And in turn, I feel I have become dumb and numb, and catch myself thinking mean things (at least when I’m scrolling).

The majority of my Instagram feed is filled with AI captions and videos. I’m constantly receiving emails from people I know so obviously written by ChatGPT. While I don’t think all AI is bad, and while I do use the tools to assist with research, transcription and data sourcing (with a very sceptical, editing eye) I think the way humans are using it is very bad. I can’t handle it for creative execution, nor simple human interactions. AI is the biggest enabler of our inherent laziness, and biggest destroyer of our inherent uniqueness.

I get it, we’re all tired and I’m not saying I haven’t sent an AI automated email before. I also think some brands leaning into AI scripting when it’s intentional and perhaps satirical is actually quite interesting. The promise of a quick fix, to get something done amongst the million other things I need to get done, is so very tempting. But it’s also soul destroying. We’re all becoming LLM puppets conversing with one another. It’s so boring and half the time it just doesn’t make sense.

On the other end of the writing spectrum, the other day I read an article declaring the public commentary surrounding a running brand’s activation as ‘mean girl’ behaviour, only for the author to become a ‘mean girl’ herself in the comments section - towards anyone who challenged her opinion in a way she didn’t like. She seemed to forget the very idea of an opinion piece - it does not have to be held by everyone else. I found it fascinating. It feels like we’re living in a time where appreciating nuance and debate is idealised but rarely practiced. We jump to dramatic defence and assume the worst, instead of curiosity around critique, which only drives the collective dissonance further. We’re all imperfect humans - can we at least agree on that? To be clear - my stance is that everyone should check themselves and their reactions, that being ‘mean’ is something we’re all capable of, and something we can all learn to control - with practice.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness.” - Viktor Frankl.

I’ve taken to doubling down on writing short, personal, emotional (read human) emails and long, drawn out essays (like this) because in comparison to the AI slop that’s out there, they feel like honest works of art. Seriously.

The good news is that all this ‘feeling’ (good and bad) has meant I’m spending less time on the internet and less energy on people who don’t have the care, consistency, humility, or grit to put in the actual work, because I just cannot do anything else anymore.

I went to the Sorrento Writer’s festival and I listened to Sarah Wilson, alongside philosopher A C Grayling; the next week I went to see Yann Martel at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival, and for the first time in a long time I felt engaged, inspired, and motivated. I thought, these are my people and these are the things I should be doing: one, talking about the important things with other people. And two, writing about the important things.

It made me think about my upper echelon, the people I spend the most time with, who I actually gain something from when we hang out: even if it’s a big serving of humble pie. What are the conversations you’re having on a walk with a friend, over coffee, at a dinner party?

The other good news is I’m spending more time walking and reading books and if I get to read a book outside after a walk I really feel like I’m winning at life.

I’ve realised that these moments allow me to experience this (positive) existential flux (sometimes crisis), which is basically a thread of curious, open-minded (sometimes dreaded) thoughts that can take place in the shower, on a long plane ride, during an early morning walk, or at night watching the sunset by the water, or later staring at the stars in the sky.

It’s where I think not just about the what I’m doing but the why, and how it’s all going to play out, and with whom, and how it all makes sense in the context of the world today. I like it so much because amongst the chaos of everyday life admin I get to pause and imagine a different experience and decide whether I want to make it a reality.

It’s where I realise that I’ve been filling my days with too much (again), whereby everything only gets a small amount of my attention, so therefore everything feels short-lived. Work, exercising, rest, socialising etc. Everyone is saying time is flying except this time it feels like time is dying.

The answer, I’m remembering, is doing less! Groundbreaking.

Doing less looks different for everyone - and not everyone has the same privileges across time, money, support. All we can do is think about our own experience and if there’s anything we can pull back on, and do less of.

As I mentioned, I’m spending less time on the internet. Not no time but definitely the right amount of time that it feels intentional, like I’ve got a job to do when I’m on, and once it’s done, I’m done. I reset my algorithm care of Alison Rice’s instructions and it’s been pure joy. I’ll soon be releasing an episode of Pretty Hard with Alison, where we go very deep very quickly. I’d love you to listen.

Right now I’m writing from Lakeview, Chicago, a suburb which looks and feels a lot like Pleasantville, going to a cafe every morning that looks and feels a lot like something from the set of Friends. I’m staying with my brother, his wife, and my 3-month-old nephew who is perfect and reminding me to slow the fuck down. I spend a lot of time just staring into his eyes.

Without the distractions of (or should I say timezone availability of people) back home, I’ve found myself with a lot more time… and a willingness to not fill it with things connected to an intellectual sense of achievement or validation. The other day I cleaned a pen for ten minutes. My brother and I pulled apart and reassembled a planter box on his balcony in the late afternoon sun. It took us over an hour - had it been me on my own, I would have thrown the planter box away and bought a new one from Bunnings straight away. But there was something simple and beautiful about the fact that we decided to do this, to figure it out, and repurpose (in a way that my carpenter friends would cry in shame) this thing that I thought was useless an hour before.

And I’ve realised that these kind of things, and these kind of trips are more fulfilling than any business or brand trip could be - how family (biological or other) is everything, and that we need to prioritise them, their interests, their feelings, their mundane requests, their hard conversations, et al. These are the things we’ll remember, at the end of it all.

I was here for a week on my own prior to staying with my brother, where I barely spoke to anyone, aside from a barista, the Wholefoods staff, and my yoga and pilates instructors. It was great. The time difference allows me to get work done without text, email, phone, or slack disruptions - it’s a writer’s dream. I have been using it to dip back into editing my book: my favourite, most tortuous, drawn out relationship I’ve ever had. This time, I don’t feel bad about how long it’s taking me.

As per usual, I get bored of my own writing, very quickly. It’s why so many pieces continue to end up in my drafts and never see the light of day. I often have thoughts in my head, on a walk, in the shower, and then I get home, write a paragraph and think, “Great. That’s enough. The end.” Does it exist if I don’t publish it for someone else to see?

I’ve been thinking about how hard it is to accept that you don’t want something as much as you once did. Or that I do want something, but the world doesn’t operate like it used to, and nor should I expect it to, so perhaps I’m not going to get what I want. Maybe - what I’m going to get is even better.

The truth is, I’m less interested in the work I was once so connected to. Not to be mistaken with being less interested in work in general, it’s just that this period feels rather stagnant, rather superficial, rather dumb, mean and… bland.

I’m trying to remember if I’ve felt this way before, if it’s just a phase, or if it’s because I’ve done most of what I set out to do with Fluff. Maybe it’s the fact that the world is collapsing?

I’m telling myself I need to write longer so I can read longer. And vice versa. So I can sit with things for longer: people, content, food, art, joy, discomfort. I need to stay with it so I can stay with myself. If I don’t I fear I may go insane.

Running a brand feels more like gambling than anything else these days - putting not only our livelihood, but the lives of others, our employees, our suppliers, our creditors, on the line, hoping that either the Meta Gods, Tik Tok’s algorithm, or some celebrity who feels like doing a good deed, will look down favourably on us with each new day.

So I find myself asking other people what they’re doing. What they’d do in my shoes. Some people have answers, other’s don’t have time. Some don’t respond at all.

Since I’ve been about 16, sitting in my career counsellor’s office, all I’ve wanted to do is write. I want to sit in a room day in and day out and write and not have to see very many people or do anything else.

Next, my favourite days are when I get to meet someone new and interesting and discuss new and interesting ideas and then go and write about them. But those are not every day. Most days I just write emails.

On Mondays I feel stressed as I try to complete everything in one day, until I remember that’s what the rest of the week is for. Weekends truly feel like the bookend to my working week. I feel very grateful to be able to go down to the beach and have a slow day where maybe I read or maybe I write or maybe I just potter around or go for a walk or a run and rearrange things in my house. I’m remembering how nice it can be to feel bored, momentarily.

I don’t recognise my friend’s faces anymore.

That’s an over-exaggeration, I’m being dramatic. Because I want to get a point across. But the other night I went to dinner with a bunch of women and when I arrived I thought I had entered the waiting room of a botox clinic, not a restaurant.

I can’t say for sure that these women all had work done and that’s maybe the point. Is it that I didn’t recognise their faces, or that I recognised their faces from ten years ago? It’s all just getting too close and too real that I don’t know what’s real anymore and it’s making me confused, suspicious, and anxious about who I’m hanging around.

The pressure to conform to this weird, immortalised 35-year-old face is relentless. It takes an active form of resistance to wake up each morning and say, “Nope, not today.”

And I’ve been trying to understand what emotion it is that I’m feeling under all of this. And to have the courage to say it aloud. Is it anger at the patriarchy? Or women for upholding it? When these women have children, when these women have daughters, I want to ask them what they think they’re telling them about beauty, about their sense of self-worth, about life.

I think it’s that I feel so much, too much empathy for the fact that women feel like they need to keep up with someone half their age. It makes me sad that women are competing with each other (and younger versions of ourselves) on every stage. The idea that we’ve replaced the male gaze with a more insidious one—our own, torments me.

And I’m struggling with the reality that I can like people and not like their choices. And wondering if I can like people who don’t like mine.

We have few (but not zero) examples of women choosing to age naturally. We talk about them like they’re so brave, when really they’re just so human. We talk about them like they’re going to miss out, instead of talking about what the women who partake in oppressive beauty culture are missing more.

Recently a friend and I discussed the changes we were noticing in our faces and bodies with each year that we get older. Over the last few years we’ve both focussed on slowly but surely burning down the house that is who we thought we were - it’s been hard, boring, painful, confronting, all the things and somehow it all feels like one day we let go of the pressure, the obligations, the self talk and simply surrendered to what is: whatever that is. Ironically, letting go coincided with letting go of skin issues, excess weight, and other beauty issues. It seems we’re prettier now that we don’t care. Go figure.

This year in particular, I’ve been trying to roll with it more than ever. If something feels like it’s moving forward easily, even if I didn’t intend it, I go with it. If it feels hard and like there’s too many roadblocks, I pause, or stop completely.

While there are so many things I want to do, I’m not letting my stubbornness get in the way of what life seemingly wants me to do - which is often the opposite of what I thought. When I had a day worth of work planned and it turns into pottering, when I had a night planned of relaxing and it turns into working, when I thought I’d text someone back and I let it lapse, when I think I have the energy to be all over my boyfriend and instead I just want to be alone. I’m letting it all be.

And it’s felt so free.

The great simplification.

I’ve been thinking about what all this means, and very likely because I’ve just finished Sarah Wilson’s book, I Eat The Stars. I’m thinking this all means, that yes the world is on a pretty clear path to collapse. I have felt it and can see it happening around me in both subtle and explicit ways. So many of us have lost touch, whether intentionally or not. But it’s not to say there isn’t, as Sarah says, ‘a stunning possibility’ ahead of us. We all just have to decide what that means for us, and our day to day.

And that’s what I’m thinking about.

Who are the few people I want to spend my physical time with, who are the other people I want to spend my digital time with?

What are the things in my life I need to get by (so little) and what can I further let go of?

How can Fluff continue to serve our audience and community in a way that is sustainable and enjoyable? And if it can’t, what does that look like next? Have we already achieved our original message, around responsible beauty messaging and consumption - and is there anything left to do? Or is it time to change the vehicle for my message?

Interested:

-My friend Maeva, founder of Bread Beauty Supply, made a recent post that touched on the surface of what so many D2C founders are going through right now, and not just in the beauty industry. It is an intelligent and considered reflection, showing both sides to the story, as opposed to what most founders reveal - that everything is either perfect or catastrophic, when in reality, it’s kind of always a mix. She’s currently writing about her hypothesis that “Brand Babes need eComm Bro's, and Vice Versa”. Being the former, I couldn’t (unfortunately) agree more. For full context on Maeva’s thinking, I suggest you read her post here, and await the full article. I appreciate that Maeva is saying what so many founders are thinking or conversing about behind closed doors. And I wonder if it will open up a different kind of dialogue and maybe, just maybe, be a force for change.

-I watched a long, simple, conversational, kind of boring reel from Violette France getting ready and it was beautiful. She spoke about the difference between you wearing the makeup, versus the makeup wearing you. And I love that.

-Farah Homidi made $278USD sunglasses this week and I think this is a very interesting signal for beauty brands. Where is merch going? How significant is this for brands trying to increase their AOV and LTV? Since when did a beauty brand need to be a fashion brand? Or is it because fashion brands are becoming beauty brands? What does this mean for the future?

Some books I’ve read this year that I have enjoyed:

Einsteins Dreams. I adored this take on different versions and worlds of time and it reignited my love for fiction.

Wuthering Heights. I loved the movie. I devoured the book. I appreciated the differences. I’m not normally one for adaptions or consuming both, however in this instance, if you’ve seen the former I strongly suggest you read the latter.

Elle. It’s been a pleasure to get to know and work with WelleCo and Elle Macpherson over the last few months and reading this book gave me insight into Elle’s journey as well as thinking about the ways to approach memoir writing.

The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari. An oldie but a goodie and perfect for summer at the beach, starting the year with some light-hearted-spirit-ness.

The Wax Child. A very weird, challenging read about witches in the 1600’s but interesting nonetheless.

Famesick. I’ve not seen one episode of Girls but have always known of and been interested in Lena Dunham’s life. This felt like watching a train wreck in real time and I was very happy to see it salvaged.

I Eat The Stars. If you want to try and make sense of the current state of the world, I suggest giving this a go. Be brave.

Eat Bitter. (Currently reading). I’ve been a longtime fan of Lydia Pang and I love the connection to food and identity and this is such a refreshing way to look at a memoir. It gives a whole new, and dare I say it positive interpretation to ‘emotional eating’.

Next up: Son of Nobody - after seeing Yann Martel I couldn’t not buy his latest book, and was genuinely surprised that I would be interested to read a retelling of the epic Trojan War. Also, Good Writing by Anne Lamott (adore) and Neil Allen - I listened to a great podcast about this and thought this would be a great editing companion, alongside a vintage dictionary.

Interesting:

I honestly don’t think we’re doing anything interesting right now at Fluff and maybe that’s the point, we’re just being us, and that’s a reflection of life. We’re not chasing trends or releasing something unnecessary, and maybe this is what the world, brands and humans, need: a little break.

If anything, I’ve been doubling down on our podcast conversations for Pretty Hard - these bring me a lot of joy, and I believe there’s room for more nuanced and harder conversations too. So, if you think you have an interesting story about your relationship to beauty that you’d like to share - please let me know.

I guess all that’s left to do is keep riding (and keep writing) the wave. We gotta grow through what we go through.

If you like this note, please share it with someone else who might too.

As always, feel free to say hi.

Note: Another piece I wrote towards the end of 2025 and didn’t feel like publishing. Better here than not.

We’re all tired. And I wonder if we’re all tired of having conversations with friends or seeing friends post online about being tired.

I’m tired of feeling like I need to sleep in, and then feeling like the day is half gone - wasted, because I did.

I am tired of reading an article and wishing to be at the end of it. Not because it’s a bad article, but because I want to get onto the next thing.

I am tired of getting tired of writing, after one paragraph.

And when my friends tell me they’re tired too, I feel sympathetic, empathetic, and apathetic, all at once.

I’m trying to understand if this means I’m actually burnt out, why I have so much resistance to the word burnout, and if we’re all just using burnout because we don’t know what else to say.

Or, is this simply the end of the year - again, and a normal, concluding feeling. A cleansing, a releasing, a sigh from a collective 12 month effort.

It’s all made me think about the viral 2019 article, How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation. Where Anne Helen Petersen explored why so many millennials feel chronically exhausted and unable to complete even simple tasks.

She argues that burnout isn’t just overwork, rather it’s the inevitable outcome of growing up in a system that taught millennials to constantly optimise themselves for productivity, success, and self-improvement while facing stagnant wages, crushing debt, and job insecurity.

She concluded that burnout is not an individual failing but a systemic condition, one that requires collective, structural change, not just better coping strategies.

Funny, that almost 7 years on, the article still speaks so clearly to one side of my brain.

“The problem with holistic, all-consuming burnout is that there’s no solution to it. You can’t optimize it to make it end faster. You can’t see it coming like a cold and start taking the burnout-prevention version of Airborne. The best way to treat it is to first acknowledge it for what it is — not a passing ailment, but a chronic disease — and to understand its roots and its parameters.”

“The carrot dangling in front of us is the dream that the to-do list will end, or at least become far more manageable.”

The thing is, I long ago accepted that the to-do list will never end, and quite frankly, nor do I want it to. A life without purpose seems utterly boring and pointless to me, much like my darling nana who finally passed away at 102, after sitting in a nursing home for 6 years with nothing to do.

What I think I’m dreaming about, and what I know I have experienced, and want more of, is a to-do list that prioritises the things that make the hard things easier, or perhaps more tolerable. And also, a bit more focus and attention.

Peterson writes: “…as I finish this piece, I feel something I haven’t felt in a long time: catharsis. I feel great. I feel something — which is not something I’ve really felt upon the completion of a task in some time.”

I think this is the point - we need to finish things we care about, in order to finish the things we don’t care as much about.

I am most stressed when I exist in having 25% of everything done. On the contrary, I am most content when I’ve completed 100% of one thing, especially something I like, rather than nothing. When I see a task out, instead of spreading myself too thin. When I close all my tabs and focus on just one thing.

I’ve realised that on the days I feel good, there are simple, glaringly obvious things that I do (that I like), and writing them down makes me feel stupid, but just like eating vegetables, sometimes we avoid the things we know are good for us.

I wake up and do something for myself. There are lots of people who wake up, shower, put something in their mouth and go to work. And I get it, some days, we have to, but most days, it sucks, because we feel like we don’t get any time for ourselves. Instead we give it all to our partners, our kids, our work. But I think about all the times I’ve woken up early, or prioritised writing, meditating, or a walk, and how much capacity (and creativity) this has given me for everything else.

I avoid my phone as much as possible. I’m not talking about not being available to those who need you like your partner or kids. I’m talking about if I know I’m not needing to be contacted urgently, then I don’t need to have my phone next to me. Like at a dinner party with my friends, like on a walk, like when I’m writing this. It freaks me out that our phones have become these things that we place next to us every minute of every day. I cringe when I put my phone next to my dinner plate at a restaurant and watch everyone do the same. Yes, almost everyone I know finds it infuriating that my phone is always on Do Not Disturb and that they have to text me to get my attention, except for anyone whose phone is also always on Do Not Disturb and asks that you text them to get their attention. I don’t have notifications for anything on my phone. I have the Dumbify app which shows the utility tools I need on the home screen with every icon set to greyscale, not because I don’t think my willpower is strong but because I know that technology’s addictive designs and systems are stronger.

I book in things before the start of the week. On Sunday night I book in yoga, pilates, sauna, dinners with friends, whatever for the rest of the week, so that it’s in my calendar and I can’t book anything over it. Of course, sometimes things happen and it means I need to move things around - but having these times blocked as a baseline reminds me how important time for me is, time doing things I love, and makes me consider whether whatever I’m thinking about cancelling it for is actually worth it. It means that on the days I choose to work late, I’m comfortable because it hasn’t been every night.

I rest. Today I wrote this article, after sleeping in, amongst staying in all day, except to leave for a massage and grocery shopping. Today I didn’t feel tired, and I didn’t look tired either. Turns out all I had to do was unlock the door to a room full of rest, where “everything else can wait.” It gave me space to think about work without lamenting it, and gave me space to think about other things worth sharing too.

When I do these things, it’s crazy how I feel. Or rather, how I don’t feel. I don’t feel burnt out. In fact, I feel quite the opposite - lit from within (hey, we love a cliche).

It’s why people love holidays. It’s why we never want the weekend to end. Because we make time for ourselves. Except what if we applied this thinking, even if it’s just 30 minutes each day - the 30 minutes that most of us have currently outsourced to Instagram, Linkedin, or even this platform.

I think Anne Helen Petersen’s article is valid. She makes several great points. I also think burnout is real, but in the sense of it signifying the end. In this sense, I really don’t think all of us are burnt out, I think we’ve simply forgotten how to fuel our own fire - we’re stuck in cycles of productivity, expectation, and endless to-do lists that are simply lacking in structure and meaning.

Unlike Petersen, I don’t dream of an empty to-do list. I accept it will never end, and truth be told, I even find purpose in it. What I crave is not less to do, but better priorities: a list that includes things that make the hard things easier, or creates space around them.

Inspiration is the spark that gets us going. When we’re passionate about what we’re doing, we can go all night.

I think what many of us are worried about is burnout is actually more of a kind of disconnection from self; from rhythm, and meaning. And I think the only recovery is remembering that we hold the key to unlock ourselves from the cage.

This year I managed to remember where the key was a few times, and I made a couple of good decisions. I travelled, I persisted through some challenging business decisions, I asked for help, I committed deeper to a relationship, I made plans and cancelled others. I took on more work, I said no to others at work, I rested when my body whispered to do so, before it had to beg. I made space for writing, reading, walking, and even threw some paint at a canvas for a minute.

Turns out good decisions are actually easy. But overcoming the mind that wants you to make a bad decision is harder. And maybe that’s what is so tiring.

All these daily good decisions involve a lot of letting go - letting go of ideas in my head like:

If I’m not contactable at all times, what if my mum falls and dies and I can’t respond in time.

If I’m not responding to an email at 7am, then I might miss an opportunity, or let someone down.

If I’m saying no to a friend, I’m not a good friend. I could lose my friends.

If I’m not working late tonight, or on the weekend, I won’t be ahead of the rest.

If I’m doing something for no outcome, for no other reason than because I want to, I’ll fall behind.

If I’m not online, did ‘I’ really happen?

Of course, all these things could happen, and of course, all these things could not happen too. Yet what we sacrifice in trying to avoid the former, I would argue is worse than the small chance we might experience the latter.

Interested & Interesting: one thing, this time.

This piece on finding a partner. Beautiful.

Buy me a coffee

For almost the last decade I have found myself on the Mornington Peninsula across December and January and the months in between summers. It’s a place that holds so many memories and versions of me.

This year I found myself not so seriously looking for my own place. While I love the city and have every intention of staying in Collingwood until somebody drags me out of my apartment dead or alive, I feel most connected to myself and life in general when I’m by the water.

I had been telling my boyfriend since we met that I wanted to live a life between Melbourne and the coast. I told him I believed I may have been a mermaid in a past life and that I belonged at the bottom of the ocean.

Anyway. I was looking at real estate like I sometimes do but not as often as a lot of people I know do, which I think is a really weird hobby. And I saw this cute house which looked like a shack but had been renovated inside and was super open and clean.

Turns out there was an inspection the next day and I said let’s go because to be honest I wanted to get the idea out of my head more than anything. And then we went and it was great and we couldn’t think of a reason not to do it; we even wrote a pros and cons list which is also not something I would normally do, but we did it anyway and all the cons cancelled each other out except for a small kitchen and one bathroom and I thought if I can’t get over this I should get over myself quicker.

A week later we signed the lease. I was all year of the horse blahblah.

And here I am sitting by and writing by the water and I find myself wondering why people get so caught up in their work identities when life is so much better.

And yet I’ve also been thinking about how actually everything is work. Everything is a bit hard but it doesn’t have to be that hard. And water teaches us this more than anything.

7 years ago I wrote about water. How my business journey overlapped so closely with my personal life and how it was really about recognising the water I’m in and learning how to swim consciously instead of unconsciously drifting or struggling upstream.

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?” — David Foster Wallace

So often the most important forces shaping our lives are so constant and familiar that we don’t even notice them. Our work, our relationships, cultural narratives, the attention economy, self-talk, privilege and more.

“Water” is everything that surrounds us every day. And because it’s always there, it’s invisible. We don’t question it, examine it, be grateful for it, or realise we’re swimming in it at all.

And this ignorance grinds away at us.

Late last year I felt extremely disconnected from my work, some of my closest relationships, the world, and in turn myself. In no particular order. I kept using words like stuck or apathetic or nihilistic. I wondered what the point of running a beauty brand was, when everything at the end of every day came solely down to dollars and cents.

It didn’t make any sense.

The internal conflict of feeling disconnected and dismayed by the very industry and life that allows you to live your own is… Perhaps the whole point of life?

Surprisingly (not), thinking this way didn’t (doesn’t) help my work, some of my closest relationships, the world, and myself. So for whatever reason (I’m hoping my intuition) I decided to stop thinking and acting accordingly. Or at least try.

Which is why for the last few months, I’ve been reminding myself to go with the current. That water is all around me.

3 years ago I wrote that water is soft. That even if we get dumped by a wave, the landing isn’t going to be the end of us. We will get back up - on this year of the horse.

So while last year it was essential for Fluff and myself to tread water, this year it’s imperative for us and me to continue to charter unknown waters, while aiming to swim the path of least resistance.

Signing a new lease felt like a good way to kick things off. Restructuring Fluff’s team and expressing unpopular opinions within professional relationships feels important. Moving on from that which continually pushes back feels like a relief. And fighting for what feels hard, but worthy in the long run, feels right.

I’m interested in:

• This article on the importance of being mysterious.

• This podcast on how much the internet sucks and what we might do about it.

• This post on Dupe Culture. From togas on Temu to cult beauty products in Sephora, to every cafe looking the same in every city, we can’t escape pleasing and producing for the masses, and while I can appreciate that no idea is entirely original, I can’t help getting more depressed about when and where this ends.

• This video on excessive marketing. I think there’s a fine line between enticing and deterring consumption. This past week I have been both engrossed by and completely put off seeing Wuthering Heights. I can’t help but feel like I haven’t been given a chance to formulate my own opinion (much like a lot in life) because there’s so many others’ put in front of my face on my feed every minute of every day. I’ll see it on Thursday anyway.

I think what we’re doing is interesting:

• We’ll release one new Cloud Compact colour this year, and one more Lip Oil Shade. Which isn’t a lot in an industry that prioritises novelty. I’ve had the same makeup and skincare routine for probably a decade, and while I might try a new brand out in the name of research, I always come back to the same things and the same realisation that we’re all getting old anyway, no matter what serum I use.

• Fluff’s Issues Page forever intrigues me. How we live in a world overwhelmed by content, how I can’t remember the last time I read a beauty blog, but how consumers want to hear from a beauty brand about how someone thinks they act like they’re parents when they’re in and out of love. Weird but cool, right?

• The fact that I can’t think of a third thing we’re doing that’s interesting is maybe a nice thought, that we’re simply focused on doing the same thing day in and day out and maybe that’s all work needs to be right now. That or I am overwhelmed by content that adding to the noise feels like torture. A bit of both, really.

If you like these updates, please share them with someone you know, and say hi.

Yes, I entertain the signs on the weekend with a coffee and morning paper. Yes, I’ve downloaded the co-star app. Yes, I’ve seen psychics. Yes, I think Chris Corsini is pretty much always spot on. But— I’ve always done so without feeling attached to the outcome. I’ve kind of thought, this is fun. Why not? There’s worse things to look at.

One of my favourite things is to play a game with people where they try and guess my starsign. I tell them their first answer is correct, to which they always respond “I knew it, you’re such a Capricorn” to which I reply, actually, I’m not.

I think we can all exhibit traits of any star sign. Just like a psychic can predict any number of events or experiences that we’re all bound to relate to.

But lately, I’ve been wondering how much of a Gemini I truly am.

When I was a kid, I genuinely thought the only reason I was a Gemini was because I was a fraternal twin. I thought all twins were Geminis. I was clearly, very clever.

Life update: in the last four months I have sat in all feelings, including excitement, motivation, boredom, anxiety, preservation, dedication, suspicion, surrender, nonchalance - to name a few. Is this everyone, or just another day in the Gemini mind?

A Gemini mind is an endless race track. They’re constantly scanning under the surface of their current reality for something that they haven’t seen before.

Lately, more than ever, I have been trying to figure out what is actually going on; how is the world coping, how are people communicating, how can we be more in the present situation, how can we plan more for the future. Of course, when I say ‘we’, I’m mostly talking about myself, but I feel better when I think that we’re all in it together.

This kind of thinking can be torture. It can also be exciting. It can be repetitive and boring and weird. It’s totally normal. And it makes it harder to decide what to do each day, from the tiniest of decisions to the biggest existential questions. Should I go and live in a commune?

Because of their dual nature, Gemini are incredibly indecisive about even simple problems. They vacillate. They hedge.

I feel lucky that I have a literal twin to hold a mirror to myself, to remind me that the only way I can get out of any predicament is by getting through it myself.

Geminis are dangerous because they seem to exist in a perpetual state of internal conflict. They’re like a pool of water. Still on the surface, but below, the water is churning with turbulent waves. Geminis will always be fighting a battle between their rational and irrational sides.

These rational and irrational sides show up like clockwork in my day (both personal and professional), magnified by situations out of my control, and for the lucky few who get to see both, it can be very confusing.

On the business side of life, at Fluff we have been restructuring our finances, which has consumed my time and drained almost all of my energy. Such is the less glamorous, less documented side of running a brand.

Amidst the news of Rhode’s billion dollar acquisition, I found myself looking at their digital presence, wondering how Fluff could possibly ever compete on such a scale. I concluded with a different question, did I want to compete on such a scale? Why am I comparing Fluff and myself to a heavily backed, celebrity founded, celebrity supported US based company? (Note: I think what Rhode has done is great).

This kind of thinking/comparison, while it can motivate individuals to start a company, can also demotivate or stall individuals in scaling a company. It shifts the focus from what you’re doing right to what the few exceptions to the rule are doing right. This can often make you feel like what you’re doing is wrong.

The role of a founder is many things. I am, at my core, a creative founder who has struggled over the years to show interest and have capacity for the operations and detailed analytics that a business requires. And yet today I find myself immersed in the latter, which is ultimately helping me make better creative decisions. I’ve committed to turning this once ‘tedious chore’ into some form of joy.

Meanwhile, as ever, the number of brands closing down continues. It’s scary, but also a very real outcome for so many of us in the industry. And a very real consequence of scaling too fast, of growth “at all costs”.

This month I finished reading Pixel Flesh, by Ellen Atlanta, a great book regardless of whether you're in the beauty industry or not, about how toxic beauty culture harms women. The subtitle sounds like a lot, and some of the chapters are. Because what's happening on and off our screens is a lot. And yet so many people literally *gloss* over it.

As a beauty founder (and a Gemini, apparently) I am in constant conflict with wanting to eject from this industry in fear that I'm adding to the noise, and wanting to accelerate Fluff's message to reach more people who need to hear it. I keep coming back to the idea that without an alternative narrative, everyone loses. And as Ellen concludes, it's up to us as individuals to have difficult conversations and stand for a different kind of beauty (or perhaps the original kind). It doesn't have to be that complicated, it doesn't have to be wrapped up as *empowering*, but it must be connected to integrity.

"Beauty is its own form of witchcraft - of rituals, of healing, of transformation. It was seized from our hands, poisoned and sold back to us as something devolved from what it once meant."

On the days I am motivated, it’s to make a difference, to restore beauty to what it once was.

This May I was in New York, where I visited the artists who are working on the repackaging of our skincare. This is a limited edition vessel which will be priced higher, alongside affordable refills, while offering customers and backing up our narrative to invest in items you will have forever, not throw away.

I’m interested in:

Books. I had a big break from business books, because I went too deep and ignored my creative side, but apparently swung too far the opposite way, so I’m trying to find a nice cadence between business and creative reads. If you have any recommendations, please DM me. I’m currently reading The Effective Executive and Becoming Supernatural.

Text Posts/Quotes. From where I’m standing content is coming full circle and inspirational quotes are filling our screens again. Or did they ever leave?

Brand storytelling in 30 seconds. On TikTok we’ve seen a lot of success with short, scripted brand explainers. If you’re interested in chatting about these for your own brand, send me a note on Linkedin.

I think what we’re doing is interesting:

Fluff’s Podcast. This has been something I dip in and out of, but the more I come back to it, the more I think these conversations are so important. I haven’t consumed a lot of podcasts recently (except for this incredible conversation just this weekend). Alongside the relaunch of our Issues Page on Substack, our podcast is showing me that while small, there is a growing audience who will always want to hear from other people. We have a few new episodes we’ll be launching in the coming weeks which I’ve enjoyed a lot, and I am grateful to the guests who have given me their time and energy.

Fluff’s Archive Range. Definitely not a revenue driver, but rather, these pieces are a nod to the inspiration behind our Cloud Compact, a reminder of a time where makeup was valued like jewellery or art. This infrequently updated, limited curation of vintage and art deco compacts and accessories, have been sourced over time, from around the world. Some of our most recent additions to the collection were found during my travels to Japan earlier this year. 7 years into this business, it’s small activities and initiatives like this that bring me back to the creative, connected side of a running brand.

Short Films. Last Monday, Fluff shared our latest short film, Nurture, by writer and director Joy Ben Hur. This story shows the relationship between Joy and her mother, and how nurture is one of the few true forms of beauty. On Instagram this video received almost 50,000 organic views, which depending on your success metrics, is great to see. But more than this, the video has received such beautiful commentary.
I genuinely feel inspired when I work with young creatives like Joy, handing over the reins and letting them put their literal and metaphorical lens on beauty. It's not always easy letting go of creative control, but when it works it works beyond what you could imagine.

It's moments like this that I'm reminded content can still be magic. And that perhaps we need the ebb and flow, light and dark, ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and personally, the Gemini mind, to appreciate such a creative life.

As always, thanks for being here.

If you like these updates, please share them with someone you know, and say hi.

We have known each other for around a decade, having first met at her furniture store and very quickly becoming close friends. 

I am inspired by Eryca’s personal style, strong sense of self, and appreciation of all things beautiful - and her application of such in her daily life. 

Like me, Eryca believes that everything can tell a story, from the clothes you wear to the furniture in your house and the objects that surround them. 

We chat about her eczema experience from 17-40 years old, her recent cancer journey, and how her photography practice is a deep exploration of beauty in its most vulnerable moments. 

Find Eryca at @erycagreen on Instagram. 

Find Alice at @ms_edgeley on Instagram. 

Find Carol at @carol_green_dancer_model on Instagram

I’m sitting in Shizen Cafe, Nozawa Onsen, Japan, writing this update. It’s 4 degrees in this little snow town; we’re in the beginning of Spring and the mountain is still snowcapped.

I’m visiting my twin sister who lives here, and I’m spending the month with her before travelling to see my brother in Chicago, followed by a short trip to New York - it’s been six years since I was in my favourite (other) city. How time flies.

“It’s so great how you can just work anywhere!”

Yeah, it’s so great, I have to work everywhere…

It’s never really been my preference to take time off work to travel. I become bored, very quickly. Of course there are days where I’d rather not have to deal with another email, another phone call, another challenge to solve. And yet the bigger this business gets, the bigger the challenges to solve become. These challenges do not care where I am in the world. They won’t wait.

It’s all a trade off.

2024/25 has been an exciting period for Fluff, marked by significant growth and strategic shifts. Both consumers and the industry understand what Fluff is about. This really is only the beginning.

We experienced 160% YoY growth in CY24, with major milestones in profitability driven by our current transition to always-on trading.

While our drop model generated strong hype and positioned Fluff as a disruptor within the industry, our long-term vision has always been to move our core range to continuous availability—maximising revenue by capturing demand beyond limited releases. Yes, this is a business that strives for purpose and profit.

What does this mean? It means we’ll release certain products in limited quantities, but that our core Silver Lining Collection will always be available to purchase.

It means we won’t need to justify why some people can’t buy Fluff.

It means that our message of beauty mattering less can reach more people.

It means there will be more of the operational work, and plenty of things distracting me from creating content that feels valuable, intentional, and aspirational, or writing updates like this.

It means I’ll have to be more disciplined to priortise the above.

It means there will be plenty of squeeze before there is juice. Plenty of dimly lit tunnels and steep hills/learning curves.

It means that I’ll continue to tell aspiring founders that the reason Fluff exists is because we persist, despite all odds.

Despite critics, despite backwards business models, despite financial constraints.

A few years ago I asked one of my investors: when to desist? He replied, “When you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The light has always been there. Sometimes dim, sometimes I’ve desperately needed a torch. Sometimes it’s glaringly bright. Sometimes it’s a blinding distraction steering me off-course. I wear sunglasses now.

The light looks like a few things for me:

-The appreciation of the refillable Cloud Compact. I didn’t think at the time that this would become such a recognisable object, both coveted and copied in the industry. I thought this would be one of a few products we’d release, not what our whole brand would be centred around.

-The contribution from our community. We have aspiring and established writers continually submitting to our Issues Page. We have artists collaborating on our product designs and formulations. We have young filmmakers challenging our ideas of beauty. We have customers continually, and proudly, sharing their Cloud Compacts online with the world.

-The support of our team. In the last six months our team has expanded and I’m grateful for the support across our operations, editorial, and content and marketing roles. As a fully remote team, working across 5 timezones, many in a fractional capacity, I fully appreciate what we’ve been able to achieve, and how we’ve challenged the traditional office/corporate structure.

-The efficiencies within the business. The boring stuff for some, and admittedly a version of me some years ago. Yet this ‘boring stuff’ is the difference between a successful brand and an enduring successful brand. Which brings me to my next point.

The long game.

When I launched Fluff in 2018, like so many of my peers within the industry, I had and sold investors a 5 year dream. We’re 7 years in now, and we have a long way to go, so this dream, like many of my peers, has a timeline that has extended. When I first realised this, I was frustrated, both for the investors of this business but also my naivety. Today, I’m relieved, and more excited, as I realise what it really takes to build a brand over time, that connects and grows with its audience, that is built on strong foundations, that endures economic and social shifts, changes in structure, stakeholders, and more.

I’m interested:

-In personal brands, and by that I mean how I present online, how my friends present online, how other founders present online. We’re all trying to say something, subtly or explicitly, and I wonder how all this is going to wash up. I’m wanting to be online less, despite knowing how important a founder’s presence can be. So I’m trying to find the middle ground and show up as honestly as I can, even if that means infrequently.

-In how beauty brands and founders are being portrayed in the media. This recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald, of which Fluff is featured, paints a glossy future for any aspiring founder, speaking to the many individuals with ‘skin in the game’. I wish this had of also featured the individuals with ‘scars, bruising, and skin grafts’, brands who have endured fire sales, bankruptcies, or public cancellation. For every winner there is a loser, and that is unfortunately the game. I guess no one wants to read that, right?

-In why we’re still asking why we’re obsessed with beauty. Isn’t the answer obvious? I recently sat on a panel at the Sydney Opera House, whereby I tried to explain that this stuff is decades in the making, fuelled by systemic and corporate structures, and that we have a chance to rise above it and engage with it in a playful, expressive way, but first we have to understand and accept it.

I think what we’re doing is interesting:

-We’ve relaunched our Issues page, on Substack. I would love you to have a look. You can see submissions from our community, including Fluff customers, followers, and long time friends of the brand. We’re currently discussing Shame, and how we think it can be a positive experience, rather than something frowned upon. Behind the scenes we’ve also been importing the thousands of submissions over the years from our original Issues Page. Pieces I feel so strongly about, submitted over 7 years from people who have been on the journey with Fluff, of which still hold so much weight. I recently read an article by a writer suggesting brands should stay off this platform, unless they have something interesting to say. I’ve always said, I’m more interested in hearing what our audience thinks, rather than telling them what to think. So for us, Substack makes perfect sense. I’m interested to see how quickly other brands make the move onto this platform.

-Fluff x Noir Studio. For our most recent artist collaboration we worked with Elle Wen of Noir Studio on a limited release of hand bejewelled, Swarovski Crystal, Refillable Lip Oils. In October of last year, after the success of our engraved Cloud Compact collaborations, I had the thought, what could we do next? I’d seen tooth gems on social and also on various friends, and thought the application to our compacts would be an interesting one, further demonstrating the idea of makeup packaging being something you could hold onto for a lifetime; while connecting the artistic expression (and rebellion) of tooth gems to Fluff’s counter-culture approach to beauty. I was stoked to see these sell out within two weeks (with the maximalist designs selling overnight). And I’m equally excited for our next artist collaborations.

-The Archive Range. In February I wrote about an idea I had shared with a friend, a project for Fluff: a limited curation of vintage and art deco compacts and accessories, sourced over time, from around the world. I wanted these pieces to be a nod to the inspiration behind our Cloud Compact, a reminder of a time where makeup was valued like jewellery or art. She told me the idea was too cool. I did it anyway (I was always going to). The Archive Range sold out within a week, sans one item. For me, it’s a reminder that people care about the things I care about, to trust my gut, and to keep asking people for their opinions (even if I disagree with them). I’ve found this project personally fulfilling, it’s definitely not about profit, but rather a chance for me to explore an era gone by, to source specific pieces while travelling (Japan edit coming soon), and to reimagine what beauty can be today.

That’s my update for April. I have to get back to the boring stuff, including deep dives into spreadsheets for sales forecasts, inventory planning, trade financing, product development and campaign collaborations.

Hopefully I’ll make it onto the mountain today.

If you’ve liked reading this, please share this with someone else you think might be interested.

As always, if you have thoughts, say hi.

It’s hard not to drown in the content sea of sameness. Wouldn’t it be cool to actually explore the depths and diversity of the internet, instead of circumnavigating the same themes every day? Instead of serving me content I ‘might like’ based on what I already do, why not show me something I haven’t seen, that I might find challenging?

I remember watching the short doco “Influencers”, 14 years ago. This was a fairly new word on the internet at the time, and it didn’t carry the stigma that it does today. I rewatched the doco last week and in many ways, it feels just as relevant, and the people, just as interesting.

The doco talks about original influencers as a younger, creative class who had to figure out ways to express themselves when they were broke. They did things with fewer tools, references, and goals, but with experimentation and rebellion at their core.

When was the last time you heard, saw, or experienced something for the first time?

Who are the people and brands that stop me mid-scroll? What challenges or changes my mind?

In fashion or beauty it’s quite rare to see something and feel something; something stirred up inside.

My definition of an influential person or brand (the ones that I follow) is a tangible, authentic expression of passion. They’re doing it for no one but themselves, and often with small followings, it shows.

They are an embodiment of some kind of creative act. An early adopter, embracing specific subsets of culture; rejecting the mass. They are curious, stubborn, weird. They have a different way of thinking and expressing themselves.

They carry a certain type of confidence; a knowing that they’re doing the right thing and they’re comfortable doing it, without validation.

These people and brands start small, and then they get bigger, until sometimes they’re too big, and then they might become irrelevant. We never really know the tipping point. We never really know how long influence will last.

I wonder, how did we go from this, to what an influencer is seen as now? Now an influencer feels manufactured, planned, a strategy. The original influencers - people and brands - didn’t really know what would go viral, they just put out what felt true. It was inspiring.

Now agencies, influences, and brands put out what works, according to the brief: go viral. I wonder what content would look like if the brief was to start a conversation, to influence one other person, to start a debate.

While it feels like there’s a formula for success, I’m grateful that there are still corners of the internet and niche groups with small followings, that are still creating, still doing new things — they’re just a little hard to find.

Until we do, and then someone big might copy them.

This brings me to my next series of thoughts/torture: thoughts about inspiration and imitation.

I’m finding it harder and harder for us to talk about an idea without having a reference. But what about the ideas that are our own? I searched for too long recently for a specific photo reference for an upcoming shoot and couldn’t find one anywhere - at first I was frustrated and then I thought - could this be a new idea? Highly unlikely but let’s pretend.

Then my friend showed me headshot references for feedback, and I asked, does a writer need to hold a laptop or a beauty founder be in a bathroom for a headshot to make sense? Why are we all doing this?

I asked: who are the people from the past that you look up to, and how were their photos taken? Can you reference books instead of the internet, before photos had the chance to be published online?

Why does it feel like we’re all imitating each other?

Why are all runners photographers and most women’s photo dump posts (including my own) featuring an overhead cafe or restaurant shot, a mirror selfie, a sunset etc.

The answer is in front of us: influence(rs).

It’s not that I don’t like influencers, or the idea of influence, in fact, I’m quite romantic about it all. It’s that I don’t like how in mainstream media, it’s become mutated. Stagnated. Predictable. The same.

Ideas spread just like a virus. And influence is much the same.

Inspiration vs imitation.

We’re all inspired by something. Even if we don’t realise.

That sign we passed in the car, the colours of nature we see on our walk, a conversation between friends, our grandmother’s closet.

“Nothing of me is original, I’m the combined effort of everything and everyone I’ve ever known.”

But where does inspiration cross with imitation?

In the first six months of Fluff, we were sent a cease and desist over the shape of our compact and use of Zamac as a material by Lilah B, a great beauty brand that has unfortunately since closed down. I was mortified. Mortified because while I had been inspired by the use of Zamac as a material, it was never my intention to copy another brand. We weren’t the only people using this material, and I couldn’t understand why people weren’t complaining about every round shaped plastic compact or tubular shaped mascara? As we expected, we hadn’t done anything wrong, and the issue quickly went away, and yet consumers in the industry still comment around this idea of imitation.

On the other side of this, we were recently made aware of a UK brand who has blatantly copied not only our Cloud Compact shape and colours but several other brands’ designs. It’s embarrassing for them, ultimately, and I’m grateful that so many consumers have pointed it out, so that we don’t have to.

One thing I do understand in this instance is that Fluff sits at a price point which will exclude some consumers. Why shouldn’t someone offer our product at a lower point? Is ModelCo actually ok? (The answer is no).

The actual answer isn’t black or white. It’s nuanced, it’s every shade of grey.

At the end of the day, what I keep thinking is: what does this all teach us about what we value in ourselves, and others?

When I spend too much time on my phone, I feel lethargic and uninspired and disappointed in humanity. My feed feels like an insecure mess and I wonder why or who we’re doing this all for, especially when we’re just going to be forgotten about one day.

Tell me to what you pay attention and I’ll tell you who you are.

When nobody’s looking, what are you made of when you’re by yourself? I truly believe that this is the essence of cool.

I’m interested:

-In unexpected overlaps - who is doing it well vs not. I think Nike x Isamaya Ffrench nailed it. While a beautiful piece of cinematography, personally I think something didn’t land with Salomon x Gohar World.

-In campaigns in general. Big budgets vs small, lo-fi vs high production, modelling agencies vs street casting, and the return on spend.

-In eyes. After blushes big moment I think eyeshadow is due back again.

I think what we’re doing is interesting;

- I think Fluff’s obsession with youth culture took a back seat the last few years, and has to come back if we’re going to maintain relevance. The tricky thing will be balancing that with speaking to our broader audience, an older demographic who has found appeal in our packaging and ingredient philosophy.

-We’ll be re-releasing our skincare in a few months in a way that feels good and true to Fluff. A consolidated range and an upgrade in packaging via a collaboration which I am excited about.

-We’re relaunching our Issues page, and have been discussing the current editorial landscape: what’s good, what’s bad, what’s different and interesting. Importantly, what will be our own metrics for success? If we like it, is that enough? Isn’t that what was so special about it in the first place?

Fluff’s next drop is in a few weeks, we have a full restock of products and a new collaboration. Sign up for early access here.

If you like these updates, please share them with someone you know. And say hi.

“They used to tank cod from Alaska all the way to China. They'd keep them in vats in the ship. By the time the codfish reached China, the flesh was mush and tasteless. So this guy came up with the idea that if you put these cods in these big vats, put some catfish in with them and the catfish will keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin.” -Vince Pierce

Cool is such a weird term. I don’t think it’s something people can call themselves, instead it’s only what someone can recognise about another.

I’ve been trying to understand what makes something, someone, or someplace cool. How is cool born and how does it die? Does it have an expiry? And finally, is it cool for people to think Fluff is cool? Or not?

Without going into detail, I wanted to create something that provides context to the creation, and depth to the narrative of our Cloud Compacts. We see a lot of traction on TikTok for our product, people who presumably see our shiny compacts, think they’re ‘cool’ and want in. Perhaps they like the idea that it’s refillable, but do they know why we started?

I wanted something that spoke to our design intentions. It’s not a revenue driver, instead it’s a brand exercise. I’m hoping it’s a bit of an ‘aha’ moment for new people who come to Fluff.

This project feels especially necessary, now that there’s several brands imitating our Cloud Compact’s appearance and shape. I’ve been writing about inspiration vs imitation for a seperate, detailed post. TLDR: I can’t stop the dupes, and I don’t want to waste our time and energy trying. I simply want to focus our attention on what we’re doing, and remind people of why we’re doing it:

To Fluff the Cloud Compact isn’t just another piece of makeup, it’s both a symbol and reminder of values, connection, and aspiration. Something that we need more than five minutes to explain.

"I'd rather be everything to someone than something to everyone"

This project isn’t a new concept, either. We’re inspired by, building on, and connecting to a tried and tested idea, and making it make sense for Fluff. Some people might not understand it, but I’m sure others will.

Ultimately, this project reflects a desire for deep, meaningful connections over superficial popularity.

Working through my thoughts around this project, I came to the conclusion that ‘cool’ is a subconscious act, (sometimes conscious), of defiance, of rebellion, of individualism and expression.

Cool is a story. It’s a story we tell ourselves and communicate with each other verbally, visually, audibly.

Cool is innovation, but never imitation. It’s taking what was there before and building on it. It’s being inspired to create and act.

Cool is selection. It’s the very act of choosing something that you want, or want to embody.

Cool is conviction. It’s knowing what you want and going after it, sans belief or encouragement from others.

Cool is risk. It’s knowing you could lose it all, or fail, and doing it anyway.

Cool is evolving. It comes and goes* and grows. It has to change.

*Is cool timeless? If something was cool and now it’s not, was it ever actually cool?

I don’t think cool is reserved for anyone, except those with the courage to be themselves. To like, say, or do something before anyone else. At first these people can be considered a bit strange, but eventually everyone comes round (14 years on, this video is still cool).

When I started Fluff, I wanted a few things:

-For people to wear less makeup, and in doing so,

-Accept themselves in their most natural state, so,

-They could realise that makeup is all Fluff, so,

-They could spend more of their time on things they valued.

“I’m prettier now that I don’t care.”

I went back through my phone 7 years to when we started this brand, looking at photos in our office, our inspiration, our brand, and I know that I can repost this content. It still holds, or at the very least, it’s circled back. Maybe it was too cool at the time, maybe it’s only just becoming cool now. I guess that’s not for me to decide.

When we launched our brand in 2018 with yellow as our hero colour, it had been a pivot from our original choice of red and blue. I had a feeling it was a different, interesting approach. It wasn’t a colour I’d seen in beauty, but it was appearing in tiny corners of the internet. Despite everyone telling us it was too bold, too bright and harsh, too weird, we persisted.

And still, people weren’t on board with what we thought and felt was cool:

Until they were:

This might be my biggest challenge working as a creative - balancing a prediction about the future, and what consumers are ready for. As with most of life, timing is everything.

Right now I’m thinking about what makes Fluff ‘cool’ today. Or, let’s swap out the word cool for real or interesting. What are things that make Fluff, Fluff:

Our Issues page. Unedited editorial from our audience. What they’re feeling, thinking.

Our approach to film. Working with young film makers to see their lens on beauty.

Our small product range. Not being something for everyone.

Our relationship to beauty. A constant enquiry.

Our position in the industry. Counter-culture. A rebel.

Our conversation with you. Reflective, a mirror.

I’m thinking about what I should have asked my friend who said this project was ‘too cool’. If I didn’t do this, what would Fluff do? The same thing as everyone else?

Getting comfortable with discomfort.

This is where I’ve landed. We’ve got to keep doing our thing. And while it’s important for me to check in and make sure I’m not excluding anyone from the conversation, I don’t think it’s wrong to make something that makes someone feel uncomfortable. Is it not an artist’s job to make people question - their values, their preferences, their motives, their actions?

In our discomfort we are presented with an opportunity to grow.

Ultimately, while we can look at the past or try and predict future trends, really what this all comes down to, is the realisation that the coolest thing is being yourself.

Individuals and brands - if only we could stop referencing photos on the internet, and start referencing books, words, stories, followed by the images and dreams it conjures up in our heads.

Then trust our gut and put our weird ideas out there. See if it lands.

We’ll be seeing if this idea lands when we launch it within our next drop in March. You can sign up for early access via our website.

If you like reading these updates, please share them with someone you know. Or say hi.

Goals are a funny thing, because with them, there’s a chance we’ll fail, and yet without them, we’re guaranteeing a success rate of zero. If there’s nothing to work towards, what are you working on?

This morning I reflected on my overarching goal, or vision, whatever you like to call it, for Fluff that I set some seven years ago. It was two fold:

-Create a beauty brand that encourages people to wear less makeup.

-Create content that encourages people to spend less time on their phones.

It was (and is) a backwards business and marketing model. And yet today it still feels like the best thing I can point to and work towards. Ironically, it seems to be working for us.

This brought up another personal reflection: the idea of what’s ‘working’ and by whose definition are we talking about success.

How many emails and DMS do I have to receive from customers telling me that they no longer use foundation, or don’t wear makeup on several occasions where they never would have thought that would be possible, before we can hang our coats and call it a day? What revenue milestone, team headcount, or office m2 do we have to hit before the industry says we’ve made it?

I don’t know, and I’m grateful that most days, I really don’t care.

Looking to the next five years, both for Fluff and the beauty industry in general, I feel motivated in a way that feels more calm than any year we’ve had in business. This is reflected in the way we’ve set goals for the year, similar to my friends’ discussion over the weekend. They’re realistic: while they’re exciting they’re quite straightforward, with actions that to some (especially me) might seem quite boring. And this is what I’ve realised:

Lofty, overly ambitious and exciting, stretch goals are easy because we often know from the start they’re never going to eventuate. They impress others, but they often let us down (or should I say it the other way around). These goals are often for people who are scared or lazy or both.

Realistic, practical and sometimes boring but actionable goals are hard because we know exactly what we have to do today, tomorrow, and the next day, and unless we put our head down and get to work, they won’t eventuate. They don’t really excite anyone, but they often compound, and before you know it, you’ve achieved the lofty, overly ambitious stretch goal anyway. It just took time.

And yet today, despite how much we all claim to want to slow down, not many people do. Or they do in the wrong areas, perhaps distracting themselves from the area which needs it the most. Accepting the reality that slowing down means things don’t happen quickly is hard.

Our goals for Fluff this year are simple:

-100% Growth;

-Re-introduce our skincare range with updated primary and refill packaging

-Introduce 3 new collaborative refills, one new compact collaboration, and an archival collection.

-Relaunch our Issues Page.

-Follow and focus our attention towards our organic market traffic.

That’s it. It’s both boring and exciting. Straightforward but ambitious. We might achieve more, but if we achieve only this, we’re happy, and I hope, still calm. To maximise our output we’ve chosen to minimise our inputs - but in a considered, intentional way. There’s fewer things to focus our attention on.

There’s not a whole lot of product innovation, and to be honest, I’m relieved. To be even more honest, I don’t know what’s really left to innovate, anyway. I don’t think anyone needs another step to their routine, or to wear SPF in an office, or an anti-aging body wash. Have we noticed that we’re all still getting older anyway?

What I’m seeing in our industry, is that while there’s plenty of growth, I think there’s pockets of beauty consumers who are beginning to care less. And this is great. With little products left to innovate, I think this forces consumers to evaluate what it is they’re buying, and more importantly, who from. As one content creator recently put it: if you’ve tried one PH colour changing lip balm, you’ve tried them all. So who is it you’re going to keep buying from? What’s their overall message around beauty, identity, consumption, and their delivery of such.

On a personal note, my words for this year are consolidation and consistency. Last year I took on too much of everything: work, hobbies, people; and this year I’m trying to reduce what I commit to, so that I can commit to showing up consistently to the things that I do, including writing, of course.

I’m interested in:

-What would happen if our primary, historical texts were written by women. Cassandra Speaks, by Elizabeth Lesser.

-How men connect beauty to their own identity, specifically balding or thinning of hair.

-My own screen/phone time, and how simple an app like this has been both from an aesthetic point of view, but also the idea of will power vs going cold turkey on apps.

I think what we’re doing is interesting:

-We spent much of last year focused on consolidating our product line and focusing our marketing efforts on our Cloud Compact. This year, I’m hoping to refocus my energy on storytelling across our campaigns, Issues Page, and a new archival collection which points to the origin of our compact design, and traditional makeup usage and value.

-We will be moving to a hybrid always on/drop model by Q2, to test customer demand for product evolutions vs our core range.

-We’re trying to understand what the future of the iconic ITG Top Shelf/or Vogue 73 Questions interviews are. More on this later.

If you like these updates, please share them with someone you think might appreciate them too. Thoughts or questions? Say hi.

Chatting with my friend Nick who has recently moved to NY, he brought up this quote that resonated. Perhaps it’s this age or this stage of business, but lately I have had to surrender (even more) to curiosity, spontaneity, and opportunity — the inhabitants of the unknown. It never makes sense in the moment, but it always makes sense when I look back.

To quote another interesting human: 

“It’s impossible to know where you’re going unless you remember where you came from, to forego nostalgia but allow retrospect to understand the present.” — Carlo McCormick, American cultural critic and curator.

When we launched Fluff in 2018, I never would have thought:

-That we’d only have three products after 7 years.

-That we’d move to a drop model, opening our website for seven days, four times a year. 

-That we’d become a fully remote team.

It’s hard to see in the moment that what we’re doing is going to pay off or if our original vision will actualise. We hope that if we do ‘A’ we’ll get to ‘B’ and so on. But it’s only in retrospect that we can make any sense of the zig-zag in-between. As the end of the year approaches, amidst one of retail’s busiest periods, I’m thinking about Fluff and my own personal position. 

Between August and October I spent time in Greece, France, and Sweden; I spent time alone, with friends, and alone again. On this trip I walked for hours each day, not really knowing where I was going or where I would stop along the way. I sat at rocky beaches forgetting the time and where I needed to be, swimming in waters without a worry about what lay below the surface.

I thought about a lot. I got inspired again.

My time in Europe confirmed the certain discomfort which I’ve grown to appreciate: my relationship with the unknown. Not just the language barrier, but the cultural differences and expectations of each country, island, or town. Times where I feel nervous, intimated, completely out of my depth, shy. This same feeling applies in business, when I find myself in new situations, particularly as Fluff expands into new markets, builds our team, and tries to solve more complex problems. 

In these times, I’ve realised the path of least resistance is exactly that: to stop resisting. 

In doing so, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a holiday. For me this meant that even though I was still working, I really felt that things could wait: emails, phone calls, tasks. That things wouldn’t fall apart, and if they did, I’d be able to pick up the pieces and put them back quickly again. 

This was the first Fluff drop where I’d been working overseas where it was also our best. For the first time we had the majority of our hero products available, and were able to get a glimpse into our full earning capacity. This was also the first time our ad revenue held strong, instead of tapering with each day. 

I’ve never liked the saying that “if you ask the universe, you’ll receive. “

Or that everything happens for a reason. I believe that everything happens, and then we reason with ourselves… so that we feel better about ourselves. We connect the dots.

I often paraphrase the quote “everything will work out… so long as you put the work in.” This has pulled me out of various difficult situations and mindsets over time. A founder who says, “I will make $1 million dollars” is different to one who can explain how they’re going to do it, and then puts their head down and does it. 

We’ve achieved a lot, learnt a lot, and fucked up a lot, particularly in the last two years. The next two are going to be even more important. Like a growing toddler who you stare at wondering who they’ll become, this is how I’ve often felt about Fluff: totally stumped. There’s been moments where I’ve seen signs of it becoming something, but it’s only ended up being fleeting. There’s been moments where I’ve wanted to ‘return’ this baby/startup. But just like a growing child, I am now starting to see it take shape, have some opinions, stand on its own; and it’s only now that I can see why all the prior decisions and events — including mistakes, have got us here and led to Fluff’s personality and positioning in the industry. Which I love. 

Fluff’s recent momentum comes with a temptation to move quickly, of which I need to remind myself and connect the dots that we’re here because we were forced (and surrendered) to going slow. Having restricted capital sucked — but it meant focusing on fewer products, having fewer staff, and being smart with our resources. We had to cut the fat on most of our budgets, including content, working with young creatives and in doing so, handing over creative control. All these things ended up working in our favour: all these things allowed me to enjoy the process, including the stress. I believe they call it ‘eustress’.

Our biggest areas of focus right now:

-Elevating the customer shipping and unboxing experience.

-Ensuring our formulations are consistent and delivering on customer requests.

-Continual creation of interesting, organic content, working with young creatives who understand our vision and mission. 

-Operational savings. 

-Market Entry. Are we missing out or spreading ourselves too thin? 

On a personal note, at the middle of this year I had been experiencing an overwhelming feeling of boredom — with myself, with work, within relationships, at home. What I love about travel is how quickly it can confirm things about who we are, or who we think we are. In Greece a friend wrote a beautiful piece titled ‘Women Who Know Themselves’. Ironically, I realised this was what I was craving, and at the same time ignoring: the feeling of knowing myself, and unashamedly being that person every day. Looking back, connecting the dots, I understand this trip, and this year, has been a remembering: about regaining confidence.

In business and in life it’s so easy to lose our footing, it can’t be perfect, as Chelsea Morley put it, ‘not every day is a slay’, but one thing we can do, that we have to do, is get back on the horse. 

Honestly, what else is there.

Of course, getting back on the horse can sometimes mean hanging your boots up, to use another cliche. But getting back on the horse always means taking responsibility and accountability for what’s next. Staying in a relationship, leaving one, initiating something new, confronting a family member, a business partner, whatever it is. Nothing changes unless something moves, and that something is ourselves. I realise this more than ever every time I travel alone.

I’m interested:

• In reading: in the last three months (travel helped) I managed to get through My Mother Laughs, Aesthetica, Bird by Bird, No Bad Parts, Non-Violent Communication, and am currently between No Rules Rules and Cassandra Speaks. I reccommend them all, and particularly mixing genres. And writing: I went overseas with an intention to put more words on paper (read screen), to finish a book I’ve been writing for too long, all about our relationship to beauty. I have a very shitty first draft (the more I write, the more my words are probably getting better and yet they feel… like they’re getting worse) that I am excited (read dreading) to edit. 

• In focusing: We recently interviewed a bunch of Fluff customers (and followers who have never bought) about their makeup usage and thoughts on Fluff and the industry in general. I wanted to prove/disprove my assumptions and intuitions. And I did both. But very quickly I realised who our three core customer personas are and why they connect with Fluff, and what we have to double down on. Yes, there are several fringe customers and personas, but they are not our focus. And we’re not theirs. And that’s ok. The feeling is mutual and I finally understand and accept that. It’s only taken me 7 years. 

• In delegating: our next hires — it’s tempting and easy to fill an org chart with 10 staff overnight, and yet I’m challenging myself to keep ours to five. Five incredible people who can do the work of 10 ‘ok’ people alongside our contractors: our ad agency, 3pls, content creators, photographers, videographers etc. On this — we’re looking for a Fractional COO and Customer Service Lead to join our team. If you are the right person, or know someone, please email me erika@itsallfluff.com

I think what we’re doing is interesting:

• New products: Fluff’s next Drop is this week, November 26th. We’re releasing Cream Blushes. It will be our first major makeup release in five years. 

• New collaborations: We’re also collaborating with four new artists. A preview can be found here. I learnt a lot from our last collaboration and I’m excited to take these learnings into even more future conversations. 

• New art: Last drop we released two films — one a skate video and the other a dance/club video. Working with young filmmakers has become a cornerstone of Fluff’s brand. I love seeing their lens on beauty — literal and metaphorical, and how they perceive its tie to identity. I was stoked to see Kaius Potter win best direction for online short form recently at the Australian Director’s Guild for his film with Fluff, Before the Mirror. 

Meanwhile, I’ve been on a few podcasts.

And I hadn’t spoken about them, so I am reminding myself of new audiences who might like to be brought up to speed on Fluff.

What’s the Point. A more personal chat with my good friend Luke who has known me for almost two decades, about my approach to meditation and world views. Super refreshing to not be talking about makeup for once. 

The Social Medium. Fluff’s growth on TikTok and move to a Drop Model. 

Formula Botanica. A deeper look at our product formulations and philosophy in the brutal/beauty industry. 

Shopify Masters. The business behind the brand, how Shopify as a platform has helped us grow our business and the way we market to consumers. 

One Wild Ride. Discussing whether a business can be profitable and have purpose. Go figure.  

That’s it from me. Thanks for giving me your attention. 

If you like these updates, please share them with someone you know. And let me know what you think. 

​​Founded in Melbourne, Australia, we ship our refillable Cloud Compacts around the world, for anyone who wants natural, vegan ingredients and refillable, plastic-free packaging without animal testing. 

We operate on a quarterly drop model, meaning that our website is only open for a week, four times a year, to purchase the iconic Cloud Compact - designed to last a lifetime, as a heirloom piece that can be passed on. Existing customers can log in with a password at any time to purchase refills. 

This allows us to manage supply and demand, and ultimately, determine the pace at which we do business, and the content we deliver to our audience. We believe it's a better outcome for our customers, our industry, our brand and our team.

Fluff was founded by Erika Geraerts who has spent 10 years in the beauty industry, previously co-founding international beauty brand Frank Body, and thinks that makeup is great, but not essential, and that the idea of skincare and makeup as a form of self expression, and taking care of oneself is a beautiful thing that should be celebrated, never exploited.

We believe that it's ok to feel more with makeup, so long as you don't feel less without it.  Our products are all about keeping it simple: good for your skin, your thoughts, and the planet.

Find Erika on IG @erikageraerts
Listen to Shopify Masters here: https://open.spotify.com/show/77uc0yX736H3nBx8r9GdUG

Find Lydia at @lydiaodo and @femmi.co

Please note this episode contains topics including disordered eating. If you would prefer to skip this episode, we recommend doing so. If you are looking for support or further resources, the Butterfly Foundation is available by phoning 1800 33 4673.

Please note this episode contains topics including disordered eating. If you would prefer to skip this episode, we recommend doing so. If you are looking for support or further resources, the Butterfly Foundation is available by phoning 1800 33 4673.

Find Sam at @s4mguggenheimer and @justforgirrls's on IG, and @shortgirltalldreams on TT. 

Please note this episode contains topics including disordered eating. If you would prefer to skip this episode, we recommend doing so. If you are looking for support or further resources, the Butterfly Foundation is available by phoning 1800 33 4673.

Find Lucinda @frooomes
https://www.froomesworld.com/