11.01.2023
Episode 241: Ian Michael Crumm, Esthetician and Co-Host of the BeautyCurious Podcast
Summary
We know and love our latest guest Ian Michael Crumm from his podcast BeautyCurious, so we couldn’t wait to dig into the career journey of this esthetician and fellow podcaster. Ian first took an interest in skincare as a teen when, struggling with his own skincare concerns, he sought out the help of a dermatologist and eventually subscribed to an online dermatologist’s journal. Ian started an “online journal” of his own in high school when he began blogging. By the time Ian was in college, his lifestyle blog had taken off—Ian was getting subscribers of his own and even seeing paid advertisers.
Having a platform is one thing, but knowing how to use it is what separates the skin-fluencers from the scam-fluencers. Ian knew from experience that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to skincare, and wanted to be able to speak from a place of authenticity when it came to recommending skincare brands and treatments. With that in mind, Ian made the decision to get his esthetician’s license.
What’s next for this go-getter? Ian is never one to shy away from a challenge and thinks that a cosmetic chemistry class could be next. Whatever it is, we can’t wait to see (and hear) what Ian Michael Crumm will do next.
To hear more about Ian Michael Crumm’s career journey, his podcast BeautyCurious, and the fabulous nickname he has for his grandmother (trust us), listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!
If you're not challenging yourself, it can get pretty boring.
Ian Michael Crumm
Transcript
| Announcer | Welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ hosted by Jodi Katz, Founder and Creative Director of Base Beauty Creative Agency. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Hi, Jodi. |
| Jodi Katz | Hello, Aleni. Great to see you. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Great to see you too. How are you? |
| Jodi Katz | I am good. I find the timing of recording this intro for Ian's episode really interesting because today's actually his birthday. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Happy Birthday! By the time you hear this Ian, Happy Belated Birthday. Well, today we are finishing our artistry and implementing theme with of course Ian Michael Crumm. And he is a celebrity esthetician and a co host of the beauty curious podcast. And we've actually had the privilege of working with EA and for years now kind of watching his influencer journey through different partnerships we've done with our clients at base beauty and different events we've been at together. So I'm really excited for this story. I know Ian also mentioned in the episode that he grew up in Pennsylvania. And that's where I'm from Jodi, have you had any recent trips to the Keystone State? |
| Jodi Katz | In fact, I have. I did go to college there and Aleni and I went to the same school, I'll be at different times. But a few weekends ago, I went with a friend to Pennsylvania to learn about orienteering, which is when you learn to use a compass and a special map. And it's almost like gamified. Hiking, your like goal is to find the flags faster than anybody else. And sometimes you're even orienteering in the dark wearing headlamps. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Oh my gosh, that sounds incredible. I'm gonna have to check it out. I have never heard that term. I'm always learning something new on this show. And Ian is going to teach us so much. He really is so incredible about teaching. |
| Jodi Katz | He is like somebody I just really look up to every time I see him. I tell him how proud I am of him because you can just see the hard work right like with some people, I think they don't really let you in on their process of developing their talents and their network. But Ian is so open and really allows himself to be vulnerable, which I think is beautiful. And he talks in this episode about why he chose to go to school to be an esthetician. Right? He could have been a skincare influencer without that certification, but he really wanted to invest in himself and it's such a beautiful story and it really speaks to his commitment to sun safety and also having fun with skincare. |
| Aleni Mackarey | That's amazing. I love it. Let's jump in and get to this great chat. Here is Ian Michael Crumm, Episode 241. |
| Jodi Katz | Welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™. We are career journey podcast talking about what it's like to define success and reach for it in the beauty and wellness industries. Today we are finishing our artistry and influencing theme with Ian Michael Crumm, a celebrity esthetician and co host of the beauty curious podcast in is all about separating the facts from the fads combining his love for education and beauty. He is committed to using his knowledge as an esthetician and platform to create change. His passion is promoting the benefits of year round sun safety and skin cancer prevention. Ian is here to provide the need to know skincare topics, tips and tricks for all skin types because skincare is not one size fits all. I'm excited to dive into the conversation about his career journey from blogging to influential skincare education on Episode 241. Hello Ian, welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Hi, Jodi, thank you for having me. |
| Jodi Katz | So we get to see each other a lot which makes me very happy. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Me too. I just saw you the other week at the WWD forum. |
| Jodi Katz | Yeah, full disclosure, my team works with en they adore in they're friends with EA and like everybody loves in so we talk and get to see and spend time with Ian quite a bit and I'm so happy to have you on the show and you are a podcaster now so this is super cool to have you on my show I want to know what's what you're noticing is different in the way that we're recording today versus what you've been doing? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | So I have BeautyCurious Podcast which I launched as you know a doctor at least love she's a dermatologist in New York we both have pretty crazy schedules and we knew going into this project together that it would flop if we didn't have a lot of people helping us so we brought on a production company to help us with editing and and we go to their studio normally and record their near Brian park so we meet up and record in studio. So yeah, I haven't done a podcast live on Instagram before but I'm, I'm always down to try new things. |
| Jodi Katz | Well, we used to record in person before COVID which I love. And then of course we moved to doing it remotely and then I started to love that too. Obviously it's cool to be in front of people but it just made scheduling so much easier. Yeah, right to do it remote. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Yeah, I mean, we might start doing it remote eventually. But since it is a new venture, we've enjoyed getting together in person and having that report, especially having two co hosts you know, kind of giving each other like the look like are you going to talk next am I going to talk next just so we don't sound clunky? But It's been a really fun process. |
| Jodi Katz | I'm so proud of you for starting that and you have so many incredible initiatives. We'll get to many of them. So let's start in the very, very, very beginning, though, and this is a career journey show. I know for a lot of us, we get ambitious very young. So when you were like 10, 11 years old, what do you want to be when you grow up? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | My earliest career ambition was to be a chef, I found creativity and cooking kind of therapeutic as well. So I knew I wanted to be a chef. Everyone in my family knew anytime someone would get me a present, you know, for a holiday or whatnot. It would be something kitchen related. My parents got me a, like a Kitchenaid Mixer wines. And I was just obsessed with cooking. So I actually went to a few culinary classes with my mom when I was younger. And I wanted to do that for probably like six years, and then realized I really love cooking, so maybe I shouldn't spoil it. And I've been wanting to work really weird long hours. Now I work weird long hours all the time. But that that was my first career ambition was to be a chef. |
| Jodi Katz | Okay, so from chef to I see an influencer this feels like a big leap. Big jump. How did you get from that passion to what you're doing now? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Basically, I got into skin when I was in high school. I had mild acne. Not you know anything crazy. But I did have some and I was always very meticulous, like I was the kid that my mom has always taken amazing care of me. But you know, I'd be like, Oh, Mom, can I go get a pedicure with you? Can I get my hair cut? It's looking like a little shabby. You know, I was just very to the tee with things. So when I started I noticed there was a couple bumps around my eye actually like down here which ended up being Millie. I had no clue Amelia was at the time. And she took me to the DERM those were extracted. And because I had mild acne, they recommended a light chemical appeal. And that was kind of my gateway into skin. |
| Jodi Katz | How old were you at this point? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | I think I was either a freshman or a sophomore in high school. I'd always been into beauty since I was little like just hair products and getting pedicures with my mom all the things I always gravitated towards beauty products. But in terms of the skin itself, that was my gateway. And shortly after I like subscribed to one of the dermatologists journal somehow I must have been searching online. I'm not sure my mom was like, What did you What did you subscribe to? I took my debit card. And like, it was probably like $100, a quarter or a year, it was something like you know, wild, but I'm like I love you know, I want to read about the skin. So I did that. And in high school. From there, I started taking advanced calculus and other advanced placement classes because I in my gut thought I was gonna go pre med to be a DERM or plastic. And then, through a conversation with my great aunt, I realized that I can sit still if I need to. But I like to not sit still. And I just came to this realization that if I were to do med school, I might drive myself a little crazy. And I didn't want to be in an office forever. Now, you know, there's Derma influencers and the whole industry is fastly evolving, but probably 16 Maybe even 17 years ago, I that wasn't a reality. So I didn't do that. And I ended up through a conversation with my grandmother, who I'm very close to anyone that follows me likely knows that and knows that I call her glammy because she's so glamorous. Through a conversation with glammy. She recommended I go in for communications, specifically PR, so I ended up going for communications and marketing. But through being in college fell into the to the blog world. |
| Jodi Katz | So let's continue on I want to shout out to glammy because it is so amazing that a young person is going to take advice from someone who has a lot of wisdom sometimes as young people, we don't take the advice from the people who actually have the wisdom. So kudos to you in for actually paying attention there. Thank you. It's really beautiful, because people who have lived a lot have a lot to offer us. Absolutely. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | She's very close. We're very close. |
| Jodi Katz | So the worlds of influencing when you were in college was blogging and vlogging. Right. So where did you start? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Yeah, so technically I started blogging in high school, my friend from high school Jordan, she was taking a photography class, we both were also taking a few art classes. And she got assigned some photography assignment and she asked me to model for her. So I did and then we started having so much fun with that we started doing just fashion shoots on the side, like on weekend just because it was a creative outlet. And I've always also have loved clothes since I was younger. So we started doing fashion shoots together and started a throwback Tumblr page together in high school, and did that I think basically our last year of high school, maybe a part of our junior year. And so I was kind of used to posting and you know, back then Myspace, Facebook, I was used to being on social media. So when I moved from York, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, I went to Drexel University when I moved. I started my personal blog website almost immediately Drexels very career oriented. And like semester one, we were in our co op internship one on one class, and they were like, get on LinkedIn. So I got on LinkedIn, and was always on social and in high school. So it was kind of a fun new venture being on a professional social media. And my blog at the time, in my eyes was just a visual, an additional visual representation of that I actually started my High School's fashion show through the National Honor Society. So at that point, even though I was going for communications marketing, in my brain, I thought that I wanted to produce fashion shows for a living. So when I first entered college, that was where my mind was, and I got involved with two fashion shows one through a prominent event planner in Philadelphia, and I spent my second half of my freshman year kind of helping with backend production of the show. And so my blog at the time, became this hodgepodge of just things I was doing fashion, I liked helping with this show, I had started freelancing, or contributing to the school newspaper at Drexel. And it just was kind of where I dumped everything. And it was my little visual LinkedIn. And an early mentor of mine. He's a photographer in Philadelphia is probably almost a year and maybe not quite, I met him out on the social scene out networking in Philadelphia, and he made a comment to me one day, that I was very stylish, and that I should blog about what I wore. And I was like, Oh, that's interesting. And so I kind of ran with that. And I started not posting on my blog about these other things I was doing and it started to become very, like personal style blogging, which back in 2012 2013, was huge, especially before Instagram became Instagram. And now obviously, tick tock, tick tock, but yeah, I was updating a physical word press blog multiple times a week. And Instagram really was just this secondary thing that was just a personal account at first and then kind of pivoted over the years. |
| Jodi Katz | So when did you go from blogging about things that you do, and you know, your personal style tips, saying to yourself, there's a career path here. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | So after I had shifted to being very intentional with like, Oh, I'm blogging about what I wore, and I kind of go about to different events in Philadelphia, and I talked about that at times, but it all centered around this kind of lifestyle, fashion based content. And I remember I was at my first Co Op, so Drexel, you based I was in a five year program, you go to school full time. And then if you're in the Co Op program, you your second year started Co Op, so I was interning full time for six months and taking like one online class, and then the next six months, you're back to school full time. So it becomes a year long school like situation versus a traditional university. And I was at my first Co Op, and I just remember, like looking down and my phone was dinging and it was a Twitter notification. And I was like, What is this and I clicked it. And it was from wracked Philadelphia ra c. K Ed, wrapped used to be a, like very fat, like a fashion publication based out of New York, same conglomerate as eater and curbed if you know like the, the what the food website either in the real estate website curbs, they used to have one called route that was all fashion based. And they had a Philly subdivision, racked Philly, and the Twitter notification, went to this blog post that was profiling my blog and talking all about me. And I was like, You know what, I had no clue what was happening. And it was very complimentary, you know, short and sweet, but linked my blog and just said, really nice things. So I got some, you know, extra blog traffic from that. And it was just like this first aha moment, like, oh, you know, I'd seen people on the back end of my site, like, oh, yeah, people are looking at this. But you know, you kind of, I guess, just never know who's looking. And the editor at the time wrote this profile. So shortly after I saw on their site that they were looking for contributors, and I had already been writing for the school newspaper. So I took one of my articles that I wrote for the school newspaper, and sent it to Julian. I had already emailed her and thanked her for the profile and basically pitched myself to be a contributor, and I ended up becoming the Philadelphia men style writer for wracked Philadelphia and then that just kind of started snowballing. I started freelancing for other publications. I did a few things for edge media network. At one point, I did a few fashion based interviews for philly.com which is the Inquirer, Philadelphia Inquirer, and some other places. So it just kind of started snowballing. And yeah, so that was that was the one aha moment. And then it the second aha moment where I was like, Oh, wait, no, this is actually a thing. I, as I mentioned earlier, I grew fond of LinkedIn. My first my first quarter at Drexel, and I, this was after wrapped, I believe, but not far after I got a LinkedIn message from a marketing agency that at the time was representing Shopbop and East Dane, which are like male, female fashion websites, I think, since then they've been acquired by Amazon. But at the time, they were independent. And they ran their banner advertising for for those those websites. And they asked me to join their East Dane banner advertising program. So they became my first advertiser on my site. And then that was truly the aha moment where I was like, Oh, wait, okay. I mean, it wasn't making much money. But it was, you know, a couple of dollars here, a couple of dollars there. And it was essentially like a retainer that I got put on for, I think it ended up being a few years that that program ran. So those were the two moments where I was like, oh, this is the thing happening. |
| Jodi Katz | So social media was so simple back then. Now, it's so complex. So if we fast forward from that moment, where you're really driving your growth, because of the focus of your content, right, and being you know, recognized for it, to the complexities and what you do now, it's like a completely another life. Yeah. Very, very different. So let's talk about the the world you're in now. You're a licensed esthetician. Yes. Right. When did you go to get that license? And why it? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Oh, gosh, ever since COVID, the years start blurring together, but it's approaching three years, I had been considering it before COVID. And ended up taking classes, like in the early on site of COVID. happening, I basically hit a point over so I was in fashion, fashion content. But then I would always talk about beauty at various times, and started shifting my content more and more beauty, because I've always loved fashion, but I just was like, I need to switch. And you know, as I mentioned before, I thought I wanted to be a DERM in high school. So talking about beauty and treatments. And all of that was engaging for me. So I started getting more questions. DMS people asking about the treatments I was doing, or what is this do? What products should I try? You know, what can help me with my acne and you know, just standard skincare questions that we all get and see on the internet. And I got to this point, after being in content for so long that I think I've been well, I've always tried to have myself well read, you know, I used to subscribe to that DERM journal in high school and would read other posts and have asked dermatologists for years now their opinions on different topics. So I never thought that I was replying with incorrect information to people. But I started just to feel a little uneasy, like, oh, I don't know, maybe, maybe I need a credential for this. So that's really what prompted getting my civics license. And when I started the process, I didn't actually think I would practice at all, because it was just me giving myself some comfort in you know, all these people asking for various tips and not wanting to direct them in the wrong way. But through that process, I really grew to like treatments there. It's for me, it's this whole therapeutic energy exchange. It's a very intimate experience, and even more so than a massage or physically touching all over someone's face. So through schooling and practicing on friends, and and just learning about aesthetics. And I personally had a ton of facials in the past as well from different providers was like, Oh, I really enjoy this. And I like the result of Oh, someone feels really relaxed, you make them feel more confident or more beautiful in the moment or relaxed because they had a stressful day. So I didn't even think I would practice at all. But through that process realized, Oh, this is enjoyable, but then bringing it back to my comment. I realized with my great aunt when I was in high school, I do like mixing things up. So I didn't do like a hard pivot and be like, okay, all of a sudden, I'm a full time esthetician and like booked me in a spa. It still is a kind of sporadic goes in waves thing where I do do facials, but I've by no means have left the internet world of doing partnerships or now I have the podcast. Or sometimes I'm working on producing events. So I definitely like to mix it up. But you know, in terms of the reasoning why I went and got the license was through this internal feeling of life. I really want that credential that way when I'm recommending a product or a service or a technique to someone that I personally felt confident in that response, and now I have background noise, I hope you don't I, I live in I live across from a hospital. So there's randomly like an ambulance siren. So hopefully that's not too loud. |
| Jodi Katz | Okay, so I want to share something with you. And I don't know if I ever told you this. Oh, no. It is so amazing that you took the time to get your esthetician license. Like, I understand that your desire was to just make sure you're answering the questions, right and to serve your your fans well, but what it's allowed you to do in your career is, as an influencer is beyond what you could have been doing if you didn't have this license. And I'm sure you know that because you see it in other creators, right? There's the creators who are we call them consumer influencers. And then there's the professionals. And as someone who works with brands all the time, like the voice of the professional is so important. So I just am so proud of you for having that instincts. And I know it takes a lot of time and money to get that license. But that was a real investment in your future. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, ever since the last two, three years have been different than free pre license. And yeah, it's been an exciting journey thus far. So I'm really glad that I did that as well. Because I think, you know, if you're not challenging yourself, it can get pretty boring. This isn't confirmed, but I started looking at classes because I'm in the weeds with like reading cosmetic labels and, and asking cosmetic chemists friends about ingredients and questions. So, you know, my next kind of thought is, oh, maybe I need to take a chemistry like a new chemistry class or cosmetic chemistry class and, and see, like, where I can challenge myself. But anyway, I digress. |
| Jodi Katz | Um, yeah, I love this investment in yourself in because, as you know, as we all know, there's so much garbage out there. Social media is a great place if you want to spread garbage around. So a lot of misinformation, a lot of people doing foolish things, and just thinking that it's okay, because they see it online. So to be part of the squad of experts, trying to boss those myths and lies, whatever it takes, I encourage you to do it, because it will be worth the effort. In the end, for sure. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Even though I would imagine a chemistry class or classes would be brutal, like I'm just gonna do well, I think I'm just gonna take one I can't do a whole degree, just just just a just overview of some sorts. |
| Jodi Katz | I want you to let me know how it's going after you start because I'm sure that I don't know that my brain could be in a classroom ever again. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | I've always, I've always loved school, you know, after a while, it's like, okay, I need to get out of class. But there's something fun about school to me. |
| Jodi Katz | So, let's talk about life as an influencer, right? Do you have a career, you're your own boss, you have hired people to support you in the content creation. You can't just do it alone. So this is a real job. This isn't a hobby. So can you actually just give us a sense of what a day in your life is? Like? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Yeah, I get asked this question quite a lot. My normal responses it depends on the week. Last week was really hectic, you know, I Yeah, it was last week, I saw you at the W W. W. D forum. And, you know, spoke there without MD. And then the next day, I was doing facials with beauty editors, and in between that was editing podcast content. So it definitely depends on the week. Thankfully, this week is a little lighter. So I can recoup from the craziness of last week, but on a given day, you know, every single day, and even on weekends, sometimes I'm talking with my managers, I'm with a management company friends with benefits. My friend Morgan started a few years ago, we actually know each other from high school, so she knows me very well. And her business partner Katie, who I know you know, Katie, she I speak with both of them every day just about strategy to what projects do we have going on what deliverables or things do they need from me, and it took me a really long time to get in a tick tock group, but I've been posting daily for two months now. So at some point during the day, I'm filming something for tick tock, because I'm really trying to be consistent there. But it's a mix of filming it eating content. If I'm having a facial day, you know, I might be doing back to back facials with a brand for editors or I might have a private client and need to go to their house or travel I do travel with a few clients for projects. So it is it is a tricky question, but definitely filling for tick tock definitely talking to my managers. And my brain gets a lot of creative ideas every single day. So trying to keep myself in check with what deserves time and what needs to get written in the book and kind of sit there for a while because I've found myself, I'm getting better at it. I found myself certain years, especially like five years ago where I'd have all these ideas and kind of Start little projects and then kind of be like, Oh, what's, what's the point of that? Or how does this fit with that? Ever since getting my license, I've really made some safety and skin cancer prevention part of my platform. My grandmother glammy almost died from melanoma years ago. So I've been very cognizant of skin cancer since I was younger. And after getting my license, I joined the Skin Cancer Foundation commit gala committee. And you know, so now I kind of look at a lot of projects through that lens, there's a few other lenses that I look at skin cancer, talking kind to yourself, and it's like, you know, idea of just like Aging Gracefully. I know that's become a trend. Now everyone's like, no anti anti, I don't want to say anti aging. And, you know, I think the whole idea of really looking at the beauty world and speaking to consumers in a positive light is amazing. So there's a few filters I look through when I start a project that would influence my day to day thoughts with what I'm working on. But yeah, content facials, podcast planning, sometimes events, I like to produce events. And that takes a lot of time if I have one going on. So yeah, I'm gonna get in the weeds if I keep rambling about my day to day, but definitely depends on where we are. |
| Jodi Katz | This is a good segue to the last topic for this part of the show, which is the seduction of success. So this idea that if you're an ambitious person, which I am, and you have a lot of ideas, which I do, once I get a taste of success, like reaching one goal, I want more, right? It's like sugar, right? I just need more and more calls to me. But I don't want to work all day, right? But this deduction is real, like it's calling me. So I would imagine like every time you get like a win with a with a brand that you've really wanted to work with a while or a certain type of content exceeds what your goals? Where are you get this sort of feeling, you get a hit of like, wow, that's what success feels like, I want more. So how do you balance this? And how do you speak to that seducing voice inside your head to make sure that you are pursuing your goals, but you're also like a human being beyond your work? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Yeah, it's very, very challenging. I do put a lot of pressure on myself. And I agree, the seduction of success is a thing. Thankfully, now, a lot of what I speak upon and post about, you know, its beauty or wellness getting treatment. So there has some bonuses in my day to day with, with kind of taking care of my body and and doing like upkeep and things that keep me mentally calm. But for that seduction, it's a very new practice. But I've started getting myself out of office days, you know, if you have a nine to five, you know, you get however many vacation days or sick days, when you own your own business, you have to give them to yourself. And for years, I never did that. Obviously you'd hit a day where you're like, ah, but instead of waiting to that point of exhaustion or just feeling like I absolutely can't do anything today, I'm trying to be proactive in giving myself time to fully unplug. Like I said, it's a very new practice. But how I'm doing it is I look at the dates coming up. And I'll pick one that makes sense for me to have time off. And I first alert my managers like this is the day I'd like off, please do not book anything. Please divert all projects around this state. And then still, it's hard on your days you give yourself off? I've heard from friends that own their own businesses. Oh, yeah, it's hard not to look at my email or check social notifications. So it's definitely something I'm working on. But trying to just turn I mean, I haven't had notifications on my phone outside of phone calls and text message for for years, I don't allow social notifications on my phone, I think I'd drive myself crazy. But allowing yourself that mental time is a challenge. And I think how I successfully do it is to plan something like a wellness, maybe I'll get a massage or my on my day off or do something else. And then I think paired with that. It's making sure you're talking behind yourself. Last week was as I mentioned before it facials and had a public speaking engagement and there was a bunch of things going on. And I do thrive off of that energy, but it can be exhausting. And then at the end of the week, I almost felt like I was on this like come down from some sort of natural high of being very stimulated. And then I almost felt weird because I was not you know, in the middle of a podcast recording or doing some sort of project and you just have to be cognizant of the inner voice and telling yourself to speak kind to yourself because we normally are our worst critics. So you know, that's what I'm trying to do. But it's a it's a work in progress. |
| Jodi Katz | Well that is an awesome place for us to land me and thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with our listeners. Okay, we're gonna move on to our fan questions. There's a lot of them here. Let me see which one I'm gonna pick first. I like this one. Gifting ideas for the holidays in what skincare tools do You think like a really giftable. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | So there's this new tool that I've started using called the AMI Hurriya. It's a gold plated like facial guasha. But it has a couple the way it's shaped, it has like a ball on the end, so you can kind of get in there and roll the eyes with it. So yeah, I really liked that tool I've been I've been testing it and using it in some of my facials, and it's gold plated, so it looks really bougie. So it's, it's kind of something that you okay, you might not by yourself, but for the holidays for gift. It's, it's a fun thing to receive for sure. |
| Jodi Katz | Is that a, like a tool with like a battery? Or it's just no? Using your hands? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Yeah, yeah. And it comes in a beautiful wrapping. So it's like gift bag ready. If you want to get it and throw it in a gift bag with some tissue, it'll look really chic. |
| Jodi Katz | Oh, that's a good idea. Okay, love that. Let's talk about a goop product. Like, can you gift skincare to somebody? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | We had a Goop product… |
| Jodi Katz | You know, not sorry, not Goop the brand. I mean, like, you know, a jar or product or, you know, cream goop like, you know, can you can give the tool because I feel like that's for any skin type. But can you gift you know, something that's like a jar of cream or something that's topical. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | I think if you know the person and you know their skin like you could it's gets a little intricate to do that body products are great. You know, most body products are pretty universal. There's this new dermal serum by projector that I really like. It's just like a really lightweight serum. I'm way better now that I'm licensed. But you know, years ago, I would always moisturize my face. But the body I feel like we forget or it's all there's so much surface to cover. Or like standard body lotion sometimes has like a sticky or like heavy feel, especially guys like tend to not like any like the feeling of having anything on. So I really like this dermal serum because it soaks in super fast. And then it's like you didn't put anything on but your skin feels better. |
| Jodi Katz | Love that. Oh, wow. This is a big question. Let's go back to after college. When you first started out after school, what were your goals for your career. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | So by the time I was finishing Drexel, I had had a bunch of internships, I think I had seven during my time at college because I was in the five year Co Op, which would have three Co Op, but I slipped two of them. So I had five but then I did two other internships outside of that, and my blog and writing. So I had kind of dabbled the waters in a plethora of things. And I had started making money with my site and just like social media and and freelance projects. So I came to this point of, okay, yeah, what I do, do I try to keep all this going, but go get a full time job. I was essentially making enough to like get by, but I wasn't having too much extra. And I told myself keep going. And I definitely had moments of what is happening. What am I doing? You know, it's very, it was very like this for a while, and I was still living in Philadelphia. And I remember, I think it was just over a year, about a year and a half after graduating, I was home in New York. And I woke up one day, and I just was like, I need to move to New York, I was coming here for work. And I was coming for different, you know, to see friends. And I felt like I had done a lot of great work in Philadelphia. But from a career standpoint, didn't know, I didn't know what was next, I wanted to keep doing my own thing. But I didn't have a clear path as to what that was going to be. But I just kind of kept in motion. And so my goal was really just to keep in motion and keep it keep it going and figure it out as I tried new things. And I just kept trying a bunch of new things. And thankfully, after moving to New York, so this was a year and a half, two years after graduating, landed on some freelance projects, and I was still doing my content. And I had signed with a manager. So you know, there was other work coming in that I wasn't getting one I wasn't signed with a manager. But I also found like, this one freelance project that gave me some security, you know, it wasn't a full paycheck, but it was like, okay, you know, like, I'm, I'm good I can I can keep this going. So yeah, it was definitely a let me see where this goes. But my goal was, let's keep going and see that. |
| Jodi Katz | Oh my god, that's a great thought. Right? You just put your head down and keep going. Okay, last question. You probably get this question all the time. I don't know if you can answer this. Can you pick one favorite sunscreen? |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Okay, I was like, is she gonna say what's my skincare routine? And I was gonna go we don't have 40 minutes and everyone's always like, oh, like great skin like what are you doing? And my favorite response is: What am I not doing? I'm trying like everything and every treatment to be able to sell someone if I think it's good or not. My favorite sunscreen. There are so many I love LTM D I use UV Clear or UV shear kind of at the same level, but I'm always trying new sunscreens I think skin And Karen general it's such a case by case thing you know, like, what works for me might not work for someone else. So my whole goal especially with sunscreen isn't good sunscreen. It's good sunscreen. So I like to talk about a lot of sunscreens I like to recommend a lot of sunscreens knowing someone's skin type their personal preference, but if you're making me answer, I think actually lately I've been using UV Shear more so I'll have that from EltaMD. |
| Jodi Katz | Well, you inspired me today because as I was getting ready for a show I put on the lip balm MD Solar Sciences. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | I don't know if I've tried I've tried on the Solar Sciences. I don't know if I tried their lip balm though. |
| Jodi Katz | Well, it's a shimmer hydrating sheer lip balm. So I just put it over my lipstick actually. And I haven't been that great about wearing lips. Sunscreen lip balm. So I think I'm pretty good at doing in my face but I forget about my lips. So I was influenced. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Lips and ears. Lips and ears. I've so many derm friends have said they removed melanoma like skin cancers from inside of the ears, especially young guys. Because do you think even if you're putting sunscreen on your face, so many people don't touch their ear so you say after you apply your sunscreen for anyone listening, the remnants when your fingertips gently go in your ear and dab and like literally go in there don't shove it in but put the remnants on your ear, your thank yourself, your years down the line. |
| Jodi Katz | I love it. And that's a great way for us to conclude. Thank you so much to Ian. God, Episode 241 of our podcast. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | I'm so honored. I had a great time on mic. I thought I'm like how is it over aleady? Let's keep going. |
| Jodi Katz | And for everyone else, thank you so much for listening in. If you'd like this episode, please rate and review. As always, make sure you're following us on your favorite podcast platform and Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming episodes. And all the fun we have along the way in a pleasure as always to hang out with you. I hope to see you in real life soon. |
| Ian Michael Crumm | Thank you Jodi. |
| Jodi Katz | Thank you everybody. Bye. |
| Announcer | Thanks for listening to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ with Jodi Katz. Tune in again for more authentic conversations with beauty leaders. |
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