Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Vice President Kamala Harris described herself as “ready to serve” in an interview last week, uterine cancer continues to rise in prevalence among American women over 50, and two L’Oréal alums built a $300 million skincare brand.
– Got that glow. Sarah Lee and Christine Chang met in the mid-2000s when they both worked for L’Oréal in the beauty giant’s Seoul office. The pair had similar backgrounds; they had both grown up all over the world and shared Korean heritage and an appreciation for traditional Korean beauty regimens, from going to bathhouses on the weekends to bathing in spoiled milk. They hit it off and coincidentally ended up moving to L’Oréal’s New York office at the same time.
By 2014, Lee and Chang decided to quit their corporate jobs and start a skincare startup together: Glow Recipe. The startup started as an e-commerce platform for a selection of Korean beauty brands but pivoted in 2017 to its own brand. Today, it’s one of the most popular brands on TikTok, trending with young skincare obsessives from Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Glow Recipe earned $300 million in revenue in 2023, Fortune is the first to report.
The duo, both 42, say that the decade they each spent at L’Oréal—working on Kiehl’s, Lancôme, and L’Oréal Paris across digital, global business development, and marketing—has been critical to their approach to building a business. “It doesn’t prepare you for entrepreneurship—I don’t think anything really does,” Chang says. But working in a conglomerate required some entrepreneurial skills, Lee says. “You had to be very independent and be your own entrepreneur within the organization,” Lee says. “You had to figure out ways to build strong relationships with cross functions, your managers, and your team members to support the marketing strategy or idea you came up with.”
 Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, cofounders of Glow Recipe. Courtesy of Glow Recipe They started their own brand with an in-depth understanding of the nitty-gritty of the beauty industry, like how to get on shelves in Sephora. They knew to tailor their marketing strategy to each retailer—and that Sephora preferred a “high-touch” approach with frequent communication.
Glow Recipe crossed $300 million in revenue last year helped by a few hero products, including its watermelon dew drops, which together with toners accounted for 41% of its business. Serums made up another 35%.
While the brand markets to older Gen Z and millennials, it’s become popular with young Gen Zers and Gen Alpha, who are under 13 years old. Glow Recipe is one of the brands that tweens seek out at Sephora (yes, those Sephora tweens). The founders still plan to focus on slightly older consumers. “If that influences those other demographics, that’s great, but we’re not going to change our strategy,” Lee says. Parents appreciate that the brand’s formulas are “gentle to the skin.” And the founders appreciate that their initial vision—to make products that work but have fun, accessible packaging and branding—has paid off.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
@_emmahinchliffe
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- Job-ready. Vice President Kamala Harris described herself as “ready to serve” during an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week as concerns grow regarding President Joe Biden’s potential second term. Though Democratic officials claim there are no serious discussions about Harris replacing Biden on the campaign trail, she has recently been in the public eye more than usual as part of her abortion rights efforts and other responsibilities. The New York Times
- Uterine cancer spreads. Uterine cancer continues to increase in prevalence among women over 50 and doctors are blaming hair straightener ingredients, a rise in obesity and diabetes, and delayed diagnoses for the problem. An upcoming FDA proposal to ban a particularly harmful ingredient in hair straightening products and promising results from immunotherapies give hope that the uptick, which is significantly more pervasive among Black women, could reverse. The Wall Street Journal
- Hair apparel. While a new wave of entrepreneurs employs recycled human hair to fertilize crops or clean up oil spills, Zsofia Kollar is using it as the main component of her fashion startup Human Material Loop. Kollar has spent the past two years fleshing out a line of wool-like sweaters that aims to cut down on the environmentally damaging process of discarding human hair. The Washington Post
- Good stuff. Sales of the household cleaning paste The Pink Stuff have quadrupled since 2018, partially thanks to social media influencer Sophie Hinchliffe and the millions of followers to whom she introduced the product. The hairdresser turned cleaning product connoisseur has since authored a book and started her own line of cleaning products with Procter & Gamble. The New York Times
- Club rights. The Washington-based Strippers are Workers organization is spearheading a new bill that could provide adult dancers with the safety measures they say are necessary for the job. The bill, which is waiting for a vote in the state's House, would mandate keypad locks on dressing room doors, sexual assault and conflict de-escalation training for staff, and caps on how much strip clubs can charge dancers for performing there. Axios
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Tory Burch built a blockbuster business. Where will she take it next? Wall Street Journal
After a two-decade hiatus, Joni Mitchell emerged as the queen of songstresses in the best year yet for women artists Fortune
The art world before and after Thelma Golden New Yorker
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