Ep. 122: Meet the Founder: Fiona Co Chan on creating viral beauty brand Youthforia

05/06/22 • 27 min

This week it’s a new Meet the Founder episode, and if you don’t already know, Meet the Founder always takes place first on Instagram Live. As such you will discover that the editing is minimal, but my guest’s advice makes it all worth it.

April 2021 wouldn't be the most obvious time to start a new beauty business, but for San Francisco born and bred Fiona Co Chan, it made total sense. With a background in tech, Fiona decided that she would use social media, particularly TikTok, to promote Youthforia, a brand that has become known as fun, colourful and innovative. And TikTok is the place that really got the beauty industry fired up about her hero product, BYO Blush Colour Changing Blush Oil, a blush that changes colour based on your individual skin pH. In this episode Fiona shares how she started out by doing everything herself, from looking at formulas and design to creating content, something she’d never done before.

She also opens up about the challenges that came with building a brand and shares that the entire experience has been a real test of her resilience and has taught her about her own mental health journey. Be sure to check out Youthforia on Instagram @getyouthforia and tag me when you're listening on Instagram @beautymepodcast. If you want to see us Live and in the flesh, you'll find our chat in the Meet the Founder series on my Instagram page.

As always I’d love it if you could rate and review this episode if you enjoyed it and be sure to hit subscribe so you know when the next episode is out! You can also sign up for my newsletter here: https://beautymenotes.substack.com

Previous Episode

undefined - Ep. 121: TikTok's 'Fave Fragrance Aunty' and full-time therapist Funmi Monet on how to choose the right professional and when to seek help TW

Ep. 121: TikTok's 'Fave Fragrance Aunty' and full-time therapist Funmi Monet on how to choose the right professional and when to seek help TW

TW: Before I share details of this episode please be aware that we briefly mention suicide and abuse, so if that could be upsetting please feel free to listen to a different episode.

This week’s guest is content creator and licensed therapist Funmi Monet. While the Dallas, Texas-based creator has become known as TikTok’s ‘fave fragrance Aunty’ - she has over 200 perfumes in her collection - we end up spending way more time talking therapy. The former Bobbi Brown makeup artist really breaks down the value of therapy; why it’s important to see yourself in your therapist, the signs to look out for when it's time to seek professional help and how we should all learn to listen more. I really hope you gain something from this, and do please share this episode with anyone who might need it. Let me know if this resonates with you and tag me on Instagram @beautymepodcast when you’re listening.

If you found this episode of value then I’d love it if you could leave a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple Podcasts. To keep up with what’s coming next be sure to sign up for my newsletter at beautymenotes.substack.com. See you next time.

Next Episode

Ep. 123: 5 Lessons in How to Love Yourself

After two weeks of being ill I’ve had a lot of time to read, to listen to podcasts and watch documentaries I’ve always wanted to see and it got me thinking about the concept of lessons. I think, since the pandemic hit, we’ve leaned way more into self help - it used to be something that people might cringe at or feel like they couldn't take about. But after living under huge amounts of stress over the past two years, it's clear we're looking for answers more than ever before. I realised that this podcast has actually provided me and my listeners with a wealth of lessons; so many guests have come on to talk about their own experiences without even realising the impact those stories have. So, in this episode, I'm sharing with you the 5 lessons I've learned on how to love myself - it's not a typical kind of 'take baths and long walks' kind of episode. It's about play, being kinder to yourself, accepting that we don't need to have it all. In this episode you'll hear from photographer Brinsley Edwards; multiple business owner and mother Jasmine Wicks-Stephens; makeup artist and artist in general, Ehlie Luna; Therapist and content creator Funmi Monet and Confidence Coach Tiwa Ogunlesi. One thing this episode has reminded me of, is how great each of these guests were, so be sure to check out their full episodes below. Ep. 72 with photographer Brinsley Edwards Ep. 42 with business owner and mother Jasmine Wicks-Stephens Ep. 77 with makeup artist Ehlie Luna Ep. 121 with therapist Funmi Monet EP. 39 with confidence coach Tiwa Ogunlesi If you enjoyed this episode please do give it a rating on Spotify or Apple and be sure to subscribe and follow so you know what's next! You can also find out a little bit more about what I'm up to by signing up to my newsletter; it's free and you can find it at beautymenotes.substack.com. Thanks for listening and feel free to say hi over on Twitter and Instagram @beautymepodcast, or check out my personal account @charisse_kenion.