By Nikki Walton
Happy Women’s History Month! All month (forever, really), we are celebrating the #ReflectBeauties that are changing the game– specifically, the founders of industry-disrupting, women-owned media and beauty brands!
Next up- the founders and CEOs of Glow Recipe, Christine Chang and Sarah Lee!
Glow Recipe is a clean, fruit-powered, unapologetically fun skin-care line inspired by Korean beauty. Co-founded by beauty industry veterans Sarah Lee and Christine Chang in 2014, Glow Recipe is committed to making Korean beauty accessible to all beauty lovers across the world and empowering them to feed their skin the essential ingredients it needs when it needs it, because no day is the same.
I had the opportunity of chatting with them about her self-care regimen so we can all glow together! Check it out!
On her morning routine…
Christine Chang: Every morning starts with making my daughter breakfast and getting her ready for school. I sometimes like to throw the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask on my face while I’m doing this and wash it off with the Blueberry Bounce Cleanser afterwards – it’s an easy way to get 10 minutes of masking into my routine and preps my skin for make up if I have an event or meeting later that day. I then walk my daughter to school and head to work in a Via shared ride – this is usually where I get my emails done!
Sarah Lee: I always drink a full bottle of water and spritz on our Watermelon Ultra-Fine Mist (I have the mist by my bed at all times!) as soon as I wake up. After that, I check my calendar and my emails. I catch up on all my news notifications – my go-to apps right now are the New York Times and BBC apps. Most mornings, I apply the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask before washing my face – it’s a sleeping mask but also a super effective wash-off mask that hydrates and gently exfoliates the skin, so it’s a great way to prep for makeup.
On why she launched Glow Recipe…
Chang: Beauty and skincare were always a big part of my childhood – I watched my mother and grandmother really enjoy and take pride in their skincare routine growing up and it greatly influenced my attitudes towards it. It’s truly a moment of self-care and pampering and shouldn’t feel overwhelming or like a chore. Not only are many of our products K-beauty inspired, but the educational skincare content we create is geared around empowering our community to be able to give their skin what it needs and have a positive self-care experience.
Lee: When my partner Christine and I set out to build Glow Recipe in 2014, it was because we saw an enormous opportunity to leverage our bicultural and bilingual beauty backgrounds in a market that was just waiting to become the next big thing – at the time K-beauty was on the cusp of exploding in the US. As marketing and product development executives at L’Oreal, we were the only two employees in the company with expertise in both the Korean and American markets. That gave us a unique perspective to help introduce innovative, quality Korean brands to consumers everywhere. We wanted to break down what K-beauty was all about, educate consumers on the unique trends coming out of Korea, bring them best-in-class skincare offerings and make them accessible to American consumers through repositioning and education.
When we launched our own line of products with Glow Recipe Skincare in 2017, we wanted to take this mission even further to leverage our learnings from the curation business model and truly distill Korean beauty in a simplified yet impactful way, while making the skincare journey fun and sensorial. We are focused on sharing our skincare secrets and tips and continuing the dialogue to glow together.
On her vision for Glow Recipe and multicultural women going forward…
Chang: Community and inclusivity are central to Glow Recipe and it’s also important for us to incorporate customer and community feedback every step of the way. Our customers are part of our product testing panels and we’ve also created a separate Instagram for our skincare community as a safe space to have open discussions (@realglowgang). I’ve also had the opportunity to meet such an amazing circle of multicultural female entrepreneurs and leaders across diverse industries as we’ve built Glow Recipe – we often feature these amazing women on our ‘Boss Babe’ series on our blog!
Lee: I believe that multicultural women are propelling the beauty industry forward and that they are key drivers of the future of beauty. Brands are developing new products to address the unique interests and demands of multicultural consumers, while creating imagery and visual representations that reflect diversity and inclusivity. This is something I’m personally passionate about and also a core value at Glow Recipe. We have specific strategies and plans to continue to celebrate and communicate the importance of diversity and empower individuals. I also feel responsible as a leader of a beauty company to continue to challenge the status quo and share new perspectives in the industry. I know many other multicultural female entrepreneurs share the same passion.
On becoming the best version of herself…
Chang: I really think it comes down to years of small but significant skincare habits. I pat my skincare in instead of rubbing, always cleanse my face at night and wear SPF daily. A skincare journey for me is similar to working out – it’s most important to be consistent about it versus relying on a big treatment or facial without the daily maintenance. Also seeing the world through my daughter’s eyes has been the best experience ever!
Lee: First, trying to understand the stories vs what’s on the surface, and second, always thinking about the big picture, have definitely helped me to be more thoughtful and more positive. I can laugh at small mistakes that don’t make a dent in the long run, and I love celebrating small wins with people around me. This shift in perspective has made every moment more enjoyable.
On her biggest lesson learned in 2019…
Chang: Be thankful for small blessings. Celebrating the small wins both at work and at home has been game changing for me.
Lee: Be the example.
On her current read…
Chang: I just started Normal People – recommendation from a friend!
Lee: The Speed of Trust (Stephen Covey)
On what’s up next…
Chang: We’re really excited for what Glow Recipe has coming down the line in 2020. Definitely expect new categories and fruits to join the family! We also created a safe space for our community to talk about all things skincare at @realglowgang – come join the discussion.
Lee: New innovations, new categories, unexpected releases, IRL activations, and many more are in the pipeline. But we are most excited to talk about our skincare philosophy of listening to your skin and feeding it what it needs, and ultimately empowering yourself to make the best choices for your own skin. 2020 will be a year for our brand to speak about our core values, ethos and our mission even more than our products.
Have you tried Glow Recipe? Show Christine and Sarah some love in the comments!
#5Minuteswith Christine Chang and Sarah Lee of Glow Recipe
