blingingbeauty.com
Blinging Beauty Conversations: Q & A With Jodie Patterson—DooBop Founder & Beauty Lover
DooBop is the newest, hippest and most exclusive way for women with brown skin to shop for beauty related products online. I’m definitely a fan. About Doobop: DooBop is the first beauty e-tailer specifically designed for multi-ethnic women, specifically with brown skin tones and textured hair. Co-Founder and beauty industry veteran Jodie Patterson knows from firsthand experience how difficult the beauty industry can be for multi-ethnic women. African American women alone spend $7.5Bn a year in personal care/beauty products. Despite these statistics, the current beauty industry continues to overlook the ‘brown woman’ customer. Jodie is helping to change that with DooBop. I had a chance to have a conversation with visionary e-commerce founder of Dooboop.com, Jodie Patterson about beauty, her baby Georgia by Jodie Patterson, trends, natural hair and what inspired her to create a curated shopping site for brown skinned beauties. TRACEY: When did your love for beauty products start? JODIE: I’m a complete Beauty Explorer. I really love the process of finding great things, experimenting with them and sharing the information! I think it started in high school when I was making my own facemasks and hair conditioners from our refrigerator. I didn’t have and cash to play with but we lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and my mom shopped at all these great gourmet places like Zabars. I quickly got into the idea that what you put on your body should be as good as what you put in your mouth. I was feeding my skin well even back then! Plain, natural yogurt is one of the best facial masks I’ve ever used! TRACEY: Did you find that your mother or grandmother influenced your Beauty choices? JODIE: My mom is a naturalist. She’s been “green” even before there was a term for that. It was typical for us to start the day off with a bog bowl of steamed kale for breakfast, and close the day with meditation. We always knew that beauty started from the inside. She’s also strikingly beautiful – like age-edifyingly beautiful. So I decided early on, ‘whatever she was doing, I was all about that life.” She had her boudoir process down to like 5 steps. It always included a blow-dry, an eyebrow pencil, a blush, a lip and a scent. And every product she ever used was either prestige or niche. I’m essentially the same woman. I’m all about simple, healthy beauty. TRACEY: What prompted you to create your site Doobop? JODIE: We’re New Yorkers, so we walk the streets everyday and cross paths with people from all over the world. We see beauty in real-time – and its diverse and in fact very brown. We just wanted our industry to catch up with reality, to come out of the dark ages and to reflect the truth. Not a fabricated idea, but beauty as it really is in 2014. It was about showing brown-beauty as general market, as the norm. TRACEY: What sets Doobop apart from other beauty e-commerce sites? JODIE: Our selection takes customers beyond ‘business as usual’ and allows for a global exploration of both product and trends. Traditionally, beauty had been segmented and customers have been encouraged to ‘shop by ethnicity’. That’s like eating or traveling or listening to music only in your ethnic range. It just doesn’t make sense and it’s totally repetitive and boring. We allow customers to shop by need not by ethnicity. We’ve combed the globe for the best product, often that wasn’t marketed to brown women, and then hand picked SKU’s within the brands that are great for brown skin and textured hair. We’re about destroying the ‘ethnic isle’. TRACEY: You create your own product line as well, can you tell me about that? JODIE: Georgia by Jodie Patterson is my baby! It’s a natural line of skin and hair products that makes the process of being beautiful simple and healthy. On my travels, I’ve found ingredients from all over the world and then mixed them in with food – to essentially make luxurious food-for-skin. Our line is about ‘smart beauty’. We treat modern beauty dilemmas with age-old remedies. I use the entire line on my entire family. And we’re a big multi-cultural family. African, Black American, Swiss-German, Vietnamese, Canadian. I made it for us! TRACEY: What is your training when it comes to formulating beauty products, or you just have an obsession? JODIE: I’ve used common sense and age-old remedies passed on from my relatives to address universal needs. I’m not a scientist, and you don’t need to be one to understand my ingredient list. Again, beauty is simple. I’m here to remind women of that. TRACEY: What products would I find in your makeup bag in your purse right now? JODIE: Ooohhh, I have some winners! *RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in Smile. It’s this genius cream blush that makes me look radiant and healthy *Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector, I use it under my foundation to create a glow. It’s bounces light all over your face and I’m telling you, people notice. *Becca Radiant Skin Satin Finish Foundation in Tobacco. I love it because it can be used lightly or layered for more coverage. TRACEY: What’s your number one piece of advice regarding skin care for women? JODIE: Be vigilant about quality. Use really good product with great ingredients that come from the earth. And remember to switch up your product the same way you vary your food. Don’t get into a rut. TRACEY: What is the one product you can’t live without? JODIE: Georgia by Jodie Patterson Luxury Face Oil. I consider it my miracle oil. Rosehip oil is harvested from the seeds of rose bushes predominantly in Chile and is full of anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids. You can use it as a night serum or under your makeup during the day. If you’re into brighter, shinier, softer and younger everything this wonder oil is it! I use it at least three times a day to help condition, treat and refresh my face. It sounds weird, but I literally dab it on in areas where my makeup is starting to look tired or under my eyes when I actually am tired (and when just adding more makeup won’t do the trick). It’s a great way to revive the skin and look good in the middle of the day. TRACEY: What do you think about the natural hair trend? JODIE: I love that we’ve found ways to create all the different style we want without harsh chemicals. Bravo! TRACEY: Speaking of trends, do you tend to follow makeup trends or do you keep your style more the classic and on the timeless side? JODIE: I don’t strategically follow trends. But if I see something I like, from any era, I’ll grab it and make it my own thing. I’ll recycle an idea, wash it through my own internal system and then make it work for me. TRACEY: What do you say when women of color ask about skincare specifically for their skin? As an aesthetician I have always maintained that no matter what the line is, it is a matter of finding the right product for your skin type and concerns. JODIE: Exactly, I’m more interested in women shopping by concern and not by ethnicity. Most important is to get out of an ‘ethnic isle’ mindset. After that, we should be ‘world travelers’ and explorers of beauty. TRACEY: If you could have lunch with one iconic beauty pastor present who would it be? And why? JODIE: Madam CJ Walker, a Black, Harlem-ite that made millions from creating a relaxer for Black women. She was a pioneer in beauty entrepreneurship and launched this multi-billion-dollar hair industry. TRACEY: Do you shop for indigenous beauty products when you travel? If so what has been your most pleasantly surprising find? JODIE: I discovered Rosehip oil in Buenos Aires, Argentina while visiting with friends who live there. The Geranium Rose oil I use in my Gold Cream is an African rose…My husband’s from Ghana. I’m always on the hunt and travel delivers the unexpected. TRACEY: Do you have plans for expansion? What what is next on the horizon for you? JODIE: We’re only 2.5 months old.[At time of interview.] We’re focused on the details of personalization right now. Not so much on being the biggest, but on being the most thoughtful. Doing everything with wit and charm – those details matter most right now over expansion. TRACEY: What if someone wants to contribute to your blog? Ha ha that’s personal! JODIE: I’m always looking for more Beauty Gladiators!
Tracey Brown