Claudia Sulewski on Her Viral Self-Care Brand Cyklar, Early YouTube Fame & The Secrets of her Summer Skincare Routine

26:11And then about a year later, you did a brand refresh. So can you give us the real talk behind the scenes of how that all played out? Because, you know, I'm sure you probably worked for, I'm assuming years on getting the body cream sorted, getting it right, making it very personal to you, and then to kind of like pivot. And that's entrepreneurship. That's working for yourself. Oh my gosh. And a lot of people can relate to that. So talk us through that. Of course. Feel free to smell them. Yes. I didn't want to make a lot of noise while you were talking, but I'm doing it now. So when I first launched Cycler, yes, I created a body cream.

26:48And if you smell the gray one, Crescent, that's the original. That's the original fragrance. And, you know, I have learned so, so much about starting small, launching with one skew. I think if anyone listening here today is looking, is thinking about starting any sort of company, any sort of brand. There is no shame in starting small. With my first launch, I self-funded it. That's also part of it. I could only afford to formulate one product and see how it went, you know. And I think what's also really great about launching with one product is you get that immediate feedback, girl. Not only from, you know, anyone that's trying out the product.

27:28And for me, I had a community that I could immediately, you know, share it with and share it with, which is such a blessing just in terms of like making YouTube videos and having that platform. But not only getting their feedback, but also getting to experience what running a business is like, you know. So at the time, I self-funded that first launch and brought on, you know, different teams, design team, an incubator company that helps to build out that beautiful formula with me. And but so much of it, I was doing myself. Like Cycler was one of one. I was the one employee doing all of the social media, the DMs, the customer support emails.

28:11I was processing returns at home. And I'm so grateful for that first launch and that time to really understand like, okay, this is what it takes. You know, and it's and that, yeah, it was a very stressful time. You're getting your MBA all of a sudden. It was a master class in like learning just so much about every single aspect and also understanding like what worked and what didn't work. When I first launched with the glass jar, I also launched these like compostable refill pouches, which I wanted to make work so badly. But I learned firsthand why we don't really see that in terms of like compostable materials with water-based formulas.

28:56They interact so, so quickly. The shipping was expensive. There was like a five-day window for the customer to decant the formula out of the pouch. And if they if it sat on the like counter for too long, it would start interacting and the moisture would leave. So that was just that did not that was not sustainable for for the company. And it was too expensive for the customer and it was too expensive for me. And so, so yeah, around like a little over like a year ago now, I was introduced to my partner, Ben Bennett. And we just kind of, we sat down and we were like, okay, this cycler really is still just such a ball of clay.

29:39Let's pick out what do people love most? What do we love most about what's happening here? And allowing ourselves to look at this as a refresh and a pivot and take in all of the different feedback. And part of that was lowering the price of the body cream and sort of like the price point of the brand and the story that we want to tell with it and all of that. And so I think it's so important as a founder and as an entrepreneur to understand that when you need to pivot, it can make or break, you know, your brand. I just I think about that first product and I just spent so much time trying to perfect something that ultimately had its own flaws.

30:27Of course it did. Sure. And you had to let it go a bit. Exactly. And that's such an important part of learning just how to own a business. You can't be precious about or you just can't. Yeah, you have to. You have to be nimble in this day and age. We know that the scents are divine and that's probably what people, you know, initially are attracted to. What makes them kind of addicted to it? Like the sacred centel is so gorgeous. Talk to us about the feel because we can't tell just by looking at it or just like the benefits. What are some of the like the point of difference in the formula that you would say is different?

31:05Because honestly, a ton of body care launches have happened in the past five years. This category specifically has exploded. So you have a lot of competition. Yes. Oh, I'm so excited that you asked this question. We're getting into it. So I'll start actually with the body wash. So this formula, I am so, so proud of this formula. And I geek out anytime I get to talk about it because... We love a geek out. We love to get nerdy. So this body wash, it's infused with a multi-oil complex. And it also has glycerin in it. Oh, yeah. And using it in the shower, like it transforms. It has a very kind of like almost like serum-y kind of like...

31:57If you were to put it between your fingers, like it would kind of stretch. So it's got this like silky cushion to it that lathers beautifully. And once you rinse it off in the shower, like you will feel that layer of moisture on your skin. I remember the first time my boyfriend Phineas started using samples because obviously I just have like little samples in every single crack and crevice of our home back then and right now. And so he's sort of like my guinea pig and I try everything on him as well as myself, obviously. But I remember the first time he used this, he was like, yeah, this feels great, but I feel like I really have to wash it off.

32:31And I'm like, no. That's such a dude answer. The moisture that's left on your skin. Yeah. It's because we're moisture. Exactly. Shocking. Like, no, no, no. That is the oil. That is the glycerin. That is the product doing its job. Yeah. And so I'm excited for you guys to try this in the shower because you will feel that. And you step out just feeling moisturized, which I think is unique for a body wash. Because I think first and foremost, it needs to get the dirt and the grime off. But I really wanted to create a product that also you could feel on your skin stepping out. Is that his favorite then?

33:12The Sacred Santel? Or what does he? He goes back and forth. I'm trying to think what his favorite. He's a Naked Neroli lover. Yes. Naked Neroli. Yes. He also like the red one. He like, it's like an orange. His favorite color is orange. Okay. And we're categorizing this as like an orange. Beautiful. It's an orangey red. But yes, it's orange. I'm like, is it placebo? Like, is it your favorite? Because it's also orange. But you know, he really loves the fragrance. Yeah. It's like a citrusy, like brighter sound. Yes. So it's a neroli. So this is our first floral, like proper floral. And it's sort of like, I like to describe it as like blissful and sun-soaked.

33:50juicy and it's not like a grandma floral you know yeah orange gorgeous right like it's an early orange blossom so lovely and any other hints about maybe like what what else has been inspiring you maybe what else you're working on yes yes I you know I think with cycler it's tapping into the fragrance space has been so so much fun and such a big part of the brand and I think also continuing to tell the story of skincare for your body. So this year I'll be launching a lot of like skincare kind of driven products that focus on certain skin concerns, certain parts of the body. So I'm excited to kind of get into that fragrance-free versions of those products.

34:36And yeah, awesome. Love it. I'm so curious too. Did you ever consider yourself a quote-unquote nose, like they call it in the business? Like how did you take to that process? Because you're going to get a ton of samples of different fragrances. Yes. Or do you work with it? Like, are you able to discern this has too much sweetness? This is a little too full. Like that is a whole language. It is an entire language. Tell me your experience. I am in the depths of learning that language. You know, I think before starting Cycler, I knew what I gravitated towards most. I knew what I liked, what I didn't like.

35:12And in creating these fragrances, we work with wonderful fragrance houses that will sort of we'll give them an idea of like we want you know we want a bergamot that feels warm and because bergamot is mostly like a citrusy kind of refreshing fragrance traditionally and we wanted it to still feel grounded and musky so we'll describe sort of like what we're looking for and then just start sort of the the process of getting a sample being like okay it's missing this or it's missing that and just kind of comparing different mods and it is yes it is an entire language. And so there are fragrance days where I'm in the office and we are smelling just 50 plus versions of like, you know, virtually very, just very similar.

36:00Yes. Subtle differences. And one of the things that I learned, you know, the, you know, how people say to like smell coffee beans in between to like, so that is a myth. You shouldn't be smelling coffee beans. You should be smelling something neutral. So if you're not wearing perfume, like for example, just your skin. So like I'll often smell like my elbow. The crook of your elbow or something. Exactly. Okay. So to reset your nose, if you're perfume shopping, you're, you know, at a retailer, you're smelling different things, instead of like reaching for the little bowl of coffee beans that they have, just smell like, yeah, something neutral, which is usually your skin.

36:34Interesting. Any dream perfumers you want to work with? Like I'm just going to say, I just wrote about Billy's new fragrance called Your Turn because she worked with Frank Vocal, everybody. And if you're a beauty nerd like me, he created Santel 33 and he created Glossier U. So I was like very into that. It's like looks like that. It's very cool. But do you have anybody on your roster? I mean, that right there. Aging Frank. Were you a tester for that one? For that one? No, I it's you know, what's is like anytime I smell a new fragrance of Billie's, I'm like, oh, I've been smelling that for eight months.

37:17Oh, that's so funny. Which is really sweet. So there's a nostalgia already like built in for me. I'm like, oh my gosh, that's what she's been smelling like for the last six months. Oh my gosh. So that happened. Yeah. She's actually wearing it. That's so cool. So we are a beauty podcast after all. So we have to get all of your best beauty hacks and tricks, skin, hair, makeup. Your skin is insane, by the way. So what are some of your favorite products for skincare from the neck up when you're not using Cycler? So I, my skin is pretty forgiving in terms of in breakouts. For me, the focus really is retinol.

37:55I'm now getting on using retinol every day and starting to build up my skin's tolerance, but like a, like a, not like a prescribed, like something crazy, tretinoin, like just like kind of like, yeah, just a gentle retinol, really focusing on skin barrier. So for example, right now I've been really loving this like rice water from Beauty of Joseon. So that's like the first thing that I'll pat on my face. It feels like basically water. And it's to start your skincare with like a wet skin, it allows the product to sink in better. So I'll use that. And then I love using either the road like milk on my face or prequel also has like this half and half that's like a little bit thicker that also has this like beautiful milky texture and then using like a cream and then using a thicker cream.

38:44So I love just like I'm very hydration focused with my skin and sunscreen, of course. Wait, did you guys Wait, you guys, this is a timely, this is a sensitive. So did you see that like a new law passed where like UV filters that are not FDA approved, like cannot be sold or shipped to America? Yes, I've seen this. I love the beauty of Joseon, like aqua sunscreen. I have like three sitting in my cabinet and you can't buy them anymore. Yeah. And I don't know what to do once I run out. They're probably, I'm going to guess that they'll do some reformulating for the North American market for good or for bad.

39:22They do have one. Yeah. They have like a middle one. I haven't tried it. Okay. Just different. I hear it's different. Yeah. What's the retinol? The retinol right now I'm using Iope. It's... How do you spell it? I believe it's K-Beauty. I-O-P-E. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. All right. We will link to everything. I think they have a few different retinols. It's on Soko Glam. They have that brand. It's a K-Beauty brand. Yeah. We're going to link to that on our website. yeah i mean i so for me personally like i try out so many different products which maybe is not great you should really be more you're speaking to the choir you know yeah there's there's so much to try and it's just so fun exactly exactly for sure consistency is key yeah but i i like to think about like the the texture of whatever i'm putting on and just like making sure it's in the right order, you know, and if I'm using like a vitamin C, knowing that I'm using that, you know, underneath my moisturizer, of course, sunscreen on top, doing that in the morning, you know, just kind of like, so having like those pillars and then just like allowing whatever you're trying out to fall under those.

40:25So I try to keep like the order of operations consistent, but the products themselves. Yeah. So who's your go-to person in LA for like facials? Okay. So here's the thing. I am so bad at getting facials. Okay. If you were to tell me today, where am I going in? I'm going to Biba. Phineas has had his own skincare journey and she has like truly saved his skin. He was struggling with acne for most of his life and she's like transformed his skin. It's been amazing and her products are wonderful. And I also love Leslie at Skin Worship. I had a facial from her last year and she was wonderful. on. I keep meaning to go back in.

41:08But you guys, this is this, I think this is like the part where I still am like not giving myself the time or the justification to do it. But I've, I've like, maybe I've had like maybe five facials in my life. I think it's part of it because I'm, yeah, since I don't have, I mean, I have blackheads under the concealer you can't see right now. So I should probably be getting those extracted way more than I am. But, you know, you really can do so much at home. It's true. Physical and chemical exfoliants. And it's only if you have your skincare routine on lock, which is half the battle, right? Yes, totally.

41:44But I'm guessing, and I think I read this, is that your background or your mom is Polish? Yes, both my parents are. Okay, if you ever need to see anyone in LA, Joanna Cech. She's Polish. Oh my gosh. And I had one of the best facials in my life at her studio. It's at one of the hotels here. And she's just, she's a character and she's fantastic. And I just feel like, you know, the Eastern Euro girlies get it with skincare. I feel like there's... I bet you just went to town on anything. She has so many modalities. These ones and you're lifted, you're hydrated, there's red light. She's touching your hands.

42:21Like, it's just like a car wash, but for your face in the best way possible. So if you're ever looking... Okay, thank you for that recommendation. I rarely meet anyone Polish out here. I'm fluent in Polish. Oh, you are? The older I'm getting, I can understand everything, but I start to forget certain words and it takes a second. So I try to talk to my mom in Polish on the phone as much as I can. But I'm just imagining me in a chair with her and just gabbing in Polish. Oh my gosh. Which would also be great. And add a benefit of going to see her. She's incredible. She also has a great skincare line as well.

42:58And what about your makeup routine? because I'm noticing I like your lip like combo. I feel like what do you have going on today? So I right now, I think the way that I'm doing my makeup now, and I think it definitely follows like sort of what's in the zeitgeist and what's trending right now, which I really love is like an emphasis on skin and not feeling the need to like do a full face of foundation. You know, I think like when I, I feel like when I really around like 2014 or just early on in like my YouTube years, the trend was definitely like beating the face, you know, caking, like baking under your eyes, doing like super, I mean, my eyebrows.

43:45I was a part of all of those trends, of course, you know, and I'm I'm just loving kind of like where we've landed because it sort of feels like, again, it feels like this like pendulum or something. But like I for me personally, like what my makeup routine right now is I'll do all my skin care and then I'll do like a cream bronzer and kind of use that to like add warmth in my face, but also contour just a little bit. I'll do a cream blush and then I'll take a concealer on the back of my hand with a little face brush or like a concealer brush and just start kind of buffing where I need it. And that being like my only coverage, like letting the bronzer and blush be your coverage in those areas.

44:28Can't believe I didn't discover that sooner. That's very French girl as well. And I think also like, you know, I'm starting to develop, you know, little like creases around my mouth here and, you know, because we're, we're moving our faces, we're smiling, all these things. And I find that like the less product you have in those areas, the less it like clumps up and creates a crease. And so keeping those areas like pretty clear of products too has been fun to experiment with. And then the rest of it, I mean, it's pretty simple. I always just do like, I'll do like just some sort of like taupey or bronzy color to like contour the eyes in the crease, do a tiny little wing with eyeshadow kind of buff it out.

45:09I have allergies right now. So my eyes have been like, I've been crying this entire interview, if you're watching this. So I don't know if the wing has disappeared at this point. Halfway through the day, I'm like, and it's gone on the right eye. And then natural brows, you know, I think, and it's, I was thinking about this in the car today, but I feel like I've also like, it's, I've been thinking about like my kind of like beauty influences growing up and I'm realizing like, oh my gosh, this is how my mom has always done her makeup. She normally doesn't wear too much makeup, but when she does, like, I don't think I've ever seen her with foundation on her face.

45:45She would always just do a little bit of blush, a little bit of highlight, some mascara, maybe like a fun, like green eyeliner. But then that was like kind of it, you know, like she wasn't. And it's, it's been like really sweet to kind of come back and Oh my gosh, I'm like doing the same thing. Yeah. What are your faves? What's your favorite concealer? Okay, right now I'm using the Make Beauty Skin Mimetic of that one. You mentioned this to us recently, I think. Yeah. It's having a moment right now. But it's been out for a while and it's so good. Okay. I love Armani Beauty. Yeah, it's so good.

46:19In terms of foundation, because often I'll just use like a foundation like a concealer. The Luminous Silk, I mean, I just love it. I'm wearing it right now. Yeah. and I'm trying to think what other what other favorites I have your blush and your bronzer go-to because there is a lot of blush choice right now okay I splurged recently and I got the like Chanel cream bronzer I knew you were gonna say that did you I did it's all my business right now I didn't want to interrupt you but I knew oh my god and it's I've only had it for like a week like it is brand new the swirl yeah it's still in the the product shape like it's still like in the tub everyone and it's like it looks like you're dipping into a dessert yes when you wow it's amazing okay cool it's so nice i'll just use that and like fill in my eyebrows most days okay and what do you do for brows for brows i use the cosas pencil it's like in a bright purpley pink packaging and with brows specifically i i just keep getting like lighter and more natural as the years go by, but I draw out individual strokes on the inside.

47:23And then I like, my eyebrows are quite arched and I kind of fake like a more kind of like flatter. Straight. Yes, exactly. Straighter shape. And then I love the Benefit Browsings gel. It's so good. Okay. The one in like the silver bottle. Still a Benefit, girl. They still do brows well. What about the eyeshadow? Because you just have like a very subtle flick, but it's like a taupe. So it's kind of unique. What is it? I'm using, I'm forgetting the name of it, but there's a YSL eyeshadow quad that's like black leather on the outside. And it just has like a dark brown, which is what mine. Yes. I think I've seen that.

48:00Yeah. Okay. So I'm using the lighter brown in there just on the eyes and the lower lash line. And there's a dark brown in there that I use with like a little angled brush. And I just flick out a little wing. Ilya's mascara. I'm wearing the black one, but they just came out with the brown. I know. I want to try that. that's what I have in my eyes that's so great I need to ask you because you're a midwest girly yes and you moved to LA like a decade ago what's the most LA thing about you now in terms of like what you do for wellness every everything really so LA it's disgusting absolutely like you name it like literally have you had an avocado today yes like Like, yes, the cold plunging and sauna.

48:44You have at your house. Yes. That's something that Phineas is so good at taking care of himself and carving out that time. And so it's really like when he's doing it, I'm tagging along. I rarely think to do it myself. He's like, I'm going to go sauna plunge. I'm like, yep, I'm going to go do that. But you know what? I'm going to do it because otherwise I'm never going to do it. You have to like psych yourself up. Yes. Yes. But I get super chilly when it's like, you know, 50 degrees, 60 degrees out here. I'm going on hikes with my dogs. I'm, yep, I'm eating avocado toast. I'm a matcha girly. I am, yes, I'm through and through.

49:24Do your own tarot card reader. Okay, that actually, that here, okay. Zodiac signs, tarot cards. I'm not, I don't, I like to dabble in it with my friends because I have friends that are super passionate about it. But I'm not like reading my horoscope. I see, okay. I don't know. That's something that like, I don't feel the need. You have to live here for like at least 15 years before you do that. Yeah, I think maybe that's like the next ring. Yeah, exactly. You know how it's like one week living in LA. Yeah, it's one week living in LA. And then it's like Air One smoothie is the top goal. Yeah, yeah.

49:56You'll eventually be wearing dye dye probably. I will say this is, and here's where maybe I was led astray to all of this. But like, I remember it was either like my first or second date with Phineas. I'm Ubering and the Uber was like, so where are you going? And I was like, I'm going on a date. And she was like, oh my God, what's his sign? What's your sign? I was like, he's, it's like a Leo and I'm a Pisces. And she goes, not going to work. It's not going to happen. Oh, my God. So, so L.A. Riddle me that, Los Angeles. That is the most L.A. coded thing I've ever heard. That's amazing. Hey, just before you go, we need to talk a little bit about your acting because acting career because you've been dipping your toes into more and more acting roles like you were on Apple TV shrinking.

50:42And I know you have a few indie films and projects. Anything you can share about anything coming up this summer or. Yeah, I am in the midst of shooting something right now. I probably, I don't know what I can and can't say. But acting has certainly always been such a dream and passion of mine. And that side of my career, it's definitely taken the longest to foster because I think I've just like wanted to go about it with grace and hire coaches and doing like scene partner work and, you know, all that stuff. And also there's so much that's out of your control with acting. Yeah. So the amount of, you know, the amount of projects that everyone auditions for, it's just, it's a whole lot of no's, you know?

51:30And so it's something that will always be such a huge passion of mine. And if I get to do it into my like late stages of life, I will be so happy and so grateful. But yeah, it's something that you just don't have a lot of control in. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. So I've been really lucky to book what I have and shot what I have. And I'm just so excited to see kind of where all of that goes. And I also certainly I think my like YouTube roots like keep calling to me to direct. And that is also something that I am working towards at the moment. Very cool. What were all these looks you were sharing on your Instagram?

52:07It looked like a character. Yes, that was a short film. Okay, yeah. What was that? We shot that two years ago. it was a while, but it had a whole festival run and it finally found its home. So I've been sort of like, I've been just, I had all these behind the scenes photos that I wasn't able to post until it was out. So I've been posting them. And what's funny is - It's kind of like Maud. Like the looks, very 60s. So good, right? Yeah. Yeah. The director, Caroline, I just love her brain and she just created this whole world and the sets were beautiful. Just every, she paid attention to every single detail, which was just, Yeah, beautiful.

52:42You know, what's funny about that is I've been blonde for a while now and I was brown in that brown hair in that short film. And my hair colorist texted me this morning and he was like, girl, please tell me that this is not this is not your hair. I was like, I would never. I would. You know, I'm going to come to you. Yeah, it would be sacrilegious. Wait, who's your hair? Who's the go to for hair color? Matt Rez. Oh, he's amazing. He's the best. I love Matt. He's been on our show. He's so great. Yeah, I came to him like a little over a year, maybe two years ago now time. I don't know. Whenever I first started going blonde, I went to him because he knows like, yeah, he did my hair once.

53:21He is such an artist. He did my hair once. And I was like, if I lived in L.A., he would for sure. He actually invited me and I was like, I can't maintain. But he's like, he's truly the best. He's incredible. Yeah. Your hair looks great. An expert in his field. He's so good with like highlights and understanding what hair looks like. And it's, you know, it's like a sculpture. It's 3D. Absolutely. We'll link to that episode, everyone. You can hear from him. Thank you so much for being on our show. We loved hearing your story and being introduced to your product. So thank you. I'm so excited for you guys to get into it.

53:55And thank you so much for having me. This was so much fun. This was great. My everything shower is about to be elevated. I can tell. Thank you, Claudia. Thanks for listening. You can find details on every product mentioned in today's episode, along with our exclusive promo codes on our blog at breakingbeautypodcast.com. While you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Every episode will be delivered directly to your inbox so you won't miss a single thing. And get social with us. Let us know what you think of the episode. You can follow us on Instagram at Breaking Beauty Podcast. And did you know we also have a private Facebook group?

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