Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum - Allison McNamara, Founder of Mara Beauty, On How Getting Divorced, & Losing 40 Pounds Totally Changed Her Life and Supercharged Her Business

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

Allison McNamara, Founder of Mara Beauty, On How Getting Divorced, & Losing 40 Pounds Totally Changed Her Life and Supercharged Her Business What happens when you stop hiding, start healing, and finally show up for yourself—and your brand? In this episode of Hot Smart Rich, Maggie sits down with Allison McNamara, founder of MARA Beauty, to unpack the full spectrum of personal and professional transformation—from coming out and getting divorced to finally stepping into her power as both a founder and a face. For the first time, Allison publicly shares what it meant to come out, and how embracing her identity brought her closer to her community and more aligned with her creative voice. She also opens up about the decision to end her marriage, lose 40 pounds, and finally claim her space in front of the camera—not just behind the brand. This conversation goes deep into how these shifts impacted MARA’s success, including three Sephora sellouts, a commitment to owning her formulas, and how leading with clarity and confidence became her greatest business strategy. Whether you're navigating identity, rebuilding after a pivot, or just wondering how to stop playing small—this one’s for you. ⸻ 🔑 Key Takeaways Coming out helped her come into her power. For the first time, Allison publicly shares what it meant to come out—and how embracing her identity brought her closer to her community and more aligned with her creative voice. Choosing yourself is the first pivot. Ending her marriage wasn’t just a personal decision—it was the catalyst for a full-scale transformation. Allison shares how reclaiming her life also supercharged her business. Wellness isn’t vanity—it’s velocity. Losing 40 pounds helped her feel mentally sharp and physically strong. That internal shift translated into leadership clarity and outward momentum for MARA. You can be both the founder and the face. Stepping into visibility changed everything. Once Allison began showing up for the brand—not just behind it—MARA hit a new growth curve. Owning your formulas is a power move. Allison breaks down why MARA has always developed and owned its formulas—no white labeling, no shortcuts. It’s the long-term play that builds real brand equity and IP value. 3x Sephora sellouts are no accident. MARA’s viral moments didn’t happen by luck. Allison shares the behind-the-scenes decisions—from reformulations to community storytelling—that helped the brand sell out three times at Sephora. Your business grows when you stop playing small. From sharper campaigns to higher ad spend, Allison’s mindset shift led to bold bets—and the returns followed. Quiet confidence can be a competitive edge. MARA’s success is rooted in product integrity, founder honesty, and long-game thinking. Allison shows that you don’t have to be the loudest voice to build one of the most respected brands in beauty. ⸻ Links Use ⁠⁠Opus Clip⁠⁠ to turn long videos into shorts. ⸻ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you like what you hear, rate, review, and subscribe to Hot Smart Rich, the podcast supporting women who own their worth — in business, wealth, and life. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⸻ 💌 Own your worth — and build the life you want. Subscribe to the Hot Smart Rich newsletter, the no-BS guide to startup life, consumer brands, and becoming your hottest, smartest, richest self, written by Maggie Sellers. Join 250,000+ women building wealth, c... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart, and rich. So let's get into it. Allison McNamara. Did I say it right? Yes. But are you ready to get Hot Smart Rich? I'm ready to get Hot Smart Rich. You already are Hot Smart Rich, so I'm so excited I'm so have you on my show. Thank you for coming.

Thanks for having me. Like, I'm such a fan of yours. You know, I love you and like I just think you're crushing. But also this was the one I was most nervous for. Why? I've done a lot of podcasts, but I think we're talking about some things I've never talked about before. And so I think that like there was just a little bit of like excitement. I always try and say excitement when I'm nervous for something.

Okay, I like that. Is that a tip from when you were a professional journalist? Yeah, you want a channel into like an emotion that you actually want to have happen while you're doing whatever it is. So if you're saying you're nervous, you're nervous and you're nervous, then you get up there you're going to be nervous, right? I think I'm so honored for that. Like this space has become a place where so many women have sat in your chair now and

been like, I have never talked about this. And I think so much of business focuses on like the ins and outs of running the business, which is so important. But it also doesn't take into account like the, the personal side of what you sacrifice for a business or what you're going through and the effect it has on a business that you're building, which is really a baby. Like it is something you're birthing into the world and you're raising it and you go through things and it affects how you do it. So I'm so honored you cleared what we're going to talk about and you're ready to share your

story. But I think to give people some context to you. Like I would love for people to know, obviously you were a journalist we've mentioned, like kind of walk us through why you pivoted to be one of like the leading skincare brands at Sephora's beauty founder and a little bit about your journeys before we get into it. Well, thank you. That's like an honor. And we still have a ways to go, but it's been like the best journey so far. But like I always grew up wanting to entertain people. And I also loved law. So I thought I was going to be a political analyst on camera. So I went to USC. I studied pre-law. I studied broadcast journalism in Annemberg. And then I minored in marketing. And when I graduated, I mean, I was in L.A. in the mecca of entertainment

at the height of like Perez Hilton. So I started working at E. I was. was a tape librarian. I was like, this is miserable, ended up getting picked up as a production assistant for E. And there's a whole story with that, but did that for a few months and then transitioned into who what where, which was my first on camera job. And I did that. And then I went to pop sugar. And honestly, like, I absolutely loved it. It was like the most amazing job for someone in their 20s. But I woke up one day. I was 29. I had two shows that had just gotten canceled. And I was so upset. I was like, I don't know if I want to keep starting over again. Because really, you know how this business is.

Like you kind of start over every time you're doing a new show or a new podcast, whatever it is, like you start from the ground up. So I always say like I wanted to create something where I could like not be the one being sold all the time. And so that was why I decided to pivot into something else. And my family's in beauty. I always thought that I was going to get into beauty somehow, but I wasn't sure what it was going to be.

And I kind of always left that open ended. And so I was on a trip with my family. I just kind of not really quit my job. job. I kind of was forced to leave my job. Okay. Because my show ended. And I was just like, I'm not going to keep trying to do that. Like, I'm going to pay the bills and do the things that come easily to me, but I'm going to build something else. And so I thought of the idea for Mara and now seven years later where, you know, we're in all U.S. Sephora's. And it's been like my greatest joy. I absolutely love it. And it's a very interesting way that you formulate because from what I've learned online,

you don't actually formulate products based on the end solution. You formulate based on ingredients. Is that correct? Okay, can you walk us with it? Because that's like totally. different than everything else. Okay, it is totally different, but like it's also not because a lot of ingredients have functions and those functions have an end result, right? So salicylic acid is one of the only OTC products that you can use for the treatment of acne, salicylic acid and benzodia and so, yes, by using that ingredient, you're going to get a product that helps with breakouts, but I really want to formulate around how we can do that ingredient, but make it hydrating, make it efficacious, make it work for all skin types and tones. I feel like a lot of these legacy

categories like acne or if you look at retinol, like those things are so drying and those formulas haven't been reworked in so many years. So you're seeing like a new age of retinol. I think you'll see a new age of acne now. We launched that acne product last year. But I really love formulating around one singular ingredient. And that's been my like secret sauce, I guess. So when you were 29, you decided I'm going to like kind of start from NetNU, were you like living with your parents? Were you at rock bottom or you were just like, no, like I'm actually doing okay. I just now I've saved up some money. Like I now just need to like pivot and start something new.

So no, I wasn't living with my parents. I lived in my house that I still live in now. I own it. So that was nice and that was comforting. You know, I got paid well at my last job. I had saved up some money. Obviously my dad also invested with me in this business. So it's him and I.

And so started that with just one skew. The one skew is key because the oil. Yes, the one, the universal face oil. I have it here. And that was really key because at the time when I launched, like this was the Korean skincare craze part one. I know we're part two right now. We're in like part 10, I feel like, yeah.

Korean skincare is still going strong, but part one, this was when it really took off. Okay. You know, oil cleansing was really big, and it was the 20-step skincare routine. I even had a card, like, next to my bathroom of, like, all the steps. And so I always felt like less is more. Yeah. Like a capsule wardrobe, just like a capsule skincare collection, like you don't need a million things. So I basically boiled it down to the top five products I wanted to create, which are my first five formulas.

And I knew I could only afford to launch one. So I launched universal face oil because as the name implies, it's universal. And I think that was indicative. I spent $50,000 for the first initial investment in the business. I've made a few more since then, but really not much more than that. So you mean like the business just keeps sustaining itself? Like you're not having to pull more money into it from external sources even if it's just your family. No.

Yeah. Yeah, which is nice because we do launch things very slowly, very thoughtfully. So we're only launching one to two new things max. I was going to say, like how many products do you have now seven years in? I think we have, well, it's harder now with size variations and things like that, but I think we have 13 actual skews. Yeah. So you were 29, you were like, I want to start this completely. Like, where did you feel like you were breaking up with a former version of yourself and kind of entering into a new era and like what parts of you kept and like have really sustained you to grow to where you have? This was a tough time for me because I think as women specifically, we identify so much with what we do, whether it's us being a mother or whatever, enter whatever it is. But we tie a lot of our self-worth to that. And so as much as I wanted to be a founder, I wasn't like ready to be a founder yet.

Like I was always by proxy saying, oh, I'm a television host, but now I have this skincare line. Okay. So I feel like that carried itself for a long time. Like I launched when I was 31, so a few years after that. Okay. So you had the idea at 29. You didn't launch it until you were 31. Yeah.

It took me a long time. Okay. What were you doing for those years? So I clinically developed a proprietary algae blend, and that took about a year and a half. So I own all my formulas too. So we literally started ground bottom, did the research in development, found the blend, found the synergistic oils. Also, I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I was just like, how did you even know how to like do this stuff? I didn't. But like, and I would ask questions.

I would ask the right people. I also worked for Jen Atkin, who's amazing. I worked with her at way. And I definitely asked her a few questions along the way. I was leading main addicts at the time, which is her hair platform. So I was still doing like little side hustle things. So I didn't have to like pay myself from the business or anything like that. But, you know, I really made strategic choices on like what I paid for things in that product because it gets so expensive. You have said that Chrissy Teigen in 2020 and Haley Bieber in 2021 like totally sold through your products. Do you fundamentally believe that celebrity backed or celebrity promoted products will be successful? No, I think it has to be the perfect alchemy, right? I think

Haley Bieber is a great example. Like I love her. I love Road. I think she was at the pinnacle of her her coolness when she launched. Like she was everywhere. She did the rollout right. You know, she featured us in her bathroom series before she even had the line. And I think that helped kind of position her to be an expert in the space. And I mean, she's got incredible skin. So what better way to sell your product than someone like her? But I think there's so many examples of case studies of people who have failed. You know, I think like Emma Chamberlain's an amazing example, obsessed with her coffee, but she had a skincare line. She did. Exactly. So it, and yeah, so I think the positioning is really important and finding the right person to mix with the brand is key.

Do you ever feel like you also have areas that you could fail in or you put yourself in situations where like you can fail publicly? Yeah, I mean, I did supplements for a second. Before the oil? Yeah. Not before the oil. Okay. During the oil. Okay.

During COVID, I was bored and I was like, oh my God, I'm just going to like make a supplement. And then I realized like, yes, I like taking supplements, but I'm not passionate enough about the formulation or the sourcing for it to even really be a thing. So I actually did that supplement, fun fact, because I wanted to do a smoothie with Airwan. and brands hadn't done the smoothies yet. I was one of the first brands to do it in 2021, but they said they wouldn't do a smoothie unless you had something to put in the smoothie. So I was like, I'm making a supplement. Guess who wasn't making a supplement?

I had to like go out and make the supplement. So we launched it in Air One to do the Mara smoothie to get awareness for the brand. And so they sold it for a couple of years. The people who loved it loved it, loved it. But like we ended up like kind of transitioning it out slowly. Wait, so did the Air One smoothie do anything? because people will spend crazy amounts of money on that now. Like I heard from someone that not only if you're like the featured brands,

let's say like Mara does a smoothie now, all of the ingredients that go into the smoothie are like paid. I know. It's crazy. It's crazy. So the way that deal worked, I mean, hopefully it's fine if I share. But I basically pitched them this idea.

I wanted to do like a tonic collaboration for members. And so they had done it once before with, I think it's called Braggs. You know like the apple cider vinegar brand? Yeah, yeah. That's Katie Perry's brand. Yes. Yes.

So they had done it with her before. But like it was free for members. And so all I had to do was pay for the ingredients that were used inside the skin detox. And then if they sold it to customers, it was $7. And it cost me, I think, all in like $6,500. It was amazing awareness. We had Addison Ray posting it back at her heyday. So it was awesome and it was so fun.

But I always say this too, and maybe you can agree with this, sometimes it's not great to be first. Because I feel like we were kind of left behind in that wave. Like we don't get really much credit for being a part of it. And that's okay. You don't always need credit. But I feel like we were left out of the conversation a little bit because it was so much more before it took off. Do you feel like sometimes it's hard to stay relevant even when you've done these big things? Like you're constantly as a founder just like looking at what everyone else is doing and comparing and being like, I have to do this, this and this and this.

Like, or does that hamster wheel ever stop once you actually achieve some success? It definitely never stops. But I was with the founder of Kahlia today. And she also is a self-funded business. And she said something that really resonated with me. It's like you can go fast far with capital, but you can't really build. something to last if you go fast with those types of decisions. So I really like having to make choices and being scrappy. I think wealth is built in the recovery and I think you're most creative when

you have to struggle a little bit, like really good grapes when it's a drought and that's the best wine. So I think kind of keeping yourself in that constant stage of evolution and creation makes you get creative. But to answer your question, yes, I feel like there's so many times where I'm like, shit, I have to like, what do I do this time or how do I rework the wheel or like what's good? what am I going to do next? Like there are so many inflection points like that that you get down on yourself. But at the end of the day, you just have to show up every day.

It's interesting because you've also gone through a lot of like pivotal life moments, I think, while you've been building this. And I think we just had a founder on the podcast that really talked about the turbulence of her life while she was building a super successful business. And like, I'm so interested to hear from you. Like,

I guess let's start at coming out. Because what people might not know about you is that you are, someone that, actually I don't want to speak for you, can you explain to people your relationship with personal relationships outside of work? Sure. So I was married to a woman. So I feel like that surprises people sometimes. We were together for 10 years. Before that, I had had one girlfriend before, but I do technically date both. Yeah. I don't foresee myself dating like a man anytime in the near future, but never say never, never know. So I was with a partner for a long time and I do agree. Like I haven't gotten to listen to your newest episode, but I do think that a turbulent life is somehow

emulated in the business, whether that's by way of your leadership style or your emotions that you put into the business. And it's not that the business is ever going to fail. It can do amazing, but you kind of feel that same emulation when you're going through a hard time. And so, you know, I got divorced. I'm still not fully divorced. Yeah. It hasn't happened yet. I'm separated. But I made the choice last April, so it's been just about a year. And as hard as it was, I think it was the best decision for me and for my business. And so many good things have happened since I finally started choosing myself and things that I wanted to do and my happiness. And so many great things with Mara happened organically too when you start putting yourself first. Yeah. Yeah.

But even going back before that, like I guess coming out and being like I'm interested in both, like walk me through even because you're, I would just describe as like a very feminine woman, right? And like you love fashion and health and wellness. And like I think when you say like people are often surprised like I've dated both women and men. When you came out, I guess this was like before 10 years ago, like what was that experience like for you, even back then? So it's bizarre. Like I actually never had a coming out story.

Did I tell you this? I don't even know. Okay. So I never had a coming out story. People are shocked. And like I just feel like it's unfair that people have to have a coming out story. Like I just started bringing the person who was my ex at the time around. So brought them to Thanksgiving, started hanging out with them more and didn't really put

any labels on it because when you're dating a man like my mom wouldn't probe me like right in front you know are you dating him are you dating him like you know maybe a little bit like down the line but there's no real reason to have a sit down conversation about it and I wasn't sure I wanted to make that choice for myself yet either I was kind of feeling it out so I never had like hey parents sit down you know I'm dating a woman now yeah I never did that and I almost feel like I got jipped in a way but I but also I hate confrontation I'm no Libra inside of me but I don't like confrontation. No, I don't like the uncomfortable situations. I come from a family of people who sweep things under the rug. Also, you're extremely media trained. Like, I can even just tell the

difference of you sitting in the chair versus other founders. Like, you know how to have conversations where you're not sure what you're going to expect. Oh, well, thank you. Yeah. I don't even realize I'm doing that because it's been like so many years of being on camera. But I don't know. I never had a coming out story. But I do remember like my mom asking me like, are you guys dating like a little bit down the line and obviously like I did I can't remember of how I answered that because it was so long ago but they came to understand it and they supported me and that was all that really mattered and I think it sucks like it's definitely an uncomfortable conversation to have but it shouldn't be no I think for our generation of children like when we have kids it's going to be a lot different yeah it already

is different I think that's what's so interesting about like I was kind of not sure how you were going to answer the question because I feel like so much of a founder's life now is public and it's like really talked about and it's microscoped. Like I remember when I was calling off my engagement and I was like so nervous of how it was going to affect my career. I was like, what are the things, the relationships I'm going to lose, the judgment that I'm going to get. And it's so hard when you're the face of the brand to be like in a silo because you're

not like inevitably your relationships or what you're going through personally does bleed over into your business. And I think especially I've seen you over the last few years like really build your personal brand and have people know Allison as much as. they know Mara. So I guess like even the decision not to talk about it for the last year, right? It's been almost a year. Like what has that felt like now even just opening up about it and being in a different headspace? And like how have you been able to manage going through that as you're in like the height of Mara's like building phase? You know, I took the summer to myself last summer.

Like that was the big thing for me. I just needed to figure out who, who I am I? Like what do I do on the weekend when I'm by myself? What do you do on the weekend when you're by yourself? Well, I do Pilates. No, I do Pilates. I like to exercise. I like to, but you know, my last partner and I, like, we, I realized we really bonded over things that I didn't want to do anymore. Like what? Like things like day drinking or like going out and like to eat, which I don't, I love a good

restaurant. But I realized my priorities had shifted a lot over the course of 10 years. And now, like, I'm living a much healthier lifestyle. I'm choosing myself. I'm doing things on the weekends that I want to do. But like, you've been engaged. You've been there. When you wake up that first morning, when you're kind of like choosing to go on this new

path, you're like, who the fuck am I? Like, what do I even like to do? And so I think that last summer was really a big point of self-discovery. And it really helped me not only evaluate my business, but also all of my interpersonal relationships. Like, am I giving more than I receive? Am I being enabled or enabling someone else to keep having habits that we no longer want to sit in or be a part of? And so I took that lens to every relationship. And a lot of that was really triggered by my weight loss journey. I know we've talked about this a little bit, but offline. But I think we haven't, I think that's also one of the other crazy things that you went through is like you did go through a crazy weight loss journey. Yeah, and like no Ozmpic. I would totally, like, admit it too,

because I really would probably be able to me. It was actually unfortunate because it was like, it was like, it was at the same time that Ozempic was like popping off. And I was like, poor Allison's been killing herself in Pilates room and like eating so well. And here she is, like probably everyone's like she's on Ozempic. You know what? You can do the Ozimic rumors all day. I'll take it. But I mean, you know, that's, compliment, I'll take it. On the eve of my 36th birthday, so I was 35 at the time, I was struggling in my relationship, I was struggling a little bit with my business and my weight. And the one thing I knew I could control is what I consume. So I kind of made that first move into fixing what I felt

was like I felt like I was going down this path of just something that I wasn't happy with. Like I didn't feel good in my body, which made me kind of think that maybe that's why my relationship's not doing well. I don't feel good in my body. So I really went on a crazy journey. where I started restricting calories about 30% of what I was eating, which I was overeating, for sure. Like, I'm 5-5-3. Like, I weighed 40 pounds more than I do now, which is like a lot of people don't believe that, but like I did.

And so started with that, had been doing Pilates, but upped it a little bit. But really, the kicker was like focusing on like the new version of myself while still residing in the body that I had. So I would wake up each day and give my body gratitude. Like, I've never felt better. I look so amazing. like we are just basically complex houseplants. We're cells.

We respond to energy. And so when you're tearing yourself apart every single day, of course you're going to hold on to weight. You're going to hold on to trauma. Your cortisol is going to be higher. But if you're speaking nicely to yourself and really appreciating your body, like it's magic what happens. And so those were like the three things I did, nothing else really.

And it's been successful. It's been two years now since I've had that weight loss journey. It's been two years. Yeah. So when you were starting to go through this, this. You said kind of like everything felt like it was slipping. Like your business, your weight, your relationship. Like what was like, if someone's listening to this and nothing is going well, like they're struggling with their weight, they're struggling with their relationship, they don't

know what they're doing in their career or their business is failing. Like what is like to your point the things that you consume? But I guess like where was the easiest points of change or where were like those markers that you were like, oh, I'm noticing something. Like things are changing for me. Because I think a lot of people, you know this. It's like the yo-yo effect. It's like you hop on, you hop off on so many different things. You start the business. You're so excited. You register the LLC and then like the motivation dies. What keeps you going? Well, there's magic in motion. And I feel like I like to emulate, okay, first off, you should rest, but I like to emulate that feeling of always being busy. And I feel like the more things, like you're really big at manifestation and stuff. Like,

I always envision myself in these like mini movies. I got this from Joe Dispanza. Have you read his book becoming supernatural? Yeah, I have. Okay. So I love his chapter on mini movies where he's like, you create this mini-movie, and I'm a bit of like, I don't know if it's like neurodivergent or OCD or maybe like slightly on the spectrum, but I like to listen to the same stuff over and over again. Same. It's like hyperfixation. Yes, like, yes, the same song. Like when I get in my car, I like to listen to the same song every day when I drive

to work. Like for how many periods of time though? Like probably for like a good seven, eight months and then I switch up. So do you have ADHD? I've never been diagnosed, but like potentially. Okay. And I work in a very bizarre way, like 17 things at once, but then I'll get them done at the same time. That's a different conversation.

But the mini movie, basically, I'm like, I'm listening to the same song every day. I should create a mini movie, which is what I want my life to look like. And so that first mini movie, I just read Joe Dispanza at the time. And I made the mini movie of, like, waking up in my dream body, you know, putting on an outfit easily because I look good in everything. And, you know, looking in the mirror, feeling confident. Arms have always been a big thing of my insecurity. So like looking from the side, enjoying the way my arms looked, feeling happy and healthy and walking out the door, I envisioned the life. and my kitchen. And so like every detail of that mini-movie, I would envision every single day as I

would drive to work. And then really, like, over the course of seven months, like, I realized I was, like, in the movie. And then I created a new mini-movie. And so it's kind of one of those things I've kept going. And whether it's about business or relationship, it's, you know, it's kind of something new every day. What's your mini-movie right now? My mini-movie right now is I'm very focused on growth for Mara. I feel like, I feel like we're really in a prime place that we have a new product that's been doing incredible for us. Which one? Pearl peptide glues. I just got it because I got it when I was gone.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that one sold out three times at Sephora. And didn't it just launch? It just launched. How do you get a product to sell out at Sephora three times, even if it just launched? Because, well, one, I think the forecast for it was low. And we're also in a very weird year. You know this from the other CPG businesses that you're working with.

Like, it's not been the best year for us in general. For us, I mean in beauty. And I think they were being conservative based on the climate and based on it being a new kind of formula for us. And by formula, I mean it's a new delivery system. It's more of a lighter weight, viscous. And so they ordered their first PO, and we sold out of that in a week. And then they ordered their booster, and we sold out of that at the sale. And then they ordered another boost. So it's just like we haven't figured out what that forecast is. But it's really exciting because I think we needed that new energy in the business. And we went through a lot of shifts this year.

You know, two people that had been with me from the beginning had exited. And I always... Their choice are yours? You know, their choice and my choice in a way. Mutual on one of them. And then the other one was sad, but ready for her to move on. But at the same time, I think you're not going to get to where you need to go with the people that started your business. And everyone says that. And so did that change? Did IVF and switch Twitter houses?

Yeah, in January. All at the same time and then launched this product. So I felt like it was the energy we needed these three sellouts to really feel like, okay, we're like ready to do this. We're ready to get to the next phase in the business. It's actually a question I asked this morning to another founder is like, so I often think that as an employee and as a founder, your best from like certain parts of your business. So like I would be the best from ideation to like 50, 50 employees, 50 million. And then like I'm kind of useless.

I don't know how to grow a business from like 50 million to 250 million to like hopefully a billion dollars one day. Like where do you feel like your best and how are you keeping up with like continuing to just like sharpen your toolkit and be better and like continue to learn so that you don't feel like you're ultimately one of the people that end up hurting the business growth? Yes, that is challenging. I feel like we're not quite there yet. I definitely think I'm more of a zero to 50 type of person.

But at the same time, I'm really great with operations. Like I am very sharp when it comes to like production flow supply chain, especially the fact that we own all these formulas. Like we don't, we have to put all of this together. It's a pain in the ass. But I truly enjoy it. Like I like the rat race of it all. So I do think I am a really good executive officer, like a CEO.

I'm maybe not that I could oversee. a C-O-O, I don't want to do C-O work from 50 to 100. That I know is beyond what I want to do. But I love the ideation. At the end of the day, it's all about the story. That's the journalist and me. I think that that's why our products are really special. Like, each one of them feels like a story. And we'll have to wait and see. We're not close to 50 million yet. So when we are... You said before you're doing like 17,000 things and distilling it into one. And it's interesting. Like, you're actually also one of the first founders that's still in the CEO rule that, like, hasn't fired themselves.

because I think what I've been hearing a lot from the trend of the people we've had on is, like, they kind of get to that point where they're like, okay, actually now I'm like a deterrent to the business and I'm going to go and do what I'm really great at, which is like product formulation and vision and, like, creative and community. And I guess how does someone like you who's all about the story structure their day to have the capacity to be sometimes in the weeds on finance and operations and formulation and other times like creative and in flow and building community? And like how do you balance that? Like, what does that look like?

Well, I'm not as organized as you might think. I'm very organized in terms of how my closet looks or like where things are filed. But like my, I don't write anything down. What? I don't take one note. Doesn't your team hate you? Hate for that. But I have an incredible memory.

I think it's because I've had to memorize so much copy over the years. Like I remember, like, I'll remember the shirt that you wore from the first time we met when we were making wantons. And like I have. Is that how we, oh, I was trying to. Yeah, that is how we met. And you were talking about Airwant, Beverly Hills. you were just kind of like maybe going to separate. Yeah.

And so like I have an incredibly sharp memory. But because of this, like it is hard to work with me sometimes because I am like 10 steps ahead just by memory. But I think for me, like my dad was a CEO and I get coached by him every single day. And I wouldn't even be able to hire or afford a CEO with as much experience as him. And so by- So is he like in the business of the title or no? No, no.

But like he's retired. Yeah. But he, I mean, I talk to him every day. He's my dad. And we both love this individual. industry. Like, we truly are obsessed with beauty. Like, my sister's also in beauty, too. We have an entire... What does your sister do? She works at Lory L. Wow. And so, yeah, like, you know, I was texting him today and he's like, oh, I'm on a Zoom with,

you know, T3 Micro till 1230. He's still an advisor in a lot of businesses. So I feel like I have the best training, the best coach. And when we're ready to bring on someone who's incredible, I will absolutely do that. But I have the best one already, like, on my side helping me. So do you ever feel like it's a roadblock sometimes? We're like, because I often feel like this, too, when I work with older people who have done it a certain way and like have success. And I have a new idea. And I was actually thinking about this in the shower yesterday. I was like I just made, we actually just made a large investment. We hadn't made one all of last year. And I was thinking about like, why? And I was like, I think because when I was new to this industry, I was so naive and I didn't know

what I didn't know. And I was so like optimistic. And I think last year I went through to your point, like so, not last year, but the year before that I had gone through such a down part of my life where I felt like everything was falling apart. And like, I think that translated into like, I guess a maturity I had grown into the business, into the industry that I was in that made me a bit more fearful and a bit more afraid to take risks. And then I think when sometimes you're around people that have like done it a certain way, that they're like giving you push back because you're not as naive and you're not pushing the boundaries and you're not taking risks. Like do you guys ever get into that fight of like you think a certain thing, but because of his industry experience? Like you guys kind

of think differently and it challenges you more. Oh, all the time. I mean, like, he created really, like, the whole brand of Nutrugino was oil-free, and I have an oil-based line. So when you were starting it, he was like, don't do this. No, it's never been don't. He's super supportive and loves everything that we've created, but he'll always give feedback. And sometimes it's like, oh, that one's too oily around, like the viscous of this one. He told me the cleanser, no one was going to buy it. It's our best product. But how do, like, that's what I'm trying to get out is, like, I think so many people listening to this, hear and know all the time, especially when you're at the beginning

phases of like, like, I had this vision for Hot Smart Rich to be like, call her daddy meets how I built this. And people just didn't get it at the beginning and down to people telling me like, oh, can you not send me an email invitation with your email address to my inbox? Because like, that's checked at work to like people, even that Courtney knows when he was first telling people about the name of my company, them being like, that's really self-serving. And like, they just didn't understand it. And I think it's easier when it's people you don't know. But when it's people close to you that are like doubting you or they think your idea is bad or they don't think you're making the right thing? Like how do you just trust your gut to know that you're doing the right

thing? Well, I do think that like I always trust my gut for sure. But my dad has always been supportive even for the ideas that he thinks are like not the best. He's never been like you shouldn't do that. But I'm also like so stubborn that you have to like as a founder or as any sort of like host, actress, whatever you're pursuing. You have to kind of think that you're the best. You know, no one else is going to think that you're the best. Do you think it's on comfortable as a woman to say I think that I'm the best? No. Because like you can, I think I have the best oil cleanser. Like, that's my favorite one. I've yet to use when I like more. Do you think you have the best color of hair? Well, sometimes. It changes throughout. Depends me to talk about your hair for a

second. So for anyone that doesn't know, Allison, is this your real hair color? This is not my real hair color. It is. Well, I just got to dye. So it's redder than usual. Okay. I was going to, but it's you say. Yeah, but it is. But it's like you're not a redhead. I'm not a redhead. But do you identify as a redhead? I think I do. now? We decided that I needed to try this red hair color because the show I was on wanted one of us to change our hair color. They had just hired Cheney Grimes from 902 and I would be my co-host. And we had the same hair colors. They're like, it's up to you guys, like, figure it out. And that's when I went red just to face an insecurity and now it's become like my thing. Like the red I always wanted

something like, especially being in the hosting space at the time, I wanted something that made me stand out because I felt like I was really getting better at my craft, but I wasn't standing out for certain reasons. And I was like, what better way to stand out than with like a very distinctive hair color? And it could brand me in a way. And I got so many brand deals after that. It's so interesting you saying that too. Because I think like in the female founder beauty space, right, it's so easy to be like skipped over or their story not be told because there's so many others. And I think you have so many little tidbits that like we've touched on today, which is like you have this amazing family legacy in history and beauty. Like you have a personal relationship

that's different from what a lot of beauty founders look like. You have gone through a divorce and a separation. And like, I think it's been interesting to watch you maybe not talk about that while building your personal brand. Has there been like a reason you're afraid to do it? You know, that's a good question. Like, I don't know why. I think like I'm a little old school in the sense where I always felt like you kind

had to keep something to yourself. Yeah. And now I'm not sure. Like the person I'm dating now is like really fun and like super loves like being in front of the camera and my old partner didn't love that. And I think I love it. So it's like fun when we get to film content together. Like you and Courtney too, I feel like, you know,

he didn't really want to be in front of the camera as much and now you're showing more of him. It's like it's kind of finding that balance. So I don't know why I never really showed it, but I think I did show it more when I was in a better place in my last relationship. As things started really taking a turn for the worse, I really wanted to kind of keep that out of my pages and off my feed.

And now I feel in the right head space to talk about it where I know I can talk about it eloquently and not from a place of like anger or space. And I think those are really important things. Like image and how I'm perceived is important to me, but also how I make other people feel. Because people don't remember, you know, what you said. They remember how you said it.

And so I really wanted to make sure I approached anything personal with a lens of sensitivity. Now that you're building your personal brand, what do you think has changed from when you were like front of the camera 10 years ago to what you're building now as in front of the camera? I thought that I was going to be done with this stuff 10 years ago. Like the fact that we're out here, like, making TikToks and stuff, it, like, makes me laugh a little bit because I really was like, I don't want to film myself anymore.

I just want to be, like, a brand founder and, like, work hard and, like, have a, like, be at a desk, not get my makeup done, get to actually get stuff accomplished. And it's crazy how, like, how much it's changed since I launched Mara even. But I really love it. I do love, like, the storytelling and I love this stuff, too. So do you, like, a calendar that manages, like, when you're going to be doing certain things or, like, a team that's, like, sending you social stuff? because I think so many founders listening to this, they want to, like, do it all. And it's so hard to find the time.

Like, I even get, like, oh, my God, like, when am I doing this and that and that? So how do you manage, like, all of the demands now of being a founder in such, like, a fulfilling way where you're enjoying it? And it's not, like, oh, my God, I have to get my makeup and do work and then go into a finance meeting.

So you asked me this earlier, and I didn't answer it. So, like, what I do is I time block. And I know a lot of people do this, but I stick to it. So, like, on Mondays, I have, like, a series of four meetings with every key player in each team. and we go over like the week, that week, the calendar, any like outstanding issues,

they're about 30 minutes long. Then on Mondays, I also do a quick check-in with my social content review for the week, and our team, our digital team, sends us all the trending sounds. So we kind of start placing them into things that we want to get done. And is that just for Mara's channels or your channels too? Okay. So mine and Maras. We do that all on Monday, and we kind of like set out the course of the week with, of course,

room for anything that's trending that pops up. And then we do shared albums. So I put like, I film along the day, the week. and my assistant and our interns really help like going through that shared album and making really cute trends. And then I dedicate like a content block on Thursdays where I film anything else that wants to be filmed at the office or like in a bathroom during that one hour. And I'm fast. Like I can get through a video a minute. Like however long the video is next. So I don't like take it, you don't take turns to film like you don't have to take multiple takes. Never.

See like people don't know this about me, but I even film the video between Yusuf and Nish and I filmed the intro like four times. Stop. But like you're such a natural even like this. And I bet you could do it in one take. It's because I did live to tape for you. Do you not live to tape is? So when you are in production, live to tape is where if you're shooting a show and it has

to air the same day, you film it like it's live, but it's live to tape. So if you say the F word or like they can really mess up, like they can get out of it. But the goal is they're not going to shoot it again. You get one chance. So like it taught me a lot how to work on my feet, especially if I'm feeling. something like you're not going to love the way you say everything but you can recover in a way where you don't have to do it again and it makes it more efficient and so I film everything like it's live to tape and you you're kind of one of those people that's like it doesn't matter if everything's

perfectly are you a perfectionist no so I used to be but like you don't get anywhere when you're perfectionist like I could pour over the same copy or the same whatever I'm doing for a million years I'm a Virgo rising so yeah if I want to be a perfectionist like I'll catch you in five years doing the same thing but like I have to move on like speed is power and like 80% is better than 100% if it takes like 80% of the time. That's so interesting because I feel like you've totally like shifted your life over the last three years is that seems like one of the mantras that you live by like what are some of the other things that people can put into like I'm even thinking for myself like I just

look at how you've transformed your life. Like what are the other like mantras or things that you've lived by to do this in total life transformation? Like you are so happy and it makes me so happy watching it because like I remember standing in Terry's kitchen for her baby shower and you and I had this really intense conversation because I had just I think I had just yeah it had just been like I'm going to call off my engagement and and I could tell that things were like off for you but you hadn't like fully decided what you were going to do that was probably last two jenbers ago or something that's when it was really rough too yeah there was an inflection point like before that and then we kind of like made a choice to kind of continue working through it and there were a few other

series of events that just made it impossible for me to move on in that way. And it's hard. Like, making those decisions is hard, but kind of like a mantra that I like is, you know, staying's hard, leaving's hard, like, choose your hard, right? It's a very simple one. Like, you have to, everything is hard at the end of the day, and you have to make the choice for yourself. So I think that's one of them. I think the other thing is just like, everything is energy. And I was around a lot of people who had not great energy. And you can't control that. And they were energy suckers, not energy givers. And so I really wanted to be around people that I felt like were also giving me energy.

Like, do you, I ask myself questions? Like, do I leave that conversation being fulfilled? Do I feel lighter after hanging out with that person? Do I feel better after hanging out with that person? And if the answer was no, like, then I realized, like, maybe I'm not hanging out with the right people. Maybe I have the wrong people around me. And so I think those were like the tough conversations that I kind of first started going through. but on a daily basis, like I just try and consume less than I need in all areas of life.

So whether that's food, relationships, business, I don't want to overconsume from anything because I want to leave wanting more. And I feel like it makes life a little bit more fun because, okay, like I stop myself from overhiring at my business so then I can have more flexibility to do things like marketing. Were you overhiring? Never. Okay, but these are kind of things that I live by so I'm able to do the fun things. Or I stop myself from overconsuming so that I can actually like go on vacation, have the Pinacolada, like not care. about it. So I think that's something that's really helped me too. But I'm trying to think if there any other mantras that I've, I live by. I think you've always just been like such a good person, too.

Like I think it's so interesting because I think that you are so media trained that like sometimes your genuineness on your TikToks. Like if people get to know you in person, you are like such a girl's girl. You remember everything. So you always make people feel so special. But I feel like sometimes like TikTok and I find this too, people always tell me they're like, you're so much better in person than are on camera or like on film and it's hard because I sometimes like I listen to so there's so much contradictory advice like I hear Beyonce be like she puts on that persona of being what's her like persona's name? Sasha Fier's. She like puts on Sasha Fier's and like she's like I leave Beyonce to the side and I'm Sasha Fier's and I'm like okay so the character that you're playing is like energetic

and happy but then I think people sometimes miss like the genuineness of who you are what is something that like you want people to take away from this conversation that like they might not know about you from your social media? Oh my God. I don't even know. I guess like I don't know. That's a really hard question. Like maybe that I am really authentic. Like even though I am media trained, like I'm also kind of like this in person. Like this is how I act in person too. So maybe it is like decades worth of training. Maybe it's just who I am. Maybe they've morphed into one. But I want people to know that I really like am super authentic. And everything I do like I put so much love into. Like these are truly extensions of me. They're not made by anyone else. There's no dad who, like, created it. That's

a rumor I get a lot, too. Like, I just really love what I do, and I hope it changes people's skin. It does. I mean, I'm staring at your skin, and I'm just like, you don't even need to go to Korea because you have, like, the glow that everyone wants from salmon sperm facials. Well, look at your skin. But what is the product combination that, because you don't use 13 products every single day. Never. So what's your, what's your go-to? So I skin cycle. I've been skin cycling since it was before a thing, But I basically alternate in the evenings. I cleanse my face. I use pearl peptide sometimes.

Sometimes I don't. And then I go through either retinol, our lactic acid, which is flour acid, or our clear skin mineral milk, which is our acne product. I use one of those and then I hydrate. And that's it. And I kind of listen, I listen to my skin. That is like with the biggest piece of advice I can give anyone is like, I think people want like a routine.

But like not every routine is going to work for you. It's going to work for him versus me. So like look in the mirror. Like, do you feel like you've got anti-aging issues right now? Do you feel like your skin's a little dull? Like, listen to your body, look at your skin, and treat it as such. So that's what I do. And so some weeks I'm using retinol, because I'm feeling old A-F, and I'll be using that for weeks on end.

And then I'm like, wait, I've got a little bit of dullness. Maybe I'm going to switch it to do flower acid tonight. So I think it's kind of taking that intuition we've talked about and applying that same practice to every area of life, including your skin. And in the morning, it's simple. I do the same thing every morning. I use no cleanser, just pearl peptide, our vitamin C, which is one of my favorite products, and sunscreen. I love Dr. Loretta right now.

Okay. Okay, this is such a good way to transfer into our rapid fire because there's some good questions you mentioned on here. I pick one for the rest of your life. Okay. Morning or night skincare. Night. Makeup or skincare. Skin care.

You're so good at this. You're so fast. Yeah. You can only pick one for the rest of your life. Coffee, cocktail, or matcha. Coffee. What's your order? coffee cocktail macha.

No, what's your order for coffee? Oh, order. That was such an April 27th. Not a light jacket because it's not too warm and it's not too hot. Oh, my God. I'm dying. Dying. My order for coffee, it depends.

Like, I like to make my own. I use this, like, brown coffee from Airwan that I really love the taste of. I do some whole milk. I've been doing cowboy colostrum. Jury's out on that. Okay. But otherwise, I like a flat white. Okay, I like that.

I like that. I like a flat white. Is your favorite brand at Sephora that's not yours? Ooh, I have it by category. Okay, let's do it. Okay, crown affair for hair. Love? For makeup, this is such a tough one, but I think I really am a Say girl.

Yeah, I love Say. I love a lot of their products. I love Mara and Tower 28 as well, but I use a lot of like my essentials from Say. And then in skin, that's not mine. That's really tough, but I probably use the most Shawnee Darden besides Mara. Yeah, okay. What about fragrance? Ooh, also tough.

I really love Fleur. It is the best last purchase that you've made by Kelly. You got a Kelly too? What size? I got it in Tokyo. I did. Oh my God. I know.

You were like so busy. I don't even know if I said anything, but I like probably just hearted yours, which is gorgeous. I got mine at that place. It's like QQ. Okay. I didn't go there. And it's amazing.

I got a 30. Okay. And it is like the most like, I call it dangerous, but it's like the most dangerous, like very beautiful leather because it scratches really easily. Oh, okay. But it's calf skin and it's gorgeous. and I love it and I wear it all the time. What's your most regretful last purchase?

Ooh, I try not to have regrets, but probably the really expensive blender that I bought like a year ago that I still haven't used. What's it called? I don't even know the name of it. Okay. But like I bought it because I was like, I must make my own tahini.

And then I have yet to pull it out because I saw all the pieces and I was like, I figured that out later so I just started shoving it away. Who is your favorite comfort creator? Comfort creator. So like who do you at nighttime just type into your source?

search bar and just consume. Ooh, that is such a good one. I recently met someone that I didn't know beforehand. I didn't realize she was a big creator. And then I started watching her videos. Tessa Brooks. I don't know her. She's like a dance.

She dances. Okay. So I've been really into her dancing videos because I just love like, I just want to be a sick dancer. Okay. I'm like can't do that. So I think hers and, um, ooh, I like wishbone kitchen. Yeah, everyone does.

Yeah. Are you a big cooker? It's new for me. Like I was kind of always told that I was a bad cook by my last, like in relationships. And I'm actually not. I'm actually a pretty good cook and I'm really creative. The problem is you're never going to get the same dish twice because like I don't know what the hell I did. I just kind of like put it together. But I really enjoy cooking and I can't follow a recipe. But I do like watching people's reels now because it gives

me inspiration. Okay. Are you mostly consuming content that's like personal loves and hobbies or are you consuming like things that help your business or like what are you kind of like listening? What's your information diet? My information diet is a lot of Huberman Labs because I love health and wellness and like those types of trends. I get a lot of like, you know, when Instagram serves you things, like I get so much about like growing businesses and like inspirational quotes. So clearly that's always top of mind. And then I do love fat. Like I started in fashion. So I get a lot of like the old school like bloggers still in my feed because I think they have the best style. Like I love seeing what Shay Marie is wearing and like Daniel Bernstein and like Ami song. Like I get a lot of that. Have you ever worked with any of them as an

influencer for Mara? No, but we've like, Ami's been a friend of mine. She's posted Mara for years. But a lot of these girls I met on my show at Pop Sugar. So we had an influencer show that was kind of like a fashion police, but like more positive. And influencers were on as guests. Wow. And we would like do kind of like entertainment news and like style critiquing. And so I had like Ami on a bunch of times and her sister came to the studio a bunch too. So like I had a lot of relationships like that from my past. Do you guys do a lot of money on influencer marketing at Mara? We just started actually, and we haven't really invested in like paying one partnership, but we're working with Shopmai. Yeah.

Which I really love the platform. And, you know, it's just been hard because I think getting that ROI is really challenging in this landscape. So we just want to kind of dip our toes into that, into that landscape for now. Yeah. Last question. TikTok or Instagram? TikTok. Really?

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Like, catch me on TikTok. Like TikTok, I have to like put my phone away because I could be on there four hours. Same. Instagram, like, I think the trial reels is helping the whole platform give us better discoverability and find new things that interest us. But, like, I don't want to follow a million accounts.

But then again, I don't want to see, like, you know, Mary's second child's, like, baby baptism for everything that I see. You know, I want, like, that's why I love TikTok. I love, like, discovering things. I think it's so curated Instagram and it's so, like, intentional in a good and a bad way. Like, I think TikTok, to your point, you can just find more. real information on there, more real reviews and real stories. And I'm like, actually a lot of the feedback I've gotten from people on my show is like, you should be posting more on Instagram, more like authentically, more in the moment, like stop being so poised. Like, do you feel like you

have two different personas, one on TikTok and one on Instagram? Yes. And it's funny you say this. I've been having like a lot of these conversations because like you can just throw up anything on TikTok and like you don't care. Yeah. But then like I would never like, I would never post half this stuff on Instagram. But my TikTok is growing so much faster than my Instagram. is and is like that why? Are we like, yeah, but it's like we don't reward the behavior of like what's actually where like I've had way more followers on TikTok for so long and it still has not rewarded me to like or like, you know that, um, what's that famous study where they give the dogs like the

treat. I'm like blinking on it, but it's not rewarded my behavior enough to make the switch to like do such organic content on Instagram. It's still like a block for me and I think it's just like something I have to work through and I'm working on it right now. But Allison, thank you so much for coming on Hot SmartRibank. Rich, where can people find you? You can find me on Instagram at Allison McNamara, but more importantly, you know,

at the Mara Beauty, and you can shop us at Sephora.