Exclusive Look Into Point Of View Beauty With Mikayla Nogueira

0:03Welcome back to Spin Anarchy. Today's episode is very special because we're going to be taking a first look into a brand that recently has been taking the industry by storm. The founder is somebody who has truly revolutionized the way that the influencer category has expanded in the recent years. She has over 20 million followers between Instagram and TikTok, and everybody basically knows her name at this point, and rightfully so. So without further ado, please welcome Michaela Nguera, who is the founder of Point of View Beauty. Welcome, Michaela. I'm so honored to host you. I cannot wait to dive into Point of View.

0:40I am so happy to be here. I'm excited to be in a space where I can talk about ingredients and products, something I love. Yeah, no, I'm really, really excited and congratulations on the beautiful brand launch. I mean, I've been following it and you guys, your whole team, Nikki, I know you're here with us as well. Everyone's done such an amazing job of bringing this to life and it's beautiful to watch as someone who loves your content. Thank you. It definitely is a team effort for sure. yeah no I want to get started Michaela because I know that you know you've been creating content for a while but like when was the moment where you realized you know I want to become a brand founder one day and I mean did you have this thought initially of I want to do a skincare line no definitely not absolutely not I think for me I'm from a super small town and people in a small town situation like that tend to not dream super big and I've always been like the annoying kid that was the dreamer.

1:38I'm always dreaming these outrageous dreams, but I never felt that I would qualify to be a brand owner to be totally transparent. I mean, I just turned 27. I was in college when I began on social media. So I kind of got sprung from college to TikTok. I didn't really get any of that real world experience in between. So for me, I'm very learning day by day. But when I signed with management a couple of years ago, they asked me this question that kind of scared me. They were like, what's your five-year plan? And I'm like, I have no idea. I don't think that far ahead. But they said, you know, think about it.

2:22What do you want to do? And this question was asked five years ago. So we're five years in the future now. And over that time, I started to think, all right, what is my plan? And that's when they suggested, why don't you do a brand? And I thought, that sounds insane. I can't do that. But when you're approached by people who are really well equipped to create a brand, and you build a team that you know can do a really good job at bringing a vision to life, that was when it clicked for me that you know okay maybe I can do this I can't do it alone but I can do it with a really really great team yeah and I love that you're so candid about that because I think a lot of times people they don't like acknowledge all of that work right that goes into creating not only having the vision but then refining the vision bringing it to life you know and I love that and I love that you actually did a skincare line by the way I'm a huge skincare junkie I'm sure you could tell name my podcast but I when I first you know learned about point of view I was over the moon that you did a skincare line because someone with your level of influence and the you know the amazing following you've created to be able to bring skincare to the main stage like that in front of people that really might not understand hey I need products like this you know for my skin health I need them yeah it's makeup prep it's beautiful skin prep but it's also helping people get into this routine you know what I mean of like you got to take care of your skin so from that perspective I want to ask you know what was like the initial conversations around point of view like did you guys always know that you wanted to go and get you know inspiration from k-beauty I mean how did that whole conversation come about about figuring out the direction?

4:15Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there were two main things that made me say, this is what I want to do. One was my personal skin health journey. My personal skin journey was a big impact on this because I struggled for many years with cystic acne and hormonal acne and just not understanding what was going on with my own skin. And that's when I really got into skincare and, you know, tried learning about ingredients and what the functions out of these different ingredients and what's going to help me. And that's how I totally transformed my skin over the last five years. The second thing is when I worked in the retail space.

4:50And in retail, every customer that comes in has a different concern, but it's so vulnerable of them to share and it's so personal. You know, the Daxbox, the hyperpigmentation, the acne, people who struggle with, you know, skin cancer or alopecia or any sort of skin condition. And they would always come in seeking a solution, seeking an answer. And I always found that skincare was so complicated and you don't know what anything means. And it's just, it's, there was no simple right in front of you solution to troubled skin. And that made me really interested in creating point of view. And then I got really into K beauty specifically from brands like MediCube, Beauty of Joseon, House of Her, all of these different brands that are going viral in the U.S.

5:44And then when I went to Korea, I fell in love with Korea in general. I fell in love with the textures and the innovation and the way they're so inspired to innovate and inspired to come out and be ahead of everyone else. I thought that was really, really cool. The textures I felt there in Korea with all the skincare and the makeup, it was just so different. And I loved it for my skin. My skin is my skin type personally is dry. And the way they're just obsessed with glass skin and hydration and and, you know, ampoules and how so heavily concentrated on the skin. I just loved all of it. And it really, really made such a difference in my skin.

6:29When I went to Korea, I brought a huge empty suitcase and I filled it with Korean skincare. And that's what I've been using for the last year since I went to Korea. And we're going back next week. And you best believe I'm going to fill a suitcase again. Yeah, no, I love that. You know, it's interesting because, you know, K-beauty, it's such an interesting phenomenon to me when I look at it as scientists. because a lot of times I think people don't realize, most of us consumers think that the more actives you have packed into something, the better your skin's going to look. But really, genuinely what it comes down to is sometimes it's just hydration, you know?

7:07Sometimes it's just having good products like niacinamide in there, you know, and having things that are going to help with the overalls. Every day they're going to do something, you know, like bit by bit. I think that's where point of use really stands out to me as a consumer because you've created something that is usable every day you need lines like point of view you need something that you can use every day you know that it's working on your skin and you know the ingredients are tried and true so that's beautiful um i want to actually dive into the ingredients and learn more about them can you maybe name off a few that were like the standout ingredients for you when you were formulating and you know when you learned about their benefits like what you really wanted to include in the formulation yeah so what i mean one of the big ones that you see in multiple of products is niacinamide.

7:54And when we were actually formulating these products, we made sure that you could layer the niacinamide because that was a concern, right? If you're putting niacinamide in three of the products, is that going to cause a concern and you're using too much niacinamide, but we made sure that we actually balanced the niacinamide in the products they're in so that you could layer them without having reactions and, you know, discomforting your skin and everything of like that but there's so many things ceramides uh ectoan in amp it we have hyaluronic filling spheres which i think are really really nice uh we have a triple butter blend which i absolutely love in drench it we have the fermented rice water which i have this insane obsession with i want fermented rice water and everything i absolutely love it it's amazing yeah it's so good um like i said we have the niacinamide um drip it is in my opinion and actually a lot of the reviews people have given on drip it and a lot of the chemists and a lot of the scientists and everyone who's spoken about drip it has spoken so so highly of it because of the ingredients i feel like nikki could do a really good job of breaking down drip it just because it is such a special product and she gave that product a lot of love when we were creating yeah absolutely nikki I'd love to hear from you more about, you know, Dripit's formula because it is, I agree.

9:19It's a wonderful, wonderful product. Yeah. I mean, Dripit is just one of those like all-star like products that if you had to choose one, it's like, it's definitely like our team's favorite when we were formulating it. And, you know, there's the niacinamide, but like when we were formulating, we were super, super thoughtful and intentional and cognizant of like the percentages we were putting in there. They weren't just BS, like sprinkle in fairy dust level ingredients. So we made sure when we call out the three key ingredients that they were very high up in the aisle and then also that they were effective and working at functional levels.

9:59There's the panthenol, there's apple fruit extract, there's glycerin, snow mushroom extract. So there's all of these ingredients that are super, super packed and high in level to really help with the efficacy of the of the formula um there's ha's in it there's a beautiful ha complex so yeah it was all these ingredients kind of like work in harmony to really make this a unique a unique formulation absolutely no i think that you know what's really awesome about every single product in the line and i and i love that you guys did this by the way is that every product provides the benefits of the whole line in its own way from the very beginning like for the milky toner it's more of an essence you can layer it it reminds me so much and mikhail i wanted to tell you this because i remember when the seven skin method came out it was a k-beauty phenomena you know back when everybody was doing the toners and the essence and they were layering them that's exactly what this product brought me back to because it's so easy to like build it up you know if you want or you can just use it the way you always demonstrate you know where it's like you add on the different products but i love that the the range offers so much flexibility and you know i and i haven't really heard a lot of people talk about that you know in the reviews and stuff but i think that's a huge standout for the line yeah we really wanted to make sure that yes you can use the products together and that is actually what took the longest to perfect is making sure that each product in the line can be used as a symphony as a system so you don't experience pilling you're layering all these things and you want to make sure those layers are very lightweight on the skin so it's not feeling heavy you want to make sure the makeup doesn't peel on top of it there were so many things that went into that but also we made sure that each product alone stands out and has those really strong actives in there has the the individual unique benefits of each one but also they do have a lot of you know common ingredients with each other right absolutely now I want to talk about the name I am obsessed with the name it's so it just you can tell it's so inspired it resonates with everybody what made you come up with point of view we went through I'm not even kidding hundreds of names yeah um the main thing I said to the designer when we first met was with the name of this brand, I want it to have nothing to do with me.

12:24And I want it to have everything to do with everyone else. So a lot of the names we were looking at had the word people in it or had the word us in it or had the word we or had the word common. All these words that are more of a collective environment versus an individual environment. And when we hit on point of view, you know, I think point of view came towards the very end. And I think it's because that is such a powerful phrase. Right. We didn't think that would be available. I was very surprised that no one in the U.S. had a beauty brand with that name. But I felt that that was the perfect name because not only did that bring in me a little bit because the brand's obviously designed from my point of view.

13:13but it also allows everyone else in because it gives people the opportunity to share their point of view which I just thought was so so cool because with the line with the initial products everyone's going to have their own point of view on how they want to use it if they want to use the full line if they want to use just one one or two or three of the products and also how everyone applies them how much they use and then on top of that everyone's makeup routine that they're doing on top of it is totally different. And I just thought the name really resonated with that messaging of like, you can be your own makeup artist at home and you can understand skincare and simplify it at home.

13:55You know, everyone can do it kind of thing. Right. No, that's actually brilliant because, you know, I know people probably expected you to come out with a makeup line, but it's really interesting that you were able to create this in a way where that makeup aspect still belongs to each individual, you know, and it's like, you're not telling them, this is how you should do your makeup. You know, you're not doing that. And I love that. I think that's so powerful. Because, you know, I think a lot of times we're so easily influenced. And we think to ourselves, like, I have to look like this person, I have to do my makeup like that.

14:30And that, you know what I mean? Like, it just creates this feeling of like, maybe you don't feel good enough, or you're not comfortable enough in your artistry. But yeah, I think it just it really resonates you know to anyone who's looking at the line now I want to talk a little bit more about the whole influencer brand side of it because I know that there's a lot of trolls everywhere and I hate this you know I really don't like it but with the influencer aspect there how did you approach R &D like you know what were some things in R &D that happened that you know you you realize like no this is where I'm going to really seal the deal in and people are not going to be able to lift a finger because I'm sealing the science.

15:09I'm getting this down the right way. What were some moments if you could share with us during that whole formulation process or the creation process? I've said this previously in other interviews, and I really mean it when I say this. Influencer brands are held to a higher standard than any other brand. Yeah. More than a makeup fattest brand, more than a dermatologist brand, more than any brand. And that is because we have these close parasocial relationships with our community. Whereas, you know, a dermatologist running a skincare brand does not have that kind of relationship with their audience.

15:50Right. But we do. We do. And, and it's kind of like a virtual friendship, right? And in friendship, what is the most important thing? Trust. So your audience essentially is trusting you to put something in their hands that they're going to love. And they don't want you to take any shortcuts. And that is bittersweet because one, on the good end of it, it gave me the microscope where I said, nothing can go wrong here. We have to make sure this is perfect. But on the other end, I'm a new founder. I'm 27. I'm very young and I'm learning this industry day by day. So hell yeah, I'm going to make a mistake.

16:38That's just normal, right? But now that I have the brand live to everybody, when we do make a mistake, we're told about it so fast that we can fix it right away, which is amazing. I actually really, really appreciate that. But some of the steps we took to kind of prevent mistakes. One of them is we did a lot of clinical trials and we did a lot of consumer testing on all the products to make sure that the claims that we're making are real. And after this, Nikki can kind of talk to some of those clinical claims because they're actually quite unbelievable and they're all on the website and people can go check them out but they're they're really remarkable and that that's something we're really proud of also when we went through sampling and testing i was so picky that people were probably irritated by it for instance glaze it it's a rip intact primal one of the very common issues with those is they pill So we went through so many rounds of it to get it right.

17:52And we got to a point where we actually switched labs because we were not getting it right. So I was such a perfectionist with it. And I think that really helped us nail it. Also with the packaging, I did not want boring packaging. A lot of the packaging is a custom component that we manufactured and created and had a designer customized for us. glaze it whip it um so bringing that kind of uniqueness to it glad you did and it really shows you know thank you for doing that for all of us consumers because i think that's where you can really see the effort a brand puts in you know when you when you think about these things before something comes to market that it goes such a long way and you're right everybody makes mistakes and you know there might be things in the future that you want to tweak or whatever but I think the way the launch, the brand, having tried it, used it, I think it's beautiful.

18:47I think what you've done is so beautiful. And the whole line, every single product is meant for a purpose and it works. And as far as the pilling thing, thank you so much for perfecting the primer. I cannot rave enough about this primer. I'm somebody who doesn't do like a full beat. I do like more like minimalistic makeup. But like even then, primers have been like the bane of my existence. Like I won't even lie, you know, they pill, like you said. So, but this doesn't. Nikki, I want to ask you about the clinical trials though. Can you share some insights from the trials? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

19:23It's always funny, you know, as a developer and you think we have these like amazing formulations and the ingredients are kind of like ironclad. You got the percentages. We have the dossiers where we understand what percentage, what level needs to be included in the formulations to kind of get where we need to be in terms of efficacy against our claims, against our positioning and benefits of the product. But like the truth is in the pudding when you see the clinical results, right? Yeah. So it's always kind of like nail biting until you see the clinical trials in the consumer. And we did instrumental testing.

20:00We tested elasticity in skin. We tested skin barrier strength. We tested hydration and all of these things came out amazing. And we got really, really good test results. And clinical is really, you know, it's where it's at. That's not the fluffy stuff. Consumer is great because you always need consumer opinion. And that's where you get this really high percentages, like 90 % of consumers or 100%. And those are great to have. But the clinical is really where it's at and where the truth is and where you see these products are performing and are efficacious. That's awesome. And I love that you did that.

20:37You know what I mean because i think that that really is for skincare it's like a non-negotiable and for you guys to do it from the get-go i mean i i want to know though which was the one product that was the hardest to finalize like which one had the most iterations um okay no one knows this but i'll tell you i'm curious which tea you're gonna spill if it's the same i have i don't know i don't know i don't know um so the most complicated product was probably in my opinion drench it yes yep because so no one knows this but you're literally telling you first you're hearing it first here um drench it was supposed to be a spray oh wow and i wanted it to be kind of the first continuous spray milky essence toner situation and i'm not even kidding we went through dozens of spray components, spray bottles, and it was not working.

21:40Nothing we tried worked because I was so specific about the experience of that spray. I didn't just want to go with a traditional sprayer or even the continuous sprays. It had to be really special and we didn't get there. we just so very last minute we pivoted and we decided to put it in a traditional essence toner type component but that was one of the letdowns for me was that we couldn't figure that out and maybe one day we'll come out with a different type of product that we can figure it out but that formula is just so special that um it didn't work in any spray components yeah no you know what's crazy is sometimes I think the packaging world doesn't catch up with the formulation world you know and skincare so but thank you for sharing that though I mean I can definitely see that vision you know and I can see it in the future you should totally do that for the future and that's why it was called drench it in the beginning as well because the goal was that you would drench with the yeah you would spray to drench your face so but I loved the name so I kept it I love it no but it still turned out to be so freaking amazing though so you know yeah that's I mean definitely hope that you can create another product you know that we can use like that though that would be I love a spray I love a mister I love the experience of that and I would love to perfect it at some point now I I want to actually talk a little bit about this and Michaela I want you to really speak on this I know you have on your in your content you've really spoken about the importance of skin prep before makeup and I love the information you've put out there like the true valuable information and I want you to share that with all of our listeners you know what is the true importance of skin prep when we're when you're approaching makeup yeah I think skin prep for me goes so deep and and that's one of the biggest reasons I wanted to begin the brand with skin prep is because that is the ethos of a good makeup look um and it goes so deep For me, it's you need to cleanse your skin.

23:47Anything you have, cleanse your skin. I also recommend doing things like, you know, if you do want to use a physical or chemical exfoliator here and there to really soften the skin. I like to dermaplane every once in a while. Yeah, anything that can really smooth the surface of the skin. Those two things I think are really important, the cleansing and the dermaplaning. and then it comes in with the skin prep which is the actual process of hydrating the skin smoothing the skin soothing the skin and giving you a perfect base to put on makeup so that's where you drench it with drench then I take two pipettes of drip it then I do about a quarter size of whip it then I do two pumps glaze it and then the ampoule is going to prep your lips and the reason you do this this is gonna like I said it's gonna hydrate your skin intensely it's gonna smooth the texture of the skin it's gonna help that makeup layer better on top it's not gonna be cakey it's not gonna pill it's gonna look hydrated it's gonna look radiant it's gonna look like skin it's not gonna look like heavy makeup and then the ampoule what that does is it essentially fills lines, smooths the lips and softens them.

25:09So when you get to the end of your makeup routine, you actually kind of remove it and then put your lip combo on top, which makes lip combo look smooth and line free and no, no cracks or dry skin on the lips. And, and to me, if you don't do those steps over time, if you're not treating your skin, like it's like it deserves to be treated it's gonna show through with your makeup yeah absolutely I I love that and I you know that is such a I don't think people realize how important this information is because so many of us are frustrated with makeup like I I won't lie to you even when I when I was in my 20s I used to try to do these looks and it was just god it was a train wreck you know it was because I wasn't hydrating my skin I wasn't preparing it you know and then I would complain about oh well I don't like how my makeup's cracking over here or there's lines under my eyes you know what I mean and it was like it felt almost like I'm doing something wrong from the way I apply my makeup but it came down to actually your skin's not ready for this you know what I mean so yeah yeah one of the most common things I see with makeup is patchiness yeah so and some some people even when they use the full POV routine they are experiencing patchiness and and that is because you're putting POV and then makeup just on top of a lot of dry, dead skin.

26:40Yeah. And that is why I tell people you can use the best makeup in the world, but if you don't take the steps to prep your skin for the prep, right. It's still not going to look how you want it to look. So the other day someone showed me their makeup and it was super super patchy and I asked her if she you know exfoliates in any way or if she dermaplanes or anything and she said no and and I feel like when people kind of just let that dead skin kind of just live on the face it creates that patchiness my biggest piece of advice is if you're having cakey patchy or just makeup that you don't feel look feel looks good is to begin with exfoliating your skin for sure right right absolutely I'm so glad you brought that up and I think that and this is another thing you know I think this is a misconceptions again going back to your point that influencer brands have a lot more scrutiny around them you know people are ready to just pull out the you know like the worst thing and I and I really want to make the statement that like you know you're not point of you is a phenomenal line but if you don't do the work that you're supposed to be doing anyways for your normal skin health which is exfoliating then you can't expect any line to then be like let me compensate for what you didn't do on your end you know what i mean that's just it's not logical to think like that so i really want to talk about this because i i've been watching your content and you have launched this point of view labs initiative which i think is absolutely brilliant by the way.

28:19It's beautiful. I'd love for you to speak on that a little bit. Where did the inspiration for that come from? Yeah, so POV Labs is essentially an immersive masterclass experience, and we're going to be traveling not only across the country, but to other countries, and it is an opportunity to bring in my community into what I do. I've been to so many influencer events throughout my career, and I always see the comments on my page and the feedback of, What about us? You know, that's, that's what it comes down to. What about us? So I wanted to do these events for my followers. So the events are 90 % followers, 10 % influencers, and it's local.

28:58So we just did the one in Boston, 10 % of influencers that were invited were Boston local influencers. And then all of the followers that were invited were Boston local followers. So say we do the event in Texas, 10 % Texas local influencers, 90 % Texas local followers. And then the other cool thing about it is we partner with different makeup brands, because what I'm trying to show is that point of view can be used with anything. So along the journey, we're going to partner with luxury makeup brands, affordable makeup brands. You know, I have dreams to partner with Elf, Patrick Ta, Make It By Mario, all these ideas I have that I want to do.

29:40But it's just a cool way to show that point of view is really meant to be a collaborative community where we bring in other brands, other people, and just have a really fun masterclass experience. And the first one was the feedback was incredible. I love that. And I love that you've done this as more of like consumer facing, like, you know, people are really going to connect with you. And that's, I think that's one of, that's been one of my biggest questions. I've watched influencers for many, many years now. You know, I remember the YouTube influencers that I was watching, you know, when I was in school and I used to always think, I'm like, am I ever going to meet people like that?

30:17You know, am I ever going to have to have the experience of like sharing a conversation with them? And I think from that perspective, what you're doing is so forward thinking and it's so meaningful, you know, and it just, I really thank you for that. It's very genuine what you're doing. And I really, like, encourage people, like, even brands, right? Maybe even if you're not an influencer and you don't have a huge following, even as a brand, I think that really speaks to what you're doing. It speaks to the authenticity of what you're creating when you're able to interface with the people who will support you, you know, who are going to buy your products.

30:49Yeah. I think that's – it shouldn't be an afterthought, and I think that's exactly what POV Labs is demonstrating is it's not an afterthought. This is part of the DNA of what you're creating, you know. So anything, I mean, I would love for you to share advice, honestly, Michaela, because I think a lot of people, they might look at your success and think like, I could never, I could never achieve that for myself, you know, or I could never get there. What is your advice to anybody who might want to go into content creation or even become a brand founder? So whenever someone asks me this, I'm always really honest about it because I think it, I think it takes a lot more than people maybe realize.

31:26And I'm not saying it's difficult.

31:31so I have a couple friends who really want to be in the position I'm in and the piece of advice I always give them is how much of yourself are you willing to give up and what I mean by that is when I'm around my family when I'm around my friends when I'm around my husband when I when I'm existing in life content creation is all I think about 100 % of the time which is in a sense unhealthy for sure but it is the reason I am where I am because I have content on my mind at all times I basically live in the mindset that every single thing is content and how you choose to go about that is up to you in terms of what you share whenever I'm around people I am filming I am always filming because content opportunities come up with every single thing you do in your life.

32:25So I think for that, a lot of people have to be willing to give up things like privacy. You have to be willing to give up personal time. You have to be willing to give up being present. I am seldom actually present because I'm thinking always in the back of my head, what am I going to film next? But that's just the truth. That is the honest truth about being a content creator is it that it's essentially something you're obsessed with it's immersive fully immersive yeah you have to fully immerse yourself into it and are you willing to do that is what I ask people um and some of them some people aren't some people like their privacy you know I have people who show up to my house every day like yeah just followers that want to say hello are you willing are you comfortable with that are you okay with that Are you okay with every family function you go to, every event you go to?

33:24You're filming everything. And you're filming the people around you. Are the people around you okay with it? So yeah, it's an incredible, incredible career. And I love it. And I think I have a healthy obsession with it. I don't think that people realize that you've put your life in the spotlight. And it's not always good feedback that you get. You know what I mean? There's tools. And to be able to deal with that and then keep moving. I mean, that's phenomenal to me. Yeah. Well, what I'll say is five years in. That stuff does not affect me at all, but I used to be able to say that, you know, in my earliest years, the first year, second year, I would literally shake.

34:10I would cry and throw up. I would have anxiety and panic attacks over what people are saying about me. But what I can tell you, and this is any any influencers who are kind of growing like I did or want to do this, what I can tell you is that it does get easier. It gets so much easier. Like my mindset has totally shifted. And that stuff doesn't one, it doesn't affect me at all anymore. But two, I've learned to appreciate it. I mean, the fact that people are taking the time to talk about me, whether it is good or bad, that means people care one way or another. A lot of people also don't realize is 99.9 % of the hateful things said about me in videos.

34:57I don't see. I don't see it. You know, I'm not going and seeking it out. People don't send it to me. And I just don't see it. I don't engage with it. So a lot of things that you may know about me, I don't even know about me. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, I think the people who really resonate with you, we also ignore it. You know what I mean? Like if I ever see a stupid video, I'm like, ah, scroll, see ya. You know, like, so no, but I think the reason I brought that up is just because of the resilience that it takes to be where you are. I mean, I think that's truly commendable. And I think a lot of people, they do fold under that pressure.

35:33You know, it's a human reaction, like to be able to not process why am I getting. So, you know, I just think that's that's beautiful how you handle it. And, you know, in terms of like just I want to I want to talk about this a little bit, you know, in terms of like when you create your content, when you work with brands, I always feel like you're everything you say is very genuine. And I love that. But like, how do you deal with like balancing your own insights about a brand and maybe something that the brand would want you to say? Right, right. So, well, I've done so many contracts and partnerships over the years.