Experts

Hi my name is Stephanie Garcia-Malcom and I am celebrity makeup artist with 20 years experience in beauty around the world. I started my career in London, worked fashion weeks in London and New York, lived and worked in LA for 7 years and now live in the Hill Country just outside of Austin. I have worked with clients Nina Dobrev, Alexa Chung, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cara Delevingne, Elle Macpherson, Suki Waterhouse, Jane Seymour, Madeliane Petsch and more. The consistent piece is they all hired me for my natural, less is more approach to makeup and skin. I practice creating a balance between creative and beautiful makeup that enhances my clients natural beauty, thanks to my experience and my degree in Fine Art which helps me create balance, perfect color matching and master symmetry. I truly believe simplified skincare and makeup routines bring out each individuals innate beauty.Some of my past editorial clients include Grazia, Glamour, Marie Claire, Vogue UK and Russia, Wonderland and Harpers Hong Kong.

Evan Huston is the Chief Digital and Technical Officer for Saatva. Evan is a results-oriented technology executive with software development and IT expertise, primarily in marketplace/eCommerce and omnichannel retail. Passionate about developing people, processes, and technology to achieve digital transformations that deliver business outcomes and meaningful experiences to Saatva customers.

Finding Balance, Beauty, and Purpose: How Cheree Ashley is Redefining Wellness Through Osier and Skincare.As a prominent figure in the substance rehabilitation industry and 13 years in recovery, I’ve spent the last decade building recovery programs that have helped thousands reclaim their lives. But something I often saw in my clients—and experienced myself—was the deep emotional toll that addiction takes on one’s physical appearance and self-worth. From rosacea, puffiness, and dehydration to the effects of skin picking and nutritional neglect, the journey to recovery can also be a journey back to self-love. That’s why I created Osier—a skincare and wellness brand rooted in balance, healing, and new beginnings.Osier has such a beautiful meaning as it stands for the willow tree and Willow tree means new beginnings.The philosophy behind Osier is simple: to be a safe, welcoming space where women can reconnect with themselves—mind, body, and spirit. For many coming out of addiction, basic self-care can feel overwhelming or foreign. I wanted to strip back the intimidation and offer something gentle, nurturing, and effective. That’s how our first two products were born: a moisturizer and a 3% vitamin C serum—a duo designed to hydrate, brighten, and restore skin without harsh ingredients.I chose to work with Korean manufacturers because of their reputation for clean, vegan, and cruelty-free skincare. I personally tested these products for a year on my own very sensitive skin. I wanted something accessible, something that worked for beginners or those just stepping into skincare for the first time—and these products deliver just that. The feedback has been incredible: clients tell us they see and feel the difference almost immediately.But Osier is more than just skincare. It’s a wellness movement. In a world where wellness often gets reduced to yoga classes and meditation apps—which are wonderful, but not always approachable—Osier aims to be something deeper. We’re here to remind women who have spent years putting themselves last that what they eat, how they move, how much water they drink, and what they put on their skin all matter. Wellness is not just a lifestyle—it’s a full-circle healing process: mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.Starting this brand wasn’t easy. I don’t come from money. I launched my first rehab center at 24 years old with no loans, no investors, just vision and a heart for helping others. It felt impossible. But I believed in it, and I built a multi-location recovery program on the Central Coast through passion, perseverance, and community. Now, I’m entering the beauty and wellness industry—a space I’ve loved from afar for years. I’m not an aesthetician. I’m not a beauty insider. I often feel like a small fish in a vast ocean. But I’ve been here before: an underdog with a dream.Osier stands for more than beauty. It stands for openness, support, and awareness. It’s a place where people can ask questions about recovery and wellness without shame. It’s about rebuilding confidence from the outside in. It’s about connection.One of the elements I’m most excited to showcase through Osier is our giving back initiative—a part of the brand that gives back directly to individuals battling substance abuse and mental health challenges. This is my way of keeping the heart of what I do at the center of everything, making sure that even as we expand into skincare and wellness products, we never lose the core mission: to help people heal.In the future, I see Osier growing into a full-fledged wellness brand—offering clean supplements, expanding our skincare line, and building a supportive community for women looking to find balance and peace. I want to continue creating products I believe in, inspired by my own recovery journey, and the thousands of others I’ve been honored to walk alongside.At the end of the day, Osier is about new beginnings—for your skin, your body, and your life.

Dillon Peña is a celebrity and editorial makeup artist and the founder of Leland Francis, a clean, gender-inclusive skincare and fragrance brand.Raised on a farm in Western Oklahoma, his connection to nature and his great-grandfather, Leland Francis Towns, inspired the brand’s name and ethos. Dillon launched Leland Francis to fill the gap in plant-based, high-performance products. Today, the brand is known for its minimalist formulas, small-batch production, and commitment to sustainability.

Leslie Fletcher, NP-BC, is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner and globally renowned aesthetic nurse injector. For nearly 25 years, she has worked alongside top dermatologists and plastic surgeons and was named Best Aesthetic Nurse in the U.S. in 2019. Her Los Angeles clinic, founded in 2010, is ranked in the top 0.05% nationwide for neuromodulator and filler use and was recognized as one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies.An international speaker and trainer, Leslie has educated nearly 10,000 practitioners and published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Aesthetic Nursing and has received multiple educational grants from Allergan Aesthetics for her training content.Leslie is the creator of trademarked techniques such as MicroTox®, NasalTox®, and TheraTox® and the only patented dermal filler technique in the world called ArqueDerma® Artistic Restoration Lift®, practiced by over 500 professionals worldwide. She continues to lead innovation in aesthetic medicine through her training company, The InjectAbility® Institute where she trains more practitioners in the field of aesthetics than anyone else in the US.

Paula graduated from the University of Toledo with a major in business and a minor in communications. Immediately upon graduating from college, Paula was hired by a Fortune 500 company, Owens-Illinois Corporation, Forest Products Division, where she sold corrugated packaging to manufacturers in New England. Having seen everything manufactured from cranberry juice to blue jeans, after 5 years, she decided to move back to her hometown, Toledo, OH, to pursue her real passion -- politics. Before launching her political career, Paula served as the Development Director for the United States Marines Youth Foundation, for US Major General Walter A. Churchill, a program devoted to keeping our children off drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, through the promotion of physical fitness in U.S. schools. After that, she was asked to host a political talk show, hosting a daily 3-hour program on, the number 1 rated station at that time, WSPD radio. After becoming a house-hold name through her radio program and political activism, she decided the time was right to run for public office, and ran for City Council in 1989, and then mayor of Toledo in 1991, and 1993. But getting elected was elusive for her as she is not the go-along-to-get along type. Pointing out corruption, government waste, and patronage is not a recipe for winning elections when you are going up against the entrenched political machines of both parties. Having lost the opportunity to change Toledo, and after seeing herself on TV during her campaigns, she realized that black mascara was not a good look for redheads, so she decided to change the life of redheads instead. Putting her marketing background to work with her late husband, Duane Abbajay, they set out to develop the first line of beauty products for those with red hair. After operating JFR in Toledo for several years -- Paula and her husband decided to get out of the rough and tumble world of politics in Toledo and move to beautiful Sedona, Arizona to work on the brand inspired by Sedona's amazing red rock, natural beauty. Paula now resides in Scottsdale, with her son. Just for Redheads Beauty Products is now headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and reaches over a million redheads worldwide.

Mark Menning, PhD is a pharmaceutical scientist and the founder of MARK Los Angeles, a California-based skincare brand pioneering the use of flavonoids and advanced transdermal delivery to address cold sores, acne, and inflammation. With a PhD in Chemical Engineering and a track record that includes formulating FDA-approved antiviral therapies like Truvada and Atripla, Mark brings a rare blend of clinical expertise and entrepreneurial vision to the beauty and wellness space.His first venture, Nucleo Life Sciences, provided laboratory services focused on translational pharmaceutics and novel delivery systems, supporting clinical-stage programs for small, mid-sized, and large pharmaceutical companies. At the core of the brand is XDF™ (Transdermal Flavosomes), a proprietary system designed to solve the long-standing bioavailability issues of flavonoids by enabling them to penetrate the skin effectively.This technology drives a growing portfolio of performance-first products, including the Lip Rescue Serum and Lip Health Balm—a new standard in cold sore care—as well as the E.Q. Clear Skin collection, a clinically tested line formulated with flavonoids to calm inflammation and visibly improve blemish-prone skin.Mark is committed to bridging science and skincare, translating plant compounds into clinically validated actives with real-world efficacy and pharmaceutical-grade precision.

Ulli HaslacherFounder, Inventor & CEO, Pour Moi Skincare Beauty Futurist | Wellness Advocate | Beauty Tech InnovatorUlli Haslacher is the inventor of Climate-Smart® Skincare and the visionary Founder and CEO of Pour Moi Skincare—the world’s first skincare brand scientifically formulated to adapt in real time to the local climate. She revolutionized traditional beauty routines by creating a patent-protected rotating skincare system based on environmental adaptation—an innovation honored by TIME Magazine as one of the “100 Best Inventions of the Year” and published by the United States National Library of Medicine for its scientific and dermatological significance. It is likely the first non-medicated cosmetic invention in the beauty industry to achieve this distinction.At the forefront of the beauty tech movement, Ulli designed Pour Moi’s AI-powered tools—the Cream Finder and Drop Finder—to remove the guesswork from skincare. These real-time, environmental tools analyze local weather conditions and instantly guide users to the right product for the day. Integrated directly onto each bottle, they create a highly personalized experience that is both interactive and educational. This next-generation technology marks a bold leap in real-time skin optimization and drives conversion by giving consumers the “why” behind each choice—every day, everywhere.Before launching Pour Moi, Ulli co-owned an international company with the late Olivia Newton-John, dedicated to advancing breast cancer awareness through wellness campaigns and corporate partnerships. She also ran a successful boutique consulting firm specializing in women’s health, wellness, and beauty—advising dermatologists, start-ups, and Fortune 500 companies across product development, media, and retail.Her passion for climate was sparked early, shaped by a unique upbringing traveling the globe with her father, Robert Strouhal, who introduced climate-resilient industrial coatings from Austria to the world. That firsthand exposure to the power of local environments inspired Ulli to reimagine what skincare could—and should—be.Today, Ulli continues to lead Pour Moi’s growth as a disruptive force in beauty tech, blending science, sustainability, and smart technology to deliver climate-adaptive skincare that empowers consumers with healthier, more radiant skin—wherever life takes them.

Dr. Ifeoma Okoronkwo, M.D., known also as Dr. O, is a Yale- and Weill Cornell–trained physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, with clinical expertise in Regenerative Medicine and longevity science. A recognized leader in the body’s natural repair systems, Dr. O brings a unique medical perspective to skin health—treating the skin as a dynamic, responsive organ that reflects internal wellness and adapts to external environmental stressors.From her regenerative medicine practice in Midtown Manhattan, Dr. O takes a multidisciplinary, evidence-based approach to restoring optimal function by addressing the root causes of inflammation and degeneration. Her work spans everything from musculoskeletal conditions to the earliest visible signs of aging, always focusing on safe, non-invasive interventions.As Scientific Advisor to Pour Moi Skincare, Dr. O helps translate the science of skin regeneration, barrier biology, and climate-related inflammation into clear, actionable insights for everyday skincare. Her role bridges advanced medical knowledge with Pour Moi’s climate-adaptive innovation, empowering consumers to understand that healthy, resilient skin is not just about age or type—but about how skin responds to the conditions it faces every day.Dr. O is also the creator of The Dr. O Method™, her independent medical philosophy that reflects her broader mission to promote long-term health and renewal through personalized, science-based care.A former Attending Physician at NYU Langone Medical Center and Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU School of Medicine, Dr. O now dedicates her work to educating the public and professionals on the evolving relationship between science, skincare, and the environment. Her goal: to make skin longevity both scientifically sound and personally achievable.

Kelly is a passionate content creator, freelance writer, and blogger based in the United States. With a knack for crafting engaging and relatable content, she runs multiple successful blogs covering lifestyle, travel, food, history, pets, and education. Kelly's approachable writing style and bubbly personality help her connect deeply with her audience, aiming to inspire, inform, and uplift readers through authentic storytelling and valuable insights. When she's not busy creating content, Kelly loves spending time cooking, traveling, reading, and enjoying precious moments with her family.

After years of health struggles, Jamie Koll, founder of Girls Who Eat, was diagnosed with a chronic disease in 2018, sparking her passion for clean and non-toxic living. By focusing on the ingredients in her diet and environment and making small, sustainable changes, she improved her energy, mental clarity, and digestive health. This journey led her to become a certified health coach in 2019 and gain expertise as a functional supplement specialist, educational influencer, and ingredient expert.Her personal health challenges fueled her mission to decode ingredient labels, embrace holistic wellness, and share her knowledge to empower others on their own paths to healthier living. Today, Jamie continues to inspire with her dedication to creating a world where knowledge and clean living go hand in hand.

Paul Deacon has more than two decades of experience in the beauty industry, principally in marketing but also in product development, operations and sales.The first half of Paul's career was in Europe, working across a broad spectrum of high-profile, established haircare brands at the Estee Lauder Companies and within the L’Oréal group in London and Paris. He has experience in mass market brands (Elvive) as well as luxury and professional brands such as Kérastase, Aveda & Bumble and bumble. His roles grew not only with increasing financial responsibility, but also with their geographical footprint, scaling from the UK to EMEA and to global. Throughout his European career he has worked closely with the brands' headquarters in Paris and New York and had the opportunity to work with celebrities such as Catherine Deneuve, Claudia Schiffer and Gwyneth Paltrow,Since 2012, Paul has worked exclusively in the USA reporting into the founders of - and leading the brand marketing for - smaller, entrepreneurial skincare brands in the San Francisco Bay Area such as Algenist and Juice Beauty. Currently Paul leads all aspects of brand operations for Volition Beauty, with particular focus on product development across all beauty categories, and talent management with Volition's roster of Innovators.Paul is British and has a MA from Oxford University.