?
Yes.
Whatever it takes to get thatcollaboration.
No, absolutely.
No, it's going to happenprobably like this year.
I know that.
It will happen.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm sure they will love you.
Yeah.
So how do you stay relevant?
You know, I know trends come andgo and I know some influencers
(38:32):
copy each other's trends, someinfluencers create trends.
So how do you stay relevant to,you know, to millions of
followers who watch you?
My husband was talking aboutthis two days ago.
I was telling him that, oh myGod, the new algorithm is so
annoying.
(38:52):
The engagement rate is not asmuch as it used to be.
Like before I used to like postone long video, not even edited
perfectly the way I'm doing itright now.
And the number of likes orcomments were like a lot higher,
which like the difference is noteven as much.
I'm just like, so like such aperfectionist and like my own
biggest failure.
But like his point was that thething is that back then when you
(39:18):
were making content, it was allabout you telling story.
It was all about you beingvulnerable and just telling the
story without being worriedabout what people think about
you.
But now you're kind of mixing itwith a little bit of a luxury
lifestyle.
Oh, I bought this.
Oh, I bought that.
I'm not even bragging about it.
I just think maybe every hereand there, I would tag the purse
(39:39):
or the watch.
And it's like, don't do that.
You don't want people to justsee what you wear or what you
do.
You want them to see your visionas how you tell the story that
will happen.
If your watch is part of thestory, then obviously talk about
it.
If it's not, Let it go.
Do not brag about like anything.
That's just the regular thingthat everybody does.
Your audience does not likethat.
(40:00):
Just let it go and be loyal tolike what you were doing.
Just be vulnerable.
Be humble.
Just be humble.
I am humble, however.
It's not about me bragging aboutit, but he was just like, Some
people might think that you'rebragging about like stuff.
Just don't do that.
Whatever like changes that youhave done, make sure that you're
not going with that route andjust like keep being vulnerable
(40:22):
and like telling those stories.
So how much do you care ifsomebody you have negative
comments?
I mean, have you had negativecomments?
Do you take them to heart orignore them?
How do you deal with that?
At the beginning?
Yes, obviously.
Like there were like times thatI was getting backlashes because
like I Okay, with the Farsicontent, I think like I'm on top
of three influencers with theFarsi content.
(40:43):
That's like out there and peoplewatch them, with female at
least.
And I know that I'm seen, I knowI'm on the radar of like so many
people.
And only because like my contentis mostly about women
empowerment.
Obviously, it's likemisunderstood with like men
hating.
And like so many men likeattacking like, oh, you hate me.
And I'm like, bro, you don'thave anything for me to hate.
Like there's no hate here.
(41:03):
It's just like I went to therapyand I just know that.
This energy is not what I'mlooking for.
Trying to
SPEAKER_02 (41:10):
provoke you.
SPEAKER_01 (41:11):
So exactly.
I'm like, no, it's not abouthating.
Also, that's like the transitionof my content.
So obviously I get a lot ofhate.
So I was receiving backlashesabout like, what you said is
politically wrong.
Oh, you are like with this kindof party of the government.
Or, oh, you're standing withthis person who said that thing.
Or, oh, there's so many layersinto things that I get tagged
(41:32):
into only because of one thingthat I said, like, I don't know,
10 years ago.
And it follows me even to thisday of like, oh, do you remember
what you said 10 years ago?
That means that you are withthat person in that part of
government.
That means you're this person.
And I have to like constantlyexplain myself, which I stopped
doing that a long time ago.
I was like, I don't owe nobodyan apology for what I thought.
(41:53):
You know what I'm saying?
So I receive a lot of backlashesat the very beginning, only
because I grew so fast in a veryshort amount of time.
I was receiving backlashes alsovery fast with a lot of people
that I was not used to.
So that's like the downside ofgoing viral because you go
viral, you get a lot of love,but everybody's gonna
immediately get a lot of it.
(42:14):
So like there were time, maybefour years ago, that I would
just like read tweets aboutmyself and I would just go to
bed and I would cry for like awhole night, right?
And I would just like not beable to sleep, not be able to
eat, like a true depression,right?
But then I grew with, the loveand hate so I was like okay I
guess that's how it is and likethe fascinating part about it is
(42:37):
that when you get a hit it'sjust one day and it just stops
like one day is an example butit could just like be one week
or whatever and it immediatelystops it immediately goes like
and everything goes back tonormal it's never a consistent
thing it's never constantly likepeople hating you It's always
like one person thinkingsomething and just come
attacking you because they'rehaving a bad day.
(42:58):
They don't have the right to dothat.
But I also don't have the rightto get upset over like this and
make my day like going bad.
So I get that.
I get so many like hate, liketalks, comments, tweets, all of
that.
But I also learned not to evensay that.
Just ignore it.
Wash it off.
It's like, okay.
Well, most of the times whensomebody comments something
(43:18):
negative, this is something thatthey hate about themselves,
right?
So those men, they probably haveno girlfriend, they have no
relationship.
They see you being successfuland they have that rejection of
themselves and they need to putit somewhere.
They need to put it out.
By doing that, they give theenergy to that negativity in
their own life.
(43:39):
So for you, you have to havesort of this invisible wall to
protect yourself from thisnegativity.
Because you cannot be a peoplepleaser.
So I guess my question is whenyou become a public person, Do
you think it's better to stayneutral, let's say politically
wise or regime wise or anythingthat goes viral?
(44:00):
Or you still think it's betterto have an opinion even though
many wouldn't like that opinion?
My husband believes that Ishould do the first, that I
should just stay neutral and notsay anything.
I cannot stay silent.
I can't shut my mouth.
I wish I could.
(44:20):
I wish I could.
It's just I never had thattalent.
So I have to say something.
I always get like people hatingon me for saying what I said.
And I was like, listen, at theend of the day, this is me.
I wish I was just a characterout of a movie and just living
whatever it was written for me.
But that's not the case.
I'm a real person showing thereal thoughts, opinions and
(44:42):
sides of my life and havingopinion about something that
goes on in the world.
War, conflict, talks, whatever.
if I'm asked my opinion or if mycommunity is like so heavily
involved with it, like let's saymy country is in war, I can just
go out there and put the makeupon and just tell the story.
I have to pick a side.
You know what I'm saying?
Because otherwise I'll be like,like nobody would understand me.
(45:06):
People will be like, you can'tspeak Farsi and like claim that
you're from Iran and like notsay anything when this is going
on.
You know what I'm saying?
That is risky.
I love you taking risk.
But at the same time, youalso...
being real and honest and that'swhat your audience loves about
you you're not this perfectpicture a girl who has this fake
life right you're sharing yourthoughts you're sharing your
(45:27):
opinions and that's actually myum my thing with my content i'm
like i'm not perfect and i don'thave to be i know that the
society wants this woman to justbe perfect in like different
ways i could just wake up in themorning have no makeup on like
having like horrible hair andstill have the confidence just
come in front of the camera andtalk to you guys That doesn't
(45:48):
mean I'm at any less of valuelike that I am when I'm
perfectly done.
And I just come and talk.
I could be angry.
I could be upset.
I could just have a wrongopinion.
I could just make mistakes.
I could do all of that and stillbe the same person and still
have the same respect.
And that actually has given myaudience a lot of courage and
(46:12):
confidence.
As they tell me, they're like,seeing you makes me feel like
I'm actually enough too becauseI don't have to be perfect.
Obviously, I try about it.
I would do my skincare.
I would spend money on mymakeup.
I would spend money on likegetting my hair done because
that's what I do.
And they're like, I've neverdone this before because there
are times I go get my hair doneand there's nothing going on in
(46:33):
my life on that day.
Like, my hair is perfect, butnothing.
I'm going back home watching TV.
And everyone's like, why?
What would you spend your moneyon that?
I'm like, it's spending my moneyon me.
And I love that.
And I love to just look greattoday in front of TV, because
why not?
Well, if you have an oppositeopinion, would you ever go
outside without makeup?
(46:53):
Oh, yeah, I do that every day.
One time I did that, and I feltempowered and vulnerable at the
same time.
And I love that.
And you feel a certain amount offreedom knowing that, okay, I
can still be confident.
Yes.
I can still own it.
Yeah.
And I can still, you know, feelgreat.
Not just, I mean, it doesn'tmatter how I look, but I feel
(47:16):
great.
And that's confidence.
I guess it's more attractivethan being pretty, right?
Or having makeup on.
I feel like being vulnerable isalso giving us some sort of
strength because that means Iactually put whatever that I
don't like out there.
People saw that.
They can take it or leave it.
But whoever that takes it, I'mstrong, baby.
(47:38):
Because you saw that.
I know I'm still here.
I'm strong, baby.
I'm strong.
No, absolutely.
Yeah.
No, you're definitely coming offsuch a strong personality and
obviously challenges in life,how to transform you.
And like what they say, whatdoesn't kill you makes you
stronger.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So you're very strong, positiverole model.
(48:00):
And we need more people likeyou.
We need more beauty influencerslike you who are not about fluff
and being pretty, but have somesubstance to them and have the
ideas that they're not afraid tospeak up.
So in order for us to wrap thisconversation, is there any
advice you can give to talentedmakeup artists and beauty
influencers or aspiring beautyinfluencers who have the skill,
(48:24):
have the talent, but don't havethat acknowledgement and
following as of right now?
What's What would you advise tothem?
Post whatever you think.
You should be posting.
Just post it.
Because you never know how manypeople like you until you put
yourself out there.
And you have to put yourself outthere for people to find you, to
see you, and to feel you, andthen to like you, and then to
(48:46):
follow you, and then to becomeloyal.
Because if you're just hidinghere, I don't know who you are
to like you.
I don't know you.
You just need to be out there.
Put yourself out there.
Put yourself out there.
Whatever you're doing is right.
There's no right or wrong inlike creation industry, which is
the beauty of it, is that youcan just like have the weirdest
makeup and some people are goingto be like, wow, that is so
(49:10):
cool.
And those are your people andyou just need them.
So just post, be out there andyou definitely are going to see
so much support more than whatyou think.
Well, thank you for thisbeautiful words.
Thank you again for coming toThe Basic Show.
It was a true pleasure.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
And have a wonderful day
SPEAKER_00 (49:29):
today.
Oh, thank you.
Thanks for having me.
This was fun.
It's a pleasure.
It's been definitely a funconversation.
Thank you, Shima.
Thank
SPEAKER_01 (49:36):
you.
Thank you.
UNKNOWN (49:40):
Of course.
Thanks.
When I was a flight attendant in Russia with private
jets, then I started working atUnited Nations.
So I was working with refugees.
So I started my own business inIran.
Who's the writer?
Oh, she's a beauty influencer.
How a beauty influencer who doesmakeup is writing a book.
Okay, scared, but also proud.
Such a disgrace to like thewriter's community.
(00:20):
I would be if I had a wife.
More than like 500,000 peoplewere like involved in like
creating this.
The bruises are covered underthe makeup.
Wow.
They are like so worried to wearsomething that it's not showing
the roses on their body.
Do we have men telling eachother that like, hey, you should
not treat your wife like that?
Fights need to have a result.
(00:41):
Otherwise, it's just a fight andit's a loop that we're stuck in.
I could be angry.
I could be upset.
I could just like have a wrongopinion.
I could just make mistakes.
I could do all of that and stillbe the same person and still
have the same respect.
They say luxury is a lifestyle.
I say it's a mindset.
And this one comes with roomservice.
(01:04):
Here at the Mayborn, whereEuropean charm meets California
flair, I don't just check in, Ireset.
Because real power isn't loud.
It's knowing when to ghost thenoise and draft something far
more lasting behind the scenes.
The Mayborn, Beverly Hills.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
Welcome
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
to The Basic Show.
We're here, this gorgeous suiteof the Mayborn in Beverly Hills
in California.
And I have a stunning guest,Shima Katuzian.
An amazing beauty influencer,entrepreneur, the mogul, a
person who millions of peopleare looking up to.
But how everything started, Ilooked in one of your earlier
(02:04):
interviews that you actuallyused to be a flight attendant.
Yes! Can you tell us about thisamazing journey being a flight
attendant?
Now you're this beauty guruonline?
I love how I had no idea howyour questions were going to be
like.
Yes, I was in my early 20s,actually.
I'm not that young anymore.
(02:24):
Oh, you look fabulous.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
But when I was a teenager, Idreamed of being a flight
attendant because in my head, itwas all about you have to be
beautiful, pretty, having agreat body and flying and then
just traveling and being onvacation for free and absolutely
being paid for it.
So at that time, it was thelimit of the best of best for
(02:47):
me.
So I was dreaming about it.
So as soon as I turned 18, Istarted looking into how can I
become one.
And then when I was 20, I becamea flight attendant.
I was flying around.
But that's like more than 15years ago.
It was an absolute fun part ofmy life.
The experience was wild.
And I'm so happy I did what Idid.
Well, speaking of that, flyingand moving.
(03:10):
So you are an Iranian-Americaninfluencer.
You came all the way fromTehran.
to America.
So tell us about the journey andchanges you had to go through
coming from your country to theUSA.
Absolutely.
I actually did a lot ofdifferent things in the middle
of that.
So I was a flight attendant andthen I moved to Turkey and I was
flying there.
And then I moved to Russia and Iwas a flight attendant in Russia
(03:31):
with private jets and I wentback to Iran again.
Then I started working at UnitedNations.
So I was working with refugeesand that was my life for a
while.
Then I was also tired of that.
So I started my own business inIran.
And yeah.
So you had that entrepreneurialspirit from the start.
All of that.
I feel like there is this age ofeveryone's life, especially
(03:54):
women, that nobody puts it outthere for us, like who we should
be.
And especially if you have thefreedom of actually dreaming
about bigger life, like havinglike more than what's put in
front of us, we actually trymultiple things.
We don't know what we're doing.
We would try studying, going touniversity, changing the
subjects, like going fromboyfriend to boyfriend to find
(04:16):
out like who is the best guy forus or doing different jobs, like
starting a business, doingdifferent things.
I feel like I am a good exampleof a woman who always wanted a
big life but didn't know whatshe should be doing.
So I was trying multiple things.
And yes, that was the wild eraof my life that I absolutely did
a lot of different things untilI found out what actually I need
(04:38):
to do, what is satisfying forme.
And now I'm living that life.
Well, so by going through all ofthese challenges and trying
things, you actually found outwho you are.
And we need to have theseexperiences to really truly find
what we want and also what wedon't want.
And maybe by trying thesedifferent activations, you find
out, okay, I'm good at this.
(04:58):
Or maybe my heart lies towardsthis.
you know, specific area that Iwant to explore more.
And I want to give a few notesto our viewers because you're
extremely talented.
You speak four languages, right?
Is it French, Turkish?
Yes, Farsi and English.
Farsi and English.
So extremely talented.
You traveled and visited 29countries.
More than that, actually.
(05:19):
More than that now.
Okay, old information.
Forty-something now.
Forty-something now.
Yes, and which was interestingfact for me that I found out
that you also...
wrote a best-selling book inFarsi called Stupid Me.
So can you tell...
I was trying to find the correctexplanation and then I saw one
of your interviews that, oh,it's Stupid Me.
Can you tell us a little bitmore what this book is about and
(05:41):
how did it come along?
And congratulations, it's abestseller in your country.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
So when I was 20...
One, I wrote a list of thingsthat I want to do in my life.
Writing a book was on that list.
Getting a tattoo was also onthat list, but I never got a
tattoo.
So I guess not everythingactually happened.
However, writing a book was onmy bucket list.
(06:01):
So at that time, just to make ithappen, I started writing this
story.
And I wrote this story, which atthat time I was a flight
attendant.
So the story is also about aflight attendant woman.
But it's a fiction story.
It's not about my life.
It's like a heartbroken girl whojust happens to be a flight
attendant.
And I'm not even talking muchabout her job.
It's mostly about herrelationship on the story and
(06:23):
the stupid things that she'sdone.
And then she's the narrative ofthe story.
So she's telling the story, butI wrote it.
I wrote this 14 years ago,right?
And I just started writing thestory only to put it out in the
universe and just make it happenone day.
And when I became big onInstagram, like I had like a
huge following.
One day I just wrote a story andI said, yeah, I always had this
(06:45):
dream of like publishing mybook.
I don't know if it can everhappen.
That's just one of my dreams.
I posted that.
A few hours later, one of myfollowers, she would just like
write back to me.
She's like, I'm actually awriter too.
I have a publisher.
I would love to help you withthat.
Like you are my inspiration.
Whatever I can do for you tojust like make your dream
happen.
Let me do that for you.
And I was like, okay, why not?
(07:07):
And I sent her my story and Iwas like, if like an editor can
edit it and just a publisher, ifyou can find that can do that.
She did everything for me andthe book was published and I
didn't have a copy of my ownphysical book in my hand yet,
and it was published.
And it made it to the book fur,which is like one of the biggest
book furs in Middle East, but itwas happening in Tehran.
(07:31):
And I just posted one storysaying that, oh my God, my book
is published.
Like it's there.
You can go get it.
I still don't have my book in myhand.
What?
Exactly.
We need a copy.
And as soon as I post that, afew hours later, I'm being
tagged on so many pictures, somany posts.
And I see people lining up likejust to get the book.
(07:51):
And I see like the securityclosing the booth because it was
so out of control.
And then and also it washappening in Iran.
So the government was not superhappy with someone being that
influential to actually beingable to gather those many
people.
So that's not something theylike.
They started like going againstwhat I'm doing, saying that, oh,
you cannot go to the book fairbecause we cannot.
(08:13):
control such crowd around oneperson and I was like okay
scared but also proud so yeahand then when it happened it was
just like mind-blowing and I waslike wow and then when the news
came out this is the most thebest-selling book at the book
fair who's the writer oh she's abeauty influencer how a beauty
influencer who does makeup iswriting a book this is such a
(08:36):
disgrace to like the writerscommunity then I was like what
well because I guess it wasrelatable to many young women It
was, it still is.
I still, to this day, I get somany girls writing and they're
like, I saw this book that itwas on a bestselling book shelf
at the bookstore, but your nameis on it.
Is it just a coincidence or isit you?
Still, I get people who arefollowing me and they see the
(08:58):
name on that book too.
They don't know I'm the sameperson.
They're still doubting if it'syou or not.
Yes.
I just love that.
And it just happened.
And I would love to have mysecond book published too, but
with everything going on withthe first one, I don't know,
like I'm on the radar of like somany people and that's like a
little scary.
It's going to be a little harderfrom now on, but I'm still
dreaming.
(09:18):
Well, the thing is, theinteresting thing you mentioned,
you said, oh, it's justhappened.
And at first glance, it may seemit was a miracle or luck, but at
the same time, I feel youalready put the work, you wrote
the book, you know, you already,it's not like you just put, oh,
I dream one day to publish abook.
And you had nothing in works,right?
So you already wrote it, youalready put your part into it.
(09:39):
And then you just kind of putphysically, I don't know if it's
manifesting, right?
But you put it out there.
Obviously, I did something aboutit.
Yeah, obviously.
Yeah, I manifested because itjust seemed so unreal at the
time when I wished for it.
But also, yes, I wrote it, I didsomething, I talked about it.
And when you talk about it, youactually like, attract people
who could possibly help you whenyou talk about something there
(10:02):
should be someone in the crowdand saying that oh I can help
you with that and when they helpit's not luck it's you asking
for it and someone raising handand saying that I'm here to help
and like letting things to justlike happen I guess like when I
say like it just happened in away that it was so unexpected
like it was a very unexpectedtime and usually I'm so used to
put so much energy into thingsthat I want and for this one I
(10:26):
just didn't like put that muchenergy that I'm so used to.
So maybe that is why.
Because it was natural.
Sometimes if you work hard onsomething, it means it's not
natural.
For you, it was something youneeded to get out of your
system.
Absolutely.
And another thing I like whatyou said that you are a
storyteller.
Yeah.
From writing that transcendsinto your beauty products.
(10:49):
And if I'm not mistaken, theplot of the story is about the
immigrant girl, right?
And you are the immigrant girl.
Yes.
And you use that storyline inyour personal experience that
transcended to your cosmeticline.
Yes.
So tell us a little bit moreabout your brand, the Bodo
Cosmetics.
Bodo Makeup.
Bodo Makeup.
Tell us, I'm not going to give atease.
I want you to talk about thepalette and what it means and
(11:11):
the story behind it.
No, absolutely.
Absolutely.
So I just didn't wake up one daywhen saying that, oh, I need to
start my own brand.
No, absolutely.
It happened throughout the time.
So there was a time that I wasdoing makeup and putting my
makeup on and telling a story.
That's how my platform becamethe platform that I have today.
Because people love hearing thestory and I was putting makeup
(11:33):
on.
It was before the Get Ready WithMe era.
It was the time that I was justtalking about myself, right?
And At that time, I wasn'treceiving any PR packages from
brands.
It was me putting my own makeupstuff and just going to Sephora
and Ulta and buying stuffmyself.
And I just learned that somehowthe kind of makeup that I put
(11:55):
on, it's bold.
It's like colorful.
There's a lot going on.
And so many girls are not usedto seeing that kind of makeup.
But me putting that on every dayand posting that every day and
them seeing that, it justclicked for them.
Like, wow, I can be this bold.
I can do that makeup too.
So that became my signature.
That people knew me and mymakeup with bold, dramatic eye
(12:17):
makeups.
So I started going with thatroute and just finding more
colors, more stuff for eyemakeup.
And I go to Sephora and Ultaevery week spending$500 on
products, but I still don't findlike the colors that I actually
want.
So I was like, maybe the markethas a problem.
Maybe the product that girlslike me want is not out there.
(12:39):
So I started thinking aboutcreating eyeshadow palettes,
which is like mostly for eyemakeup, but also like bold
colors, like weird colors,things that not everyone would
use.
So when I started doing that, Iwas like, wait a minute, I can't
just create something withouttelling a story.
There has to be a story.
So I told the story.
However, the difference betweenmy products to any other product
(13:02):
in the market or any brand inthe market is that I didn't
create this on my own.
This is something that I createdwith my followers.
How?
I told this story and I writethis story for them.
And I'm like, okay, so we needto find the colors.
What colors do you think shouldbe on the story?
And they're like, oh, with thisstory, the colors should be
purple, should be orange, shouldbe like out of this world.
(13:24):
Like they named the colors.
So I find the colors, I sendthem to the lab and I'm like,
this is the color that I want.
When the colors come, I'm like,okay, now the packaging, what
color do you think the packagingshould be?
They're like, This should be ona white packaging.
So we do that.
We do everything together.
So how did you communicate withthem?
Through stories?
On my stories.
On your stories.
Yes, the questions on thestories, them sending me
messages, me reading it, ordoing polls and asking
(13:46):
questions.
So more than 500,000 people wereinvolved in creating this.
So we, all of us together, wecame up with the names.
We came up with completing thestory, finding the colors, the
packaging, everything.
the little details of thepackaging.
So when it was out, it feltlike, oh my God, I had to stay
(14:06):
into this.
This is not just a product thatI go to the store and buy.
I said, I voted about stuffabout this.
It's a collaborative project,but also at the same time, very
smart marketing strategy, right?
Because everybody whoparticipated, they wanted a
piece of it.
Absolutely.
And it felt like, and I neversaid my brand with my followers.
It was always our brand.
It was always our product.
(14:28):
So yes, even before the brandwas out there, even before the
name was out there, they knewabout it.
We talked about it.
And it felt such a family thingfor us.
It wasn't just a regular brandjust opening like another day,
another brand, another product.
So it wasn't commercially, it'smore of you connecting with your
community as well, who supportedyou because you are a role model
(14:50):
for them.
Okay, there's a girl from Iran,you know, making these big waves
and she's authentic and she's,you know, successful.
So, and plus she's making usfeel a part of her product.
I mean, I hope that's how theyfelt, but yeah.
And let me confirm.
So the palette that you had hadnine colors, each representing a
story of an immigrant girl.
Is that correct or no?
(15:11):
The story was one story.
So the words that we used on thestory was under each shade, like
a different word, which was partof the story.
So the shade colors are tellingthe story too.
And the story is also written inthe back of the product.
So back of the product is notjust the ingredients.
It's not just the website orlike, Expiration date whatsoever
is also the story of the productthat you're holding.
(15:32):
So it's like a little book inyour hand.
It has the colors and you canput the makeup on.
We've had three products forBodo Makeup and all three of
them are telling a story and allthree of them were like made
with my followers.
So what's your three favoriteshades with the story on your
product?
Extra luggage on Immigrant Girl.
(15:53):
Okay.
UNKNOWN (15:53):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (15:55):
It's like what I like.
Fear on Eye Exist palette iswhat I like.
And these are my favoritebecause it's like black and it's
like yellowish gold.
And I love that.
It's just a combination.
It's usually like a good makeupfor me.
I love that.
I need to check it out.
You should.
Which one would you recommendfor me?
I mean, you have the mostbeautiful eyes.
(16:15):
So I feel like, yeah, the grayand darker colors on the Eye
Exist would probably like...
make your eyes even moregorgeous.
You know what?
I usually wear minimal makeup,almost no makeup.
Today is probably the most I'veglammed up, but you inspired me
to try...
to try different more boldcolors.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Because I thought it would maybelook something too extravagant,
(16:35):
but I feel now looking at you,you look so gorgeous.
Maybe I can try that gray lightblue.
Yes, I totally will.
No, you should just be bold.
Be bold.
Yeah.
Bodo.
Bodo.
Be Bodo.
But Bodo in Farsi means let'smake up.
So Bodo make up means let's makeup.
Oh, I see.
So there's also meaning behindthe name.
Yeah, it's Farsi word.
Bodo in Farsi means like let's,like yalla, like come on.
(16:58):
It's a Bodo make up.
I love it.
Yeah.
And Then another palette,correct me if I'm wrong, it was
a black and blue palette raisingawareness for gender-based
violence.
Can you talk a little bit moreabout that and your activities
for refugees and victims of sexcrimes?
Absolutely.
It's actually like the storystarted when I was working at
(17:20):
United Nations.
Okay.
Part of my job was like, Istarted as an intern and then I
just got into this wholeindustry as like helping
refugees.
But part of my job was tointerview refugees or asylum
seekers who are under violenceand just deciding what's best to
do for them.
Most of the time, what we wereoffering was not even a solution
(17:41):
to what they were going through.
It was mostly like a temporarysolution for them.
And even I knew that at thattime.
However...
It just clicked that, oh my God,there are so many people living
so many different lives that Ihaven't seen.
I don't need to go through thesame thing they did to just
understand what's going on.
I just need to hear their storyand just be the voice for them.
(18:04):
So it just started from there.
And then from then, I startedlooking at women with a
different eye.
As like, you never know what'sthe story behind a beautiful
girl with all dolled up, likeall makeup done and everything.
You don't know what they wentthrough yesterday or even this
morning before getting out ofthe house.
Because so many of those women,their story was so
(18:24):
heartbreaking, but also at thesame time, you wouldn't see that
in them.
You're like, hey, what's goingon?
And wow, the bruises are coveredunder the makeup.
Wow, they are like so worried towear something that it's not
showing the bruises on theirbody.
So...
Talking about violence againstwomen became a thing in my
stories.
(18:45):
When I tell the story, I'malways talking about it,
especially because most of myaudience are women.
I want them to feel they'reheard, they're understood.
But when it came into creating aproduct for it, and I was
telling to my followers too, Iwas like, listen, we can change
the color of the bruises andjust...
(19:05):
separate all these colors andbeautify it and just put it in a
palette and just put thesecolors separately the way we
want it which is black and blueeverybody knows black and blue
is the color of the bruise andit's just like that's how like
violence is shown in just twocolors in your creativity to
support so we just put ittogether and I was like listen I
know bruises could be purplebruises could be like painful
(19:28):
but also like we can separatethese two and just create
different colors and justbeautify Put makeup on.
Why not?
I love that.
That's genius and authentic andreal and so great that you went
a step further to help andfacilitate and bring awareness.
So speaking of bringing theawareness, is there any way we
can help or bring more exposureto this issue?
(19:50):
Is there any hashtags or anyorganizations we can reach out
to to help and spread out theword?
That's amazing you're sayingthat.
I feel like we should...
kind of stop like categorizingourselves into like different
organizations that works towardsthis i feel like we should try
to personalize it a little moreokay talking about our own loved
(20:12):
ones our own family we don'tneed to just put a name out
there we don't need to put acampaign on it it's just about
being the voice of these peopleand like telling the story as
like i'm just telling a storylike It shouldn't be shame.
It shouldn't be like peoplesaying that, oh, we should not
be talking about that.
We should just like talk aboutthat more often, I guess.
And just like normalize talkingabout it.
(20:34):
So then people would actuallylook at themselves like, am I
doing anything towards this?
I always talk to my audience.
I'm like, yeah, we're women.
We're so used to telling eachother, yeah, you should do this
for a man to like you.
Yeah, you should wear that so aman would just like love you.
Or you should talk like that.
Do we have men telling eachother that like, hey, you should
not treat your wife like that?
(20:54):
I don't see men saying that toeach other.
But I see women saying that,hey, you should not talk to your
husband like that.
Hey, you should make sure yourhusband likes this food, this
dress, this outfit, this makeupand all of that.
But men don't say that to eachother.
I feel like we need to, at somepoint, normalize men telling
each other what they should notbe doing towards women
because...
That's how, like, it seems likethat, yeah, in that case, then
(21:17):
yes, we're doing something.
Yeah, very good point.
Because usually women try tofind all these tricks and
educate themselves and improvethe life and work on
relationship.
But the men usually verystraightforward, very simple.
Like, oh, this is how I am.
Yeah, this is how you are.
Oh, this is men, right?
That's what they do.
But you're absolutely right.
There need to be moreconversations amongst men to how
(21:37):
to treat better.
But I guess it's all coming fromthe culture, from the
upbringing.
Absolutely.
But look at the content creationindustry.
I create content.
There are so many other womendoing the same thing.
We talk, we tell stories, we putmakeup on.
Sometimes we jokingly talk aboutmen.
We do a lot of things.
But how many men do you seedoing that?
(21:58):
How many men do you see tellingstories and telling other men
how they should be?
I don't see that that often.
It was on my expert page and Isaw this guy talking how he
was...
supporting his wife.
And I saw my husband followingthat guy and liking that video.
I was like, oh, that feels sogood because not only there is
someone who's talking aboutthat, but also my husband is
(22:18):
following them.
That means if we have more mencreating content about how they
should actually act righttowards women, I feel like I
personally would support thatman.
I would just help them to justgrow bigger on Instagram or
wherever they're working onbecause we need more content
creation.
towards like men teaching eachother how to be like.
But if you think about it, nowyou made me think how low are
the standards for men, right?
(22:39):
Oh, he just said he's supportinghis wife and he gets all the
praise and all the ah and ah.
He's such an amazing man, but itshould be by default.
The man is a provider.
Make sure he makes his wifesecure and cherished and loved
and supported.
And I know there's so many menout there, but like you said,
publicly, for some reason,they're not speaking about it,
right?
They're not publicizing thatbecause maybe it's a sense of
(23:00):
weakness, right?
Or maybe they don't think that'swhat needed to be heard
publicly.
But you absolutely gave anamazing idea and encouraged more
men to talk about it, how theycare for their loved ones, how
they're supporting them.
That will maybe cause a chain orsnow reaction for other men to
follow and give that support.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It's just like some sort ofcontent we are not seeing.
(23:22):
And I feel like If men want tomake money with the content
creation, this would be a goodidea for them.
Please just stop going out likeasking women for their numbers
and just making a joke out of itand posting it online because
that's so weird.
Have you seen that kind ofcontent?
Maybe that's why there's so manythings wrong with the modern
dating.
Oh my gosh.
This has become my absolutefear.
(23:45):
there's these meta glasses thatmen wear they go out there and
they're like they have theglasses on so they're recording
the girl in front of
SPEAKER_02 (23:51):
them
SPEAKER_01 (23:52):
and they're like hey can i get your number hey you
look so beautiful to just getthe reaction take the video post
it online and that is theircontent i'm like bro you're so
wrong on doing this then i wasjust so many ethical issues now
about it i never thought and ijust like i don't know how
people are following this personhow this person is like still
like creating content with thatnature i just don't address that
(24:12):
I guess nowadays we're runningfor hype you know we're running
for followers for likes andwe're missing the authenticity
and we think that's what'smaking money making successful
but the long term you are theproblem with the society that's
exactly making this you knowchanges that creating more
problems creating more problemsand like it's so many people
following these people you can'teven question that person like
(24:33):
why are you following thisperson because You don't want to
be too nosy about who theyfollow, but also at the same
time, you're also part of theproblem.
That person creates that kind ofcontent and you follow that kind
of content.
So it's like, oh, you're...
You're giving energy.
Yeah.
You're part of it.
So if there's guys out theretrying to figure out how to get
(24:56):
more following and exposure onsocial media...
Please be nice.
Just be nice.
Just be nice.
Shima will give you a littleboost.
Teach others how to be nice.
so I will have you on camerayou're gonna repost more of this
stuff I will absolutely do thatjust like create some content
about how you make coffee foryour wife in the morning because
why not that would be cutecontent so what so what are the
nice things that your husbanddoes for you oh he's an absolute
(25:19):
angel okay I don't cook so hecooks he makes my coffee in the
morning and I love how he knowswhat time I need my coffee oh
And I love how he knows how tomake my coffee better than me
because like the time that likehe's not home and I act like I
can make my own coffee and I goto the kitchen and I'm like,
okay, how much of creamer shouldI put?
(25:39):
Like how much of sugar?
Like which flavor do you put?
How does this coffee machinework?
Like none of that.
He knows all of that.
He makes my coffee.
He makes my breakfast.
He actually makes a breakfastwhen I'm still in bed.
Oh, wow.
Lucky you.
I know.
I guess it's also the gesture,right?
I guess it's just the attentionand Showing him he cares.
(26:00):
It also took a long time for usto communicate about these.
He wasn't like this from firstdate.
No, absolutely not.
We actually, we obviously asmany, many couples, we fight, we
just talk about things.
But that's my thing.
I keep telling him all the time.
And I'm like, fights need tohave a result.
Otherwise, it's just a fight andit's a loop that we're stuck in.
(26:22):
And we are going to be fightingfor the same thing over and over
and over again.
So when we fight over something,we need to come up with a
solution and we need to work onthat.
It cannot be the same fight.
Don't bring it over a monthlater.
Remember one month ago.
Exactly.
Which I am like that too.
He could be telling me the worstthing.
The worst thing.
And we fight about it, right?
(26:44):
I'm pissed.
I vent, we fight, but if we comeup with a solution and he stops
doing that, I would also notbring that up ever again.
So this is just the progress forlike two mature people to just
like learn things about eachother and just like work that
relationship together.
What comes to communication,right?
(27:04):
So you need to communicate.
I feel like if you know how tocommunicate, there's no fight or
argument that can bring youapart.
Anything is solvable.
So I guess in your case, do youbelieve that you should never go
to bed angry?
No, I can go to bed angry.
But it's just never like, hey,you cannot sleep in bed with me.
You need to sleep on the couch.
No, you can sleep in the bed.
(27:24):
I was just like, not at all.
Will you address it the nextday?
I am the kind of person that Icannot be angry at the same
thing for like a long time.
And my husband like, when westarted like when we started
living together he saw me and mysister fighting fighting right
(27:45):
sister how sisters fight wefight right the worst thing is
to observe right so he's likescared he's like whoa like
they're fighting right we saythe worst things to each other
right a few hours later mysister will come to me and
she'll say something and he'slike the hell what happened you
were just like killing eachother like two hours ago and i'm
(28:05):
like yeah but okay it ends andhe could not understand that
because he was like when wefight we fight and just we
stopped talking to each otheruntil like whatever happened and
i'm like oh not with me not withus like this is not how i was
like raised like sister's loveis different absolutely even
with my mom even with my dad wefight we went and then that's it
(28:27):
like we get back to likeeverything normal it's never
like oh i want to see your faceever again no Obviously, you're
still my family.
I could hate you today forwhatever you said, but we're
going to work it through.
So no, I'm not that kind ofperson who would just like, no,
you cannot sleep with me.
I'm not going to talk to you.
No, we can do whatever.
(28:48):
You don't hold grudges, right?
You don't hold grudges.
No, not at all.
So who's doing the chores?
Oh, he does.
I love that.
So he does the chores.
He makes breakfast.
So what do you do in therelationship?
I'm just being weird.
You're the dream girl in arelationship.
(29:10):
I love that.
Hey, I'm just being me.
I'm just being pretty, doingmakeup.
I'm just pretty.
Well, I guess he has to begetting something out of it.
So I guess, I mean, does he getlike nurturing, loving affection
from a beautiful wife?
So no, we actually, so I makemoney.
He helps me.
(29:31):
Okay, so he would be like astay-at-home dad.
Yeah.
I love that.
But we don't have kids, though.
Yeah, but I'm saying, I mean, Idon't know if that's in the
plans for you, but down theline, he could be.
No, absolutely.
I'm like, I don't mind makingmoney.
Honestly, I feel like, have youseen women, when they start
talking about it, do you knowhow successful I would be if I
had a wife?
(29:51):
Yes.
Someone who takes care of me.
So I'm living that life
SPEAKER_02 (29:54):
now.
SPEAKER_01 (29:55):
That's great.
Every woman needs a wife.
Right?
Every successful woman needs awife.
Yeah.
So he lets me to be six.
He lets me shine.
He fixes my crown.
He's like, oh, you got it.
He makes sure that my dress isalways right.
My makeup is right.
My lighting, like my content isalways out there.
Like I'm working.
Like when I'm down, he wouldtalk to me and make sure that
(30:16):
like I'll get out of the bed.
I would just like put like allthe depression aside.
And on my period, he would takecare of me.
He would just like.
Give me everything I need justto make me feel better.
He's like, do you want me to getto Tylenol?
I love that.
I mean, we need all men supposedto be the support system, right?
Because as women, we have to doso much.
(30:37):
So many responsibilities, somuch pressure.
But when you have the rightpartner who supports you, that
makes it so much easier in arelationship.
So you're a hardworking girl.
You build your brand.
Before talking to you, I askedif you make up artists.
to ask me which questions theywould like to ask you.
And one of the questions was, sowhat is the first thing you need
(30:59):
to know if you do want to startyour own brand, your cosmetic
brand?
How did you start?
What was the most difficult,challenging part in starting
your brand product?
Okay, I'm sure that people knowthat when they're starting a
product, like making a product,they know that they need to
solve a problem.
UNKNOWN (31:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:19):
That's like given.
Everybody knows that.
You know your why.
And I'm sure everybody knowsthat.
But when it comes to cosmetics,only because the competition is
like huge, especially in thelast 10 years, maybe 10 years
ago, it wasn't as much that weare seeing right now because all
the celebrities, they're makingtheir own brand.
Influencers coming out withtheir own brand.
(31:41):
Like everybody is like the nextday, yeah, I can have my own
brand too.
It's like a cool thing to do,right?
But It's always about whatproblem are you solving and what
makes you different fromeverything else going on in the
market.
For me, obviously the story,obviously packaging, obviously
like working with my followers.
(32:02):
It was my why.
It was like creating somethingthat we don't see in the market,
bold colors.
Because so many people were likeso into, oh, the neutral makeup
or the nude colors or no makeupmakeup.
I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
Full glam.
Bring 2016 back.
Yes.
So that's what I love.
And I was like feeling that atthat time, it was a kind of
(32:24):
product that the market didn'thave anywhere.
So I added in there.
The difference was that I toldthe story, not a brand was doing
that.
I was doing it with myfollowers, not a brand would do
that.
So it's like the uniquenessneeds to be there.
They need to solve a problem.
They need to stand out.
They need to tell a story.
(32:44):
tell their own story I startedthis because of that whatever
reason that they have what aboutthe production the technical
part of it did you experienceany problems in that or that's
the easiest thing well actuallyokay the formula and everything
was made in US for me but alsowith the packaging obviously
with the labor the cost andeverything I felt like if I was
doing it in US the cost would belike a lot higher so I started
(33:07):
looking into like manufacturersin like other countries and
obviously with all things goingon with the tariffs right now
it's like It fluctuates things alittle bit.
But I feel like eventuallythings come together when you
have a clear vision of whatyou're doing.
Because if I have a vision oflike, hey, this is the bottle
that I want.
(33:27):
This is the product that I want.
There is no way that I wouldjust go wrong with that.
Because when I know what I want,I will find it.
You'll find the way.
I'll find it.
So as long as the vision isclear and out there, finding the
way, like...
with production or everythingand that is the most essential
part to figure out why to figureout the story how you're
personally connected to thebrand because i feel most of the
(33:50):
beauty influencers they're goingfrom the uh from the area i need
to make money i want to besuccessful they're looking
backwards they're not lookingwith what you said finding out
what's the problem in themarket.
And because right now the marketis always saturated.
I mean, there's so manythousands of different brands.
I mean, every single influencerhas their own brand.
So you need to find a way how tostand out on the market.
(34:11):
And the only way to stand out isbe yourself, is find your true
story, your core, why you'reconnected and why you want to do
this.
And that creates a very stablefoundation of the whole brand.
And then the marketing canMm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
(34:33):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
creates a whole vibe of like ohi know what influencers i need
to work with to promote this youwill know everything when the
(34:54):
foundation is set right you willknow everything after so i feel
like now there's so many optionsso many choices so many
resources just go and create soanother question was um
obviously you have your ownproduct and you are the face of
your product your brandambassador for your product uh
the makeup artist asked thisquestion Do you have to be on
(35:15):
camera and do you have to be aninfluencer to be successful if
you're a makeup artist or abeauty influencer?
Is there any way to reachsuccess without being on camera
if you're shy, if maybe you'renot ready to put yourself out
there, I mean, your face outthere on the internet?
No, absolutely.
The only difference is that youprobably need to put a little
more cost into marketing, toadvertisement, the way that the
(35:37):
website looks, the way that youput yourself out there and the
kind of influencers you workwith to promote your brand.
You just need to know who has ahand on your product, who talks
about it and what they say aboutit.
It's just, you just need tostrategize your marketing a lot
more deep and detailed comparedto like someone who has their
face out there and they'reknown.
Because when I'm known,obviously like at the very
(36:00):
beginning, I don't need to payanyone for the marketing.
I would just go out there and belike, hey, I have my own
product.
You can buy it from here.
And so many people who love mewould actually buy it, right?
But are those people are goingto be coming back again?
That's about the product.
Or am I going to reach peoplewho don't know me?
That's about the marketing.
And I will do all of those.
But if I'm not known, then Iwill need to strategize all of
(36:23):
the next steps as the firststep.
So it's going to be, oh, whatinfluencer I'm going to work
with or...
Oh, what kind of verbiage am Igoing to use for my marketing
and all of that?
Which again, it has to alignwith your vision and with the
story.
Absolutely.
Right.
So it's still the same formulais applied.
Either you're promoting your ownbrand or if you, I mean, are
(36:44):
they using yourself promotingyour brand or you have models
or, you know, other influencersto help you to promote it?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
So in terms of, are you alwaysloyal to your own brand?
Would you do promotions forother cosmetic brands?
Have you worked and collaboratedwith other brands?
Of course.
(37:04):
Well, here's the thing.
With cosmetics, especiallycolored cosmetics, you really do
not have to be loyal to onebrand, one color, or one
specific type of product.
You can explore.
You can do a lot of things.
You can mix and match.
You can come up with mixing andcoming up with a new idea, a new
design, a new makeup.
Maybe like the only thing thatwe could like possibly be loyal
(37:27):
to probably is like what productI use for my hair or what
product I use for my skincare.
That, yes, you could just stickinto one sort of ingredient.
Not competing.
Well, when it comes to colorcosmetics, just go on with
whatever you want to do.
And I absolutely do that.
Of course, I promote otherbrands too.
I love that.
Who is your dream collaborationthat you want to work in the
(37:48):
future with?
In the future?
Yeah.
I actually, there are so manybrands that they're under the
umbrella of L'Oreal that I loveworking with them.
So I hope that happens.
L'Oreal.
Yeah, right?
We're here.
Make notes.
Putting out there in theuniverse.
(38:10):
Watch me.
I'll make a phone call.
Right?
From my email.
Yes, me.
I know, knock on the door.
Right?
Yes.
Whatever it takes to get thatcollaboration.
No, absolutely.
No, it's going to happenprobably like this year.
I know that.
It will happen.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm sure they will love you.
Yeah.
So how do you stay relevant?
You know, I know trends come andgo and I know some influencers
(38:32):
copy each other's trends, someinfluencers create trends.
So how do you stay relevant to,you know, to millions of
followers who watch you?
My husband was talking aboutthis two days ago.
I was telling him that, oh myGod, the new algorithm is so
annoying.
(38:52):
The engagement rate is not asmuch as it used to be.
Like before I used to like postone long video, not even edited
perfectly the way I'm doing itright now.
And the number of likes orcomments were like a lot higher,
which like the difference is noteven as much.
I'm just like, so like such aperfectionist and like my own
biggest failure.
But like his point was that thething is that back then when you
(39:18):
were making content, it was allabout you telling story.
It was all about you beingvulnerable and just telling the
story without being worriedabout what people think about
you.
But now you're kind of mixing itwith a little bit of a luxury
lifestyle.
Oh, I bought this.
Oh, I bought that.
I'm not even bragging about it.
I just think maybe every hereand there, I would tag the purse
(39:39):
or the watch.
And it's like, don't do that.
You don't want people to justsee what you wear or what you
do.
You want them to see your visionas how you tell the story that
will happen.
If your watch is part of thestory, then obviously talk about
it.
If it's not, Let it go.
Do not brag about like anything.
That's just the regular thingthat everybody does.
Your audience does not likethat.
(40:00):
Just let it go and be loyal tolike what you were doing.
Just be vulnerable.
Be humble.
Just be humble.
I am humble, however.
It's not about me bragging aboutit, but he was just like, Some
people might think that you'rebragging about like stuff.
Just don't do that.
Whatever like changes that youhave done, make sure that you're
not going with that route andjust like keep being vulnerable
(40:22):
and like telling those stories.
So how much do you care ifsomebody you have negative
comments?
I mean, have you had negativecomments?
Do you take them to heart orignore them?
How do you deal with that?
At the beginning?
Yes, obviously.
Like there were like times thatI was getting backlashes because
like I Okay, with the Farsicontent, I think like I'm on top
of three influencers with theFarsi content.
(40:43):
That's like out there and peoplewatch them, with female at
least.
And I know that I'm seen, I knowI'm on the radar of like so many
people.
And only because like my contentis mostly about women
empowerment.
Obviously, it's likemisunderstood with like men
hating.
And like so many men likeattacking like, oh, you hate me.
And I'm like, bro, you don'thave anything for me to hate.
Like there's no hate here.
(41:03):
It's just like I went to therapyand I just know that.
This energy is not what I'mlooking for.
Trying to
SPEAKER_02 (41:10):
provoke you.
SPEAKER_01 (41:11):
So exactly.
I'm like, no, it's not abouthating.
Also, that's like the transitionof my content.
So obviously I get a lot ofhate.
So I was receiving backlashesabout like, what you said is
politically wrong.
Oh, you are like with this kindof party of the government.
Or, oh, you're standing withthis person who said that thing.
Or, oh, there's so many layersinto things that I get tagged
(41:32):
into only because of one thingthat I said, like, I don't know,
10 years ago.
And it follows me even to thisday of like, oh, do you remember
what you said 10 years ago?
That means that you are withthat person in that part of
government.
That means you're this person.
And I have to like constantlyexplain myself, which I stopped
doing that a long time ago.
I was like, I don't owe nobodyan apology for what I thought.
(41:53):
You know what I'm saying?
So I receive a lot of backlashesat the very beginning, only
because I grew so fast in a veryshort amount of time.
I was receiving backlashes alsovery fast with a lot of people
that I was not used to.
So that's like the downside ofgoing viral because you go
viral, you get a lot of love,but everybody's gonna
immediately get a lot of it.
(42:14):
So like there were time, maybefour years ago, that I would
just like read tweets aboutmyself and I would just go to
bed and I would cry for like awhole night, right?
And I would just like not beable to sleep, not be able to
eat, like a true depression,right?
But then I grew with, the loveand hate so I was like okay I
guess that's how it is and likethe fascinating part about it is
(42:37):
that when you get a hit it'sjust one day and it just stops
like one day is an example butit could just like be one week
or whatever and it immediatelystops it immediately goes like
and everything goes back tonormal it's never a consistent
thing it's never constantly likepeople hating you It's always
like one person thinkingsomething and just come
attacking you because they'rehaving a bad day.
(42:58):
They don't have the right to dothat.
But I also don't have the rightto get upset over like this and
make my day like going bad.
So I get that.
I get so many like hate, liketalks, comments, tweets, all of
that.
But I also learned not to evensay that.
Just ignore it.
Wash it off.
It's like, okay.
Well, most of the times whensomebody comments something
(43:18):
negative, this is something thatthey hate about themselves,
right?
So those men, they probably haveno girlfriend, they have no
relationship.
They see you being successfuland they have that rejection of
themselves and they need to putit somewhere.
They need to put it out.
By doing that, they give theenergy to that negativity in
their own life.
(43:39):
So for you, you have to havesort of this invisible wall to
protect yourself from thisnegativity.
Because you cannot be a peoplepleaser.
So I guess my question is whenyou become a public person, Do
you think it's better to stayneutral, let's say politically
wise or regime wise or anythingthat goes viral?
(44:00):
Or you still think it's betterto have an opinion even though
many wouldn't like that opinion?
My husband believes that Ishould do the first, that I
should just stay neutral and notsay anything.
I cannot stay silent.
I can't shut my mouth.
I wish I could.
(44:20):
I wish I could.
It's just I never had thattalent.
So I have to say something.
I always get like people hatingon me for saying what I said.
And I was like, listen, at theend of the day, this is me.
I wish I was just a characterout of a movie and just living
whatever it was written for me.
But that's not the case.
I'm a real person showing thereal thoughts, opinions and
(44:42):
sides of my life and havingopinion about something that
goes on in the world.
War, conflict, talks, whatever.
if I'm asked my opinion or if mycommunity is like so heavily
involved with it, like let's saymy country is in war, I can just
go out there and put the makeupon and just tell the story.
I have to pick a side.
You know what I'm saying?
Because otherwise I'll be like,like nobody would understand me.
(45:06):
People will be like, you can'tspeak Farsi and like claim that
you're from Iran and like notsay anything when this is going
on.
You know what I'm saying?
That is risky.
I love you taking risk.
But at the same time, youalso...
being real and honest and that'swhat your audience loves about
you you're not this perfectpicture a girl who has this fake
life right you're sharing yourthoughts you're sharing your
(45:27):
opinions and that's actually myum my thing with my content i'm
like i'm not perfect and i don'thave to be i know that the
society wants this woman to justbe perfect in like different
ways i could just wake up in themorning have no makeup on like
having like horrible hair andstill have the confidence just
come in front of the camera andtalk to you guys That doesn't
(45:48):
mean I'm at any less of valuelike that I am when I'm
perfectly done.
And I just come and talk.
I could be angry.
I could be upset.
I could just have a wrongopinion.
I could just make mistakes.
I could do all of that and stillbe the same person and still
have the same respect.
And that actually has given myaudience a lot of courage and
(46:12):
confidence.
As they tell me, they're like,seeing you makes me feel like
I'm actually enough too becauseI don't have to be perfect.
Obviously, I try about it.
I would do my skincare.
I would spend money on mymakeup.
I would spend money on likegetting my hair done because
that's what I do.
And they're like, I've neverdone this before because there
are times I go get my hair doneand there's nothing going on in
(46:33):
my life on that day.
Like, my hair is perfect, butnothing.
I'm going back home watching TV.
And everyone's like, why?
What would you spend your moneyon that?
I'm like, it's spending my moneyon me.
And I love that.
And I love to just look greattoday in front of TV, because
why not?
Well, if you have an oppositeopinion, would you ever go
outside without makeup?
(46:53):
Oh, yeah, I do that every day.
One time I did that, and I feltempowered and vulnerable at the
same time.
And I love that.
And you feel a certain amount offreedom knowing that, okay, I
can still be confident.
Yes.
I can still own it.
Yeah.
And I can still, you know, feelgreat.
Not just, I mean, it doesn'tmatter how I look, but I feel
(47:16):
great.
And that's confidence.
I guess it's more attractivethan being pretty, right?
Or having makeup on.
I feel like being vulnerable isalso giving us some sort of
strength because that means Iactually put whatever that I
don't like out there.
People saw that.
They can take it or leave it.
But whoever that takes it, I'mstrong, baby.
(47:38):
Because you saw that.
I know I'm still here.
I'm strong, baby.
I'm strong.
No, absolutely.
Yeah.
No, you're definitely coming offsuch a strong personality and
obviously challenges in life,how to transform you.
And like what they say, whatdoesn't kill you makes you
stronger.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So you're very strong, positiverole model.
(48:00):
And we need more people likeyou.
We need more beauty influencerslike you who are not about fluff
and being pretty, but have somesubstance to them and have the
ideas that they're not afraid tospeak up.
So in order for us to wrap thisconversation, is there any
advice you can give to talentedmakeup artists and beauty
influencers or aspiring beautyinfluencers who have the skill,
(48:24):
have the talent, but don't havethat acknowledgement and
following as of right now?
What's What would you advise tothem?
Post whatever you think.
You should be posting.
Just post it.
Because you never know how manypeople like you until you put
yourself out there.
And you have to put yourself outthere for people to find you, to
see you, and to feel you, andthen to like you, and then to
(48:46):
follow you, and then to becomeloyal.
Because if you're just hidinghere, I don't know who you are
to like you.
I don't know you.
You just need to be out there.
Put yourself out there.
Put yourself out there.
Whatever you're doing is right.
There's no right or wrong inlike creation industry, which is
the beauty of it, is that youcan just like have the weirdest
makeup and some people are goingto be like, wow, that is so
(49:10):
cool.
And those are your people andyou just need them.
So just post, be out there andyou definitely are going to see
so much support more than whatyou think.
Well, thank you for thisbeautiful words.
Thank you again for coming toThe Basic Show.
It was a true pleasure.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
And have a wonderful day
SPEAKER_00 (49:29):
today.
Oh, thank you.
Thanks for having me.
This was fun.
It's a pleasure.
It's been definitely a funconversation.
Thank you, Shima.
Thank
SPEAKER_01 (49:36):
you.
Thank you.
UNKNOWN (49:40):
Of course.
Thanks.
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