|
Hey Glow Gang! |
Welcome to this week’s edition of your favourite newsletter - where we celebrate, uplift and amplify the women of colour you need to know about. |
We also have a cheeky discount code accompanying today's feature interview 👀 |
Let's get glowing |
-Shilpa |
P.S. If you know someone who will love Glowreel as much as you do, please share this newsletter with them using your unique referral link at the end of this email (we'll give you some cool rewards in return!) 💜 |
|
News Of The Week |
Secure the awards, secure the world 🌏 |
|
Entertainment |
We win some, we lose some 🏆 ICYMI, Oscar nominations were announced this week, with some exciting nominations for women of colour. Leading the charge is Michelle Yeoh - the first Asian woman to be nominated for Best Actress (the first Asian-identifying woman). Meanwhile Angela Basset, who’s up for Best Supporting Actress, is the first actor to land an Oscar nomination for their role in a Marvel movie! Stephanie Hsu and Hong Chau are also up for Best Supporting Actress, marking the first time two Asian actresses are nominated in any acting category. |
But it’s not all sunshine and Oscars. The lack of women in the Best Director category is disappointing #OscarsSoMale. Especially after Chloé Zhao’s massive win in 2022. |
In other entertainment news: Eve L. Ewing is the first Black woman to write the main Black Panther comic series. ✊🏽 |
Politics |
Who run the world? 🙋🏽♀️ 🙋🏽♀️ … and save the world while they’re at it? Carmel Sepuloni is New Zealand’s first Pasifika deputy prime minister. We love to see it! She could be just what the country needs to tackle its cost of living crisis (it’s everywhere!) thanks to her humble beginnings and her role as Minister for Social Development and Employment. |
See also: The guardian of the Amazon. Brazil’s new environment minister, Marina Silva, has dedicated her life to saving the Amazon rainforest. |
|
More News Nuggets |
Extra Nuggets 👀 |
|
|
Glowreel Recos |
What we’re loving this week: |
Watch - Everything Everywhere All at Once because Michelle Yeoh is brilliant (and it’s a very powerful story!) Plus, it’s been nominated for 11 Oscars! 👀 |
Make - Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls by Quin, aka Butter Be Ready 🤤 |
Listen - Victoria Monét - smooth, sensual and sweet tunes to get you through the day 🎵 |
|
Support BIPOC Women Owned Businesses |
Shop some of our favourite BIPOC woman owned brands in Glowreel’s Little Purple Book |
|
|
|
Trailblazing Woman Interview |
The Smoothest Skin Of Your Life, Thanks To Chelle |
 | Image: via Chelle; L: Rashel Hariri, R: Gloria Chik. |
|
This week we’re talking all about smooth skin, with a nod to Persian bathing rituals. Fancy, right?! |
Rashel Hariri and Gloria Chik are the founders of Chelle - planet friendly, vegan and no-fuss skincare with simple ingredients that actually work. |
We caught up with Rashel and Gloria to hear more about how Chelle came about, how the products work and their top tips for blazing your own trail. Let’s go (and peep the cheeky discount code for you 👀)! |
Let’s talk about Chelle! What’s the story behind it? |
R: We started just over a year ago. We were closing off our previous business (we’d been doing home prints and custom designs) and we were trying to figure out what’s next. I’m really into skincare and at the time, Gloria was complaining about some dry patches on her skin. I realised there’s something that I’ve been using for years to exfoliate my skin, it’s part of my Persian heritage and culture, and I suggested Gloria try it. It worked really well on her skin and it’s so simple to use - that’s when we thought this is something we should share with more people. So we decided to make an exfoliation kit our hallmark product for our new business. We introduced a vegan-friendly exfoliator polish that removes dry flaky skin, softens, moisturises, and reduces ingrown hair. Seriously, feel my arm! |
G: Honestly it's something that I had been searching for - but I always thought that a full body exfoliation was a super expensive spa experience. So having this simple, beautiful ritual that you can easily do at home, to help you shed dead skin is so good. |
Ok that sounds amazing! What’s inside the exfoliation kit and how does it work? |
G: You get an incredible mineral stone that’s made of simple ingredients (water, calcium carbonate, paraffin, vaseline oil, olive oil, stearic acid, and rose essence), and a canvas mitt. You hop in the shower with the kit, wet your mitt and rub the exfoliator stone all over the mitt. Then you rub the mitt all over your body and scrub all the dead skin off. It’s the best experience - and it feels kind of magical seeing your dead skin shed off like eraser crumbs! |
R: It really is like magic - you actually see the product working as you’re applying it. We hear from a lot of people saying they didn’t realise how much dead skin or oil build up they had on their body. It’s quite addictive to do too - we recommend using it once a week but I use it a few times a week. The scrubbing motion is also great for lymphatic drainage and getting rid of ingrown hairs. |
Highlights and challenges of building your own business? |
R: A highlight and a benefit is having a partner, a co-founder, where you work together but also push each other to do more and to make things better. A challenge - we’re doing wholesale right now. We’re not sales people, we’re marketers. So it’s nice to have a partner to work with and brainstorm with, and to talk not imposter syndrome with! I think it’s part of entrepreneurship as well, you have to be really honest about what you know and what you have done and you can't pretend. We’ve created this child together in our partnership and the challenges are not as bad when you have a partner to work through the highs and the lows with. |
What’s next for Chelle?! |
R: We have some big ambitious goals for this year! In 2023 we want to get into more retail locations and expand into retail outside of Canada. We also want to launch more products, and we're going to go back to some of the core of what we do really well on the skincare side of things. |
Your top tip(s) for how to blaze your own trail? |
R: Take up space and be your own champion! |
I think that often as women of colour we don't want to appear to be too loud or we don't want to be too in peoples' faces. We kind of want to blend in. But don't be afraid to take up space or to share your thoughts and your opinions. Chances are there are many other people that also agree with what you're doing and how you think and will be there to support you. Knowing your story and where you came from and what your passions are will really help give you that inner confidence when you are walking into new spaces. Don’t be shy about who you are. |
G: Accept yourself as you are. |
When you’re fighting with yourself, it shows. I really struggled with this growing up in Canada - I’m a really tall Chinese girl which is not super common! So just being able to accept myself, and knowing what path I’m creating and being loud and proud (and a Leo!) and sharing it with others has helped me accept who I am. I think when you know who you are and what your own position is in the world, you know how to move within lots of different spaces. People can feel it, too! I do believe in energy and vibration and your self acceptance always shows regardless of who you are, what background you are, where you grew up. |
Shop Chelle here (Use the code: GLOWREEL15 for 15% off) |
|
Lioness Thoughts |
Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand.
| | | -Oprah Winfrey
|
|
|
| Share Glowreel | Earn exclusive rewards by referring your friends and family to Glowreel! Click the image below to go to your personalised progress page and to see all the rewards and milestones in more detail. | You currently have 0 referrals, only 3 away from receiving a Beautiful E-book Of Quotes From Trailblazing Women. | | | Or copy and paste this link to others: https://glowreel.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=RYyOzct9M5 | |
|
Nominate A Shoutout |
Tell us about someone doing cool shit. |
It can be you, your friends or family or someone else you know. Whether you’ve just started a book club, are creating artistic makeup looks for fun, or are doing some research and want to hear from women of colour. We want to share thing cool things you’re doing with a community shoutout! |
Please send your nominations to hello@glowreel.co or DM us on our socials :) |
|
|
|
|
This week's email was brought to you by Shilpa Bhim, founder of Glowreel. You can see more of her work at www.shilpabhim.com or follow her on Instagram @shilpa.bhim |
|
|
|
|
Socials |
If you love what Glowreel represents, please follow us on your favourite social media, and share with your friends and family! |
Publish on Beehiiv