Susan Yara sold Naturium for $355 million after three years. Iskra Lawrence built Saltair into a beauty brand people genuinely swear by. One that sits in both Space NK and Boots simultaneously, something almost no brand manages to pull off. This week Anna and Caitlin decode exactly how they did it and what every brand can learn from both.

But first, why are indie beauty brands dominating right now? When Anna and Caitlin were growing up there was no middle ground in beauty. You had your basic face cream or you saved up for La Mer. Space NK changed that. And now a new generation of founder led, social first, accessibly priced brands are doing something the legacy conglomerates simply cannot, they are making you feel like the person behind the brand is someone you could actually be.

Naturium is science first. Skincare ingredients at a $20 price point, built for layering, launched through Susan Yara's years of credibility as a beauty journalist and YouTuber, and scaled through a brilliant early move into Target that proved the distribution was there. That is what gets you to $355 million.

Saltair is something completely different. Iskra Lawrence built a brand around the idea of transporting you somewhere. The smell of salt air, the shimmer of a body oil, the feeling of being on holiday. Not a celebrity brand. Not a marketing exercise. A brand built because she needed something that did not exist yet and could not find it anywhere.

Two very different founders. Two very different brands. The same shared truth; influence gets you the first purchase. The product gets you every one after that. And in a beauty market this crowded, repeat purchase is everything.

The best brands are always built by people trying to fill something missing in their own lives. And that authenticity you can't fake it, manufacture it, or buy it. But you can work backwards to find it. And that is exactly what Anna and Caitlin help brands do every day.

Decode Sessions explores the strategies, consumer behaviors, cultural shifts, and industry trends shaping the future of fashion, beauty, retail, and luxury brands.