Arts
In episode forty of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts sits down with the founder and CEO of Jouer Cosmetics, Christina Zilber.Christina Zilber has had an affinity for makeup for as long as she can remember. One of her earliest memories was playing with the makeup of her mother, a model, a career path Christina herself followed upon graduating from college. Christina hated modelling, and told me that it was in the makeup chair that she felt she had found “her people.” Watching and learning from makeup artists was her salvation, and it was there, on set and in the makeup chair, that the idea for Jouer was born. A makeup artist gifted Christina with a refillable palette, inadvertently answering Christina’s prayers for a palette filled only with colours and products that she would actually use. When she discovered that said palette did not fit in her evening bag, Christina began to develop an interchangeable palette system- one that was completely portable and customisable. The first incarnation of Jouer was born in 2004, and what began as an interlocking makeup palette system relaunched as a fully fledged cosmetics company in 2008- the Jouer that we now know and love. Beyond her work at Jouer, Christina also sits on the board of UNICEF, a role that has truly shaped her perception of what beauty truly is. She tells me that “We can't see beauty as something that's just superficial. Beauty is as beauty does. It is what you do in your life that makes you beautiful.”I think it’s important for me to note that we did record this in February when Christina was visiting Australia from the US, so the current state of the world isn’t touched on in this particular interview. Christina does, however, talk about the stock market crash of 2008 and how New York City became a ghost town. While this is, of course, completely different to what we’re now living through, this did feel, to me, like a message of hope- that we are in this together, and that we will come out on the other side. Another thing we talked about is the transformative power beauty can have on one’s mood. I imagine the notion that beauty has such transformative powers feels blasé to a lot of people right now, but I’m sure the vast majority of the people who listen to this podcast do so because they like how beauty makes them feel- so I promise you that I am going to continue trying my best to keep producing content that makes you feel good and inspired for as long as I possibly can. In this conversation, Christina shares how a product that didn’t sell ended up becoming a breakthrough for her brand, how she is overcoming self doubt, and how to stay true to your brand’s DNA while continuing to evolve. You can read this interview now at: glowjournal.com/interview-jouer-cosmetics-christina-zilberFollow Jouer Cosmetics on Instagram at @jouer cosmeticsStay up to date with Gemma on Instagram at @gemkwatts and @glow.journal, or get in touch at hello@gemkwatts.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.