Nyrah Beauty - The Science of Hormonal Skincare, Simplified

Ramon Vela (00:02.786)
Welcome back everyone. This is going to be a great show. I have with me an amazing guest. Please welcome Lorraine Corcoran, who is founder and CEO of Nyra Beauty. Welcome to the show.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (00:31.468)
Thanks, Ramon. Lovely to chat to you and really looking forward to this conversation.

Ramon Vela (00:36.29)
Well, I appreciate it. You and I were just chatting before we started recording and you are in Ireland and it's late there. It's already like eight o'clock or nine o'clock your time. So I appreciate you making time for us. I know you're busy and I can't wait to learn more about what you do and why you do it and your brand and share that with our audience. So thank you again.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (00:59.96)
Thank you, Ramon. Lovely to be here and can't wait for our conversation.

Ramon Vela (01:03.82)
So I always like to start these conversations around your journey and about your brand with a question of gratitude. And just for the listeners out there, I do that for a couple of reasons. One is I'm a big believer in gratitude and it has helped me through very dark moments of my life, entrepreneurial moments where I had to shut things down and it was just very difficult. And gratitude was something I used to help me

fight my anxiety, my stress, my worry. And I really love to promote it because if you're feeling that way right now, people out there, it's a great tool. You can pray, you can journal, you can meditate. I do a meditation practice and it's a great way and tool to help you release or relieve anxiety and stress. So I highly recommend it. The second reason why I love to ask this question is that I really feel like

From a consumer standpoint, there's nothing wrong with this, but there's a challenge when it comes to products. There's so many products out in the marketplace. And as a consumer, you see this and you immediately just think, like, wow, some faceless corporation, who knows what they are. It's just a package I see online or on the shelf and whatnot. And I really want this place, this story of a brand show, this episode, to be a place where we bring it down to a very person.

personal level and I want you to know that there's real people behind these brands that we feature on the show. They bleed sweat and tear. They work tirelessly to create a product for you and they care about their consumer. They care about the community and it is a hard road. It's not easy at all and it takes a lot of time, money and effort to get a product on the shelf that you see out there.

And then, yes, there are large corporations, but the brands that we have here, they're real people. And I want you to get to know them. And one way of getting to know someone is by understanding what they're grateful for. with all of that said, Lorraine, if you don't mind, can you share a moment or a memory when someone did something for you that just made you feel grateful because it meant that they believed in you, your vision or your potential?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (03:16.664)
So I really thought about this again, I suppose as an Irish person, we're not as, I suppose, maybe open on the gratitude. We're getting better. And really, I suppose, with the ups and downs of life and business, I suppose as you grow every decade, you're different. So for me, it's family. And I suppose I have an amazing husband who also happens to be my business partner. We have three amazing kids. And I suppose when we started...

this journey with Naira just over three years ago, it was back to start up land. We've had ups and downs with businesses before that since 2010. But I suppose my background is, I suppose I come from a small farm in background and my parents and both on my husband's parents, so very strong work ethic. And I suppose that hard work, determination, passion to do as much as you can, as best as you can really comes from them. they've like...

Like my kids are so lucky they four grandparents they still have. As they've been growing up they've always been there to support us all the way through. suppose my husband and I are both the eldest in our family and I suppose we've been kind of the go-getters. And basically when things didn't go so well a few years ago with the last business it was family that really rallied around us and we felt safe and secure around them and prioritized them. And it's kind of something I've had to learn to actually de-prioritize business.

and prioritized family, family being number one, which is, know, when you're younger as a business owner and entrepreneur, it's go, go, go, and it's all about the business. And then sometimes you have to actually hold on here a second, family actually does come first and they're the ones when, when I suppose things are hitting the fan that you need them around. really for me, it's that continuous, since I've been very young, I knew I wanted to be a mechanical engineer when I was 13 and my parents, I think, thought I was daft.

Ramon Vela (04:56.462)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (05:06.936)
But they were behind me all the way and I suppose it's that constant knowing that back, those people are there behind your back and it pushes you forward no matter what, good and bad. So for me definitely it's family but it's been a continuous and I suppose it's more my realisation over the last couple of years of how important they are and I suppose be more grateful every morning I have them around me.

Ramon Vela (05:35.882)
Yeah, well, and that goes to the heart of the question. And I 100 % agree with you. And it's one of those areas where I actually just finished another interview and we talked a little bit about this as well. know, we as entrepreneurs, have organizations, we have groups, have trainings, we have incubators, have all this. We have books, we have podcasts, all these things that help prepare us for entrepreneurship.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (05:38.968)
Mmm.

Ramon Vela (06:01.102)
The reality is this is a very difficult journey and there are times where you're to feel like quitting. There's times where you just don't want to go on. You just want to curl up into a ball and just like not put the blankets over you and so forth. There's really difficult times. And what we don't really talk about enough from an entrepreneurial perspective is the importance of having a good support network around you, your family, your spouse, your partner, whoever. People there who

you know, may not be able to provide you with money, but can offer that transfer of belief when you're feeling down. Like, you know what? You can do this, you know, just sleep on it. We'll start fresh in the morning. We'll get going and just keep you going. And sometimes just someone saying something, just a kind word or kind phrase can really re-energize you and having that support is so important.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (06:57.144)
And having, suppose it is that business, family, self, community, those four things, if anything is going wrong in any of those, all, but again, if you personally and your family are the thing that's really going low, they're the much harder things to overcome. But you know, business will always go up and down.

But I suppose for me, it's always trying to balance those elements in life and it's very hard to juggle them all at the same time and some gets more priorities than others at different times. and I suppose that's, I mentioned this was I'm a member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization and that is literally the framework of how that peer to peer network works and being able to see different perspectives. You probably heard of the Johari window, Ramon, have you in the past where it's kind of.

your known knowns, your unknown unknowns and all those different perspective views. So literally there's kind of a Johari window kind of element to the original kind of part of the entrepreneurs organization. And it's that having people around you that are so supportive, maybe like other business people, but again, open-minded and people who know that family is so important, your personal health and wellbeing is so important, your ability to interact with your community.

will only make you a better business owner and entrepreneur. And it'll make you, you know what mean, much more whole as a person. And you'll get so much more gratitude and enjoy, I suppose, the journey, no matter what the journey throws at you from a day-to-day perspective. it's, I suppose I've been living those values for the last nine years as a member of that organization has really helped me grow and develop as a person.

And I think that elements out to everything you do then in your daily life.

Ramon Vela (08:48.226)
Yeah. And you know, the, the entrepreneurial organization is like, they, you know, you have people in there that also provide you with advice and, know, entrepreneurs are the ones other entrepreneurs are like some of the only people that know how difficult like your journey is, you could speak to them and other people you have to kind of like, maybe water down what you want, what you really want to say, but with entrepreneurs, can just, cause they know it, they know, you know,

LORRAINE CORCORAN (09:16.344)
Yeah, you don't start talking to your friends in the pub about all your financial woes and HR employee issues and stuff. You have to be a self, because you're just going to bore them to tears.

Ramon Vela (09:18.466)
Yeah. Yeah.

Ramon Vela (09:28.236)
Yeah, well, there's there your sounding board and I can, you know, I'm sure that there's times where they provide you with advice or suggestions or whatnot that can be very helpful.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (09:38.634)
Yeah, and it's non-judgmental and that's the main thing. You don't want judgment. You want that support in a very positive, constructive way and an experience shared. So again, other entrepreneurs have lived similar experiences and know what worked for them and what didn't work for them. So it's a very, again, from their personal experience. So again, no judgment. But again, you might get a little nugget or two from what they said, even though it could be completely different context.

And you might have a business problem and then they bring out maybe a family or a personal issue. But it resonates and it kind of helps clear. And again, it's like it's that clearing of you don't want it in your mind and stuck within your body. You want to release, I suppose, any bad energy out because again, and then once it's out, it's not like it's back to the, you know, the waking up on the four o'clock in the middle of the night type thing and staring at the ceiling and wondering what you're going to do and how you're to make payroll or whatever it happens.

Ramon Vela (10:14.893)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (10:37.816)
current problem for that particular moment. So, you know what mean? It's an escape so it doesn't drag you down because I suppose we all know that things move. The one thing that keeps moving is time. Like it keeps marching forward, which is hard when you're a business person. You're so ingrained into every detail and how your business is doing and how you're perceived. And I suppose it's to be able to release and have those conversations with like-minded people in a very

Ramon Vela (10:51.981)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (11:05.344)
as well as confidential manner as well. And then you can have fun with your friends without boring them to tears about business stuff.

Ramon Vela (11:10.606)
Yeah, no, exactly. And I 100 % agree. So let's talk a little bit about, you you've given us a little bit of a view of your background a little bit. You've mentioned a couple of things here in just the last couple of minutes where we're talking. I always like to start off where you were before you started the business.

So I don't know how far back you want to go, I mean, I paint a picture for us. What were you doing and where this concept originate? And then we'll start from there.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (11:50.488)
Cool, so as I mentioned, I'm a mechanical engineer by qualification, so I'm over 25 years. Would have started in Hewlett Packard back in the day, so an amazing entrepreneurial electronics based business, a big US corporate. And I suppose when I came out of college in the late 90s, early noughties, that was kind of your path from a career perspective when you got to travel the world and you were working with such like-minded, innovative people. So you really kind of...

cut your teeth as an engineer in an amazing place to be. They were like pre-Google, like they were about, you know what mean? were the Google of their time. And without Bill and Dave Packard, there's so many businesses in Silicon Valley that would not exist, like Apple wouldn't exist. Like there's just so many, it's like their lineage is unbelievable. But I got to work in, I suppose, med devices and pharmaceuticals, again, lots of big American corporate organizations. Their manufacturing is based here in Ireland. So great learning ground.

Ramon Vela (12:23.128)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (12:46.2)
But it was we started our business journey back in 2010, again, servicing the pharmaceutical project engineering world. And then we ended up owning Cosmetic Creations, which is basically a contract R &D formulation and manufacturing. So I would have designed and developed and formulated hundreds of products for other brands, both Irish brands, UK brands, US brands, big retailers, global retailers. So my background is that.

product design and development is what I love to do and creating products that actually impact people's daily lives. I think that's what engineers love to do anyway. So whether it's bridges or stents or drugs or skincare like creams, like engineers are involved in all of those processes. And I suppose we love creating. I suppose we do it probably a little bit more logically. We're not, very creative, but we have to do it in a very kind of systematic logical way.

So we would have ran that business for seven years and grew it. But unfortunately, the lovely COVID came along back in 2020 and kind of ruined everything and our growth and our trajectory. And I suppose we had to pivot really quickly because of the way, I suppose, everything was shutting up shop, cosmetics, and I suppose the Asia supply chain. So again, I've always lived in a global supply chain environment. That was all drying up. So we knew we had to pivot really fast to save the business.

Ramon Vela (13:50.204)
Hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (14:12.728)
So we would have a national health service here in Ireland called the HSC. So kind of like the NHS in the UK, but the Irish version. So health service executive. So again, they were screaming for sanitizer, hand sanitizer like the rest of the world. And again, the borders were starting to close, especially in Europe, because Italy had that big outbreak very early on in COVID from a European perspective. So basically we pivoted, we designed, developed, formulated, tested.

Ramon Vela (14:19.683)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (14:42.378)
a biocide for the first time ever in three weeks and had it out the door and being manufactured. And then we just scaled that. So we ended up making nine million units over COVID for the whole of Ireland. So that's literally two bottles for every person in the country. And then again, when COVID changed the end, of course, had to pivot again because cosmetics still hadn't come back.

Ramon Vela (14:45.687)
Wow.

Ramon Vela (14:59.96)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (15:09.772)
the way it had, obviously retailers and all that were only starting to open their doors, so everything was quite slow. So we had to kind of basically readjust that entire business and we had to literally go through an examination process, which is kind of for the manufacturing part of the business, which is a very unique Irish thing to do from a law perspective. So it's only for companies that are going concerned and you can basically rescue them through it. But we had to navigate that for six months.

And then I suppose prior to, I suppose all of that, unfortunate second pivot, we knew we wanted to create products. So I suppose I would have designed and developed and brought pitches to lots of big retailers and brands. So we knew all the research, we knew, I suppose, the whole menopause conversation had just started around COVID, the whole wellness, simplicity in life, people, and again, with the whole e-commerce boom starting really during COVID.

Ireland would be kind of considered the biggest e-com market in mainland Europe, like we're very progressive and have been since it started. So it's basically people were starting to get traction that way. So people wanted products that did what they were meant to do, but in a very simple, easy way. And I suppose the menopause, the hormonal, the effects on your skin due to hormones as you age. every decade, unfortunately, especially for women.

Ramon Vela (16:13.048)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (16:32.088)
your skin is your largest organ. you need to, like, if you feed yourself with good food, you also need to feed your skin with good quality ingredients. So plant-based, natural, active materials that are actually gonna do what they say. So I suppose I love to put cosmetics like a world-renowned chef. So like you all know Gordon Ramsay in the States. So he's an amazing chef and he can create, but it's the ingredients he uses and the alchemy. He's like a magician. He's able to push.

such an amazing stuff together, like basic stuff, you would think, and then he creates these masterpieces. So for me, cosmetics is that kind of sprinkling of magic. So you have amazing ingredients, great formulations, you put it together, you get products that actually do what they're meant to do. And then obviously you make it look really good, really good packaging and make it very luxurious. And then you give your customers the help and the knowledge to actually build routines.

So that's kind of where Naira came from. I love serum technology. think it's around a while, but again, it's only really taken off in the last kind of five, six years. Again, serums mean kind of proven actives, highly concentrated. So again, small amounts go a long way. So that's literally where Naira, I suppose, comes from is that serum technology mixed with really powerful active plant-based ingredients that actually are gonna help people's skin.

as they age and then obviously go through all the lovely hormonal changes. So whether you're pregnant, post pregnancy, perimenopausal, menopausal, cancer treatment unfortunately really changes people's skin. And I suppose what I got away with personally in my twenties and thirties, I knew I couldn't get away with anymore in my forties. So I was kind of like, if I'm seeing this and I'm kind of involved in the cosmetics industry and there was no...

brand out there that was really doing what I needed for my skin to nourish my skin and feel I could, you know, be happy in whatever age I was and my skin was, you know what mean, that confidence and that inner, being able to not wear makeup. Cause you don't, you know what I mean? For me, it's not a big thing again, an engineer can't wear a lot of makeup in clean rooms. So I'm kind of used to it, but you know what I mean? You don't want the rosacea and you don't want the dryness and the irritation and the sensitivities. And so basically all of that was kind of my

LORRAINE CORCORAN (18:53.878)
reasons behind Nira and I suppose I had an amazing team in my last company of R &D chemists and the regulatory and the quality and the labs and so we were so used to doing it for so others we literally poured all our knowledge into Nira so we were making the best the best we could because of all of our experience after years. So we literally spun out so we left the last business after all of that so we had 160 people on two manufacturing sites.

And we went back to just me and my husband there three years ago. So we went back to start off bootstrap scenario for the third time, I'd say, fourth time in our business career. And we've been building it word of mouth, getting really good customers. Again, my whole background is B2B, highly professional. And to go D2C and direct consumer was such a big leap for us and for me. And I suppose Ecom.

Ramon Vela (19:28.141)
He he.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (19:50.136)
I didn't know how to log on to Meta three years ago. You know what I mean? So it's like, again, you learn and you figure it out and then you eventually get people that are better at you and hire them as quick as possible so they can take over that section. But again, yeah, so the R &D and the product design development is my, I just love and the ingredients and it's what I love to do. And it's kind of what I want to bring all my knowledge to help other people in their daily lives. Because there's lots of people like me out there.

Ramon Vela (20:02.606)
you

LORRAINE CORCORAN (20:19.416)
So I saw that need and I said, well, if I need it, other people need that help too.

Ramon Vela (20:25.194)
And so this is great. So let me just make sure everyone knows you can go to nirabeauty.com is the website, nirabeauty. And nira is spelled N-Y-R-A-H beauty.com. So two words, nirabeauty.com. so, well, and that was a very interesting kind of journey that you shared right there.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (20:27.544)
Hmm.

Ramon Vela (20:55.35)
I think that alone displays so many really great entrepreneurial traits in the terms of like pivoting, you know, because it would, mean, the last few years have been really, really difficult, especially with the pandemic, you know, from the pandemic on, mean, pandemic is something we've never, it was no one's business plan, like, hey, this is what's gonna happen, let's plan for it. And so to be able to pivot to me is like,

LORRAINE CORCORAN (21:19.778)
No.

Ramon Vela (21:25.298)
is huge. It's that's trait that not everyone has. Even some entrepreneurs have difficulty pivoting because we fall in love with our ideas. We fall in love with our products and the way we do things and so forth. And so you really have to just like think out of the box and just like be willing to change and just try new things. actually I interviewed a brand called Snoozy, which is they do

gummies for like sleep and so forth. like, it's something like you, but they weren't manufacturing the hand sanitizer or the different products. people were clamoring from here in the States as well. And so they would go out and try to find whatever country had.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (21:55.232)
Yeah, I think I bought some when I was in LA a couple of months ago, actually in the airport, yes.

Ramon Vela (22:18.802)
amount and then bring them back in bring them I mean they just like they had to like pivot or else they were just not going to survive at all so I mean that's I love this aspect of you and that's a I know doesn't feel like it sometimes but I just want to tell you that it's an admirable trait and it's and it's a great trait to have

LORRAINE CORCORAN (22:38.008)
It's really tough at the time and look, I wouldn't have been able to talk to you about it even three years ago. It was so traumatic because I suppose every business you own as an entrepreneur is like another child and you kind of want the best for them and I suppose everybody that works in your organization and your culture and you spend so much time and effort, like you spend so much time in your business, you know what I mean? So it's to suddenly have what you thought were your...

your dreams and your plans and everything was going exactly the way we wanted to. then COVID just kind of blew it all up. And sometimes you look back and go, well, should I have done that or not? But I suppose at the time, I suppose everybody in the world was really wanting to put on their home jersey. So for us, was the Irish jersey. So what can we do for the people in the country? And hand sanitizer was the thing we had. We had the police, we call them guards here, police, ambulance people, hospitals.

people coming on to our manufacturing site, like I had never seen that in all my years of being working in manufacturing sites. Like people were like, it was like more valuable than gold there for a while. So I was very wealthy there for a very small amount of time. So I was like Rumpelstiltskin there for a while with the hand sanitizer and the alcohol. And then all of a sudden it all went plummeted. So was like, you know what mean? It's like a roller coaster. was like one of those rides that hopefully only ever happens once in a life because it's tough. It is tough.

Ramon Vela (23:39.598)
Go

Ramon Vela (23:46.328)
you

Ramon Vela (23:58.584)
Yeah. yeah.

Ramon Vela (24:05.922)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, and I think you, made the best of it. So, I mean, I'm just, I think, I think it's admirable the pivots, because it's, it's part of entrepreneurship and it's part of life and you, it sounds like you, made it work. so, the, beauty, company, who would you say is, you talked a little bit about like, menopause and so forth. but is this only for folks who have that?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (24:29.368)
Mm.

Ramon Vela (24:34.008)
kind of skin sensitivity due to menopause or can it be for other people? mean, like who is your avatar, your target customer?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (24:43.096)
So I suppose we do kind of formulate for all skin types as best we can, but I suppose there's not as much out in the market for those with the sensitized skin, the rosacea, that redness, like 10 % of the world's population, no matter what color skin tone, so all over the States, all over Europe, 10 % of the world's population do suffer from rosacea, which is this kind of redness, and there's different types of rosacea. So can really affect people's confidence and self-worth and just that feeling of not.

looking as good on the outside as they maybe feel on the inside or want to feel on the outside. So for me, it was like all of these skin concerns weren't getting their, I suppose, time in the sunlight. And to formulate, you have to be really careful on what ingredients that you pick and use to be able for people with sensitive skin, dry, irritated skin, acne prone skin. So all the stuff, the lovely hormonal roller coaster of life throws at us ladies.

Again, men are more than welcome to use the Naira products. My husband also uses them. So even some of our serums he uses for his beard, maybe like yourself, Ramon. So again, we're not being exclusive, I suppose, to only menopausal type ladies, but I suppose people who've gone through cancer treatment as well. I've had a lot of customers from their 20s, 30s all the way through, unfortunately, go through cancer-based treatment with really just napalms.

their whole system, like it's just not what they were before. And then your skin becomes more translucent, thinner, less collagen. So all those things that maybe you thought you'd be okay with until your 50s, 60s, suddenly gets brought on really early. And again, pregnancy is another stage in female lifespan that again, you could look radiant when you're pregnant, but unfortunately all those lovely hormones leave your body post the baby.

So again, things don't look as good as you were kind of used to. So, and then you have to rebuild yourself. So, and I think it's that fluctuation of, I suppose people, the menopause conversation started in the COVID times because it hadn't really been talked about. But for me, you can talk about something, but what's the action? What are you doing to help people physically? You can, you know what mean? Talk all you like about something, but you have to give solutions. And I suppose as an engineer, we're all about what's the problem.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (27:03.384)
How do we solve it? How do we help people? And for me, was kind of the menopause was the first thing because I suppose I knew I was heading there quicker at the time because I was in my early 40s. And it was kind of like, so I knew there was lots of people. So a lot of our demographic would be mostly 35 plus. But again, I have customers late teens all the way out, like one customer in 92. So, you know what I mean? And again,

Because we're like an e-comm DC brand, we actually get to talk to lot of our customers. So whether on the phone, through email, through messages. So we really, for us, it's all that interaction with customers and what they ask for. So I've only developed products then that they keep going, I really want this. So we will only release products based on the customer need. And we don't wanna overwhelm people. We want to make it nice and simple, not spend all your day.

getting your skincare so it's very much a two minute thing and it was a lot of people again older people go I have more time for me now so family are raised you know a bit more me time maybe a bit more money because the kids have been paid your college or whatever so they go how do I get back to me and again we only have one skin and it's how do you do it in the most natural way possible to keep it as good and fresh

because we're all very concerned about our diet and nutrition so we should also be very concerned what we put on our skin as our largest organ and it doesn't get I suppose the same attention as our heart or our lungs or our brain because they're critical organs and I suppose the body's there to the skin is literally our suit of armour and unfortunately nature and biology does not really care what our skin looks like but us in the modern world really care.

But again, a lot of it is for me and Naira comes from, I suppose, that whole self-confidence. This was my peacock here behind us. So we use the peacock symbology really for that whole self-worth and I suppose feeling loved and feeling confident in your own skin. And that's literally what a lot of our customers said. I've never given myself, gratitude that I'm here. I could be 69, but I'm feeling great, looking great and anything I can do to help.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (29:21.974)
that journey, that's kind of where I come from. that's, suppose if I can give somebody a of kindness every day through skincare, I'm winning. And it's kind of, it keeps me going bit by bit.

Ramon Vela (29:33.006)
Well, so as a and thank you for that. And so I have a better understanding for this and we'll talk a little bit more about the product in a second, but I wanted to cover a few other things. So in terms of the building of awareness right now, so right now it's direct to consumer, which by the way.

I have a co-host who she does some shows for me on the story of her brand. And she has a term that she calls the D2C lab. Her name is Rose Hamilton. And she talks about the D2C lab because being D2C allows you to have almost like listening lab where you're asking questions, you're getting feedback, you're seeing reactions.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (30:17.314)
completely.

Ramon Vela (30:23.074)
And if you ever wanted to go retail, you can build a strong data about your consumer and who's buying it why they're buying it all of this. So it's extremely helpful for people to have that experience instead of going straight into retail, which is not a bad thing. But I don't know. I think it might be better to have this sort of experience first. So what are the different ways your

LORRAINE CORCORAN (30:40.802)
completely.

Ramon Vela (30:52.28)
building that awareness right now. So you mentioned Meta earlier, but is it through the paid ads? Is it through influencers? Is it through organic, you know, social media, like on Instagram and TikTok, et cetera?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (31:07.436)
Yeah, so it's basically a mix. So I agree completely with your co-host and like Ecom is again, if you were to ask me back in 2017, when you talk on a customer and worked with a brand or they want you needed a retail kind of option. But I suppose Ecom, you can do things that you can't really do on retail and you can do that education piece. And again, as you said, all that information. we very much are customer centric. So everybody in the team can link in with customers and reply.

customer experience and customer service is very intertwined for us for that reason again, because we're educating again, maybe an older demographic that like I grew up with magazines and I'm not necessarily going to go on to YouTube to find out about stuff. But again, you know what mean? And TikTok it's getting there. But I suppose we really started with meta from an ad perspective. Most of the videos I would be in and one of my team, my social media manager, Ashlyn.

is in a lot of our, so we use us as much as possible. And then I have customers. So all my ambassadors are actual Naira customers. So again, I have not used influencers. You'd use content creators. So again, people who like to create content and then most of them might turn into customers because you give them one of the packs and they go, love it. They've now found their new skincare and they only want to create content.

for you, and then they become customers and ambassadors. So that's literally how we've grown it. Really strong in email marketing, we would use Klaviyo. We're in the middle of redoing a lot of that customer kind of messaging and the journey. So I just literally did a workshop with Joey Coleman there a few weeks ago. So as was a well known New York Times bestseller, an amazing man. And I met Daniel Priestley actually as well.

Last November, I did a workshop with him. So again, he's an Australian that lives in London, but again, very famous from a branding marketing perspective and again, an absolute gent. I kind of, the stuff that they talk about for the customer journey and what you're always trying to give that experience for them. we use a gorgeous AI now from a customer. So just to help us with all the incoming emails and DMs and.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (33:23.512)
So then we can reply to everybody. So whether it's an order issue, an address issue, or I've just gone through cancer treatment, what do you recommend? Or my daughter is going through really bad hormonal acne breakouts. do you do? You know what I mean? So you literally, what, I'm allergic to this. So again, very educational and helpful as best we can. and I suppose we obviously use Trustpilot for our reviews. So in fairness, we were really lucky in our customer base.

Ramon Vela (33:37.58)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (33:52.738)
You're never going to please everyone, that unfortunately is life, you're always going to have a few. But I suppose the vast majority, like I would have went out on the road originally and did a lot of kind of small shows and literally over like a very plain table and very market like. And you get to talk to customers face to face or I'd ring if somebody kind of really needs a bit of help, I'll just ring them on the phone and have the conversation with them or they ring me.

and we chat through what they need and what they don't need. So for us, that's the way and we've really focused on EECOM. Again, Ireland is a great place to start in Europe because it is that smaller population, but there's still a great population in it. And then we moved to the UK last summer and we're building on that. And then obviously we've done some orders around the world, but again, it's usually people who have already come from here.

and spread the word so somebody in Chicago, the mom goes and visits the daughter that lives in Chicago all of a sudden we're shipping product to Chicago. So it's, you know what I mean, it's kind of we can ship internationally and that's the great thing about EECOM but as was retail, getting retail ready is kind of what we want to do later this year and again do it in a very, I suppose right first time consistent manner.

Ramon Vela (34:57.39)
you

LORRAINE CORCORAN (35:13.784)
very integral in what we do. suppose quality has always been huge in what we do from a products perspective. So I suppose we want to figure out, because we do such a personalized service at the moment, so to make sure we bring that across into a retail perspective. So we'll do it in a kind of a slow and steady approach. In Ireland next year is the plan and kind of go from there and hopefully then we can get into bigger markets and look, I want to get back to the States as much as possible. I used to work there a lot.

Ramon Vela (35:40.238)
Thank

LORRAINE CORCORAN (35:41.706)
Any excuse I can to use NYRA to get to the States, I will be there.

Ramon Vela (35:43.15)
Thank

Ramon Vela (35:46.978)
Well, and I would also say too that in terms of building awareness, I think your story plays a big part in that too. So, because I think a lot of people can relate to your story, it's inspiring story. And I think a lot of people, they...

they wanna hear that kind of story. Like they may not be entrepreneurs, they may not be, you but they can see themselves in your story or they could inspire to be, to do that. And or they could just be inspired by just like you having to go over these challenges and create those products. And then being the kind of having the team and the founder of a brand is very customer responsive.

and sharing all of this. I I think people really love to hear that and they love to hear that story and they love to that you're so personable with the customers and so forth. think people react to that and respond to that. So.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (36:50.628)
Yeah. And I don't even like it's people kind of have to remind me that because I suppose I've always wanted to be I always introduced myself as a mechanical engineer first and then an entrepreneur and then skincare. And literally I was so I went to University of Limerick, which is a huge university kind of just south from here. So I'm in Mayo on the West Coast. So it's kind of well known even in the state's perspective. it actually had his own White House as well. So.

Ramon Vela (37:18.082)
equal.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (37:18.136)
There was a lot of Americanisms. had semesters. It was kind of the first college in Ireland that had semesters. So very much followed the module American based system. But I wanted to do mechanical engineering there and I absolutely loved it. And then I suppose I was literally there at the weekend for a family wedding and I had to pick up a script in the pharmacy. And I went in and because I don't normally go to that pharmacy, of course, because it's not my local.

I had to give names and addresses and the pharmacist was asking me, oh, what am I doing here kind of thing. And I went, actually, I used to go to university in this town and she was like, oh, what did you do? And I said, oh, mechanical engineering. And she goes, oh, are you actually still doing it? And I'm going, well, kind of, but I actually have my own skincare brand now. And so, you know what I mean? It wasn't when I was 13, I was dreaming of being the skincare brand owner. Like I suppose some maybe skincare, like beauty brand owners would be, I suppose for me it was that.

Ramon Vela (37:52.686)
Thank

LORRAINE CORCORAN (38:15.768)
product design and I'm just obsessed with like when I go into shop like on shelf and see products and I know exactly how much work and effort it took to get that product on that shelf and where stuff comes from and I'd be looking at I take forever to go through two shops and shelves and even if I'm in a restaurant I'd be checking out what soap is in the toilets and what brand is on it and what like the colors and packaging and how it all works and

So for me, I just love the way products are. So doesn't matter if it's cosmetics or medical devices or food or you know what I mean? The whole industry of making products and I suppose for people to appreciate, I suppose all the people that are behind every single item. So whether it's on the shelf in Walmart or wherever, that has traveled and there's a lot of work in that.

Ramon Vela (39:03.598)
Thank

LORRAINE CORCORAN (39:10.892)
Somebody has actually picked all those Pantone colors. Somebody has wrote all that copy. Somebody had to create that barcode. I do it for an IRA, but you know what mean? All of those products out there, all of those little items, all stack up. And if it's not done right, there's a problem or whatever, but it's, I just think it's fascinating. just, can't, like when people like going, you talk about like MRP systems and supply chain and all the different bits and bobs you need to make a product.

they're like, no, I never even thought of that. So you have the dropper and then you have the bottle and then you have the carton and then you have the fitment. then don't mention all the ingredients in the formula because there could be 40 odd ingredients or 10. doesn't matter. You know what I mean? And then they go, that's so it. You know what mean? They're so interested. But because I've been an engineer and a manufacturer and an R &D all my career, I suppose for me, it's kind of that's the norm. It's like, so it's then.

Ramon Vela (39:41.122)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (40:04.866)
mean.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (40:06.626)
How do you explain all of this to people who don't come from the same background or maybe are very curious and want to know things and I suppose I'm passionate about this stuff. it's kind of not everybody is as curious as passionate about products. Maybe I know Ramon you are also. it's kind of it's because you think it's it's what you live every day. It's it's you don't you take it for granted again because it's what you know what mean. So then it's and I don't go around like.

But if somebody asks you, I'm so proud to say I'm a mechanical engineer. I was a female mechanical engineer now for 20 something years and I've loved every minute of being one. And I would, even if I could go back in time, Barb maybe being an astronaut is the only, but an Irish astronaut, we still haven't got there yet. So getting there though.

Ramon Vela (40:45.251)
Thank

Ramon Vela (40:50.894)
Well, mean, and that's why one of the reasons why I love to do the show is that I want people to know how well I want to know the entrepreneur. I want them to know the brand. I want them to know the founder. And I want them to know how difficult it is to just create something like this and which makes the product that much more special, I think. So let's talk. Let's let's talk a little bit about the product. So let's let's imagine which I think it's not hard to, but

Someone's listening to this. They like this conversation. They like to hear from you. They think your story is inspirational in the sense that you've gone and you've done several things. You have to pivot, you have to change and so forth. And they would like to start. They would like to know more about the brand. Where would you, if there's a place, because maybe there is, and maybe there's several places, but...

Is there any place that you would recommend someone starting their journey with Naira Beauty?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (41:54.04)
So we actually have, we call it the trial pack. So we do like a little five mil versions of our entire skincare range in one pack. So it's the best introduction. again, if you don't know what suits you, what works for you, you know what I mean? And you want to, again, not invest in large regular size products. So again, because of our R &D and manufacturing abilities, we were able to do this. So we're just over three years doing it now.

Ramon Vela (42:05.294)
and

LORRAINE CORCORAN (42:21.282)
We started literally with ordering droppers and stuff from Google and like stickers and it was just very basic. But again, we'd really good formulas. So we knew even if you only got the five mil of each of our formulas or serums or whatever, we knew they would work. And it was trying to get it into as many hands as possible. And we always gave a routine card. So to get people up and running. So again, a very information full AMPM routine. So it's all graphically done.

We've now color coded it all and made all the products the same color as the steps and again using the engineering principles to make it as simple and easy for people to get up and running. So you'd have people ringing going, I've never had a skincare routine in my life. I never knew what to do, how to start, when to use a cleanser, what serums, you know what mean? When do I put on my SPF? You know what I mean? was like help. So literally we're trying to give as much knowledge as possible to them. So most people basically start with our trial pack.

love it, make sure then they buy more when they're going traveling because they want to have their skincare with them at all times and then they buy the regular sized products then and kind of have that at home and then have their trial pack to work out and then they know well actually I really like the cleanser, I really like this serum, I really like this moisturizer, I'm going to buy those in regular size and they really work for me. So you're not overwhelmed again with purchasing too many products and you actually are again because skincare is so personal.

Everybody's different. What works for me isn't going to work for you. What maybe works for me today isn't going to work for me tomorrow. Because unfortunately, skin is so affected by all the internal and external factors. I know you had another skincare owner on there a few months ago, Ramona, I listened to your podcast and she basically was saying the same thing, that there's so many different factors and you have your hormones, have your nutrition, you've sun, not so much in Ireland, but more sun in LA.

You've cold weather, hot weather, in and out. So going on a plane obviously affects your skin versus because it dries out the air conditioning. you can't see. And then if you're drinking alcohol or not, too much sugar, you know what I mean? There's so many factors that affect your skin. So your skin is nearly a representation of what's going on inside. But unfortunately, you have to control so many different factors to actually help.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (44:44.92)
And I suppose with skincare, you're basically topically trying to help as much as you can from the outside in, but you also have to think of the inside out. So basically that whole kind of thing with skincare is huge. I've kind of gone off track now. What was the, I can't even remember where we started this question, Ramona.

Ramon Vela (45:01.966)
No, no, no, it's okay. I was enjoying it. Well, my first question was about where do they start with the journey? it's a travel pack. And then let's have a quick word on the formulation, but like let's start at a high level because I know there's different products and each product might have different ingredients in it. But from a, I guess we'll call it a...

LORRAINE CORCORAN (45:11.992)
Travel back, yes, sorry.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (45:21.826)
Mm.

Ramon Vela (45:30.254)
recipe or formulation philosophy. Like right now I'm on the website, which is nirabeauty.com and I'm scrolling down the homepage and I can see that it's cruelty-free, plant-based, gluten-free and made with zero unnecessary additives. And so let's start there. From a high level philosophical formulation standpoint, what can people expect about the ingredients?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (46:00.12)
So I suppose when you're in the EU, EU has the gold standard when it comes to formulation and I suppose the regulations associated with cosmetics. So unfortunately, America is a bit behind. So we're quite regulated here. So cosmetics is regulated. So not just SPF in Europe, but all skincare, all hair products, everything. So you have to be cruelty free is kind of law requirement, paraben and so endocrine disruptors.

Ramon Vela (46:11.704)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (46:28.824)
free, they're not, banned in formulas. So you automatically don't have any of those endocrine disruptors in your formulas. We have always gone with the plant-based approach because again, I the veganness has always been a big thing in cosmetics, especially in Europe. And I suppose plant, we all know that the power of plants and I suppose botanicals and there's been so much work done with the likes of peptides. over 25 years ago, a French chemist came up with peptides. So

It's just the extraction of so many good things from a nature perspective. So we want to harness those powers and we try and use as well as eco green sustainable products. So we'd have brown algae, we'd have food waste avocado based peptides, say in our peptide serum. So again, we're very conscious of the ingredients and the source of those ingredients. So are the green process or, you know, recycled or, you know what mean? You're not, I suppose, consuming.

or affecting the environment while you're doing it. So for me, it's kind of like the field of fork idea in food. It's the same with cosmetics. And then you try and use packaging that's the most recyclable or easy to recycle like glass and I suppose pre-recycled plastic. So we do all that and we do refills and all that type of stuff as well. So for me, the formulas are, and I suppose I'm the artist, so the responsible person. So they're all our own IP and the formulas are owned by us.

So there's bespoke formulas that only we can manufacture and make as Nire Beauty. So there's nobody else with the exact same formula as us. So again, that uniqueness and bespoke-ness, suppose, pouring all my knowledge and experience over the years into product design. For me, it's, and that's why, again, to bring out a product takes at least two years. It's kind of three years, if you're talking about an SPF.

and just all the extra testing and stuff that you have to do. there's a product information file for every product. there's regular like toxicology and disability and compatibility and all those tests that you have to do to put a product in market in the EU. So it's you kind of start with the gold standard in the EU and then you know what mean? It's easier than I suppose because we're so used to the strictness here in Europe. It's easier than to go globally. So and I suppose

Ramon Vela (48:50.434)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (48:53.4)
You don't have any, I suppose, the harshness. I suppose there's a lot of laws in Europe that are kind of default. But again, unless you're in the industry like me, you're not necessarily going to know those laws. So you have to educate your audience and actually cruelty free is law in Europe. But not everybody knows that. it's, you know what I mean? It's marketing, but it's not marketing. It's marketing in an educational perspective because not everybody knows the rules. And I suppose that's why I think there's been a big upsurge.

Ramon Vela (49:09.71)
Mm-hmm.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (49:23.064)
in, I suppose, US based people looking for European based formulations and products because they know they're full of the good stuff, because our rules are so strict. But I've been doing that for years. I'm so used to high regulations working in pharmaceuticals and med device. So it's kind of for me, it's what's best for the patient. And in, I suppose, skincare, it's end user customer. So I suppose I'm used to dealing with patient level products in the past.

Ramon Vela (49:28.258)
Mm-hmm.

Ramon Vela (49:34.797)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (49:52.92)
You want to make sure the health and wellbeing of everybody that touches the product that you've been involved in designing and developing is in the most safe, efficient, what's the word, efficace word. So it's kind of that it's safe to use and they're gonna be happy using it. that's kind of where the formulation side comes from. So I spend a lot of time researching. I'm also a member of a steering committee that works on

whole bio-based materials for years. So I suppose my plan eventually is to do some of my own bespoke actual materials that would be unique then for use in the Naira products. So kind of go back a little bit on the supply chain and I suppose create that extra, I suppose, USP and uniqueness to the brand. Because then today, most raw materials and ingredients, anybody can buy them, pretty much.

but you have to know how to formulate, the chemistry together and know what you're looking for and I suppose deal with all those suppliers because they are global suppliers.

Ramon Vela (51:00.244)
Mm-hmm. And, I was going to mention as you were talking about the differences between the EU and like United States, for instance, I've noticed that a lot of brands are taking a cue from Europe, from the EU, and already trying to design their products based off of those standards.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (51:22.338)
completely. I've seen that because they know it makes sense and parabens and sulfates are things you don't need in your skin care and your hair care. you know what mean? Why wouldn't you do it? But again, you can shout about it more in the States because it's not law and you are different by doing it versus over here, unfortunately, it's law. But again, it's what's good for the people and

Ramon Vela (51:35.885)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (51:40.718)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (51:51.352)
studies are there and the clinical research is there so you're basically just bringing it through. I would have worked with a lot of FDA-based environments before as well so it's just even our sun protection our SPF is quite different here so again Europe would be the gold standard so UVA and UVB versus it's regulated but not as regulated unfortunately in the US so it's funny I heard some podcasts lately and there was American lady going

Don't worry about the chocolates from the Europe when somebody goes to Europe, get them to get you sun protection, SPF, bring back the SPF from Europe. So it just shows you, I suppose, the difference in regulation and how, I suppose, it does work. And I suppose if you do something really well and integral with good intent, it starts flowing through. it's again, I suppose, thanks to the Australians really that we're all more conscious of sun protection.

Ramon Vela (52:24.481)
you

Ramon Vela (52:31.47)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (52:47.288)
But I suppose a lot of people, especially my generation, wouldn't maybe realize UVA is for aging. So unfortunately, sun, so whether it's cloudy, wet, horrible days here in Ireland, that sun exposure is still aging your skin. So you have to protect. And that's, suppose, where UVA becomes such an important metric.

And UVB is the burning, so B for burning. Again, a lot of people don't understand what SPF 30 means versus SPF 50. You know what I mean? So again, it's that education piece that you're constantly trying to help give people those little bits of nuggets that are, oh, now I understand why I need, you know what I mean? So it's.

It's so overwhelming, the whole beauty, skincare, wellness industries, they're so overwhelming. There's so many products out there. It's like everything drinks industry, food industry, but again, you're trying your best to bring out the best possible products for your customers so that they're really happy. you know what I mean? It's all you can do is do your best every day.

Ramon Vela (53:57.494)
Yeah, well, I mean, I think you've done a fantastic job and you have so many different products here. And I love the fact that, you know, you you have different steps that people can can do and which, by the way, I've covered a lot of skin care brands. And sometimes I'm left wondering, like, OK, so here's a serum and here's this and here's that. But like, how do you put them together? Like, what's the what's the, know, like you do this one first, you do that one second, you do this one at night, you just went in the morning.

So it is kind of confusing at times, so I appreciate you having some of that already built in.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (54:32.344)
The great thing about serums is you can layer. So think lasagne, as I always say. So you can layer, but again, you don't want to overwhelm your skin either and you always like little bits and you don't want loads. you know what I mean? You you know yourself, you can be too good sometimes and then it kind of goes the other way. So it's again, it's the consistency. It's like going for that walk every day, going to the gym, everything in life. It is always, unfortunately, the boring things in life that actually make, so it's like your meditation every day.

Ramon Vela (54:36.782)
you

LORRAINE CORCORAN (55:00.29)
whether it's five minutes, it's better than zero minutes. Doing your little bit of skincare, even two minutes every morning and night is better than none. So if you're not cleansing, you know what mean? It's just those simple little things. And for people to be happy that they do that as part of their daily routine. So it's like making your bed in the morning or you know what I mean? It's those little routines that I think really stand the time. So you can't suddenly go, I'll cleanse my face once a week and it'll be fine.

Unfortunately that's not going to be the case. yeah, it's that consistency, the boring stuff. The stuff that doesn't market and sell well is, and that's why I suppose it's harder at times to be so knowledgeable. you know what mean? You just do not like, I suppose, the BS side of things. And it's very, you don't even want to give people as much information as possible, but again, not overwhelm them.

Ramon Vela (55:29.486)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (55:55.672)
So it's that yin and yang bit where we're going, I'd love to give you loads of information, but like, I know you're not ready, but ask me, or we give it in small digestible pieces so that for them, it helps them in their daily life. And then they get used to that. And then they go, well, hey, could I do this with this serum? And you know what mean? Once you get familiar with what you're doing. So it's like, you go to the gym and you figure out how to lift a weight and you go, oh, I can go from 8 kg now to 10 kg. And you know what I mean? It's those little small steps.

Ramon Vela (56:20.726)
Yeah, well, and so I want to be respectful of your time. So there's one more question I want to ask you, but let me just I want to make sure that the audience knows where to go again. They can go to nirobeauty.com is the website. nirobeauty.com is the website. It's N Y R A H and then the word beauty dot com.

And when you go to the website, there's a ton of information there. And so I'm just looking at some of the products. There's a lot of products that you should come to the website and take a look at. You got serums, got the SPF 30, the aluminum brightened serum.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (56:56.428)
We just launched that last Thursday actually, Ramon, so it's like literally the brand new product on the block at the moment. Yeah.

Ramon Vela (57:02.676)
nice. Yeah, I mean, it looks great. They've got, of course, the trial, the travel packs that Lorraine mentioned.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (57:10.504)
the trial pack and then we did a special for the summer as a travel pack version as well. if you're, yeah, so you can basically, it's ready to go, throw in the luggage and hit to the airport.

Ramon Vela (57:15.636)
yeah, I did see that.

Ramon Vela (57:23.006)
And there's all sorts of, there's cleansers, there's hyaluronic serums, there's bronzine. There's all sorts of stuff. And what I really love is that you also have it based on skin concerns. So if you're out there and you're interested and you want, you have maybe a skin concern, Lorraine and her team have it really nicely sort of like done so that you can check off a box and you can

Find the products that are beneficial for you. So they cover oily skin and acne, rosacea, redness, hormonal, hormonal breakouts and adult acne, hyperpigmentation, as she just mentioned, fine lines and skin aging, sensitivity and irritation, dry hydrated, tight skin, dullness and lack of glow, skin mark and acne, damaged skin, eczema.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (57:58.616)
Yeah, hypervigmentation,

LORRAINE CORCORAN (58:06.136)
Hmm.

Ramon Vela (58:18.734)
prone or flaky skin. mean, they've got something for you if you have any of these concerns.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (58:25.624)
or even none. So if you're just regular skin as a lady rang me yesterday going, hey, I don't have any of those issues. Can I still use the products? I'm 69. And I'm like, of course you can. It's all like, so again, it's what nourishes your skin. So again, that's where the trial pack comes in so handy because you can try it out and see does it work or not. And you haven't put a big investment in and you'll know like in the first couple of weeks if it works for you or not. So it makes it nice and simple.

Ramon Vela (58:29.486)
You

Ramon Vela (58:49.571)
Yeah.

Well, and I love the nice and simple component of it. So yeah, I love your story. I love your commitment to creating great products and firmulations. And I think those two combinations just really make, for me at least, like your brand we're supporting. Like you've got these great products. And I always try to, you know, I always like to have brands here that I can

that I feel good about talking to other people about, are, you want a great product, but it's also great to have a great story. It's also great to have, you know, a lot of passion involved. And I think you need to have like all those elements for people to find you and like you and so forth. And I think you have them all. you meet our tagline, product with mind, brand we're supporting. And I appreciate.

everything you've done and this conversation. And I do have one last question for you. So I definitely want to know about where you want people to go, obviously the website and et cetera. But one last thing, if there's anything that you can share with someone right now who's listening that is not found on your website or on your package and your labels, what would you say to them as your last words? What would you say to them for them to...

be encouraged to go to the website and or try your products.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:00:22.612)
Yeah, literally the lady that rang me yesterday, she had actually done a little bit of research and she'd actually looked up my, I suppose, my little story on the website about my mechanical engineering and the product design and development. I know we've talked about a lot on this podcast, but I don't normally talk about it an awful lot unless I get asked. And I suppose because I poured all that knowledge and experience over the, I suppose, decades now, unfortunately at this stage, into my products. And I suppose I'm so into doing everything.

perfectly as best I can. Obviously you have to kind of go with it and see how it goes, but it has to be right for me. And if I don't feel it's going to be of benefit to somebody in their day-to-day life, then it's not happening. And I suppose that level of integrity. So I built my career as an engineer and a business owner and even a person is on my integrity and kindness. And for me, I literally, when I started Naira, I was like,

What is it? What is my main purpose? And my main purpose is, I suppose, spread that kindness. And I suppose the best way I know how to spread kindness is through really good products and helping people and giving that knowledge. So and I'm trying to build it. And again, I've had to learn how to have these conversations. Again, I've done a few podcasts this year, but again, I've never done them before this year. And I wouldn't have a big profile or not an influencer. You know what mean? It's not.

and talking about myself. Again, Irish people aren't great at talking about themselves. it's when you're, you know what mean? You kind of want to focus on everybody else. And for me, I kind of hide sometimes behind the products and you're kind of going, well, but I am everything I am is poured into those products. So it's kind of, like anybody that talks to me going, you've designed and developed so many products for so many people. And when you start talking, going, then again, you just do not sometimes appreciate.

the experience and the life that you've led because you think it's your normal every day. And you have to put yourself in other people's shoes. And you know, you can talk about different things and I could tell you stories about different big companies I've worked for and different projects, big projects I've worked on. And I remember them all in great detail because I loved every minute I spent on them. So it's kind of for me, it's that kindness. So if everybody gets that little sprinkling of kindness and whether they email us.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:02:44.056)
phone us, receive one of our products, get a gift of one of our products, that they feel that level of bit of kindness has been brought into their day. I'm really happy that Naira is able to do that and I'm able to do that.

Ramon Vela (01:02:58.53)
Well, I think that's fantastic. and, and I would just say as the last word here is it's okay to flex. It's okay to talk about yourself because you have this wonderful experience. You know, you, want, sometimes it's, it's, it's great to play small, but at the same time though, I think, there's a lot of people that can relate to what you're saying. You know, they,

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:03:07.19)
Yes.

I need to spend more time in the States again, Ramon.

Ramon Vela (01:03:25.07)
They probably feel like, oh, I want to rather focus on someone else than myself. However, you you have these great accomplishments and it's okay to talk about them. It's okay to mention them. It's okay to talk about all this experience you have. So anyhow, that's just me, but I say I give you permission.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:03:44.248)
Well, I suppose it's the mom and me as well, the other way you always want to talk about your kids and say how great your kids are, but I suppose you're always at the back of the queue. But yeah, I'm not used to the level of attention and people saying such amazing things and I'm kind of like, are you sure you're talking about? You know what mean? So it is that, again, I think it's grown up in Ireland in the 80s. We weren't exactly known for our overindulgence and poor enough.

Ramon Vela (01:03:53.709)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (01:04:01.538)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:04:13.332)
nice words to each other so I suppose that again it is a bit of a mindset thing and I love the positive that's why I love spending time in the States is the positivity that's there and people actually you know what mean we're getting there in Ireland but it's definitely always why I love working and living in the States when I was there and it's just you just need that touch and that's the whole thing of being around global based entrepreneurs as well you get that.

Ramon Vela (01:04:16.688)
and

Ramon Vela (01:04:31.288)
Yeah.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:04:39.778)
those different sparks and the way different people, whether they're from India or they're from Austin, Texas, or they're from Singapore. You know what mean? It's that, again, getting outside of your own, like our island, which is Ireland. So it's always good to kind of think globally and realize that you have way more to give. And again, for me, it's always a two-way street with everything I do. And I really appreciate this conversation. We got on from the minute we chatted. I said, hopefully the next time I'm in LA, I'll get to visit.

Ramon Vela (01:04:41.827)
Yeah.

Ramon Vela (01:05:05.774)
you

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:05:09.432)
So it's been an absolute lovely conversation. I really appreciate your time and I love your podcast. I think what you're trying to do is such a lovely mix and what I'm doing in daily life and you're able to bring that then to a wider audience, which I think I just why podcasts are just so good and you're doing it for so long and doing it so well. So well done to you and your team as well.

Ramon Vela (01:05:33.198)
Well, thank you. appreciate it. Well, this has been a great conversation. And like I said, I love your background and I think the combination of your story as well as your product and your product knowledge and the efficacy is just it's there and it's fantastic. And so I highly recommend everyone out there go to NiroBeauty.com, which is the website. But is there any other place that you want them to go?

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:05:56.118)
No, so you can literally email us at store at niobutie.com and we'll get back to you or obviously follow us on social. So we're obviously on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, we're growing the TikTok thing. We've a bit to do on YouTube yet as well. again, we're a small brand, small team and we're slowly getting there, but I suppose we'll always reply to any of our customers or any questions. We have a really good help desk built into our website as well. So any questions, queries, and you just want to go find out information.

for yourself on stuff, it's all there free for people to look at. But we love people contacting us and we're always here to help as best we can. So don't feel afraid to reach out and ask us questions and we'll help as best we can.

Ramon Vela (01:06:40.696)
Great. Well, thank you so much for that. Everyone out there, have just had Lorraine Cochran, who is founder and CEO of Nyra Beauty. And we're going to have the link that she mentioned in the NyraBeautyLink.com website link on our podcast description, which you can find on Spotify, Apple, pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts, simply type in the story of a brand show and you should be able to find it. You can also just go to our own website, which is the story of a brand.com and take a look at all of our

1320 episodes or eight seasons worth. please leave a rating and review if you do on Apple or Spotify. I appreciate that. That helps us get more sponsors, helps us get more audience, and we appreciate it. Beyond that, everyone, stay safe, stay sane, stay healthy. And from this perspective, I would say go visit nairabeauty.com. mean, your skin is your largest microbiome or what is it, your organ.

LORRAINE CORCORAN (01:07:36.568)
What a large organ.

Ramon Vela (01:07:38.794)
And so it really matters all the stuff that the things around us and we need to keep it healthy. And so you can go and you take a look at nirobeauty.com and see if there's something there for you. Beyond that, everyone, like we've talked about today and we talked about early on, we've all been going through a lot of stuff. Start the pandemic and then politics and geopolitical wars. And it was just a lot of craziness going on in the world. So let's just do ourselves a favor and remember that everyone is going through something.

And if we could just be a little kinder to each other, I know we can make this human experience a better one. Beyond that, thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to another episode of the story of a brand.