Intentional and Impactful Beauty with Patrick Starrr of ONE/SIZE

0:01Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Spin Anarchy. I'm sure by the title you can tell exactly is going to be on today. I'm very excited because it's rare that I get to interview people who are not only absolutely killing it in the space of makeup, but they are creating categories. They're redefining categories and making products that are going to really kind of raise the bar when it comes to innovation, what we should be expecting from the brands that we love. So without me ranting too much, please welcome the founder of One Size Beauty, Patrick Starr. Welcome Patrick, it is such an honor to host you.

0:35Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I was just mentioning like, as an influencer, I come from the era where we were pigeonholed into a corner of, I guess, entertainment that wasn't taken as serious. So to be on this podcast is like really such an honor for me. And you never think that you'll learn, but I'm always positioned myself as a student, always. So thank you for having me. No, it's an honor. And I love what you said. already, you know, and I, that's kind of like where I want to start, you know, the conversation, because you are so, you stand out so much to me in this space because your background is so multifaceted, you know, you come from this background of you, you were an esthetician, you learned the skin, and then you entered the beauty space with the makeup side.

1:22So can you kind of walk us down memory lane and tell us about the years of, you know, when you're becoming an esthetician, like what made you want to go into that before everything? Oh my gosh, it was crazy. So like, this is like the business, the business T, I guess. So I had launched One Size and I had started working on One Size in 2019 and we launched One Size in 2020. And it was the craziest of times to launch a business. And what I didn't realize from coming from being an influencer to being a founder, I would slowly become exempt from the influencer endorsements and the influencer opportunities being with other brands.

2:01And I kind of start to feel the tides turn because I'm an older influencer. I'm an OG, as some would say. And so I started to feel this sense of exemption from being partnered with other brands just because my brand started to grow really, really fast. And so I said, oh, my gosh, I want to I'm not getting invited on these brand trips. I'm not getting products. But for some reason in me, I want to feel this continued education in the beauty space. And being an influencer allowed that for me. Being an influencer allowed me to understand newness, to understand trends, to understand innovation. And I said, well, where can I kind of get that?

2:42And I remember it was 2023. I have had the brand buy for two years now. And it was the beginning of 23. And I was like, you know what? I see skincare becoming a trend and I had struggled with acne myself. So you can see in the brand, I started with a lot of like blurring products and texture products. We have secure the blur, our primer, and then our ultimate setting powder to blur the skin. So it came from a place of a problem meets solution. And I realized the trends in beauty where brands started to come out with like trendy names, you know, back like maybe 10 years ago. it was a lot of trendy kitschy names with the branding.

3:23Then it came with the 2020s with efficacious first type of names. And I was like, well, where does efficacy come from? And that comes from like skincare. So I realized that there was a lot of, and I was like, I don't know. And then you see the rise of celebrities, skincare brands. And I'm like, I don't know. You know who I would trust. I would trust it either a doctor or a licensed esthetician. And I had been a fan of estheticians and getting treatments and facials myself. So I said, you know what, maybe there's a world where I can become one. So that's like my long answer, like being excluded from the beauty community, being a beauty influencer, plus like wanting to learn more, seeing the trends of efficacy being first, that kind of tickled my brain.

4:06If I actually learn the skin, the layers of the skin, the way that the skin being our largest organ. So I signed up for esthetician school, I went to night school in 2023. So I would do one size from like, maybe like nine to four. And then I would take an hour break. And I would go to school Monday through Friday from five to 10 at the Academy of Beauty in Culver City. So I loved it. It changed my life. I love that. And you know, I mean, knowledge is power, right? I mean, that really embodies that when I hear you say that, because I think I see this a lot in this space with skincare where a lot of times people don't want to do that homework that deep dive and like you said I feel like skincare is such a space that we lump it up with like beauty but it's so technical it's so like you know what I mean it's focused like you have to understand the skin like you said layer by layer so that's very fascinating to me so I want to actually kind of pivot into one size because one size like I'll be honest with you it's one of the only makeup brands for me that I really resonate with.

5:08And it's because of some of the things that you mentioned, like texture has always been a problem for me as a consumer. I felt like for me in the beauty space, my problem was like, I felt like nobody was addressing texture. Like you'd make, get all these glowy foundations and like super thin, like water thin. And I'm like, I need something to cover up, you know, my dents and my acne scarring. And it almost like made you feel worse after you'd put on makeup like that, right? So like, I want to talk to you a little bit about this whole idea of like, you know, when you are creating One Size and considering the idea of inclusivity, what did that like, what are the like the first moments of that look like for you in your own mind when you're building that framework?

5:51when it comes to inclusivity i i think of the word acceptance it's not to let people in it's just to let people show who you are in our packaging there's like a lot of like red reflex and what we call back metal but this is actually symbolism in the brand is it's adorned in red and pink so you see the idea of love every day i i choose to invest in our packaging to be metal So that way you can see yourself in the brand. You can see yourself in love. Also with our packaging, my logo, let me pull it out for you. The logo here, it's like this bubble OS. When I was designing it, I was like, you know what?

6:32For as long as this brand lives, I want the design to be in my silhouette. So I asked my design team when I launched or was developing the brand to come up with something chubby, fierce, and gay. And so they had this like plump type of plus size logo that is kind of like our primary logo with our box logo in the one size. And so I'm like, you know what, for as long as I'm here, it'll be in the silhouette of me. And also they get to see themselves in the love. And so subliminal, I think, design choices that I was able to come up with to highlight this idea of acceptance quite literally in our packaging.

7:12And so when we start there, we're able to then have a foundation of this message of what it means to be inclusive in all types of way through product. And I believe as a founder and as an entrepreneur, I love personification. so if I'm able to personify my product you know then that is the way that I've been able to champion inclusivity and acceptance through the brand I love that I love that so much like that really like it actually resonates you know because I feel like I asked you that because I feel like inclusivity like it's thrown around every day you know every single person out there is like you got to be inclusive you got to be inclusive and I'm like yeah you do but you got to understand what that means you know like we have to sit down and actually we do the homework to understand like and I feel like just by calling your brand one size in itself it resonates you know it doesn't matter like what your background is where you come from it's one size and I feel like for the longest time makeup was anything but you know I remember like for me like I'm Indian so like I'm not even like on the darker like the deeper shade spectrum of Indian people and I remember even going into like a Walgreens right in early 2000s and feeling like you literally didn't even think about anybody you know like that's what it felt like the foundation that was like not only was it not for like darker skinned people but it was like not even for ethnic features you know and like trying to like bring anything about ourselves out it was almost like people were trying to make you mold into something right so the name one size it hits so deep you know I love it I love it so much but you know I want to talk about because I know like a lot of times when it comes to understanding makeup, it's very difficult for consumers because we kind of try to say like, you know, everything's kind of the same.

8:58What were some of the moments during the formulation process for you with the, you know, the foundation, for example, I love your foundation. What, like, when did you, or what did you do to make sure that like, I'm going to do my very best to make sure this complexion product is like the best formula I can put out, right? Rather than just like, I have a foundation, like from the skincare perspective as well. I think for me, you know, I had to take an introspective, like look at myself and say like, okay, how have I gotten this far with being online for 10 plus years at that time? And now it's like 13 years being online.

9:34And it's through the idea of communication. I remember Michaela had came over to drop off her PR for her collaboration for Glamlite. And she, she says, I have a question. Well, she, she came and dropped it off outside my, my old place. And she's like, can I use the restroom? And I was like, yeah. And then she used the restroom and she said, I have a question. Has, has anything, has social media changed in, in, in this whole time? And you know what I said? I said, no. And she goes, really? And I said, no, because it's always communication. Communication has been the baseline of every single type of platform and application and institution that has come out in, in, you know, the years, whether it's, you know, Noah's Ark and there's a dove or it's, you know, the telephone or message, mail, email, paper, pen, communication is at the forefront always.

10:30So that's where I started. I said, how can I communicate similar to like the way I've been able to, let's turn up the base. That's our franchise name. And people were like, how does it sound like that? And I was like, you know, if I was to just explain it in kind of like tutorial way, I can do the same through highlighting efficacy and creating marketing funnels that are actually truthful and honest to the best of my abilities and layering that with social media, layering that with influencer marketing became such a vibe and became such, you know, a way of speaking to beauty that guided us in the way that we were able to come up with these formulas.

11:14We were able to look at competitive, we were able to look at innovation, raw materials with my product development team, visit different labs and manufacturers just to challenge them on different types of innovation and what that meant to us. So I think when you think about how am I going to speak to this? Because half the time when a new buzzword ingredient comes out, you can't even pronounce it. But in the way that I'm able to, you know, highlight the definition of these buzzword ingredients that that gives me more confidence to instill confidence in the consumer and also in the viewer to aspire to to beauty a little bit more in their routine that makes sense i love that yeah no i think that there's a lot of i don't know i think people just assume that formulation formulations just happen you know like with magic but it's like no everything is thought about you know every ingredient and i love you know that you said that a lot of times you can't pronounce the ingredients we don't even know what they are so to then be able to understand a purpose that's like way you know above for most consumers but I like that you bring that forward in your brand you know you make it something that's digestible and you people can understand it that's like the number one thing and you know with that I want to talk about the way you've kind of I think I don't know like push your brand out because I think it's so organic I mean you've really partnered up with some great influencers some great voices you know in the beauty space Like, how was that for you?

12:38Like, did you, when did you realize you wanted to do that, where you were going to tap into certain people that were maybe also, they have a presence online and like keeping it authentic, right? Where it doesn't feel like they're pushing a brand or something. Cause everything I've seen, they're just raving, which they should, cause they're amazing products. But how did you, how did you design that, like that collaboration? It's through just relationship building. I think I wouldn't have the reputation that I had today with, you know, influencers to consumers to viewers to even celebrities. If it wasn't just being upfront and authentic and developing that relationship.

13:15The other day I had just filmed with Kiki Palmer and she was my first ever celebrity nine years ago. And I was like, oh, she's not going to remember me. And then she comes in and she's like, Patrick, what's going on? Congratulations. And I'm like, we filmed in 2016. Entrepreneurial celebrity, right? It's really cool to see. And I don't think that would have been as, I wouldn't have been as relevant for her in her eyes had I not had that relationship. So I think also too, with my YouTube and with social media, we're able to garner these relationships. where we're kind of able to see how influencers present themselves and, you know, uplift their own voice and their reputation too, because you can find anything on the internet nowadays.

14:01So I think it was really cool for me to kind of make sure that the way that, you know, I'm investing in these influencers too, is, you know, at value. And I love that me being on the founder side, that I'm able to spread this, you know, money around to make sure that I'm still investing in the very economy that I was able to come up in being the influencer economy too. And that just makes me feel so proud to highlight them, to support them and to show them. I love that because I feel like the OG YouTuber days, like this is something I think was a, maybe like just misrepresentation for us. It's like, you know, like we were watching the audience and it felt like a lot of the OG YouTubers, like there was a lot of competition going on.

14:44There was a lot of like, you know what I mean? Like bad blood at one point with certain people. Like how was that for you? like because I didn't really see any drama I remember like never seeing you involved with drama like you were kind of just doing your own thing and like really but I like I can't imagine that being easy right being in a space where it's yeah how was that yeah you know what I have I have an amazing team I think one thing about me um if you really were to take employees that are that are honest that that keep me grounded and before I'm able to pick up my phone and vent about it, you know, in a TikTok or a story, like I'm able to have my, my board members or my team to kind of, you know, vent to.

15:25And I think I've always had this idea of like a personal brand and to stick by it and not deter from it. So, you know, I think it's, it's all about putting yourself first and not putting other people, you know, at risk. And I know that, that my brand as Patrick Starr was going to take me to bigger places. I didn't know at the time what it was going to be. And now looking at it, it's one size and more. You know, it's becoming one of the fastest growing brands in Sephora. My face is everywhere right now. And they're on Saldana SPF. I shot that campaign in my house, in my pool. And it's just crazy to see the people that I've been able to employ and give net new opportunities to, because I know what that feels like.

16:13Like, so I always not just think about like my reputation and what that means to me. I'm always thinking about the people that work with me, you know, that are traveling the world with me for the first time. And going back to the influencers, you're never going to get that first time Cinderella moment. And so if I can be a fairy gay mother, fairy godmother to these influencers, I'm so I'm so honored that I get to witness their first campaign and how they're able to react and then close out the day. And so even for my team, if I'm able to do that, I know I have more things to protect than just me and my identity.

16:48So I'm always thinking about my family, my brothers, the people that are with me. And so that allows me to stay grounded before putting myself and inserting myself into any drama. I love that. Yeah, I feel like it's, you know, I was just thinking it must be so hard being in an ecosystem where like, it almost like drama was driving views, you know, I think it still does, right? Where it's like people just find themselves involved in something, but then to be able to separate yourself, I think takes immense strength to do that, you know, especially like, I know I'm terrible at the, don't write the comment, stay away from the comments.

17:19It's hard. It's hard. It's not easy, but you just have to know like what's reality and like finding that, that balance between like living your life in real life and also living your life for the, for the camera and the phone. Yeah, absolutely. I want to talk about the viral product. I mean, this is like game changing. This is literally, you're creating a new category. I mean, how did you come up with this? I, you know, I, when I first saw it, I was like, this is, why are we doing, where have we been, you know, with sunscreen? because it's like the one thing in skincare that everybody needs. Dermatologists talking about it every day.

17:56That's the one product. And then we didn't have any options, you know, especially for makeup wearers, you know, it runs out within like 15 minutes. If you put on your sunscreen, you're, you're done. You need to reapply it. So this is game changing. Where was the first inspiration for you? When did that happen when you first? Well, until dawn was such a game changer for me. And I also like have extreme like freckles and hyperpigmentation and, you know, I'm 35 now. So I'm trying to keep the beauty beauty, you know, as much as I can, while also trying to protect my skin from like sun damage, you know, as I am climbing to 40.

18:34But because even if you put it underneath and you have makeup on top, like you have to reapply. And there wasn't necessarily a product that I could think of. When I was spraying all types of different brands and sunscreens, my eyes would really, really sting and start watering. And on top of that, it wouldn't be as matte. So we went through so many iterations of different SPFs to make sure that we were able to still keep it in the category of until dawn to stay mattifying and efficacious and to still be cleared through legally that we're able to call it sunscreen. And so, um, that like, once we had it, we even tried SPF 29, SPF 30, the more sunscreen products that we put in terms of level, it became instantly that kind of wet, greasy kind of a look.

19:30And we then disqualified ourselves and exempted ourselves from being in the on-so-don modifying category. And we're like, we can't call at On So Dawn, but I was like, I needed to be On So Dawn mattifying on top. And with a lot of testing and a lot of back and forth, SPF 28 was that magic number. That's why I think a lot of people are confused. Why not 30? Girl, try a 30 and come back and ask me if your makeup is going to be mad. So it's really cool that we were able to challenge, you know, the PD team and also our marketing team to make sure that comes through. But I'm really proud of what we've been able to built with the OnSale Dawn category.

20:08OnSale Dawn, the iconic waterproof setting spray is the number one selling product in all Sephora. It's the fastest selling product, one every seven seconds. It's waterproof. So I love just layering the both of these. So you can spray this on waterproof. This is water resistant, but you can definitely reapply it all day. I was at Universal Studios, you know, last weekend and I was just spraying and, you know, every day and my makeup stayed on. So I love that we're able to extend that into SPF. Yeah. And, you know, I think that's what's so fascinating to me about it because I've interviewed so many like skincare brands that are super, you know, like into the science stuff.

20:47And I love that. I mean, I'm a total geek here for it, you know. But one of the biggest things that I like I'm so confused about is like why sometimes I think you can get too deep into the skin science that you forget what the goal is, right? Like you are trying to create a product everybody can use. That in itself is like the hardest part. So for you, what was the most challenging thing about like trying to explain what you're trying to do to your team or like to your formulators, like, you know, bringing your vision to actual life scientifically? I mean, did you have moments where you were frustrated?

21:19Like, guys, like we're not getting it, you know, that kind of thing. Yeah. I think that the biggest fear, I think for me, when you start to grow a portfolio of product or like a, you know, a brand is that when you come out with more products, you start, you, you might step on your own toes and you might cannibalize certain products. So you have to really find out your POD, like what's your point of difference? What are your key differentiators that, that make them totally different, you know? So, cause with influencers, you know, you're able to have like collaborations, like different colors and different lipsticks.

21:59But, you know, as a brand and you want to have a certain product be evergreen, you have to make sure that there is true innovation and efficacy and points of difference that don't infringe on even other brands. Otherwise, it's just another dupe. So I think for me, I had to really position like, hey, what is a part that I want to have? How can I make it super, super different? How can I even challenge Sephora to kind of understand what that means to us and have everybody on the same page? So you do a lot of like introspective, you know, work and dialogue with yourself to make sure that you're not being influenced.

22:41And, you know, there was a time where I think receiving PR as an influencer kind of like flooded my brain a little bit and I was like oh wait I maybe I shouldn't look at PR for a month that's why I'm so late on posting like collaborations or my friends um PR products or with other brands because I have to protect that side of my brain it's almost like being in the recording studio I have to have no lyrics no music I just need me my soul my thoughts the writers in the room so we can come up with something truly original relative to today and meeting the consumer where they are and making sure that it is super respectful to the way that they digest information.

23:24Because on social media, on average, we're probably scrolling through 500 or a thousand TikToks a day and it's over consumption of the brain. So you want to have something different, but you want it still to be digestible, but you want it to be different and you want to not step on your own toes because you might launch something that may look like another product you already launched or look like a product that someone else launched. so it's a lot of work and you know when we look at like a business there are two types of currencies that that mean a lot and that should be respected that's your time and that's your money and when i think about money the the minimum order of these quantities of products you know they become such heavy investments but also i had to tell my team you know what the way that we use the word time is the same way that we use the word money you invest money you invest time you take time, you take money, you spend money, you spend time.

24:16We had to spend a lot of time before we spent a lot of money in order to invest in the right way and to feel proud of that. So although it may seem like we're launching a lot of products, I'm already approaching the beginning of 2027, end of 2026 right now. And so I'm really proud that I'm able to have a, you know, a baseline of communication like how I mentioned in the past to invest the time and the money appropriately so that way I'm not make a lip product you know what I mean I I used to hate that whole thing of like oh this is foundation season so every brand has a foundation now you know what I mean like that I used to hate that as a consumer and so that's very refreshing to hear that you're really here to spend that time that thought process and put that in because it does like for consumers like I've said this so many times like on the podcast where it's like I am the kind of consumer personally and I know a lot of people listening are where it matters who the founder is and like what they stand for and what they do to create their products you know it's not just about oh yeah I love this foundation it's like who made this what were they thinking what did they think of me when I would experience like that matters you know it goes a long way so I I love what you said I want to talk to you a little bit about this whole like phenomena we're seeing right now I'm sure you've seen like all the Sephora kids and stuff and everybody's getting into makeup and beauty at a way younger age I feel like now more than ever and I think there's a lot of responsibility that's been put on the influencer community especially to be you know to be truthful and to like kind of put real information out there right that's going to help how do you feel about that like what are your what are your thoughts around like that responsibility aspect especially as a brand founder like you know I'm sure you're you think about things before your campaigns go out Like what, you know, I just want to, what's your take on all of that?

26:05You know, my, one of my best friends, he, he told me, you know, you're a design thinker. And so I had to look at that diagram. If you, if anybody listening wants to look up design thinker, you might be a design thinker and it's, it looks like an infinity and it starts with empathy and then, and then it goes into an idea and then you test the idea. then you prototype the idea and then you validate the idea and then you see if it satisfies your empathy so when I thought about me as a design thinker it started from a feeling so when I think about like a feeling towards a product I'm like hey could this be waterproof could this be SPF let's test it let's try it let's prototype it let's validate it did it mean did it satisfy my needs.

26:54So when I think about like the consumers or the kids out there, I don't just think about satisfying their needs. I kind of recognize them where they are. It's not about product. It's like, how do they personify with that? And I think being an entertainer slash influencer slash, you know, actor, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm in the screen actors guild, you know you kind of have to see with the consumer, what do they actually want that's beyond makeup? Do they want to feel a part of a group? Do they want to feel this idea of acceptance? Do they want to channel their creativity somewhere? Because there's a lot of millions of views and billions of views in the multi-billion dollar industry that we call beauty that people want to be a part of regardless of what that is.

27:38And some may want it for other reasons than just product. So I think, you know, for me, through our idea of content, through our idea of entertainment, through the way that I'm able to conduct myself and speak to beauty, it's not just through product, but it's through identity. So I recognize it's almost like music. You know, I was a classical pianist, you know, when I was 10 and I studied at the University of Central Florida up until I was 16. So I look at makeup like music, like what do people actually want from it? And is it confidence? Is it just to channel things. Like we were coloring books, now we're coloring faces.

28:19So it is a huge responsibility, but the way that you're able to approach beauty is many different ways, as long as it satisfies or scratches an itch that you need. And whether that makes you feel confident, that makes you feel accepted into a group, like are these kids able to resonate with their peers and their space and their age group? And so I recognize that beauty is just bigger than just the dollar, than just the industry. And it really means a lot more than meets the eye. Absolutely. Yeah. No, I feel you there. I didn't know you're in the music world like that. That's really cool. I'll explain.

28:55Yeah. I studied classical piano when I was four and then I studied classical piano when I was 10. And then I went to the university when I was 15, the UCF for private study. And then I started my influencer journey at 22, 23. So when I approached makeup, and I was a piano teacher between 16 and 22. So I had taught these young students, 88 keys, black and white. And so I think I was able to teach makeup and deconstruct the idea of makeup or demystify what it meant to participate in beauty through my studies as a teacher. So being able to take that and put it on a medium and video allowed me to have like an edge where I can really teach to these viewers.

29:47And so I still think I apply that today in my brain when building this brand. That's beautiful. I love that. That's so cool. I love meeting people like that, that you You have so many talents and you're so, so involved in the artistic side of life that it all blends together. That's amazing. I want to ask you for advice because I feel like there's never enough good advice in the world. For all of the people out there right now, I think we're in an interesting time because everybody looks at being an entrepreneur and they think, okay, this is my gateway, right? This is where I'm going to become my own boss or I'm going to have financial freedom if I do this.

30:21What is your advice for somebody who feels like I need to do something like create on my own to have financial freedom? You know, they're coming at it from that standpoint. Like, what's your advice for young budding entrepreneurs in that way? Building authentic relationships. Because if you look at, you know, the millions of people that are on this earth and how these big cities and these big institutions. It's through people. And so when you think about people, everybody has something to offer. And I get a lot of questions, you know, and comments from aspiring influencers or budding entrepreneurs, like, how do I get started?