Redefining the Modern Red Lip with Denise Vasi, Founder of MAED

29 Dec 2025 · 37 min · 17 chapters

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Skin Anarchy Podcast Episode Notes

Episode Title

Redefining the Modern Red Lip with Denise Vasi, Founder of MAED

Host

Dr. Ekta

Episode Overview In this episode, Dr. Ekta interviews Denise Vasi, the founder of MAED, a beauty brand that emphasizes intentionality and care in product formulation. The discussion covers Denise's journey in the beauty industry, the evolution of MAED, and the importance of inclusivity and health in beauty products, particularly focusing on the red lip.

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Key Concepts and Discussions

  1. Background and Early Influences
  2. Denise's Journey:
  3. Began her career as a model with Ford Models.
  4. Immersed in beauty culture and artistry from a young age.
  5. Influenced by her grandmother's esthetic rituals and care for beauty.
  6. Community Building:
  7. Launched MAED.co, an editorial platform focused on clean living, wellness, and motherhood, prior to creating the MAED product line.
  1. The Ethos of MAED
  2. Philosophy:
  3. Focus on building beauty with intention and care.
  4. Products developed based on real, lived experiences rather than trends.
  5. Core Principle:
  6. "Care Before Color" - emphasizes the importance of lip health to enhance the performance of color products.
  1. The Modern Red Lip
  2. Product Development:
  3. Addressing common issues with red lip products such as dryness and poor undertones.
  4. Emphasizes rigorous testing across diverse skin tones and lip shapes.
  5. Inclusivity:
  6. Redefines inclusivity as a comprehensive approach to formulation, design, and function—not just a marketing campaign.
  7. Comfort and Wear:
  8. Prioritizes the comfort of the red lip formula, ensuring it’s wearable across various scenarios.
  1. Cultural Significance of the Red Lip
  2. Empowerment:
  3. The red lip as an empowering symbol for women, acting as a tool for self-expression and confidence.
  4. Cultural Heritage:
  5. Denise highlights the historical context of the red lip in different cultures, noting its role in civil movements and personal empowerment.
  1. Market Observations and Challenges
  2. Fast-Paced Beauty Industry:
  3. Discussion on the rapid launch of new beauty brands and products.
  4. Denise advocates for thoughtful product development over quick trend-based launches.
  5. Functional Innovation:
  6. Focus on developing products that address real needs rather than simply adding to market noise.
  1. Lip Health and Care
  2. Physiological Needs:
  3. Discussion on the unique characteristics of lips, such as the absence of oil glands, and the need for barrier support.
  4. Long-Term Benefits:
  5. MAED’s products designed to provide long-term hydration and resilience, addressing more than just aesthetic concerns.
  1. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
  2. Do the Work:
  3. Emphasis on the importance of research, development, and patience in creating meaningful products.
  4. Seek Help:
  5. Encouragement to seek mentorship and learn from others' experiences in the industry.
  6. Stay True to Vision:
  7. Reinforces the idea of staying committed to one’s brand vision, even when tempted to rush to market.

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Key Takeaways

  • Building a beauty brand requires patience, intention, and a focus on community and inclusivity.
  • The red lip serves as both a cultural icon and a reflection of personal empowerment for women.
  • Successful beauty products should prioritize the health and comfort of the user, alongside aesthetic appeal.
  • There is a significant need for genuine inclusivity within the beauty industry, extending beyond marketing to formulation and design.

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Conclusion Denise Vasi’s insights on beauty, inclusivity, and the importance of caring for one's skin challenge conventional beauty standards. Her journey with MAED emphasizes the need for a thoughtful approach in the beauty industry, particularly in how products are developed and marketed. This episode serves as an inspiration for listeners interested in beauty, self-expression, and entrepreneurship.

Listen to the full episode [here](https://www.acast.com/skin-anarchy).

Follow us on social media

  • Instagram: [@skincareanarchy](https://www.instagram.com/skincareanarchy)
  • Support MAED: [Shop MAED](https://shopmy.us/collections/3377746) | [MAED Social Media](https://www.instagram.com/maedbeauty/)

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This document summarizes the key points from the podcast episode, providing an insightful look into the discussions held between Dr. Ekta and Denise Vasi. It distills the essence of their conversation, emphasizing the importance of intention, community, and inclusivity in building a beauty brand.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Denise Vasi's Journey in Beauty

0:45 to 2:44

Denise shares her early experiences in the beauty industry as a model and the influences that shaped her career.

“I started in beauty as a model very young.”

From Editorial to Brand Launch

2:44 to 6:23

Denise discusses her transition from an editorial platform to launching her beauty brand, MAED, focusing on community and storytelling.

“understand how things are made so much easier than we did before not that it makes it any easier but at least the information is more accessible.”

The Challenge of Trends in Beauty

6:23 to 9:38

Denise and the host discuss the fast-paced beauty industry, the importance of core products, and the challenges of chasing trends.

Creating the Perfect Red Lip

9:38 to 12:28

Denise explains her approach to formulating a universally flattering red lip product, emphasizing comfort and inclusivity.

“When you're able to create a product that is universal and is fundamentally inclusive, hats off to you.”

Defining True Inclusivity

12:28 to 12:57

Denise discusses the concept of inclusivity in beauty, emphasizing genuine representation in formulation and product development.

“because in the lip category, those problems were not being formulated to solve for.”

Addressing Lip Health in Skincare

12:57 to 14:02

Denise highlights the importance of lip health and the unique physiological needs of lips in skincare products.

“And beautifully said, I think that is truly a lesson that a lot of entrepreneurs can learn from.”

Understanding Lip Hydration and Care

14:02 to 15:06

Learn about the importance of lip hydration and the role of barrier restoration.

Challenges in Lip Product Development

15:06 to 16:45

Discover the frustrations and insights behind creating effective lip care products.

“I remember this conversation about how many times people will go through a tube and how much you want them to keep reapplying.”

Revolutionizing Lip Care Beyond Chapstick

16:45 to 18:34

Explore how lip care has evolved beyond traditional products like Chapstick.

“So all of that is like this aging process that takes place.”

Care Before Color: A New Philosophy

18:34 to 21:02

Understand the philosophy of prioritizing lip care before applying color cosmetics.

“because you're combining both philosophies, right?”
Show all 17 chapters

The Cultural Significance of the Red Lip

21:02 to 23:32

Examine the powerful cultural meanings and personal significance of wearing a red lip.

“The red lip is so powerful and has been in our, even our American culture, has been the statement for so many different movements, especially for women.”

Makeup as Empowerment: Breaking Societal Norms

23:32 to 26:16

Discuss how makeup, especially bold looks like red lips, serves as a tool for empowerment.

“vulnerable, I have a little piece of armor.”

Denise Vasi's Journey to Sephora

26:16 to 28:00

Learn about Denise Vasi's experience and strategy in getting her brand into Sephora.

“So it's literally been a true dream come true.”

Navigating Sephora: Insights from the Accelerator Program

28:00 to 29:08

Learn about the unique experiences of launching a brand in Sephora and the importance of community engagement.

“However, I don't think there's any other way to learn what it really will take without this accelerator.”

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

29:08 to 33:09

Gain valuable advice on networking, hard work, and the importance of patience in entrepreneurship.

“So if I had started talking about it two years earlier, people would have been like, you've been talking about this for two years, girl.”

The Value of Hard Work

33:10 to 33:36

Discover the significance of hard work and its impact on success, especially for younger generations.

“If I need to live with 40 ,000 tubes of lip gloss for the rest of my life, I can stand by them.”

The Reality of Building a Beauty Brand

33:36 to 35:49

Understand the grind and dedication behind the scenes of creating a successful beauty brand.

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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:01Hey guys, welcome back to Skim Anarchy. This is Ekta. I'm so excited about her interview today because we have such a special guest with us. I've been trying to get her on the podcast for I think three or four years now, so I'm very excited that we're finally doing this. She is the creative genius behind the brand Made. She has had such a phenomenal career in the beauty industry, and I am just so excited to be hosting her. So without further ado, please welcome Denise Vossi. Welcome, Denise. I'm so honored to host you. That was such a sweet intro. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so glad we finally got to do this.

0:31Me too. I'm really excited, and I honestly, when I asked you to come on, I just want to learn more about you. I love watching you on socials and all the amazing progress you've made with just Maid and the brand and all the beautiful things. So if you could walk us down memory lane, tell us where did your journey begin with the beauty industry and everything, you know? Absolutely. Thank you. I started in beauty as a model very young. I was signed by Eileen Ford to Ford Models. At some point, they realized I wasn't going to get runway height, and they pivoted my career into beauty. I grew up on set with some of the most incredible glam artists of our time.

1:07I did many beauty campaigns from Bobby Brown to Kevin O 'Coin. I was touched by many legends and learned a lot of what I know and how I formulate through those years on set. Also, I grew up with a grandmother who just absolutely died for beauty. She was an esthetician who left that career to raise her family. I spent a lot of my time in the kitchen with her, either cooking dinner or doing facials and running skincare routines. From there, I went on to be an actress. I got married, I had my first child and decided to stay home with my daughter. And I launched Made.co, which was kind of editorial plus blog platform.

1:51I had a byline of myself that I spoke and wrote about, wrote to, and then my writers who also you know had their own bylines and we spoke about everything from clean living health and wellness intentional living I focused on clean beauty and motherhood all that time I was growing a community on social before we addressed social media as a community but I was talking to mostly women all the time just a little bit about everything like why I chose certain products over others or why I was eating a certain way or if there was a new exercise craze but all played into the lifestyle I was curating for our community I've always loved beauty I think growing up as a little girl you're like wow I'd love to have a beauty brand but how is it possible now we live in a world where information is at our fingertips and you can reach out to anyone and ask for advice understand how things are made so much easier than we did before not that it makes it any easier but at least the information is more accessible.

2:56In 2019, I had just had my son and I went into my agency that was managing my career at the time and I said, this is what I want to do. April, who was the head of my team at the time, was like, okay, let's do it. And so that kind of was the start of a very long journey to developing the ritual and the collection that you see now at the store. That's so cool and I love that you started from like this genuine editorial place of this like community building because I feel like now and I don't know if you agree with me but I look at this on social media where there's maybe a space blowing up in the skincare and beauty industry and somebody just hops on that bandwagon and it's like I'm gonna make a product because everybody's buying this right now.

3:41It irks me so much as a consumer so when I see brands like like your brand story like that really resonates because that's where I feel like products become like staples versus just another thing that you're buying you know so what are your thoughts on that like what are your thoughts on this like super high-paced like ever-evolving beauty industry that I feel like every day we have like 50 brands that are coming out constant newness yeah for some brands it works I'm more of the turtle wins the race people typically ask me why lip well I own wore red lip I was very well known for wearing this bold matte liquid lipstick red lip that I was mixing that really was the beginning into formulating the whole care system and for me I go what is true can I solve a problem that I'm experiencing my bring that problem to my community do they also feel like they experience it it's less about trend and newness and more about building out core products and what we can create better can we make this better can you make something innovative and new versus chasing the trend because as we know trends go in and out and evergreen last forever right and I look at it as functionality is this a functional product that people can use at any point in time at any age of their lifespan it's not the trajectory we choose to take but we know it has been successful for some brands so you know okay you've got to respect their strategy we just choose to we just choose to formulate different you know as you know we're not sephora and so my conversation with them is always like okay we don't want to do something that someone else already does well if that brand makes that product really well and there's no innovation we can bring to that category then let's let that brand shine and do something different it's only worth the investment as a brand and the time and energy it takes to introduce it to the consumer if we're actually making something better changing or innovating yeah i really love everything you said on so many different fronts because when i look at what you guys are doing the red lip for example let's talk about that a little bit more because i'm obsessed with it and i think for a long time so many women couldn't find a red lipstick i remember when mac had movie woo and everybody was obsessed we were struggling to find a shade that you would think had been around for decades you know women they're 50 in the 50s 60s like forever have worn a red lip but for some reason the beauty industry kept missing that mark if you have a darker skin tone you can't wear it doesn't sit well you know so what was your approach when you were coming out with the red shade and kind of like recreating this for the modern world where was that brainstorming for you that took place to bring this to life great question first and foremost i would say my biggest concern was comfortable wear because i think you need to start there making sure you could reach a formula that felt comfortable on the lip because we are in the liquid matte liquid lipstick format which can be intimidating for a lot of people and looking at what we consider clean formulation so that's first and foremost where it started nailing down that formula and then testing testing testing besides that we had a very extensive pd team i think we had every shade of skin tone we had every person on our team had a different hair color a lip color really looking also to lip tone color because that is something that i also think needs to be considered as a lip brand but then going one step further going into specifically looking for students that were in beauty school who understood product and understood color theory and bringing them into the testing process and a b testing formulas and undertones so we really spent a long time my PD wanted to fire me because they were like no one takes this long and lift and I was like that's my point that's the void that I was trying to fill because I started this journey before we had the lip boom I think is so interesting because I saw it happening before my eyes and going oh my gosh like this is what I've been talking about while I've been working on these formulas for two years and you can imagine that for a moment that gets frightening and then you realize you always have your point of difference you're talking to this person this way and other brands are doing it differently but it was very interesting to see the lip boom happen while i was projecting formula after formula because i really looked at each formula and said if i have to sit on 20 000 tubes in this room i would stand by this formula i would not budge Lots of aggressive testing and taking home feedback and looking at every skin tone.

8:47My family is very mixed. And so I look at it and go, if I'm going to make something, it's going to look good on grandma, mom, my cousin. So it's really important to me that we knocked out a shade that everyone could put on and feel confident in. Yeah. No, I feel like you really did nail it, though. like I just want to say that you really did because when I first tried the product I was very skeptical because red never looks right on me I don't know what it is I can't get it to look right and I always pick the wrong shade when I tried I was just blown away she really put thought into this and she really thought about like what actually makes you feel beautiful when you have a red lip you know that's like a whole conversation because there are so many makeup artists nowadays YouTube artists or professional makeup artists and Sometimes they're dodging the red lip because it's a hard topic.

9:37But not one size fits all. When you're able to create a product that is universal and is fundamentally inclusive, hats off to you. Because it's amazing. I love what you did. Thank you, Shemiza. A lot today. I really want to talk about this in the sense of where do you feel like, because I know right now, inclusivity is really buzzing. You know what I mean? I feel like we kind of shifted the last five years. I think five years ago we were talking about inclusivity, but it wasn't in your face. Now it's like everybody's talking about inclusivity. What are your thoughts on that? What is truly the definition of inclusivity for you?

10:09What does that mean? Yeah, great question. You're right. We were talking about it for too long. Then we've seen some action and some of it has been really genuine because we're in the business of making pre-selling products. Some of it unfortunately is performative. True inclusivity comes from a very intentional and genuine space it is not only putting every shade of human in your beauty campaign or your fashion campaign but it is solving for those problems it is formulating for those problems it is testing for those individuals when it comes to lips we've consistently seen products that didn't focus on people of color's lips, right?

10:58There are just different concerns the same way we have different hair textures, right? Your hair texture and my hair texture, we're going to have different hair concerns. We need brands to solve for those. We don't just need a brand to put us both in the campaign and say we're speaking to her and speaking to her. We need that actually in formulation. For me, I'm very mixed. Taking that into consideration from my own life experiences and my own POV. And so I look at it and go, okay, everything about this needs to be inclusive. Not only our shade range, but also our applicators. How do I feel when I am using a lip product and the applicator is smaller than my lip size?

11:42I have a fuller lip. So imagine individuals who have even larger, fuller lips than mine, right? They're not being considered. So when you look at our applicators and the way our liquid pigment wraps the lip, it holds the full size of the lips, you get that one swipe coverage, which makes it so easy. When you look at our Revive Balm, we have a very different applicator that is full enough to cover the entire lip service. So that for me is how I approach inclusivity. It's not just what you see in a marketing campaign or the creators that we bring on to make content. It is in our formula of solving the problems that all people have, specifically starting with people of color because in the lip category, those problems were not being formulated to solve for.

12:35And then it is through line all the way to our packaging. Real inclusivity is A to Z, not just what's in front of the camera, not just what's in the caption or the tagline. It's genuine, it's intentional, and it starts at the beginning and goes through the entire scope of what it takes to bring a product to market. Absolutely. I could not agree more with you. And beautifully said, I think that is truly a lesson that a lot of entrepreneurs can learn from. It's one thing to create products in a category, but it's another thing to really think about who is this category serving and what are all of those needs and how do we really figure that out in one model.

13:13That's really hard to do. I can see why you spent so much time in the R &D phase trying to nail this down. Now, I want to talk to you about obviously skincare is big here, right? Because the lip category has been ignored in skincare. It still is in a lot of ways. And there's a specific need medically and physiologically for the lips. What was some of that research for you when you were looking into the health of the lips and trying to incorporate that into your products? For me, like you said, it is about the health of lips, right? I think for so long We've been sold what was going to give our lips comfort whether that's comfort in a feeling or aesthetic comfort What's gonna make me look cute or what's gonna?

13:54Immediately take care of a dry lip but the reality is you need something deeper to care for the lips there is research and information to know about the lips the lips don't have oil glands they cannot self-produce oil to rehydrate themselves right and so hydration and moisturization mean two different things when you put something that feels cushiony or comforting on the lip you might have that immediate good feeling but are you actually treating the problem right is there a micro tear in the lip barrier that needs to be restored the reason the formulas took so long was focusing on the lip barrier and what would make it resilient over time yes our products give you that immediate great feeling especially let's say our serum right that's our clinically backed formula and so you get that instant surge of hydration which makes you feel good but with extended use regularly you actually retain more hydration and moisture to the lip so you're in a better place than when you started so it's the long-term benefit for me it was like how do we make products that actually help the lip long term how do we help products that go beyond just the aesthetic how do we make products that don't just live on top of the lip, but deeply penetrate and help the lip become stronger.

15:27I remember this conversation about how many times people will go through a tube and how much you want them to keep reapplying. Nothing would drive me more insane. This really came out of COVID and all the Zooms, right? Where I would put something on and you're on a Zoom, you get thirsty, sip of your water usually might pop you right and you immediately feel like the product is gone it's a professional zoom I don't feel comfortable to pull out a lip hydrator and put it on I want something that when you take that drink of water you actually still have your product I want something where I put it on at night because it's supposed to be a night mask and when I wake up it's still there so a lot of what I was looking for were issues that I felt like I was experiencing and that we could do better but really we start at the barrier and look at repairing the barrier and restoring the barrier i love that because honestly for so many years lip care was literally just chapstick and it was like chapstick is so harsh thing i'm so sad because when i originally started to reach out to different teams trying to understand the business how would i do this who would I bring on to help me you probably know it's not you could go to these kind of companies that do everything for you to create product and slap your name on things yeah and I was like that's absolutely not what I want to do however when I first started the process people literally said to me well it's like ChapStick why would anybody need anything more than a six dollar chopstick and i'm like chopstick is not what it is versus elevated this is self-care this is a moment but also there's no formulation there right so it's funny now looking back i mean this was 2019 when i started having those meetings i think looking back and going can you give me the stats on what the lip category is now to watch it boom and explode like that but yeah people didn't believe it and no one was formulating for that i mean what are some of your like honestly for me lip has been the most annoying when it comes to skin care i could never use chapstick because every time i'd use it my lips were more chapped than i think i've ever experienced in my life you know like i had problems i never had problems before but then i used chapstick and i was like cracked lips you know corners of my mouth were and then not to mention as you age you get those fine lines And so your Vermilion border, like you start getting that leaking of the lipstick or the lip color into these lines.

18:03So all of that is like this aging process that takes place. And I, for the longest time, I know for me as a consumer, I couldn't find products that were truly barrier supportive for lip care. They weren't even addressing a concern. I don't even think there was something on the label or the packaging that said, hey, this is going to help with trans epidermal water loss or whatever. There was nothing there. And that's why I asked you, because I was like, it's just been ignored. It's like we don't even talk about lip care, and it's absolutely fundamental, you know? So I want to ask you, though, because I feel like you've created a line that is so interesting because you're combining both philosophies, right?

18:40Like, you're giving us the colored products. You're giving us the cosmetics. You're giving us actual nourishing skincare benefits. How is that for you when it comes to, like, the marketing or the messaging around this? Because I know right now on social media, a lot of people are talking about, I don't know if I believe in makeup infused with skincare. I don't know if I believe, there's a lot of conversations. What is your take on that? Good question. I would say we differ because we are really rooted in the mission of care before color. We have our virtual red, which is our signature lip pigment.

19:13In order to wear a bold, beautiful color, you need to have taken care of your lips. because there's nothing worse than a red lip, whether it's a bullet or a liquid formula, than red on your chaff or, you know, flaky lips. So it's undeniably necessary. When I looked at the market, there was no start to finish and no ritual. There wasn't a routine that could build upon, right? So it was clear to me that we could interject in this space. We always start with hair being the foundation. Everything about me is about bridging self-care with self-expression. Beautiful, bold, colorful cosmetics is where you get to be self-expressive.

19:59You get to try different things. You get to focus on your lip or focus on your eye for color. At the core of that is, and this is something I've learned from being on set with amazing glam artists, especially when I was modeling in the 90s, the consumer never saw the final beautiful cosmetic beauty campaign, but didn't know that we sat in the chair for 45 minutes. The makeup artist hydrated the face. Some gave manual face stimulation, massages, polished your lips. They put on all these skincare ingredients to the face before applying color. And so it was, at that time it wasn't about being infused it was these are separate steps and you take them so that you can actually have this beautiful final appearance of your color your makeup is always going to lay better and care for your skin including your lips that is our approach it's always care before color and we bridge self-care with self-expression when i take time for myself whether it's my five minute lip care ritual yoga class or cardio striptease class i go out into the world more confident I am more rooted and so made really stands to bring those dualities together for our community and consumers both from a product and emotions I love that I really like what you said about the artistry when you're actually behind the scenes in the professional setting how much goes into that I think that's the part where consumers we don't really see that we don't know that there are so many steps involved whether it's makeup application or any kind of there's a whole thing that's really interesting that you brought that up i want to talk to you about the cultural significance of a red lip because i hate that we don't talk about it i remember being young and there were women i really looked up to and they always had this beautiful red lip and it was so powerful and it's stunning on them i remember as a little girl looking at that and being like i love that i'm gonna wear that one day when i'm allowed to wear makeup what's your take on the cultural side of what a red lip means You literally get goosebumps when you say that.

22:10The red lip is so powerful and has been in our, even our American culture, has been the statement for so many different movements, especially for women. It's been very empowering. We've been able to take ownership of it. It's sometimes been our shield. It's been our veil in moments when we needed to stand up. Red is a very powerful color. There's something in almost everyone's path where they remember that woman in their family putting on that red lip and how all of a sudden her personality or confidence shifted. And for me personally, it has always been a statement of power. I'm in this room.

22:53I own this space. When you are in my presence, know that I am confident, even in the moments when I wasn't. So many times it's been my secret weapon to feeling that. And I think culturally we've seen that, especially in the Latina culture, you may have seen that I had the iconic Latina collaboration for Hispanic heritage month. This is something that women put on and it was proof of their power. It was, I am here. Look at me. I deserve to be seen. Even in moments where I might feel overwhelmed or vulnerable, I have a little piece of armor. I love that. I love how you explain that. It's so beautiful because makeup, I've had kind of a bone to pick with the makeup industry lately.

23:44I feel like we've kind of shamed what makeup can do for women and what it can really bring. Like there's a lot of times where I see if someone is trying a more bold lip or they're trying that like that whole thing that's going to give them that confidence society likes to break that down and that's also a part of why i wanted you to speak on this topic specifically the red lip like you just beautifully articulated it is it's been like an armor for women for so many decades and across cultures i'm indian i saw this in my culture growing up i was raised by a lot of amazing black women in my life that taught me a lot of what I know now I would see them wearing a red lip and that was their confidence statement you know everybody across race across cultures this is where makeup transforms from cosmetics to a tool that women have for our own self something for us I just love the messaging of that I really feel like we need to hone in on that and focus on what are the psychological benefits of feeling like you do have something that you can put on it's going to give you that tapping your stuff at the end of the day but if you're walking into a meeting or whatever you're doing that's huge red lipstick has been on the front lines there's so many protests so many civil movements so many you know it is really a cultural statement i think why people call it out it makes people feel uncomfortable it stands for something and it makes you look at somebody out like it makes that person stand out and not everybody's comfortable with that and so unfortunately as humans some people who haven't evolved in them the work when they're uncomfortable instead of sitting with themselves it's easier to critique others unfortunately yeah i absolutely agree with you 100 i think it's really cool to see that we've carried certain things over i think they're just staples especially for women obviously everyone enjoys makeup but as a woman i feel like there are things in our arsenal that should never be messed with leave our red lipstick alone you know what I mean leave those little tools alone that we rely on day in and day out I feel like social media needs to focus on that because there's a lot of shaming out here I'm for that I never properly congratulated you by the way for Sephora that's huge congratulations for that well deserved how's that been for you in terms of your business strategy and growing the brand yeah well you know it's been overwhelming I bet I bet in all the best possible ways thank you so much for saying that it has been literally a dream come true i remember the first sephora to open in soho and walking in it's so cool to have something here you know like to have product here what is this you know we didn't even know that idea of going from when you went with your grandmother to macy's let's say and buying cosmetics into a concept like sephora so it was foreign and then And as I grew up, that changed to one day I'm going to have something here, you know?

26:46So it's literally been a true dream come true. I am a self-funded business. So we have a small team. So it is indeed a lot of work. There's a lot of grit and heart that we put into our partnership with Sephora. But honestly, we have the best team on the other side. I attribute our success to their partnership as well. There's a lot of learning lessons. I think they have a glossary of acronyms that you're literally in meetings like, hold on, pick that up. What does that mean? Got it. You know, they're a huge organization that's fully running and you're jumping in. I'm learning every single day, but I'm so grateful for their transparency and availability.

27:33The team is always ready to jump on a call and help me work through something if I'm not fully understanding. I am so grateful to them and to the Accelerate program. I went through Sephora Accelerate program. I completed that in 2024 and I think that was a great learning lesson. So if anybody who's listening has a brand and their goal is to be at Sephora, completing the program doesn't guarantee entry into the retailer. However, I don't think there's any other way to learn what it really will take without this accelerator. I offer the advice of anybody who wants to be at Sephora to apply for that program.

28:16It's literally like your MBA at Sephora as a retailer. We've been received so well by their customer. I think there's lots of learning lessons. The way we speak to our community, which I already have in place, is different than how we educate their consumer because of the way that they've been educated by the brand because they're seeing so many brands at once everything is a learning experience honestly it's been super successful so far that's awesome i'm just so excited that you're in sephora and that you're available the accessibility component alone is huge and i feel like everyone needs to get their hands on made and try the products themselves they're absolutely stunning products for anyone listening out there if you guys love genuinely good lip care this is a really great brand so i really urge everybody to check it out i want to get your words of wisdom for a lot of the people that tune in because we have a really great audience of budding entrepreneurs maybe they don't really know how to navigate their space or any advice that you can offer that would help someone who wants to take this journey make something for themselves let's create a brand yeah i've got a couple things i think that the 101 of it is definitely don't be afraid to reach out and ask people for help this was something i had to learn from for myself for just because that's something that's personally hard for me to do but the more i reached out to others other founders looking for just looking for advice you'll be surprised at how many people actually want to help you and actually want to guide you in a way that means you won't make the mistakes that they did so don't be afraid to reach out to people and the age-old statement of there is no stupid question is the truth I would just say put your head down and do the work people did not know what I was working on for years you would see that she must be really busy she's on social that because I started taking meetings you know I was in places I was researching I was testing things I was traveling to you know for different aspects of the business I didn't talk about it until the Accelerate program until I had something really concrete to put in front of everybody and I think that there is this beautiful time in between like building in front of everyone but also making people wait too long.

30:40So if I had started talking about it two years earlier, people would have been like, you've been talking about this for two years, girl. When is it going to come? So put your head down, do the work, keep it close, keep it tight, not necessarily to be secretive, but so that you can work in the silo where you're only putting the options in front of the people who you trust versus everybody's opinion there's something about too many chefs in the kitchen that i really believe in and there's an aspect that we really bring the community in we put shades in front of them and say what do you like what you don't like but that's already based on a formula that we stand by and i there is no shortcut to doing the work if you want to create something great something that's going to last something that's going to be different and that's really what you need now especially in the beauty space you need to differentiate there whether that's your shade tone textures your innovation you really have to put the work and do the research don't cut it short because you feel like you need to get there faster i was in development and saw what was happening for my counterparts in the space and the boom than lip care.

31:55I could have made a choice to go to market with a formula I was not happy with, but we had already been in development for a year and my PD team, the head of PD for me, came and said, you have a choice. You can rush to meet this boom or you scrap a year. We don't lose everything. You have some learnings, but we start again and we take what we've learned elsewhere for development. it was a hard decision because you get nervous you think you're gonna miss the moment but the reality is if you're making something good you're not gonna miss the moment you're not it's gonna be the right time is you're gonna have something that you can fully stand by and so I chose to scrap the first year of development and start again and even though everyone wanted to kill me at the moment every single person on that team has come back to me and said I'm so glad we did that because what you have is different and special.

32:55I can wholeheartedly stand by and no one can take away doing the work, putting the time, doing the research. Don't rush for anyone else's timeline. You come out with something when you feel good about it, when it feels good in your heart. If I need to live with 40 ,000 tubes of lip gloss for the rest of my life, I can stand by them. I love that. I love everything said. Honestly, my favorite part of what you just said is play in the work that is my favorite because i feel like that's not said enough i feel like you don't put that out there enough for people especially the younger generation the women in their early 20s like the idea of like hard work isn't really related as much as it was i remember growing up we were like people shoved that down our throat like you have to work hard for everything that you get in life and like i feel like nowadays it's just not said enough so i thank you for saying that it's also not showing up I think also we have glamorized what it is to be a founder and what it means to bring any idea into fruition it seems quick you know I was listening to Amy Lou who's the founder of Tower 20 that she was saying people are like oh what is it to have this overnight sensation you know with her business she's like overnight we've been building this business for six years i've been in the beauty business for a time but it's like you don't see it you have instagram one day and even for someone like me you're like oh she has a brand what you didn't see or what you still don't see is i'm up 18 20 hours a day working because that's my children you know go to sleep for a couple hours and then wake up to speak to asia and then go back to sleep for a couple hours and wake up to speak to italy and then part of my team's in new york and part of my teams in l.a you don't see the late nights struggling you can't figure out an excel sheet will drive me crazy the things that are not so glamorous you don't always see and i think social media has diminished the idea of what hard work is because it just makes things look instant i grew up like you i think with parents who were like you've got to put in the work and be ready to have an amazing answer if somebody turns around to you and asks you something in that room you always got to be prepared absolutely and also like plan b you know whatever that is like another like no one talks about that either gotta have your plan b and it doesn't always have to deviate from plan a but you gotta have something to back up so yeah it's just really good career advice what you're sharing no matter what industry you're in and no matter what your path is you can't get around hard work exactly what you said about social media people are putting in 15 years before they even get on social media to showcase their product for any part of their life and then it feels like it's all together but it's not i completely agree with everything you said yeah please thank you so much for coming on the show i'm a huge fan of what you're building i feel like the world needs brands that are more thoughtful especially with makeup my personal relationship with makeup i have my products these are my tried and trues you cannot pry them out of my cold dead hands you know that's what i rely on when you make something like that which you clearly have like that's where it's like it's going to resonate for years and years and years to come huge hats off to you for everything you've built thank you so much for saying that such a fan of you and the pod you've listened for so long and so to hear that from you means so much to me thank Thank you so much.

36:28Thank you so much. That's so sweet. And for everyone tuning in, please scroll down wherever you're tuning in right now. Spotify, Apple, doesn't matter. Go to the show notes. The link for Made is right there. Click on the link. Shop the brand. I promise you're going to fall in love with it. Thank you so much for tuning in. Hey, guys. So I hope you loved that episode. Please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform. We are available on so many different platforms. So wherever it is that you're tuning in, just go hit subscribe. You will be immediately notified when we publish new episodes.

37:02This way you're able to tune in to amazing insights from experts, brand founders, industry leaders, authors, all the wonderful people that we host. And that's very important for me because I love to hear from you guys and really understand what you love and what you want to hear more of. Also, make sure to give us a follow on all of our social media outlets. We're available on Instagram, TikTok, X, you name it, we're there. we also have a blog on medium so if you're a reader and you love medium blogs check us out on medium we publish some really great articles on there that do deeper dives than just what's available on the podcast and it's really a great place for all of you science geeks out there that want to learn a little bit more we go above and beyond with our research and making sure we're bringing you information that you usually probably won't hear about in other outlets so check us out leave us a comment leave us a review and we'll be back next time with another episode thank you

From the publisher

In this episode of Skin Anarchy, Dr. Ekta sits down with Denise Vasi, founder and creative force behind MAED, for a thoughtful conversation about building beauty with intention, patience, and care. Denise’s path into the industry began early—signed to Ford Models and immersed in on-set artistry long before social media shaped beauty culture. Those formative years, paired with memories of her grandmother’s at-home esthetic rituals, planted the seed for a philosophy rooted in preparation, respect, and craft.


Before MAED ever existed, Denise built something rarer than hype: community. Through years of honest storytelling around wellness, motherhood, and clean living, she created a dialogue with women who trusted her voice. That trust shaped MAED’s slow, deliberate evolution. Rather than chasing trends or speed, Denise chose to listen—developing products only when they solved real, lived problems.


At the heart of the brand is a deceptively complex product: the red lip. Denise unpacks why most formulas fail—dryness, poor undertones, and exclusion baked into development—and how MAED set out to fix that. Comfort came first, followed by rigorous testing across skin tones, lip shapes, ages, and backgrounds. Inclusivity, she explains, isn’t a campaign—it’s formulation, design, and function.


Central to MAED’s ethos is one guiding principle: care before color. Lips lack oil glands and cannot repair themselves without real barrier support. MAED’s formulas focus on hydration, resilience, and wear—so color performs because the foundation is healthy.


Beyond product, the conversation explores beauty as ritual and self-expression. The red lip becomes more than pigment—it’s confidence, protection, and presence.

Listen to the full episode to hear Denise Vasi share the philosophy behind MAED, the science of lip health, and why meaningful beauty innovation starts with care—not trends.


SHOP MAED and learn more on their social media!


CHAPTERS:

(0:02) - Introduction & Welcoming Denise Vasi

(0:59) - Early Career: Modeling, Beauty Sets & Formative Influences

(2:16) - Building Community Through Editorial & Made.co

(4:48) - Slow Beauty, Brand Intention & Resisting Trend Cycles

(7:13) - Reimagining the Modern Red Lip

(8:04) - Formulation, Testing & True Inclusivity

(12:16) - What Inclusivity Really Means in Beauty

(16:30) - Lip Health, Barrier Science & Care-First Formulation

(23:10) - Care Before Color & The Cultural Power of a Red Lip


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