Her latest ‘industry disruptor’ - Beauty Pie launched in 2017 as a ‘luxury beauty buyer’s club that cuts out the middleman and gives consumers access to the world leading cosmetic and skincare labs’. The magic ‘Marcia’ formula, that seems to intrinsically weave itself through her successes, is a laser-sharp focus on delivering the best possible product to her audience and her 'obsession with making customers’ lives better’ - it may not be life changing, but the boost of the perfect shade of lipstick or thrill of luxury skincare at budget prices seems to be just what we all need right now.
For her September Guest Edit, Marcia talks to us about her online life, sharing her top five favourite podcasts, the idea that sparked Beauty Pie, her latest reads and internet heroes.
My favourite website... BEAUTYPIE.COM - Obviously! It’s the culmination of twenty-seven years of working in the beauty industry coming together to level the playing field and finally give women (and about 3% men) what they deserve - incredible beauty products at insider beauty product prices. After all, this is an industry that customers have supported unquestioningly for decades.
Whenever I’ve had my own brands and done product development, I’ve always loved being able to go into the best labs to see all their ‘pret-a-porter’ formulas, or to take great luxury bases and boost them to be even better. It was like Christmas, being able to shop lab-direct from the best formulators in the business.
So the big idea? To be able to bring all the beauty product lovers in the world along with me. And so Beauty Pie is just that. A marketplace where you can buy the world’s best products, direct from the labs that really make them, without the middlemen, the branding mumbo jumbo, and the crazy markups. It’s kind of like a fairy tale.
…and a first runner up to SoaperDuper.com, where we’re trying to change the world, one body wash at a time.
The app I use the most… I have three. Instagram. It’s where I can stay in touch with ‘what women want’, get unfiltered opinions, and poll our members. Listening to the customer really helps you get it right.
Duolingo - I’m a bit obsessed with this and have improved my French a LOT (but yet not nearly enough) by using it for five minutes a day. Apparently learning a new language is one of the best ways to keep your brain connecting new neural pathways, and I’m all about connecting new neural pathways.
OneNote - Where I can keep 100 different lists completely and totally organised, by category, by priority, by team member etc.
My blog/online magazine of choice... I’m more of a newspaper and books type, so if I get free time, it’s spent reading The New York Times or reading books that I’ve downloaded.
My internet hero… I will admit to loving Gary Vee - He’s like the Tony Robbins meets David Mamet of internet motivation, but everything he says I totally agree with – because your happiness starts when you realize that you’re the person responsible for making it happen!
My favourite podcasts... How I Built This with Guy Raz, The Daily (New York Times), The Hidden Brain (NPR), Ted Radio Hour (NPR) and Full Coverage with Lindsey Kelk.
My most recent buy online… A couple of pairs of jeans from Nili Lotan, which are always cut so cool that you only need a t-shirt with them to look like you’ve tried!
Book just downloaded/read... Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio. I listen to this every year, to remind myself of the most efficient and clear ways to think/operate/execute. I also just downloaded SuperMind, about the practice of Transcendental Meditation, and read Bad Blood about Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos hoax.
Favourite Tweeter... Given that Twitter is a bigger blackhole than Instagram, I don’t step over that edge.
Favourite Instagrammer... Celeste Barber - Obviously.
Social media allowed me to meet... Um... Tough one. It’s not really how I meet people.
Most worthwhile newsletters I subscribe to… LeanLuxe, The Business of Fashion, Pocket Hits and The Smithsonian .
Pet hate about life online… That you go in for one specific thing and end up getting sucked into hundreds of others. It almost shreds your focus. It’s a real problem (too bad there isn’t an app for that!).
READ MORE
Beauty Pie: A Beginner’s Guide
Four Beauty Products To Help Tech Heads
My Web with Linda Rodin
August 2019