Aging Beautifully, Trusting Your Gut, and Building a Business with Heart — with Cathi Carrier

What if aging wasn’t something to fight, but something to honor?
 In this heartfelt and deeply inspiring conversation, Julie DeLucca-Collins sits down with entrepreneur and skincare founder Cathi Carrier to talk about confidence, reinvention, trusting yourself, and building a business aligned with your values.

Cathi’s journey began as a young girl struggling with acne and self-confidence. That challenge sparked a lifelong passion for skincare, eventually leading her to build an award-winning spa, Bella Estetica, and later launch Purely Bella, a clean skincare brand created specifically for women over forty. Along the way, she navigated single motherhood, financial hustle, entrepreneurship, self-doubt, faith, and the courage to start again from scratch.

This episode is about so much more than skincare. It is about listening to your instincts, letting go of other people’s opinions, creating alignment in your business, embracing aging with grace, and choosing brave moves over perfect ones.

If you’ve ever felt pulled toward a new chapter but wondered if you’re too late, too old, or too unsure, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

 • Why she believes confidence is built through lived experience, not perfection
 • The leap from employee to spa owner and how she pushed through self-doubt
 • Lessons from single motherhood, hustling, and rebuilding life from the ground up
 • Why trusting your gut is essential in business and life
 • The power of having — or becoming — your own support system
 • How Cathi built a spa rooted in safety, care, and empowerment for women
 • The importance of knowing your values and ideal client in business
 • Funny Cape Cod stories, including the infamous waxing pivot moment
 • Why self-care is not selfish and how inner health shows up in your skin
 • A holistic approach to skincare, wellness, and aging gracefully
 • Launching Purely Bella and creating products for women in midlife
 • Redefining beauty as healthy, radiant, confident skin at every age

Website: purelybellabe

Transcript

0:00

There's a side of building a skincare brand that not many people talk about. The long nights, the endless testing, the delays that make you question if you're doing the right thing. And of course, there's a financial strain, but it all contributes to your dream. Today on the show, my friend Kathy Carrier is here. She is the founder of Purely Bella, a skincare line for women in menopause. So let's get into it. Welcome to Casa the Confidence, a podcast for you. You'll hear some incredible women. And some awesome cool dudes. Going confidently in the direction of their dreams and living in the purpose of their heart. You're our host, Julie DeLuca Collins. And you are our sidekick. Hashtag Handsome Hot Husband. That again. And the producer of the show. That I am. I am an author, speaker, coach, dreamer. And most of all, we help people go in the direction of their dreams and support them on their purpose. So pull up a chair, grab a drink and make yourself at home because our Casa is your Casa. Hey, welcome back to Casa the Confidence, where confidence isn't a personality trait. It's a practice. And I'm your host, Julie DeLuca Collins. And I'm Dan, producer, editor, tech guy, and the one making sure the microphones are on. And well, the one thing I don't do is I don't make sure Julie says things she's not supposed to say in Secret Crazy Rants on Riverside because that's the other podcast. Brave Moves. And you know, she's doing all the editing over there. So if there's any mistakes over there, it's all her. How's that going? By the way, we hit 100 episodes. Daniel Samuel Collins. Really? That's amazing. 100 episodes. That's 100 days in a row where you posted an episode. Okay. For those I don't know. Yes. For those who don't know, go ahead. Tell them. So Julie has been doing a new podcast called Brave Moves. Daily. Brave News Daily. Yeah. No, not news. Brave. Brave Moves. That's what I said. Okay. I hope so. Let me know. Oh, you know, you're stumbling. I guess. I guess. Well, I haven't met on the mic lately. Did you forget how that works? Maybe I did. I mean, the last time I was in a mic was at a bar in Orlando at Podfest. And that was kind of fun. That mic will travel. So, and that was a week ago today. Can you believe it's a week ago today? It's kind of crazy. This week flew. So, I... Time flies. Time flies and does not stand still for no one. It was a great time. I had met a lot of great people and learned a lot. You know, I'm going to ask you a question and you're not going to like it because you don't like it when I put you on the spot. But what is one lesson you walked away from a Podfest with? One lesson I walked away with at Podfest. You know what? Right. I learned when people come up to you and start a conversation, just have a conversation. And that's as a normally mostly introverted guy. I mean, with age I've become more extroverted. I think your wives made you more extroverted. Well, yeah, but with age you tend to, you know, you learn how to deal with your introverted traits and tendencies. And the fact that we went to karaoke, everybody knew Dan's name, was a lot of fun. Oh my gosh. How does this happen? Wait, let me tell you a story, people. Dan said to me when we were going to karaoke hosted by Mopow, not an ad, but it should be because we love Mopow. They were hosting karaoke again. I went last year and this time as we're getting in the Uber, Dan says, don't ask me to sing. Now this is normally what Dan usually says when we're on our way to karaoke. Don't ask me to sing. And I said, no, I'm not going to ask you to sing. So we arrived. We were one of the first ones at the bar. We started hanging out with people and talking. And then I filled up my little form so that I could go and sing a song, but I didn't turn it in right away because I was talking and hanging out. And halfway through the night, Dan said to me, oh, I'm going to sing a song. Did you turn in your form? When are you singing? I said, I didn't turn in my form. He's like, what are you singing? And I said, I'm singing Brown Eyed Girl. He's like, oh, I'll sing with you. Is that how it went? Pretty much. I didn't say it's sing with you. I'm like, no, I'm going to sing that to you. Oh, that's right. That's what he's like. No, I want to sing too. I'm like, but it's my song for you. It's my song. Yeah. By the way, if you don't know, uh, Brown Eyed Girl is the recessional song at our weddings, at our wedding. Anyhow. So turned in the form and Dan and I sang together. But before all of this happened, picture it. It's one of these old timey kind of pub kind of bars where everybody's having a good time, crowded people laughing. And there's a back room with pool tables and there's a bathroom with a line. Julie had to go to the bathroom. She gets in the line to the bathroom and I'm wearing a hat that says constant confidence and Dan and I are wearing matching shirts. One that says the tech one that says the talent. And you know, we were twinning and I get in line and this guy says to me, Oh, you're Dan's wife here. Everybody let her go first. Anybody who's with Dan goes first. I was like, what? I just cut the line because of Dan crazy. You just, you just get in the side glow from, from, yeah. Get in the side glow. And then we proceeded to sing. Brown eyed girl had the bar going, having a good time. And then we realized that, Hey, the 50 year old people need to go. Cause it's after 11 o'clock and we get it back, better get back to the hotel. So as we're leaving, I call the Uber as we finished singing, the Uber is on its way. It's outside. And then we're making our way out of the bar. And then all of a sudden this guy at the door stops Dan and Dan, take it from there. What happened next? You're like Dan shots. I'm like shots. I'm going out of here. He's like, you can't leave without a shot. That's right. I'm like, I got an Uber. So, okay. So the guy gave Dan a shot of what was it? What was it? Ripple. Ripple never had ripple. I never had ripple in my life. I don't think I'm going to start now that you had ripple. Good luck to you. Anyway, if you don't know what ripple is, Google it. It's spicy. So anyway, so yeah, so that was really, really fun. And if you, if you want to see the video, I may throw it out on Instagram today. Anyhow, Hey, I have something else I want to tell you. All right. Okay. So yesterday you did the Enneagram test and you discovered what your Enneagram is. Yeah. I'm like a 58 on the Enneagram. Something like that. Dan, there's nine dimensions. You are a nine Enneagram nine. I actually was pretty sure that he was, but when he asked me what is my Enneagram, I said, I don't know, which is kind of funny because you were saying that the nine is like the most common. No. Oh yeah. The nine is the most common. And if you do the, if I do a Myers Briggs test, which is totally different. I'm an INFJ, which is one of the most rare. Hmm. So it's kind of odd to me. It is kind of odd to you, but here at the. Enneagram is, um, I'm going to, I'm going to tell you what the Enneagram are. There are nine types of core motivations in type one is the reformer or perfectionist. Type two, the helper type three, the achiever type four, individualist, romantic type five, the investigator type six, the loyalist type seven, the enthusiast type eight, the challenger type nine, the peacemaker. Now at a glance, I would say I could fall into the three, probably the four, probably the five. You certainly not the nine. Not the nine. Oh my God. But I am number seven, which is spontaneous, fun, loving, busy, one satisfaction, fears being deprived and the fears being in pain. Totally, totally me. And you know how the Enneagram works is that you have core motivations and it focuses on the why behind the behaviors. And it has an interconnectedness in the diagram and it shows how types relate, including your wings. Now I am a seven wing eight, which is the challenger, powerful, decisive, self-confident, wants to protect self and others, fears being controlled or harmed. That's my wing. Now you are type nine peacemaker wing one, which is the reformer perfectionist principled, purposeful, wants to be good, fears being corrupt and imperfect. Sounds about right. Sounds about right. So if you want to go take the Enneagram, tell us what your Enneagram sign is. We'd love to know. Or if you haven't taken the Enneagram and you don't want to take the Enneagram, tell us what your disc or your Myers break is. We'd love to kind of hang out with you. No, if they're listening to the podcast right now, how would they tell you that? I'm going to put it on the show notes so people can go check out their type. They can check out their type. Where can they tell you? They can tell me on Instagram. Go tag me on Instagram and your type. You're going to throw up a post about the Enneagram and just comment on it. I'm going to throw out a post. Okay, cool. Anyhow, so here's the other thing, by the way, and we haven't talked about this in a while, you also have love language. I do. Yeah. What is my low language? Acts. Oh, no, hold on. Words of affirmation. Oh, words of affirmation. Yeah. Physical touch. Which, oh yeah, see me. What are my love languages? What are my love languages? Daniel acts of kindness, acts of service, acts of service. Yes. In gifts. Gifts. Yeah. Look at you. So, uh, here's the secret to happy marriage. Understand your partner and know how to speak to them or relate to them. Yeah. Anyhow, um, not that we're giving marriage advice, but just give me advice in general, because this applies to anything. Anyhow, Kathy carrier is on the show, Daniel. Yes. Kathy carrier is a friend that I met through my other terrific friend, Dawn Wilkins, and Dawn is a very special woman. She's one of the first friends I met in Connecticut. In addition to Arlene Rousa Arlene. And, you know, we've had some really great times with Dawn and Dawn is that person that brings people together. She is going to go out of her way to love, support you. And she's a talented marketing guru. I really respect her and love her. And I wish we hung out more. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, Kathy also used to live closer together and every little, yeah, they moved to the shore. Maybe we should move to the shore. You want to move to the shore? Yeah. The shore is getting less snow than we are here in the shore. Always gets less snow. We're getting, uh, we're getting over a foot of snow today. A foot. They're talking 18 to 20 for the love of God. That's a, that's the upper range, but yeah. Anyway, so how did Dawn introduce you to Kathy? Well, Dawn met Kathy because Kathy had a spa and Dawn is a connoisseur of spot like I am, and that's how they met. And they used to work out and Dawn actually did some renovations, uh, for, and helped her, I believe in, in the redesign, redecorating of her spa. And then of course, Dawn has arranged for us to have girls, uh, some girls, uh, get togethers like lunches or dinners. And I met, I met Kathy also at Dawn's boat. And then we went to Cape Cod together for our little girls trip this past fall. That was a fun time too. Oh my God. We had so much fun. It was amazing. And, and Kathy, you know, from the first time I met her, she's an entrepreneur and I am such an admirer of her for the work and the tenacity that she has in her business, but I became a deeper fan of her as a friend and a human and a mom. And she's in the, you know, anyway, we get into a little bit of talking about, um, she adopted daughters and she has a heart of gold. But what I love the most is that she realizes that beauty is something that comes from the inside, but also is important for us as women to understand and care for ourselves in a way that is sustainable and not necessarily preventing aging, but aging beautifully and taking care of our skin. And this is why she now founded Pirebella her, her skincare line. And I have been using some of the products and I love them. Cool. Anyway. Well, let's get into the conversation. Let's get into the conversation, Daniel. And before we go, what is one thing that you want to leave the listeners with? Well, I think in the conversation you had with Kathy, you guys talked about trusting yourself, navigating transitions and choosing courage over comfort. And I think that is, uh, that is so important. And the most important thing and all that is what happens when you stop waiting for permissions to live the life that you imagined. Amazing. All right. So here we go. Good luck to your Patriots too, by the way. Oh, you're welcome. I hope your giants are enjoying their vacation. They've been on it for over a month now. Anyway. All right. Onto the conversation with Kathy and Julie. My friends, today's conversation is one with someone who is close to my heart. I've met her through a great friend of mine. And now she's, she's a great friend of mine because I love the work that she does. I love her journey, but I've gotten to know her. And she is a woman who embodies grace, resilience, and quiet strength. She's a wife, mom of four, and the founder of an award winning Bella Aesthetica Spa in Old Sabre, Connecticut. And because she saw a need for women over 40 to have skincare that truly understood them and Hey, I'm there. Um, she created pure Bella, a clean, gentle and effective skincare. And it's a line that celebrates aging beautifully and not fighting it, which I think it's incredibly important. Right. And what I love most about Kathy is her honesty and she's not afraid to share her struggles with confidence and what it is to start all over again and how she learned to trust her instincts and to know her worth my friends. And this is something that all of us really need to continue to always remind ourselves we have a great worth. So this is not just a story about beauty today. It's about becoming confident in your own skin from the inside and out. So welcome Kathy to the show. Julie, that was an amazing introductory. I'm so honored. So to be here. Look beautiful, by the way, for those of you who are watching the new too, you can see the glowing that she has. And she, like I mentioned, has built two successful brands and I want to kind of deep dive into this first. Let's start with the beginning. What first drew you into the world of skincare? And by the way, Kathy is one of the girlfriends that I went on my girl's trip to Cape Cod with. So we may even get into some of the funny things that happened in Cape Cod. That was so much fun. It was. It was. So I was always that little girl that loved applying products to my skin. I started working very young, babysitting and cleaning tables at an Italian restaurant and I spent most of my money on skincare products. Because I struggled with acne and it really affected my confidence. I was very self-conscious. I actually struggled with it on my chest in my back. Really? So that was really, that really interfered with my confidence. I felt like I couldn't wear anything that showed my back or my chest. And it was related to all the hormonal shifts that were going on at that age as well. And then I just felt like this may be something that I may want to pursue as I dove into what I can do with my passion for skincare. And I came across aesthetics and I thought, you know, let's, let's give it a try. I love that. I met someone, I was very young and I'll never forget. I was, it was one of my first jobs and I was working at the front desk. Of this business, it's an insurance company and I was helping somebody, um, with, uh, I guess a policy or whatever. And she, I was asking the questions cause we're going to go to the dinosaur days, you know, where we didn't necessarily type it into the computer. We would write it in the form and then fax that over to the home office. So one of the questions, and I don't even know why we wouldn't give it to the person to fill out. We had to fill it out. But one of the questions was what is your occupation? And she said aesthetician. And I'm like, what is that? And they think I'm an anesthesiologist when I say that. Yeah. No, not at all. And you know what? I, I was intrigued cause I thought, really? You, cause I knew makeup artists, right? You go and get your makeup, but aesthetician, that sounded like someone I needed in my life. And from a very early age, she told me, she's like, you know, you getting facials will help you keep your skin young. And I'm like, Oh, okay. So from a very early age, I've been really committed to facials. And it's not for me like a vanity thing. It is not a, you know, Oh my God, I want to look so beautiful. I mean, everybody wants to look good, obviously, but it's been part of a routine that has helped me know that, okay, I got to take care of my skin. You know, it's just like we take care of our hearts. We take care of our brains. That's part of who you are. This is your largest organ in your body. So I feel that there, there's something really important about that. And of course, I like to be thinking about your, your, your face is what everybody sees that is not something that you wanted neglect. Yeah, no, absolutely. I think people need to do that. Feel good in your skin. Yeah. And, and you know, I love that because, and this is what I see a lot Kathy. When I interviewed people for the show, they typically have gone through the thing, have learned the thing, and then now help people with the thing. And you're no, no different, right? You struggle with this. So you know, acne, and you know that now because you educate it yourself, you knew that it's not just, you know, oh, it's part of puberty, but it's part of really, it requires a lot of different things. And yes, it's hormonal, right? But hormones don't go away after puberty. So, um, so good. So good that you do that now. I still break out and I'm 52. Oh, I do too. I do too. I do too. Like the other night I was washing my face and I was right here. I usually get like that one pimple. And for those of you who aren't listening, it's right here on the base of my nose. And I think I guess I'm not washing very well. If I'm getting in those creases, you got to get in there. Was there a moment you thought, Oh no, what did I do? What am I doing? And how did you push through doubt? Because I know that I feel it. Other people feel it, but we never talk enough about the doubt that we need to push through. I've always enjoyed being an aesthetician and I absolutely loved my career. I loved the peacefulness of it connecting with the clients. There's nothing better than helping someone feel good about themselves. So, you know, I'm very fortunate that I chose a career that everyone leaves feeling better than when they came in. And not everybody's that lucky to have a career like that. So, um, I've always loved it. I did have self-doubt when I decided to start my own business. Obviously that was a big leap for me, but I knew that whatever I didn't know, I can learn. So whether it is, I can learn it or I can hire someone that knows it better than me. It will get done. And for me, it was believing in myself that I could figure it out. And I also have more of a fear of missing out than a fear of failing. So I'd rather put my heart and soul to something and know that at least I tried. So that is what I would remind myself. Listen, if this didn't work out, I tried it. I did my best whenever those little voices of self-doubt came in. I have to say that where the self-doubt would come in was mainly when I was listening to other people. So that's what I've learned in my entrepreneur journey is trusting myself and not let others opinions, judgments, um, or not unless they're just not aware of, you know, if you've never been in, in this position, you're maybe not the right person to take advice from or listen to for advice. Um, and those were typically the times I made mistakes in my business is when I did listen to somebody else that maybe I shouldn't have. So I, I tuned into trusting my instincts, trusting my gut and diving deep into education. Um, I've always had a coach. Yeah. I don't, I know, I don't know everything. And, um, I know I'm capable of learning more. Yeah. I, I'm so glad that you talked about that because I think that, um, in, for those of you who tend into the podcast, you know, I'm going to say this, the beginner mindset, the word I'll figure it out. And that has been a lot of my motto also, like I'll figure it out. I need to just start, get it figured out and get going. Right. And I think that a lot of times that's the one piece that keeps people from getting to the place where they want to go from starting businesses or getting out of relationships or getting out of jobs that they hate is because they are stuck in like, I already invested a lot into this. I already did this. And we talked a lot about the beginner mindset with a digital dojo, which is a few episodes back and we'll link it in the show notes, but I think that that's really a gift and by the way, that FOMO, I feel it. I always, uh, I'm an Enneagram seven. Are you an Enneagram seven too? Do you know your Enneagram? I am. Yes. See, great minds think alike. And I think that, um, I work at using that to my benefit. Now I do have to touch on this because I think that it's important to put into context, um, you were married before and you also, um, adopted children and you had a lot of things going on in your personal life, but then you, you worked at succeeding in your professional. Tell me a little bit about what were the hardest parts of navigating your personal life and did that impact your business or your career and how did you navigate that? I have to tell you, I was a single mom for seven years after I divorced my first husband and that was challenging. One thing I will say about myself, I always had a hustle and I went to my client's homes, I did home facials. I carried the bed. I carried the products. I brought my wax pot with me. Um, I also started one of those MLM, uh, jewelry businesses. I did what I needed to do to be able to provide for my kids. So I'm not afraid of working, working hard. Um, and then I was fortunate enough to find my amazing husband where I was able after doing all that hustling, I was able to stay home and raise my two children. I had with him and it was a wonderful seven years raising my children, but I had, I did want to work. I did want to do more than, um, just be a stay home mom. It's an amazing thing and I'm so grateful. I did it. Yeah. So when I started working, again, it was automatically in renting my own little space and he supported me. I was very fortunate that he was able to support us on his income and allowed me to pursue my dreams of being an entrepreneur and starting my own business. Quite frankly, I would have never have done that as a single mom on just my own income, but I had that hustle in me that I knew I can push through and make this business, uh, achieve my goals. As long as I had my husband to back me up and which he, he's been amazing, supporting our family through all of my, my crazy dreams and ideas. And yeah, yeah. Let's celebrate crazy dream and ideas. And more importantly, the spouses are partners that support that. And, you know, you said earlier that it's very important to not listen to the naysayers, especially if they haven't done what you want to do. And I think that, you know, for so many of us, you know, we're waiting for the validation, we're waiting for someone to say, Oh, you should do it. And a lot of times that doesn't come. And a lot of times also not everyone is as fortunate to have a supportive spouse, to have that person that is going to stand by you for, for individuals who are listening, right. And maybe they're doing it all on their own. What is the one thing that maybe you use to keep you going in the moments that it seemed like it was a struggle or it was just challenging because you had you yourself and yourself, but all the difficult times of being a struggling single mom and feeling alone and desperate. I always knew that there was more for my life. I always knew that God had a plan. And I leaned into that. And my faith is during the most difficult times in my business there, believe me, there are times that I'm like, what am I doing? And is this all going to fall apart and we're going to lose so much money and I'm going to fail. I leaned into my faith and he just, he gets me through everything. Faith and my husband. Yeah. Well, you know, that's a winning combination. And I think that faith, I think for me has definitely been the thing that at the end of the day, right? Even when everything else is kind of sideways, I can, I can definitely rely on that and it gives me sort of that stability, right? That I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. And, you know, I would imagine that in the early days, when you were starting out your spa, they, they were many different adventures and I'd love to hear a little bit of what was it like to start the spa? Um, because again, I love spots. I, there's not a spa that I've met that I don't love, right? But what was it like to start a spot? Because I, there's gotta be a lot of moving parts. And in addition to starting a spa, you had four kids. Yes. So it was, it evolved. So it's basically taking one step at a time and the momentum, and that's what I have to remind myself as I start this new venture. Right. The, the momentum was just accelerating. Um, I promoted myself heavily. Um, when I was just, I started with one room in a salon and then COVID hit. And at that time, um, I decided I wanted to expand further and I went into a different building, um, and we grew on that building. So we moved to, it just evolved. And just was growing clients were coming in and they were happy. We were getting, receiving really great reviews. Um, and you know, I started with just myself and all of a sudden I was just hiring more and more people and having the right team behind you is definitely a game changer, um, to support you through the process, but it was just momentum and people enjoying what we were providing and trying to give the clients the best service that we can. Um, I'm very, um, focused on making them feel safe and heard and seen and beautiful and empowering my clients. And, and I feel that, that we did a really great job at that. I think so too. And I think that that's one of the reasons why people trusted you and you know, my, my, our friend Dawn who introduced us, right? You, you met her at the gym, right? And then you grew to have her and Dawn is a very discerning client. So if she is going to trust someone, she is going to go to the best, right? If I wanted the best, I need to ask, I always asked on for a recommendation. So I know that you probably did a great job at not only what you do, but then surrounding yourself with people that understood your vision were aligned. And you turned things over to them too. Cause I think that as entrepreneurs, that's the hard part, right? We don't always get ready to turn things over, but that makes a big difference. Um, now I have to ask you and you can say no, and it's okay. We'll move to the next question, but I have to ask you our, because it was so good. And you know, we're a family here at Casa de Confidence. Can you share your story with the waxing that you shared with us in Cape Cod? Yes. So there's those little stories that makes you realize that we're going to pivot. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Um, so at the beginning, obviously when you're just starting a business, you'll just take on any client, you're just trying to get people in the door. And I would do everything to just get us our name out there. And, um, I didn't want to do mail Brazilians, but I mail Brazilians people. Yes. So if you know what a woman's Brazilian is, it's the same thing on a man. Um, and I decided to give in and try doing that treatment in our spa, but it was very uncomfortable. It was, it was not something that I felt was a special person to do that. Honestly, it did not align with my vision for the spa. So basically also my vision for the spot was more for a safe haven for women. And I realized that does not make it a safe haven for one, for women. And I really wanted to embrace women feeling comfortable being at our spa, empowering them and to offer that service. And then having men come in that maybe don't make you feel comfortable. Is not the best idea. So it was definitely a learning experience. And that's the thing is with business is you're kind of going through the process and pivoting that was an eye opener that this is not for me and not for my spa. Not for your spa. But inappropriate, I would say from, from that client. Well, and you know, and I'm so glad that, that you went exactly one of the points that I wanted to make, right? Because I think that, and especially now, I think that, you know, I think that especially now, a lot of people are feeling the pull of things tend to not be, you know, the government is shut down. I mean, hopefully it won't be by the time that we air this. There's a lot of individuals who are tightening their belt, right? And whatever industry you're in, you're going to want to make sure that you keep your business going, especially, you know, if you have staff that you got to pay and expenses that you have overhead. But here's the most important thing that I've learned also as a business is you have to know what your values are. You have to keep in mind the vision that you have for what your business, what you do is, you also have to know who you're servicing. And there's going to be times in which you're going to say yes and take on that client or offer something that maybe is not in your wheelhouse. And not to say that Brazilian is not in your wheelhouse, but for for men, right? That's not necessarily what you wanted to create. But we lose sight of what we want, who we are, what we're doing, who we're doing it for. And then we get into that scarcity mentality where I need a client. I need to do this. I need to do that. And then it's not an alignment. And I think that that's a really important lesson that you took. But it didn't necessarily, you know, it had the you still build a successful spot. You build a successful clientele. You had a team and you did it because you were true to your passions. You were also true to your vision and your values. So I do think that that's important. And that is definitely a lesson that I learned in building a business is that you do have to be in line with what your vision is. You have to plan who who am I serving? Who do I want to serve? Who are the people? What do you want to serve? You have to be clear on that. You can't be for everyone. And that's OK. Yeah. If you're speaking to everyone, you're speaking to no one. And, you know, honing in on who your people are is important. And I do believe that my spot has led me to learn so much to, you know, move into this new venture in my in my life. Yes, absolutely. And, you know, eventually you sold the spa and you started Pura Bella. And that's a big leap. What made you decide to start fresh again? I've had this passion for skincare, like I said, and creating my own products was always in the back of my mind, but I didn't really know how to do that. I wouldn't have had the skills to even go into this kind of venture because it's a whole different ballgame if I didn't start the spa first. So I've learned a lot about business and skincare in general and people and who I want to serve through the spa. Talking to so many thousands of women in my 32 years as an aesthetician has really taught me what women want, what they're looking for. And I felt passionate that this was the time. This is something I really want to do. I want to create something specifically for the clients that I've been serving all these years from my knowledge and be able to speak my philosophy to more people than just within my spa walls and, you know, one woman, one treatment room at a time and be able to reach more women and really help them feel empowered that we're not trying to erase age and reverse age. And there's been so many women that come into that came into my treatment room that just felt bad about themselves, bad about their skin, bad that they're aging and not feeling confident. And that was something I even felt when I started as an aesthetician at 19 years old, is that I always said, I'm going to age gracefully. I always said that I'm not going to, you know, there's nothing I have nothing against plastic surgery at all. But I felt that aging is a natural process. And I'm going to do the best to keep my skin healthy. And obviously I want it to look good and youthful. But you can do that by feeding it the correct nutrients, using the correct products, knowing how to care for your skin without trying to erase the years and look like something that we're not. And it just I feel like the beauty industry makes women feel less than as we get older. Yeah. And as a 52 year old woman, I'm proud to say I'm 52. Yeah. And I'm wiser and I am. I'm aging gracefully, just like I said when I was 19. So I stood by that. And now I'm able to reach more women with creating my own skin care brand. So I want to unpack a little bit. And again, you know, not just as a podcast host, but as your friend. Right. I am. I have to say that I am proud of my 55 years. I'm not afraid to tell people I'm 55. I always have prided myself in owning because I want to age gracefully. Like you talk about. But one of the things and I remember the first time, Kathy, it was right when I turned 30 and I'll never forget for the first time I saw myself in a mirror and I thought, oh, I'm getting lines. I'm getting it. And I remember just thinking, no way, Jose, I'm I'm going to fight this. And even though I want to embrace my age and I want to be proud of it. Right. I started to all feel that like tinge, like let's fight this. And then again, I think it might have been I was in my late 30s. I started to see like a line right here or not an 11, but I think it's like a line here. And I thought, oh, my God. And that's when I up my game in my in my products. Right. And at that time in my late 30s, early 40s, I was, you know, in this career that I could afford it all. Right. And then, of course, you know, time evolves. And I I want to say that I'm not fighting getting older, but at times, you know, when I look in the mirror, I look at the things and I go to the flaws. I'm starting to see a second line here and it's freaking me out. What what what would you tell me? You know, how do I embrace getting older gracefully without, you know, freaking out but also nourishing my skin? And I and I'm very big about moisturizing and washing and taking care of your skin. But tell me more. What do you think of what I'm saying here? Oh, isn't the treatment room. I've had so many discussions with women where they're obsessing about a certain line or a pigmentation. And there's a lot of things we could do in the treatment room. But there is a cap to it if you're not in the medical field, which we were not. What I would do is educate them on internally, because I am actually a health coach as well. So I would educate them on what you could be feeding your your body, your body in order to nurture your skin as well to help with slowing down the aging process. So as far as my approach to skin care is more of a holistic approach. So we want to slow down that process. We do want to do some corrective, but I'm also not about false promises. There's only so much you could do in the treatment room. There's only so much that skin care products can do on its own. So I'm an advocate of do your part for self care. Self care is so important. Whatever that looks like for you, making sure you're getting enough water, eating nutritious food, exercising, getting enough sleep and educating them on the things that helps keep your skin more youthful. But at the same time, embracing that and just feeling good about yourself. And the fact that you are coming in and getting a treatment, getting a facial, you are doing the self care that will help lift up your spirits or you're purchasing really good products that will feed your skin what it needs. Taking those steps forward just brings out a natural glow in your skin and helps you feel better about yourself. So it's about doing the things that will help you nurture yourself and not neglecting yourself because I do feel like mothers, women in general. Don't take the time enough for self care. When you are taking that time and realizing that self care is not selfish, it's important for you to be able to be the best mother, the best wife, the best coworker, whatever it is you're doing in life, the best person. You need to take care of yourself first. So just taking those steps of self care. You're going to see that in your face. You're going to see that glow. You're going to see the healthiness. Healthy skin is radiant skin. And that is what I try to educate people is take the best care of yourself internally, externally, taking my advice on education. And even now that I'm a brand owner, I create emails and blogs to educate. I answer all my emails. So anybody can always reach out with a question on skincare, getting the education on what you need for your specific skin type and doing your workouts, you're drinking your water. Obviously sunscreen is very important. And then also recommending skincare treatments in a spa environment. There's things you can do to just make yourself feel and look your best. And that's about embracing our aging, is doing the things to help us feel good about ourselves inside. So obviously, you know, I'm not, I'm not doing Botox. I'm not going to be zapping that wrinkle that's bothering you. But if you can say, I'm doing the best I can to feel the best inside and out, then that's going to put a glow on your skin and help you feel beautiful from the inside out. I love that answer. And I think that, you know, it's such a good reminder, right? Because most of us think, oh, you know, I need to do this, right? Need to take that extreme step. And it really is something that for many of us, right? We can do more than just the superficial or the temporary. We can do something to feed our soul, to feed our heart, to feed our spirit and also nourish our body from the inside out. So that's such a good reminder. This is your beautiful product, Pure Bella. And this is the Dream Skin Night Cream. And I'm so excited to be able to use it because I didn't want to open the beautiful packaging before the interview. So I can't wait to see it. But you created everything with such meticulous detail, love, and really formulating and creating something that is going to be of not only support, but really give that extra oomph, right? As we care for our body, that vessel that we travel through life. Now, your tagline could be, we're not aging, we're aging beautifully. What do you mean? What does that mean to you personally? It's about embracing who we are and not trying to erase those laugh lines that we have from years of joyful experiences and embracing who we are today without feeling bad about it. Men, they get their wrinkles, they get their gray hairs. Nobody's telling them they look less attractive. That's right. And we shouldn't feel that way either. So my skincare products that I created are basically antioxidant rich, barrier repair, healthy skin is beautiful skin. It is not about not looking your age. It's about healthy skin. Age is just a number. We are, you can be any age and be beautiful. It does not expire at 40 or 70 or any age. We could be beautiful at every age. And that's how I want women to feel. I love that. And I think that you can be beautiful at any age. And as we have listeners from all walks of life and from all ages too, although mainly women in midlife tend to be the most listeners. I want to encourage individuals to really take a page from Kathy's book. You can really define for yourself, what is it going to look like? You don't have to listen to people. You can outline your path. You'll find the people that come alongside of you to support you. But then you also tell yourself you're going to figure it out. What is next for you in Pura Bella as you're getting to this, you know, you're going to market, you're selling the products, they're getting it into people's hands. What's next? So we're launching one product at a time. We started with the dream skin that you have in your hand now. Yes, which is a really awesome night cream. Then we also launched our Serenity Mist Cooling Mist. So I actually created that for hot flash relief. Love that. So we really tailor our products for older women. So you're not only getting hot flash relief, but obviously toning in and feeding your skin with nutrients. We have three more products coming out actually this week. We're going to be launching them for pre-orders and just building the e-commerce brand until we can get them into stores. And we're going to work at that. I'm so excited. I can't wait to tell the whole world about this because you're such a... And by the way, I have used Kathy's products before. She's so generous with her stuff. And I saw... Oh my God, so good. We could talk all day about so good. But I want to invite you back if you're willing to come back, Kathy, because I think that this is a conversation that involves multiple layers as far as going to market. And we want to cheer you on as you do that. Will you come back and share how the journey is going? Absolutely. This was so much fun and I am very excited to come back and see how things are going with Purely Bella. Well, you know, you are a Purely Bella woman and you embody your brand. You are a giver. You are a person that is going to create not only impact in the faces of people, but in the hearts because your brand stands for more than just that outward beauty. It really comes from the inside out as well. So thank you for being here. I know that you were a bit nervous because we all are when we're doing something new. Maybe this is the first of many. I hope so. I hope so. This was amazing. I so appreciate the opportunity. Well, Kathy, tell the listeners where they can find you. Tell us a little bit of where can they order. We're going to have all the information in the show notes, but I want to make sure that you get to say it on air. Thank you. So my website is purelybellabuty.com. I'm also on social media and we are actually going to offer anyone listening to this podcast in your own code for 30% off. So you just. Yeah. I have Casa 30 into the code and you will get 30% off. Amazing. And then, you know, sign on up to get all our new releases of new products rolling out. Well, I get the emails. I get excited and cheer her on. We're going to have the information on the show notes. 30% is a great offer. It is incredibly generous. So my friends go take advantage of it. And more importantly, we all have a phase. Go tell your girlfriend. We all need not only a little bit of shot of confidence, but we need to support each other in becoming that beautiful person inside and out. And you can help your friends with the support of Kathy and Kathy has such an inspiring story. Make sure that you connect with her on Instagram and the social media is cheer her on. Let's come alongside of her and create a movement because this woman has the heart, the joy, and you're going to love getting to know her. So thank you again, everybody for tuning in. And don't forget, go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Thanks for listening to Casa to confidence. We thank you for listening. And if you want more, go to Casa to confidence pod.com. Check Julie out on her socials is Julie DeLuca Collins. And you can also check out her website at go confidently coaching.com. Have a great week. And don't forget, go confidently in the direction of your dreams.