Breaking Into Beauty: Inside our Beauty Bay Exclusive Interview

What did you want to be when you were younger?   RB: Throughout my entire childhood I wanted to be an orthodontist, I honestly think this is where my love for the beauty industry began. I studied interior design in college and did that until a year ago– even while I was starting up Freck, I was always doing residential & commercial interiors. Freck began as an after-hours passions project with the hopes of other people wanting freckles, who knew it would become a full-fledged beauty brand! 

What attracted you to the beauty industry?  RB: I get this question a lot and the honest truth is that I started Freck when Glossier was launching. Did I know about Glossier? No. Did I know that there was going to be a beauty revolution for girls who wanted no-makeup-makeup? Hell no. I just knew that me & my friends wanted freckles, and figuring out how to bring faux freckles to market was an exciting enough puzzle that pulled me into an industry that I felt had never catered to what I wanted to look like. I had a hunch & decided to follow it.

What did you study and how did this guide your current role/how do you use the skills from your degree in your job?   DW: I studied video game programming, actually! The late night studies and tedious attention to detail definitely help with this sort of industry; particularly when you are in the process of production and formulation. 

What path did your career take after graduation?   RB: I graduated with a degree with interior design which I threw out the window a year ago. I always knew I wanted to own my own business which is why I went to interiors, but running Freck is more fun than I ever imagined work could be. 

Oysters in Silver Lake when I first asked Des to be my wizness partner | Holloween 2018, just before our skincare launched

What does your day-to-day entail?   DW: My day-to-day is definitely different day-to-day. I wake up around 5am. The morning is my favorite time.. sitting with a cup of tea while the sun is rising with my laptop, answering emails.. peaceful to say the least. Then we go into work mode. This is a hard question to answer, to be honest, because no day is the same. Some days we are putting out fires and others we are coasting– meetings with our chemists, photoshoots, packaging, selling etc. We have a small team so everything is very hands on. 

What skills and experience do you need to succeed as a brand founder?   RB: A friend told me forever ago that I have “stick-to-it-tiveness”. That’s what you need, cause babe, you’re gonna face problems at every turn. If I had a dollar for every time I almost gave up on Freck..