How to Build a Beauty Brand in Midlife with @thejennreed

Think about it. Liquid foundation is mostly made up of water. What happens when water evaporates? It dries up, so it's drying out your skin. Whereas a cream, whether it's the brand that I use or another cream that you want to try, is going to do a better job of moisturizing your skin and moving with your skin as opposed to.

Oh, that makes sense. For this midlife conversation, I'm going to go deep with Jen Reed. I met Jen on Instagram. She claims seems to be the midlife hype girl and she truly is. I love watching her videos. She's funny, she's engaging, she's so relatable. She shares fashion makeup tips, but everything is so relatable. And what I love most is that she built her brand in mid life doing what she loves. So I couldn't wait to have this conversation and get to know her better. While I'm getting to know her better, you will too. Thanks for being here, Jen.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for inviting me. I'm so happy to be here.

So let's back up for a minute because I'm sure you didn't grow up going, I'm going to be a social media influencer. That wasn't necessarily the goal. How did this even come about? How did you end up building a brand in midlife?

Yeah, and to be honest with you, I'm personally not a huge fan of the term influencer. Honestly, it's just about sharing what I have learned throughout this journey. So I feel like part of the reason why I'm relatable is because I am probably every single person who's listening to your podcast right now. Right. I'm a 52 year old mama. You know, previous life, worked in corporate, then I had my baby, stayed home with them, started a few businesses on my own. I actually became a personal trainer, was doing in home training with women, doing a lot of nutrition coaching, then got out of that, started another business. But right about that time, I hit that period of life that I like to call Menno hell.

And I. I've not heard that mental health.

I know, I think I might need to trademark that. So all of a sudden it actually coincided with me going off of the pill. I was on the pill for 25 years. I really wish I knew then what I knew now because I would have made different decisions for my health. But it is what it is.

So many women don't know that, Jen. So many women. It's like the go to push from most doctors on urine symptoms. Here you go.

Well, I went on it when I was 18 years old, right. I remember walking into the Planned Parenthood because God forbid I could not tell my mother back then, right? And going to Plan Parenthood at my college campus and getting on the pill. And then even later in life after I had my babies, I mean, I was very blessed I was able to come off the pill, have my babies, go back on, no problems, I had no issues. But later in life, I really did start to become more invested in my health and was doing a lot of research. And I'm saying to myself, jen, why are you buying grass fed milk and you know, protein sources and you're putting this synthetic hormone into your body every day? And I would ask my ob GYN every time I would go, should I think about coming off of this, you know, in my 40s? And this is what she would say, do you want to get pregnant? And I would say, no, heck no. And she would say, well, then stay on it. And you know, back then, I feel like there weren't as many resources available to us to understand, you know, what some of those potential downsides could be of being on a synthetic hormone for so long. Women today have so much more information at their fingertips. I think it is such a great time to be alive. So anyway, went off the pill, everything went haywire. It just kickstarted this purpose. Perfect storm. Because I was in my late 40s, I was probably menopausal perimenopausal at that point. My hormones had shut down, so my hair started falling out. I became depressed. I completely lost my mojo. I went from someone who was working out, you know, five, six times a week to barely getting up off the couch. Thank God I have an understanding husband. Husband who was very supportive of me during this time. You know, everything was just a hot mess. And the worst part about it, Natalie Jill, was that I felt so alone. Like, yeah, I didn't know anybody else who was going through this and if they were, they weren't talking about it. I didn't really know what was happening to me. And so as I slowly started to educate myself and learn a little bit more and try different things and really claw myself out of this menno hell, um, I learned so much and I just started sharing it on, on Instagram and it was incredible. I mean, you know, the number of midlife women. Yeah, I've been able to connect with and build this little community where we're all supporting each other has been fantastic. Absolutely not what I thought I'd be Doing these. But so grateful that this came to me.

I want to call attention to something you said at the very beginning, because I actually. It's funny when someone says the word influencer to me too. I'm also like, wait, I don't like that word. But I almost want to help redefine it, because to me, influencer is not like something people should strive to be or a job or like a role, an aspirational role, but it really is, to me, a name that represents when there's a group that needs to be represented. So to me, you, me, a lot of people that I've interviewed on this show, a lot of people that I'm following on social media, we are influencing what menopause gets to be, what this second half of our life gets to be, what the prime gets to be. So that's why I actually like that word sometimes, because I think we have been. We were raised very different. We are raised thinking middle age is kind of like, washed up, done, we're over, we shouldn't look cute anymore, let your hair go gray, all the things. Right? So to me, I actually do think you're influencing. Even if you don't like the word, you are influencing what it gets to be.

Yeah, I guess it got a bad rap because in the beginning, when. When that term was coined, it was very much about a different type person than it has developed into now. So it's a very good point. But I am a big believer. I say this all the time. There is absolutely no age limit on a women, on a woman looking and feeling her best, midlife and beyond. And I feel like I know this because I connect with so many women who say this. They feel like life is over. They feel like their best years are behind them. And I can relate because I was in that place myself, and it wasn't until I started doing all of these things, all of these things that I talk about and I share on Instagram, where I really. It really started to open my eyes, like, that's. Can I curse on here that you.

Can do whatever you want?

I mean, that is freaking bullshit. We. We. We are surrounded by this culture and society who is constantly pushing this message on us that, you know, women, once we hit a certain age, no longer should be seen or no longer attractive. You know, shouldn't, like you said, shouldn't be doing this. And it's ridiculous. Yeah. And I do feel like that that messaging is changing. I do sense a shift in a. And a big part of that, I think, is due to social Media and some of the.

And your influence.

Yeah.

Talk to me a little bit about confidence because I am going to ask you some makeup and hair stuff because you've got that down. And you're so fun on social, but like you are, you appear very confident on social. Like you do your fun little dances. You're joking. You're fun. And some women, look, it makes them feel better when they look at it. Right. But they think I could never do that. What do you want them to know?

I totally get it. Well, listen, there's a reason why all my dance videos are sped up, because if I show them in real time, you would really see what a terrible dancer I am. But it's not about that. It's not about being the best at something. It's just about having fun and enjoying what you do. And I love music. If I'm in a funk, I'm going to put on a song and I'm going to move my body. And Tony Robbins talks about that all the time. Like just that that action of movement is going to shift your mindset. So for me, I have no issues with that. I did not grow up confident, but I don't mind being on camera, I guess, is one thing for me. And you know, Mel Robbins talks about this a lot. It's not about the confidence. It's about having the courage to just take that first step. Amy Porterfield talks about it too, in her most recent book, which I just picked up and is amazing two weeks notice. It isn't about having the confidence, it's just about having the courage to try something new. Whether that is putting yourself in the gym, in the weight room with a bunch of dudes where you feel uncomfortable, but you have the courage to take the step because you know in the long run it's going to pay off. And then that confidence will come by doing the action.

So one reason, I think one more.

Thing, one more thing about that. I'm sorry to interrupt you. The other thing I say to people is, you know when you're feeling down and you're not believing in yourself and you're talking yourself out of what you want to do with your life, or even something small like going to the gym, if you're a parent, pretend that your child was coming to you with that conversation and saying to you, mom, I'm afraid to go to the gym, Mom, I don't want to put myself out there because I'm worried about what somebody else is going to think. What's the advice that you would give your Kids, now go look in the mirror and give yourself that same flipping advice.

That is so powerful right there. Yeah, you know, I, I think I subconsciously have done that before, but I've never actually heard that verbalized like that.

Yeah. You know, we would never accept that from our children. We would never that for our children because we know that they're wrong in that assumption and we know that they are just holding themselves back from becoming the best version of themselves. You know, not to sound corny, but it's true. So say it to yourself.

So good. Okay, so when you, when you look at your social media and it's like fun and, and you say, I'm your midlife hype friend and. Which you are, do you. How do you like, prepare yourself to do that? I'm. I'm asking like little funny questions here, but I know people are wondering, like, do you have, do you like, content bash? Do you just go with what you feel like? Is this a daily thing for you? Do you get yourself in the mood? Do you have a lot of caffeine? What happens?

I wish that I were more organized and a little bit of a better planner. I feel like that is something that also exited my stratosphere once I had met life. I used to be a lot more organized in my younger years. I don't know what happened. You could see me right now, the chaos that surrounds me at my desk, but you just, you know, you just gotta do what works for you. I know I'm not the best planner. I know I'm not the most organized. I know that when inspiration strikes me, I just need to seize it and jump on it. So that's what I do. So, yeah, there'll be some days I'm. I'm flipping making dinner, right? I'm cooking some ground beef and, and some veggies and a good song will come on because I have it on. And I'm like, oh, hang on a second, let me just film a little bit of dancing. And I'll, you know, I'll put that up later.

I don't know about you, but my best videos are like super in the moment, authentic. They're not the ones that. Because I've had times where I'm like, for two days, what should I do? What should I post? And those are never the ones that do well, but the ones that are just like inspo on the moment, those are always the ones that do best.

Absolutely. It connects better with people because like you said, it's genuine and it's authentic.

Yes.

People can Sense your energy too. Like, you're a lot more energetic with those types of. Those types of videos, those types of reels, that type of content than you are about something that you've planned out. It's a little more mechanical.

Talk about makeup and makeup in midlife, specifically, because I think, you know, you. You happen to look great. Like, I think you've completely mastered it. Like, you. You've got makeup on. I can see it, but it's natural look, you're glowing, all of that. And I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about makeup. And I've learned for myself, like, less is more as I've aged. Even though I love glam, I love the big lashes, I love all the stuff. I look funny when I do all that. Give us some tips here. Help us out.

Okay, So a couple of things, by the way, I literally did my makeup using my little one palette in five minutes right before I hopped on this zoom. So I'm with you.

Okay.

Like, we need a couple of things. We need our makeup to be simple. We need it to be easy. Most of us want a natural look, but to be able to glam it up if we want to. So I actually partnered with a brand that does all mature makeup. They're all cream based. Because here's the thing. So much changes in midlife, right? How many women come to you and say, I don't understand. Natalie, Jill. I'm eating the way that I used to. I'm working out the way that I used to, and yet my body is changing. I'm gaining weight, I'm losing muscle. I hear the same thing about makeup. I'm using the same makeup I've used for years, but all of a sudden, it's not working for me. That's because our skin is changing. It's part of this perfect storm of menopause. Our hormones are declining. Our skin is becoming more dry. So is our hair. By the way, the makeup that we used to use, the liquids, the creams, the liquids and the powders in the past, they are not serving us anymore. Cream makeup is the way to go. And I was really lucky to find this particular brand that I now partner with for those reasons. It doesn't settle into my fine lines and wrinkles like you talk about how, you know, in as we get older, we want to have that blow back. That's what it does, right? It brings back that glow. It adds that dimension that we lose as we age.

So obviously, I'm going to want everyone to message you and figure out exactly what you're using and all the things. But if you were to just give a few tips to people, like, if they. Even if they were not to go message you and they were just looking at what they have on their supply, like, what do you suggest? Like, obviously, I heard use cream base, but what other things would you say?

Yeah. So here's the thing to think about. If you're. Listen, whatever you're using right now, if it's working for you, stay with it. That's amazing. But if you are using a liquid foundation and you feel like it's drying you out, it's settling into your fine lines and wrinkles, it's accentuating the creases. Think about it. Liquid foundation is mostly made up of water. What happens when water evaporates? It dries up, so it's drying out your skin. Whereas a cream, whether it's the brand that I use or another cream that you want to try, is going to do a better job of moisturizing your skin and moving with your skin, as opposed to.

Oh, that makes sense. Yeah. Actually, no one's ever explained that to me. You know what I hate in midlife? For makeup? And because every time I have a makeup artist and every time I'm on a set or whatever makeup artist, I can't stand airbrush, I feel like it gets in every little line and crevice and.

Yeah, listen, if you're in your 20s, like, airbrushing is amazing, but things change. Like I said, you talk about it too. We need to eat differently. We need to exercise differently. We need to. We need to change our skincare routine. We need to change our makeup routine because things are changing.

Okay, I got an opinion question. I have a very strong opinion here. I'm curious of yours. Somebody's going to be offended when I ask it, but I'm gonna ask anyway. What do you think about midlife women wearing the big crazy lashes and the fluffy brows that stick straight up? What are your thoughts? I'll share mine, but you go first.

So are you talking about, like, the major eyelashes?

Yeah. Like, people that have, like, a caterpillar on their eyes?

Yeah. No, I am not a fan at all of that. Look, I think it'. Absurd. I think it's one of those things that, like, a little. Like you said, less is more. A couple little lash extensions are just going to open up your eye and make your eyes look even more youthful. I don't even use lash extensions. You know, I use a growth serum and a couple of mascaras that I love and I get a really similar effect. I just think it gets. It's like with anything. Like, you get to a point where you're like, okay, that's enough now. Don't go beyond that point, because now you're just looking crazy, girl.

I call it the boob job effect. Because in our generation, like, everyone was getting boob jobs, like, in their 20s, remember? Like, everyone was getting a boob job. And then people, they would think they needed bigger and bigger and bigger. Like, it's like you got used to it. And every. Pretty soon, everyone had these, like, obnoxious boobs walking around. Yeah, I think that's what's happening with eyelashes. I swear. Like, they started with these subtle, like, extensions, and now people have full caterpillar pillars going up to their eyebrow.

Yeah. It's the same thing with the nails. Like. Like, they longer and they get pointier. And I'm like, how do you function with these?

They do. I know. I'm very curious how they manage themselves in the bathroom. That's a whole nother episode.

You know what? I will say this, too, because I also think. I also think, you know, everything is bigger in America. And so one of. I have two kids of my own, and my other son is actually not my own. He's from Ukraine. Long story. We met him when he was a little boy, and he became part of our family. And I remember one of the first summers that he was with us, we were, you know, out and about, and he said to me at the time, he called me Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Reed, why are all the houses so big here? How many families live in that house? And then 10 minutes later, he'd go, why? Why is. Why are the cars so big? And we would go to a restaurant. He would go, why are these hamburgers so big? And I feel like it's like the American effect. Everything is bigger. We think bigger is better. Lashes. They are not better when they're bigger.

No. Here's my thought on that, too. Like, I think when I understand my daughter's 15 and a half, like, she looks like she's 25, whatever, but, like, beautiful. Well, thank you. When girls are in their 20s, they can get away with some of that, like, overdone glam. It's like. It's fun. It's pop, whatever. But I think when we're older and you do all that, all it does is drag your face down, and it just looks like you have. It just doesn't. It's not flattering. I do like thicker eyebrows, but I think people have Gone crazy with the windblown look, you know what I'm talking about? They stick straight up. I don't know what's like, I think a bird on Sesame street when I see that.

Oh, my gosh. Totally, Totally. And I feel the same way about over lined lips. I'm okay with a little bit of outside the lines lines, especially if you have small lips, but, man, I've seen some that are really overdone. And to your point, you know, when you get older, my personal opinion is that more subtle really brings out that natural beauty. We want to be accentuating our. Our. Our natural beauty. The. The positive aspects that we have don't be drawing attention. What.

How do you do with your makeup to make you look so lifted? I know you have a lot of videos on your. On Instagram, which I think everyone should go watch, but there's something. When you show yourself doing your makeup, it, like, lifts your face and brightens. What are you doing? Yeah, what is that?

And that is. You know, that is a big complaint. A lot of midlife women talk about the loss of volume in their skin. I'm going through it. I always say. I feel like, you know that movie Indiana Jones? And at the end when he opens the ark and all the scary ghosts come out and some of the German soldiers, their faces literally melt off their body. That's what I feel like. I'm like. I feel like my face is melting. So you're losing dimension is what is happening. And when you recreate dimension with these cream makeups by using a darker shade to add some. Some contour, by the way, I was scared hopeless of contour. I never used it before until I started using this particular makeup line because it's so simple. It's like paint by numbers. So I go, okay, my contour goes here under my cheekbones to lift that cheek. My contour goes here under my jawline to. To give me that snatch jaw. And it just. You blend it all. You apply and blend it all in five minutes, and you're done. And like you said, it gives you this lift. It gives you this.

You all have to watch her videos. It's like, it's. She's. First of all, she dances in them, which is a whole nother thing. But then she's like. She literally paints her face. It'll look. I'm not kidding. Like, it'll look like a clown initially, because she's got brown and pink and, like, you're like, what's happening? And then she takes this brush and blends it all Together. And it's magic. Like, she looks gorgeous. I'm like, what did you just do? And like a filter. Gorgeous. This is her doing her makeup real time. It's. It's pretty cool.

Yeah. And I find that I'm not even using filters on my stories as much as I used to, because when I wear this makeup, it's like. It is like a filter in real life.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's. I have an interesting thought on. Here's my thought on filters with people. Oh, yeah. Well, for one, I think if it actually gives somebody confidence to get online, then go for it. Because to me, it's like an avatar. Like, if that's what it's going to take for you to go get on your stories or whatever and share a message, then I don't. Then I find. I mean, I use a ring light. So to me, I'm like, whatever. But I think the filters that fully change people's faces. If I didn't have a daughter, I don't know that I would see it this way. But I really. It deserves me now.

Yeah.

And I. And believe me, I would love to put that one going around. TikTok right now. The bold glance, like, I put it on, I'm like, dang. I'm like a supermodel, but I don't. But then what. What's that going to do to other people? And then how do I start hating myself? Because I'm comparing.

Yeah, absolutely. It is, again, a very fine line between the fun, creative side of using filters and then the crossing that line into. It's creating this unattainable look that all. Mostly women, mostly young girls, you know, creating a lot of issues with their self confidence.

Yeah. Here's my suggestion. If you want to use a filter, I'm telling the world. Not that they asked me, but I'm going to share it. Do that. Then I would say just film it on Instagram Stories and just swipe right. It just brightens it.

Yeah, right.

That's. No, it's not. If it doesn't change your face, it doesn't. Whatever.

Yep. Absolutely. Yeah.

I'm in, like, really bad lighting. Sometimes I do that and I don't care. I'm not. I'm not apologetic.

Yep, absolutely.

And, you know, good lighting, you don't even need to. If you use a ring light or a window at you, then it's good.

Yeah, exactly. And, you know, a lot of most people, I feel like, especially in our age group, we're. We're over that. We're beyond like, pretending to be something that you're not. Like, we want genuine. We want real. We want authentic. So I really enjoy seeing people out there being your authentic self. And, you know, when you're. Let's say you're talking about fashion, right. You want to see somebody. Your body type.

Yes.

Clothes, so you can see what does it really look like. Same with makeup. You know, I'm not going to hide all my wrinkles because I want you to see what this makeup looks like when you have wrinkles and you wear it.

I love that.

I mean, I do get Botox. I am not opposed to doing the things I am not judging. Like, everyone should do what she is comfortable doing. You know, just be careful not going over that crazy line that I wish.

I could do Botox. That's the one thing that I definitely cannot do. For whatever reason, I've got that strong eyebrow, and I've done it before, but it makes me look like Jack Nicholson. It like. So, yeah, I'm like work.

Yeah.

I think I'm actually envious of the women that it looks amazing on. For me, it doesn't. It drags my eye down or makes me look like Jack Nicholson. I don't know what. What that's about.

Have you tried multiple different injectors?

Yes, I had when I was. When I was little. When I was three, I had a benign tumor removed from my eyebrow, my temple bone. So what I understand from multiple people is it damaged the nerve right there. So no matter what I do, I'm going to look like the freak. So I just decided natural, it's better for me.

Gorgeous. Yeah. And I love that you're embracing it.

Thank you. So talk to me about some hair tips. What do you got there? Because your hair also looks perfect in China.

Oh, my gosh. So this is another one. You know, our skin changes. Our bodies change. Our hair changes a lot in midlife, in menopause and beyond. And a big part of it is those declining hormones. You know, we don't have that. We don't have that lube like we used to have. Right in. In many different places. Right, girls? Including our skin, including our hair. So our hair starts to get more dry. Obviously, it often goes gray. It becomes more damage because it's more susceptible to damage from whether it's chemical processing or mechanical damage, you know, brushing or using your hair ties or whatever it is. And it's just really important. I mean, if I could think. If I could. If I could say a couple of tips that I think all men like. Women should be doing for, for their hair. Number one, treating it carefully. You know, don't over process it. You can't get away with it like you used to be able to in your, in your younger days. Try to stretch out. If you are having it highlighted, which I do. Stretch out, you know, the amount of time in between. Do some oil treatments on your hair. Literally the best thing that I have done for my hair, I started doing oil treatments about seven years ago on my scalp. I run it through my ends, I sleep in it and then I wash my hair the next day. You know, remember, not all oils are created equally. You want to find a good one that's non toxic and all the things, you know, make sure you're using a good heat protectant. That's another thing that we really didn't have to worry too much about when we were younger. But find a silicone free heat protectant that's going to protect a high heat.

Oh man, we used to crimp the heck out of our hair. We probably needed that.

Yeah, exactly. And all. Oh my gosh, think of all the things that we did back then to our hair. The sun in like.

Oh my gosh, I did all that. I had the orange sun in the crimp. The crimper though is what. And then I would put a scrunchie that was like two feet above my head. That scrunchie like a spout.

Top of the head.

Yeah, yeah.

It was like the Chris Kirkpatrick look from, from nsync.

And blue eyeliner.

Oh yeah. And the blue eyeliner. And I'm sure the blue eyeliner will make a comeback because pretty much everything that was cool when we were making a comeback right now. Right now. Right. All this back and I love it. And thank God I'm a hoarder because I still have all my things.

So smart. I got rid of. I feel like as soon as I get rid of things is when they come back in. Yeah. I'm always missing.

Yeah.

Because now. Yeah. And I. And then if I wear something that's back in, my daughter will tell me I'm copying her. I'm like, we wore it first.

The best is when your kids are like, oh mom, I wish you kept that outfit that they see in the photo.

That's funny.

Yeah. Full circle. I love it.

Then they call it vintage. That makes it feel great.

I know, right? Vintage used to be like when we were kids it seemed like vintage was like a hundred years ago. We're like talking about our generation as being Vintage. And I'm. I'm triggered. I'm offended by that.

I know, but we were born in the 1900s. That's what she does. She says that too.

Oh, I'm not listening to that.

La, la, la, la.

Yeah.

So you've got so many great tips. Listen, everyone Listening. Make sure you go follow Jen Reed on social. She is hysterical. She's fun. It's, you know, I always talk about we're the sum of who we have in our lives, and a lot of women feel like they don't have those friends or those relatives. And I say find your people through podcasts, through books, through social media. And I'm really clear on social media, Like, I don't follow people that make me feel bad. Like, I follow people that make me that empower me, that are fun, that are uplifting. And I really do encourage people to make sure their feeds do that. Because if you find yourself scrolling and someone's post is making you feel bad about yourself, like, that's not your person to follow. I wouldn't want anyone following me that felt that way. No way.

So.

So I really encourage. So she's definitely wanted to add. You can find her at. Is it the genread?

Is that where they find you at the Genread? It's Jen with two N's and read with two E's, and then you can.

Ask her all her makeup and hair tips. She's got all kinds of products that she. That she works with. She's super knowledgeable. Thank you so much, Jen. Thank you.

Oh, my gosh, thank you. Honestly, it was an honor to meet with you and talk to you and I just appreciate the opportunity to chat with you. Thank you.