Episode 6: This Is The Most Important Step In Your Skincare Routine

Facial Laser Hair Removal & Sunscreen With Ultra Violette's Ava Matthews - Beauty IQ Uncensored Episode 6 Transcript

 

Welcome everybody to BeautyIQ the podcast. I'm your host, Joanna Fleming

 

and I am your co-host Hannah Furst.

 

So I'm a little bit nervous Joanna, about today's episode

 

Why are you nervous Hannah. Talk to me.

 

I never thought that I would talk about this in public. And...

 

But see I feel like you mentioned it on episode one, didn't you?

 

I did, but I'm really... We're going into detail and so on that, what are we talking about on today's episode?

 

On today’s episode, we're both chatting about our facial hair way. We have Ava from Ultra Violette coming to shut all things SPF, which you guys should absolutely listen to because most of you live in Australia, so it's very necessary you listen it. And, of course, our products that we didn't know we needed.

 

Today's cringing convo, we want to revisit a topic from our first episode, which was laser hair removal. We touched briefly on facial hair, and we want to talk about my beard.

 

So Hannah, the other day we were sitting in our desks and she...

 

I actually can't believe we're talking about this on a podcast, because..

 

Hannah you talked about your anus. As if this is worse.

 

You don't think this is worse? Anyway, tell the story, tell the story.

 

Ok. So we're sitting at our desks and she's like, 'Oh I hate now that I'm getting laser on my lip and my chin that I've gotta shave'. and I was like 'Oh, is it that bad?' And she's like 'Yeah, feel it'. I felt under her chin and I was hysterically laughing. It was like a 14-year-old boys chin.

 

That's exactly what it's like.

 

Can I feel it now? Did you have a fresh shave this morning?

 

You're being very judgy about my beard

 

I think I've probably got more facial hair than you

 

Talk us through that Joanna

 

So I know that you're probably like 'no don't you'. But I've got full sideburns, which I bleach but you don't have any sideburns. See I've got my hair up today, so I've really got mine out and about. And then last night, I actually had a laser session and I had my mono brow and my nose lasered.

 

I was wondering about laser on the middle of the eyebrows, cause I didn't think I could do that.

 

Yeah cause I've got a really hardcore mono brow that I have to pluck every two days

 

Lucky for me I only get one every few weeks.

 

You've only got your chin to worry about.

 

I know.

 

So I get a lot of mono brow hair, but then also I get like on my side profile, just the way my nose is shaped, I get like these black hairs that sprout out of my nose. And I'm so self-conscious about. And I forget about it though, because when I'm looking in the mirror, I don't see my side profile.

 

That's actually true. You wouldn't. To be honest I haven't looked up your nose that closely.

 

Yes, I just thought I'll just have the little side bits lasered that'll just kind of get rid of those spiky hairs

 

Was it an add on?

 

No, because the place I went, I was getting my anus done at the same time. But no, it wasn't an add on

 

So she did it for free.

 

Yes

 

They do my toes for free

 

Oh that's nice of them

 

I get hair on my big toe

 

Yeah so do I. So, no and also Brazilian at this place included anus

 

Ugh, God

 

The dream, right?

 

The Dream. That's what you want. That's what you want to hear. You don't have to ask for it.

 

But I think we can agree that we both have a fair bit of facial hair.

 

Yeah and look... Someone messaged me last night about, after hearing the podcast that, she just heard the anus chat, she was like, 'I have polycystic ovary syndrome and, you know, I struggled a lot with facial hair'. Yeah, and then I was like, it just really opened up the conversation for her because she's like, 'I'm really embarrassed about it'.

 

It's really hard.

 

I was like, 'just wait until our next episode comes out because we talk about my beard and how I have to shave it so..'

 

So I hope it makes you feel more comfortable.

 

Yeah. It's okay, it's okay. Pluck your hairs on the couch in front of your partner, it's fine. So as you know, if you get laser hair removal, you have to shave the area. You can't wax or pluck. And so I got a man's shaver, so I could use it on my face.

 

Add that to the product you didn't know you needed.

 

There's a product I didn't know I'd ever need. And so you have to shave... Usually, I pluck my upper lip in my chin on the couch, as we know. And yes, so I've been shaving my face. If you get your upper lip, and your chin, you'll know that you have to do this. So it's not like it's abnormal. I'm very, very sure that it's very normal.

 

Well let's put a poll out on Instagram. Cause I haven't experienced that yet. I do get a rogue grey hair in one of my eyebrows.

 

Yeah, I get a rogue grey hair in my eyebrows too.

 

Do you?

 

Yes

 

And it's really coarse. And I have to like, specifically get it.

 

I have to find it. Yes. What's really good is that it's exfoliating the bottom half of my face. You know how men apparently age at a slower rate

 

They age better.

 

Yeah so there is a silver lining to every story.

 

So welcome to our next guest. Ava Matthews is the co- founder of Ultra Violette, which is probably the most hyped brand I think we've launched at Adore this year.

 

Definitely was, yes. And a sunscreen brand that we both use. You got me using sunscreen.

 

I think you've got a lot of people using sunscreen. Have you heard that from customers?

 

Yeah, we actually have. It's, like that's the thing, that's why we're doing it. You know, it's when we get that kind of feedback we're like, 'This is so good. Like, less Botox more sunscreen'. I think Botox is fine, don't get me wrong. But like, leave that for later. Don't be spending that money if you don't need to.

 

We actually spoke about this earlier because I was a sun worshipper in my twenties, and I would literally go out into the sun with no sunscreen on my face. And I just look back on that now and it makes me cringe like I can't believe that I did that

 

Ava and I are cringing as you say it.

 

Look, you're not alone.

 

And we did talk about this in a previous episode. I started getting Botox at quite a young age, comparatively, because I had so much sun damage on my face. And it's taken so long to reverse that damage. Yeah, and I wish that I had, started on sunscreen earlier. What made you decide to start Ultra Violette?

 

A few reasons. And I mean, I guess getting people to wear sunscreen every day is a great by-product. But Bec and I, my co-founder, we were working in a product development department and a beauty retailer, and we'd launched a lot of sunscreens for them. And so I guess we saw the opportunity to do something a little bit different than what had historically been done. I guess there was a lot of men in white coats and Cancer talk and, like really ugly packaging and really ugly formulations, and we were like, we can just we can do this. We can make sunscreen sexy. I think we can do it. It was kind of a relatively untapped part of the beauty market, and it's not, that's not why we did it. But we just saw the opportunity and we had experience in it. And we knew it was something that you need to wear every day and that people weren't. And so we just thought, let's make sunscreen cool.

 

And I think the interesting thing that you mentioned when we first started stocking Ultra Violette was that your focus isn't on scaring people about getting cancer, but it's on the anti-ageing side of sunscreen. Like it is the most powerful anti -ageing ingredients you can have in your routine.

 

Yes, absolutely. And you know, cancer is obviously very important and, you know, Call Time on Melanoma is an amazing charitable organisation that are doing a lot of great work to raise awareness about melanoma, and I don't want to undermine that. It's a huge issue, but a larger percentage of people aren't touched by a skin cancer, what they're dealing with every day is their skin ageing and pigmentation and sagging and wrinkles. So I mean, we wanted to really create a brand that spoke to that and was a part of your skin care routine and sat really beautifully with your other skincare products and really nicely under your makeup. So was kind of more about like that every day, facial sunscreen rather than like something you took to the beach or something you know, you took on holidays, but obviously you still can, and you should. But it was really about, I guess, ingraining those daily habits into people.

 

And why do you think people hate wearing sunscreen so much? I definitely did.

 

Look, I think sunscreens have come a long way. I think a lot of us are kind of scarred from our childhoods. You know, mums like rubbing it on our...like, all you want to do is get into the water, but you'd have to stay there and wait for your sunscreen to sink in or you like it'll be in your eyes and burning your eyes or...and I think you're covered when you're a kid because your mum's putting it on you. You don't really have a choice, but I think it’s kind of teenage age where you should start wearing it every day. And you know, your mum's probably telling you to wear it every day, or your doctor or whoever but you tried, and you got pimples. Or your skin was really greasy, or your eyes were burning, or you know any foundation you tried to put over the top of it was balling or peeling or separating or whatever. You know, Kate said this in a Sydney Morning Herald article, slash the Age article, a couple of weeks ago. That it's a grudge step. It's kind of something you're told you have to wear. You know you probably should wear it, but it's not.. historically hasn't been that nice to wear, so there's a lot of reasons, but I think that sunscreens have come a long way, and a lot of that kind of, trauma from your youth is not really relevant anymore.

 

And one thing you didn't mention was the fact that they actually smell nice. Unlike traditional sunscreeny smell

 

Yeah, that sunscreeny smell. You have really bad memories of that in your childhood and smelling bad

 

and that's the thing that gives people PTSD.

 

Yeah, the PTSD and the like, the sand sticking to it and literally like, basically burying itself into your skin and you, like three days later, you go the toilet and find sand in your vagina.

 

Yes, I'm having memories.

 

It's like all a part of that.

 

And I think what was really unique about Ultra Violette was the serum. What made you guys decide to do a serum?

 

You know, obviously, when we're looking at the whole sunscreen market, most of the products, creams or lotions and we thought like, Let's try and find something that's really lightweight because that's one of the other problems people have with sunscreen that's thick and greasy. So if you could make something that feels like nothing on the skin, people probably gonna wear it more. Just something different. There are a lot of sunscreens in the market. There are a lot of sunscreens in Australia, so I guess to differentiate yourself and create a brand that's worth people investing in. Got to stand out a bit.

 

Well I liked that you launched three products that are particularly tailored to specific skin types, so you weren't trying to put out a product that's like one size fits all because you know that with a sunscreen, different formulas suit different skin types. So a lot of people ask us 'which Ultra Violette product do I buy?'. So can you give us a little bit of a rundown of what each one is for, or who it's for

 

So Queen Screen, as you mentioned before, which is the serum that's really lightweight. It's quite hydrating. Leaves a really beautiful glow on the skin. It just, it works really beautifully as a primer. So that's probably suited to most skin types if you're if your oily, maybe not, because it does leave your skin looking very dewy. So if you're oily, you might be a bit more conscious of that kind of finish so that might not be where you want to go, but for most skin types, like normal to dry, to mature, that's probably a really good option if you like glow

 

Can I say why I like that one. Because when I go to the Tan on a Saturday, the Tan walking track, and I...like, there's always hot guys at the Tan, and so I just put on that Queen Screen, and my skin just looks glowing and I don't need anything else, but I also am being sun smart.

 

You are. Yeah, we get a lot of people saying that they love wearing it without foundation and in fact that using Queen Screen has meant that they no longer need to wear foundation. So that's just a great by-product I guess of that. Then Supreme Screen is like, a kind of just like your 'does all', wonder kind of sunscreen. It's probably the one that if you were like I'm not sure what to try, I'd say just go with Supreme Screen because you can't do wrong. We call it our hydrating one. It is hydrating, but it's not going to leave you greasy, or looking oily. It's a bit more of a satin finish than Queen Screen. And it's a really amazing primer. And we've actually got a lot of people who are replacing their daily moisturiser with Supreme Screen because it is so hydrating. So that's, Supreme Screen is pretty much great for everyone. Again, if you're like super super oily and maybe like really acne prone you probably still could wear that, but, you know, maybe might not be a number one, but I'd still say that for most people like, I read every single review on Adores website, on our website, on all the forums and so I, like, see a lot of people who like I didn't really think this would work for me because I've got acne, but I really love it, and it doesn't make me break out. So again, that's probably just the like, safest option for people if they don't know what they want. And then we've got Clean Screen, which is a zinc only mineral. And that is probably best for sensitive skin, really highly sensitive skin and if you're really oil because it is a bit more mattifying, and potentially acne prone. So zinc is in itself quite a mattifying gradient, does have a level of hydration, but not as much as the others.

 

I think it's probably a good time to tell us what the difference between physical and a chemical sunscreen is. We have different levels of knowledge.

 

There's so much information on the Internet about, like the difference and what's better and what's worse..

 

Very conflicting isn't it.

 

It is really conflicting, and there's no one that comes out and says definitively, this is the right. This is the correct information. Even dermatologists have differing point of views. Based on all the research we've done, physical sunscreens are basically comprised of two ingredients, which is titanium dioxide and zinc. And they are, well, they're probably better for sensitive skins. In terms of the way that they work, there's not a huge amount of difference in how a physical sunscreen works versus a chemical, they both... people used to say that physical sunscreens reflected all the UV and that's not actually true. They reflect about 5 to 10% and then absorb the rest. Whereas a chemical absorbs all of the rays. But it's not like one's a blocker and ones and ones an absorber, as people used to think. So in terms of how they work, there's not a huge amount of difference. Zinc's are great for blocking UV B. So the burning rays. There are obviously a lot of technological advances recently, which have meant that you know that they're better as UVA protectors. But chemical sunscreens have historically been better at, kind of that full, like, broad spectrum package

 

Yeah, I was recommended a physical sunscreen because I have rosacea on my cheeks. So I was recommended a physical to reduce, where possible, the amount of heat that was being absorbed into my skin and then causing me to flare up because I react to sun heat and sunscreen as well. So that was recommended for me. But as you said, it still does absorb and turn that into heat, just maybe not as much as the chemical

 

Not as much. And the heat that has been created by chemicals is a really small amount, it's actually not that much. The other reason they might have recommended a physical is because if it contains think as I said, it's really anti-inflammatory. So that's why people with any kind of skin irritation or inflammation issues are generally prescribed a physical. Whereas I personally prefer a chemical, I think you can get a nicer texture.

 

I was just going to say that, people are probably thinking, 'why wouldn't I just use a physical?'

 

Yeah

 

But it's because you can get a nicer texture from a chemical sunscreen

 

you can, and you can go a lot higher and generally, like this is obviously a generalisation. But the amount of UVA that's blocked from chemical is higher. I mean, look, I'll always say this. The best sunscreen is the one that you want to wear every day.

 

Yeah, very very true.

 

It doesn't really matter. Like, chemical or physical unless you've got some sort of, you know, skin inflammation issue that requires you to wear a mineral sunscreen or it's a personal preference, like just find one you want to wear every day and wear it.

 

Any sun protection is better than no sun protection, right?

 

Absolutely.

 

And I also see on your Instagram, on Ultra Violette’s Instagram’s a lot, is you have to wear sunscreen in winter, particularly in Australia. Can you tell us a bit about that.

 

Well, look, Cancer Council says that you should be wearing sunscreen for any days where the UV goes, the UV level goes over, I think its 2 or 3.

 

3.

 

Thanks. I should know this.

 

Expert over here. Where'd that come from?

 

I did an Instagram post on it. It was really hard to find the information

 

It is really hard. Because there's so much...there's so many conflicting points of view

 

But the Cancer Council did say it was over three and most parts of Australia in winter at some point in the day, it will be over three.

 

That's absolutely... there's like I think there's a month in Sydney where the average UV index is like maybe under three. But... I think that might be July, that's just based on averages. In Melbourne it might be a couple of months, but like, look, if you're going to get into a habit, just do it every day. The other thing is, the UV index is referring to UBV levels. So that's like the burning aspect, it doesn't really cover the UVA, which is the one that does the daily damage and gives you pigmentation, wrinkles, sagging, all of the fun stuff. So they're not really talking like, referring to that. So if you're skiing, for example and you've got the reflection of the snow, plus you're at the higher altitude, you're going to get more UVA damage. Yeah, but absolutely, like, just if you're going to do it for 10 months, like why you going to stop for the two months year. Like, just be safe. Just put it on once.

 

Has sunscreen always been like, a big part of your routine? For me, it's been a new thing. I think it's, I think as soon as I started to see ageing, I was like, 'Oh my God, what am I doing? What have I done?'

 

Yeah, no embarrassingly it hasn't. I wish I was one of those people that was like 'my mum kept me in a bubble'. I had to wear... my mum made me wear one of those weird caps with the flaps on the back.

 

a legionnaires hat.

 

Yeah.

 

My mum used to tell me she would use baby oil

 

Mine did too.

 

So did mine. It was the sixties and seventies.

 

My mum went to the solarium when I was a teenager.

 

Yeah, 100%. I've still got friends in the UK who go to the solarium. And I'm like, that's why you're getting Botox.

 

Shame on you

 

Yeah.

 

I think a lot of us just thought you needed a sunscreen when you went to the beach. And that thinking has only very recently changed.

 

Very recently.

 

Like I would say, you know, 2015 maybe people started talking about it as an anti-ageing

 

There'd be still people listening to this that are going, 'Oh my God, am I meant to be doing that everyday'

 

But also, I mean Retinol has become so popular.

 

exactly and laser.

 

Yes

 

and all of those kind of treatments where you need, you know, you actually, your skin has become more sensitive to sun so that's the other thing, like I guess... and I think all that, and I think I'm a part of this beauty chat forum where people are like 'oh I'm 21. I'm thinking about Botox and filler like any other skin care advice?' and literally everyone will jump on and be like 'just start wearing SPF'. If you start wearing SPF now you'll be fine, like you're starting ahead of most people.

 

Or just use skin care in general. I love that people's first thing is 'I'm just going to go and get Botox'

 

Yeah but, when I was not educated about skincare or SPF, that was my first thought.

 

That's why we created this podcast.

 

Please don't make the same mistake that I made and start getting Botox at such a young age. No, really Like I was looking at my skin at 25. So sun damaged, so textured, just pigmentation, the whole thing. And I just wish that I knew back then that, that was such a simple fix.

 

Yeah, I think a lot of people...

 

Face tan, just use face tan. That's all you need to do

 

Absolutely.

 

The sunscreens are really good these days. And the fake tans are really good these days. No one needs to bake themselves. If someone could just create like, a fake tan that was basically almost like a tattoo that would be great.

 

Hey, we maybe, I think we might all use a different Ultra Violette sunscreen

 

Yeah we do.

 

We do. Which one do you use?

 

Clean.

 

I use Supreme.

 

Yeah, and I use Queen. I use all of them, but Queen is probably my go-to.

 

Supreme's my go-to because I'm the lazy one here. And I'd just like to do that instead of primer and moisturiser in the morning.

 

Do you wear it instead of moisturiser?

 

Yeah, is that okay?

 

Nah that's good. I just...a lot of people who are quite dried need a moisturiser underneath. But then I've heard obviously, a lot of people do wear it without, but it makes me really happy when people use that as their daily moisturiser.

 

I use a really good hydrating serum, and then I do that over the top. And I usually don't wear makeup to work so that's it...

 

So I use Clean Screen. I really like the texture of that. As I said, I have more sensitive skin, so that seems to work for me. But I do like to use a moisturiser underneath that one

 

But I do... I have the Queen Screen for when I want to go out and impress because it's so...

 

When you're walking the Tan.

 

Yeah, when I'm in my short shorts, my lulu lemon short shorts and my Queen Screen. No one speaks to me. Men just walk straight...

 

You need to get yourself a dog

 

Yes. My Queen screen, my lulu lemon short shorts and a dog

 

one of my really good friends used to come and borrow my dog to go walk Bondi to Bronte. Yeah, we had a staffy and she would be like, 'I'm coming to pick up Polly'

 

Great Tip

 

I was like great; means I don't have to walk her. Off you go.

 

very good tip.

 

Thank you Ava for joining us. Ava is from Ultra Violette, for anyone who missed that, you could buy Ultra Violette online at Adore

 

we will be linking all of the products that we spoke to you in the episode notes.

 

Thank you

 

Product we didn't know we needed. That time again

 

It's that time again. What is the product that you didn't know you needed this week?

 

So my pick this week, which I recommended to quite a few people, is the Vita Liberata, Body Blur.

 

And when you said this earlier, you were like 'Oh yes, that's mine’ and I was like 'nooo' cause I wanted to steal it.  Because legit, this stuff's amazing.

 

It makes your skin look airbrushed. Obviously, with the name it is for your body, you technically can use it on your face, but I'd only recommend you use it on your body. It's like a body makeup. It's got a little bit of shimmer in it, and it just makes your skin look so amazing, like it's been Photoshopped and I wore it to a master class, and it was Tennille Jay's masterclass, and I told her that I had it on, and then I sent it to it, and she's obsessed with it now as well.

 

It is amazing.

 

It's so good and so many people that I talked to at that master class about it, then went and bought it as well because it looks so good. It just makes you look flawless. like any veins or old, patchy tan, it covers all of that. It's just so good.

 

I think the old patchy tan... I remember I went to get a spray tan and usually the girl that does it is amazing. And I got this girl that just... It was the weirdest thing spray tan I've ever had. She did it so far away and then close. And then it was completely patchy. And I'm too polite to say 'Sorry, that's not what I wanted'. Anyway...

 

I don't think you're that polite. I've been to a restaurant with you

 

I was, I think I was naked, and I just didn't quite know how...

 

It's a different format different.

 

There's a different format to a restaurant when they put mushrooms in my food.

 

she does not take it well.

 

I do not take it well at all. And I got home, and it just was, I even washed it off. And there was, my arm was completely patchy and so I was like, I know what to do. And I did the Vita Liberta Body Blur and it just smoothed everything out.

 

Yes, it does. Anything, any imperfections. It just makes it look better. So women with like, spider veins on their legs, I feel like it makes a difference with that. I've got a few coming up, thanks for that mum. I highly, highly recommend this.

 

The only thing I'll say is it's quite messy, in the sense that you need to use a glove.

 

I use my hands. I don't find it messy. I do it naked, so I don't have my clothes on. I'm not trying to move around in clothes

 

Don't you find though that it does stain yours hands a little bit.

 

I wash my hands straightaway. Doesn't stain.

 

Maybe I just put so much on.

 

You probably do. Knowing you, you probably way too much on. You go through a tube every time you use it.

 

Do you remember, we were out in Sydney one night, and I'd put so much Body Blur on and Mieke, our... category manager. So Mieke, our category manager was like 'You put way too much fake tan on' And I was like, 'Mieke, it's too late now, we're out event. Thanks. You could have just kept that to yourself this time.

 

'I can't take a shower here right now'

 

Yeah, I can't right now.

 

So Hannah what's your product that you didn't know you needed

 

So the product that I didn't know I needed is hair clips. I've been using the Valet hair clips. Actually, funny story. I saw them on an Instagram post. I sent them to our hair care buyer was like, please get these. Within a month, we got them. And I... you always make fun of me when I come to events

 

Well you rock up and you're like, 'Oh, I didn't have time to do my hair'

 

because it takes me like an hour to curl my hair properly. I'm actually getting better now that I have that new Curl Bar, which is really easy to curl my hair with now. But I usually can't be bothered curling my hair and or washing my hair for that matter. So the hair clips are really good because they make you look really... They still make your hair look cute and done.

 

She puts one in each side. She does this thing that's kind of like, next to her eyebrows

 

Yeah, and my mum says, I look really young. She's like, 'Wow, you look so young today' and I'm like, 'Oh it's the hair clips'. Always. She's like, 'you look like a child'. And you know, I wear that like, Paddington Bear jacket. Yeah so I wear two leopard print hair clips, and then I wear a Paddington Bear jacket, and it's what... It's exactly how I used to dress when I was five years old. And my mom always looks at me when I'm dressed like that, she's like 'you just look like when you were five' and I was like, 'that's what I'm going for'.

 

I don't know if that's a compliment

 

Everything I do is to like, try to make myself look younger. I'm joking. I'm fine with getting old.

 

She's not.

 

I'm totally fine with it. I'm totally at peace with it. And... I'm ageing gracefully.

 

So, so it's over. I did it. I talked about it. You all know about my beard now and the fact that I shave it.

 

And my mono brow.

 

Yeah, it's all okay, guys. We're all in this together. It's not quirky.

 

No one should feel ashamed. We're all here to share.

 

And I know I call these quirky beauty habits, but they're not

 

It's just shit people do behind closed doors.

 

Exactly, and don't talk about. I'm loving some of the reviews that we've been getting. Like, ' Yes, for the anus add on'

 

Yes. Keep reviewing on Apple podcast by the way, because we live for these reviews

 

We actually text each other every time and we say we want to be friends with you.

 

Sometimes I read them before bed.

 

You've got nothing else to do. Love it. Okay, guys, well we'll see you next week. Thanks everyone for joining us today.

 

Don't forget to subscribe. And tell your friends it helps other people to discover us. And also we really want to know what you thought about this podcast, so if you can leave us a review that would be much appreciated.