Lead With AI – Episode Summary

Episode: This AI Beauty Bestie Knows Your Face Better Than Any Makeup Counter Ever Will
Host: Dr. Tamara Nall
Guest: Sophie Au Young, Founder of Mira
Date: October 28, 2025

Episode Overview

In this enlightening episode of “Lead With AI,” host Dr. Tamara Nall sits down with Sophie Au Young, founder of the beauty technology startup Mira. Together, they explore how AI is transforming the experience of beauty and self-care—particularly for women who have long felt excluded by mainstream standards. The conversation weaves together Sophie’s personal story, Mira’s cutting-edge features, the deeper social and ethical questions involved, and bold predictions about the future of AI in beauty.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem: Beauty's Lack of Personalization and Representation

• Sophie's Motivation:
  • Sophie shares her experience growing up in a predominantly white area, facing a lack of representation and poor recommendations in makeup, which catalyzed her mission to build Mira.
    • "Growing up, I always grew up in a, I guess, predominantly white area... I always struggled with makeup. I always didn't feel very secure in my own skin." (03:00)
  • Makeup recommendations and social media influence weren’t “people that looked like me” and often left her “blindly experimenting with makeup and also being a little nervous about makeup.” (03:01–03:30)

2. Mira: An AI-Powered Beauty Bestie

• What is Mira?
  • Mira is described as an AI tool that scans your face or beauty products to recommend the perfect fit for your unique features, starting with makeup but planning to expand to hair and skincare.
    • “Mirror is your personalized AI bestie... you have the option to either scan your face to find products or makeup techniques that suit your face, or you can go in store and scan products..." (05:01)
  • The app features a messaging function that makes it feel like you’re texting a best friend for beauty advice. (05:24)
• Personalization and Choice:
  • Mira can adjust its “sassiness” to match your preference, acting as a supportive or honest best friend. (06:43)
    • "We will be having a function where you get to choose and adjust how sassy you want Mira to be." (06:43)

3. Real World Impact

• Customer Responses:
  • Sophie recounts powerful moments from user conversations:
    • Main feeling: “Relief.” (09:04)
      • “A lot of users were just so wowed by the idea of having a personalized tool that really knows your face… The main words used were actually relief.” (08:57/09:04)
• Founder Chills:
  • The depth of the issue struck Sophie during discussions:
    • “Beauty on a societal level sounds like such a trivial, shallow aspect of a woman's life. But hearing these women tell me how they don't feel beautiful in their own skin... actually gave me the chills.” (10:11)

4. AI Ethics and Data Privacy

• Ethical Crossroads:
  • Privacy is the main ethical concern:
    • "Many users have... been worried about privacy... because of the way data is collected, stored, and used. Which is why I have made it a really conscious effort to... be as transparent as possible and constantly communicating and having these open discussions with our users..." (12:45–13:30)
• Building with Ethics First:
  • Dr. Nall commends Sophie for integrating privacy-conscious design into Mira from the start. (13:30)

5. The Brand and Name

• Spelling and Meaning:
  • Mira is spelled MYRRAR:
    • "It actually stands for my realistic, reliable, augmented reality mirror." (21:48)
• Mission:
  • Making beauty routines more inclusive, accessible, and anxiety-free—especially for people historically left out by traditional beauty industries.

6. AI’s Transformative Power in Beauty and Beyond

• Bold Predictions:
  • Sophie believes the future of Mira—and AI in beauty—is about empowerment and representation:
    • “I believe with Mirror, young women of color and underrepresented women will have a safe space to explore makeup and really get to know themselves and their face...” (14:15)
  • By 2030, women will not have to “blindly” experiment with makeup. (14:55)

7. Closing Fun: Rapid Fire & Reflections

• If AI Could Think Like You for a Day:
  • "I would teach AI how to think like an entrepreneur... how to think creatively and think outside the box." (16:46)
• Most Overrated Tech Trend:
  • “People starting AI tech businesses without actually having a problem they really care to solve.” (18:11)
• Most Underhyped AI Trend:
  • Use of AI to improve R&D in beauty products. (18:53)
• Book Recommendation:
  • Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by former P&G CEO. (19:27)
• Boldest AI Prediction:
  • AI will be able to think freely like an entrepreneur or a human. (20:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Relief from Anxiety:
  • “A lot of users were just so wowed by the idea… The main words used were actually relief.” – Sophie Au Young (09:04)
• On Representation:
  • “[Beauty] sounds like such a trivial, shallow aspect… But hearing these women tell me how they don’t feel beautiful… actually gave me the chills.” – Sophie Au Young (10:11)
• On AI and Ethics:
  • “I have made it a really conscious effort to be as transparent as possible and constantly communicating and having these open discussions with our users on how the data is collected, stored, and used.” – Sophie Au Young (13:30)
• On Mira’s Name:
  • “It actually stands for my realistic, reliable, augmented reality mirror.” – Sophie Au Young (21:48)
• On Future Impact:
  • “I believe Mirror will completely revolutionize the way we shop for beauty.” – Sophie Au Young (14:15)
• On the Problem with Tech Startups:
  • “The most overrated tech trend is people starting AI tech businesses without actually having a problem they really care to solve.” – Sophie Au Young (18:11)
• On Her AI Prediction:
  • “I believe AI eventually will be able to think freely like an entrepreneur or just like a human.” – Sophie Au Young (20:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:48] Sophie’s personal story and her motivation for Mira
• [05:01] What does Mira do? – Features and experience
• [06:43] Adjusting Mira’s personality (“sassy” feature)
• [08:18] Customer “holy smokes” moment – feelings of relief
• [10:11] The profound impact of beauty standards and lack of representation
• [12:45] AI ethics and privacy in Mira’s design
• [14:15] Vision for Mira’s future and societal impact
• [16:46] What would you teach AI if it could think like you?
• [18:11] Rapid Fire: Overrated/underrated tech trends, book, bold prediction
• [21:48] The meaning behind the Mira brand and its name

How to Learn More or Get Involved

• Follow Mira on TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn for updates, behind-the-scenes, and waitlist sign-ups. (“Just search for mirror – MYRRAR.” [21:21])
• Release Timeline: Targeting 2026 for launch. (21:02)

Tone and Takeaway

Warm, candid, and deeply personal, this episode blends real-world struggle with cutting-edge AI innovation in a way both technical and human. Listeners come away understanding not just how Mira works, but why it matters—and how AI, when built from lived experience and a commitment to inclusivity, can fundamentally change lives.