Naked Beauty Podcast: Charlotte Palermino on Why Beauty Is Political

Host: Brooke DeVard
Guest: Charlotte Palermino (Co-Founder of Dew, Licensed Esthetician)
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this illuminating and candid episode, Brooke DeVard chats with Charlotte Palermino for a much-anticipated reunion on Naked Beauty. As co-founder of the cult-favorite skincare brand Dew, Charlotte brings her no-nonsense lens to beauty, dissecting why beauty is inherently political, the realities of pricing and transparency, the problems with “clean” beauty, and how anti-intellectualism and misinformation can seed broader societal issues. Charlotte also shares her personal journey as a founder, her pragmatic approach to sustainability, thoughts on trending beauty myths, and the deep connections between wellness, politics, and personal care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of Dew & Transparency in Beauty

[03:46]

• Charlotte’s background in tech and media gave her a front-row seat to the power and danger of misinformation during the 2016 election, which she saw mirrored in the beauty industry.
• “I saw the wellness industry ruining it,” Charlotte says of CBD/skincare. “They were promising it was going to cure cancer and your acne… and I’m like, no, it’s probably really good for inflammation.”
• Dew was founded to combat misinformation and foster price transparency. Charlotte explains the real drivers behind product markups and emphasizes that “not every brand is scamming you because they’re charging you $40 or $80 for a moisturizer.”

2. The Birth and Downfall of ‘Clean Beauty’

[06:34]

• 2016 was a time of peak fear-mongering and misinformation around beauty, particularly with the rise of “clean beauty” and apps like Think Dirty.
• Charlotte offers a nuanced critique: “It’s a really great tagline to say 1,300 ingredients are banned in Europe and only 12 in the U.S., but when you actually break it down those ingredients aren’t allowed in skincare in the U.S. ... It’s very Trumpian—emotionally they’re touching on the right thing... but the solutions didn’t fix the problem; it just became noise.”
• Brooke applauds today’s more nuanced creator landscape, with more figures promoting information over hysteria.

3. Doubling Down on Transparency

[10:02]

• Investors were wary of Dew’s commitment to transparency, fearing it would expose the brand to criticism.
• Charlotte counters: “Because we have the receipts, I’m not too worried... Any time someone’s negative, you can just use that for content to keep debunking.”
• Dew’s price changes are explained directly to consumers: “Rather than not saying anything, I just explained to people what fixed costs are… It’s great to teach people about how business works.”

4. Fundraising Realities and Industry Challenges

[13:07]

• Fundraising in beauty, Charlotte says, is about “luck and privilege and connections.” She shares that Dew has been profitable from day one and reflects on “scrappy” operations rooted in her (and her co-founder Joyce’s) immigrant backgrounds.
• “When you take money, you’re making a promise that you’re going to scale... It doesn’t lead to longevity or brand,” she observes.

5. Product Innovation: The Forever Eye Mask

[16:11]

• The Forever Eye Mask emerged amidst Charlotte’s reflections on sustainability during esthetician school, seeking to reduce waste: “I was doing a ton of facials and mummy masks, and just saw how much I was throwing out. It was giving me anxiety.”
• Dew’s silicone eye masks pioneered a reusable, more eco-friendly approach—against the trend of single-use patches dominating the market.

6. The Real Talk on Sustainability & Greenwashing

[19:04]

• Charlotte is blunt: “You’re just making a decision about good trash or better trash, because it’s all trash. Because we live in America and nothing is recycled here.”
• Advocates for focusing on “finished products you actually use” and explains why recycled aluminum is preferable to virgin materials—but cautions claims are often misleading.

7. The Allure and Marketing Trap of ‘Newness’

[20:31]

• Beauty marketing constantly pushes for the latest, greatest product; Charlotte endorses the chic minimalism of a personal “capsule” routine: “Everyone wants to be non-monogamous with their skincare, but for the love of God, the one place you should be monogamous is your skincare routine.” [22:54]
• It takes 12-16 weeks to see product results, she warns—a call for patience and commitment over hype.

8. Lip Balm, Aging, and the Real Impact of Botox

[23:24]

• Charlotte’s favorite lip balm: Edam (specifically the guava flavor, which won vigorous mutual praise with Brooke).
• On Botox: She started at 37 for tension headaches and admits to the tension between embracing natural aging and responding to beauty standards. “I live in that very cognitive dissonance place of: I care what I look like. I’m trying not to care about looking youthful... getting Botox helps me think less about how I look, and lets me operate more easily in the world.” [25:00]

9. Regional Differences: New York vs. L.A. & The Politics of Beauty

[27:50]

• Charlotte and Brooke dissect how geography shapes political engagement and the interplay between activism, privilege, and well-being:
  • “In New York, politics is our celebrity gossip,” Charlotte quips. [28:44]

10. Debunking Beauty Myths, Misinformation, and Anti-Intellectualism

[29:23]

• On beef tallow: “It’s a mid moisturizer,” Charlotte affirms. She’s concerned about sourcing (“as demand goes up, you start to source from sketchy areas”), safety recalls, and most of all the anti-science messaging: “To me, that’s fascism. Anti-intellectualism and anti-science is a pipeline to fascism. And we’re in it.”
• Tackling the demonization of “lab-created” or synthetic ingredients, she calls out an “authoritarian shift” rooted in misinformation.

11. Packaging, Petrolatum, Microplastics, and the Limits of Sustainability

[35:23]

• Charlotte explains the irony of “petroleum-free” claims when products are in plastic jars, and why demonizing petrolatum can be misdirected: “Getting rid of petrolatum is going to actually do nothing for [the environment]... until fossil fuel use goes down, I think it’s bizarre to demonize the byproduct of it.”
• On microplastics: Most concern comes from packaging and clothing, but beauty is part of a larger system. The real problem is bigger than a single product. [37:15]

12. Regulation, Overhyped Risks, and Choosing Evidence

[38:21]

• Citing films like Dark Waters and reflecting on personal experiences with contaminated wells, Charlotte drives home the importance—and lack—of regulation in the U.S. compared to Europe.

13. AI in Beauty: The Promise and the Dangers

[39:50]

• Charlotte sees AI as a major risk if not regulated: “AI can be a force for good if there’s regulation... It’s really irresponsible to unleash a tool that can make really convincing deepfakes and not create rules around it.”
• She worries about AI-fueled slop dominating content, hurting real creators: “All of the creators that I know are talking about a drop in engagement... because we’re getting flooded with AI slop.” [41:25]
• Brooke shares ways AI can augment, not replace, critical thinking—emphasizing that it should be used as a tool for better questions, not as a substitute for expertise.

14. DIY Beauty: What’s Actually Safe

[44:52]

• Oils and body scrubs? Fine. Homemade sunscreen? Absolutely not. “I was at a sunscreen symposium... zinc is so hard to get an even dispersion of, it requires deep chemistry.”
• Homemade chemical peels or combining actives can be downright dangerous.

15. Lightning Round: Real Talk for Beauty Myths and Skeptical Friends

[47:33]

• On preventative Botox at 21: “You’re going to age, and it’s so cool and great... Save your money. Go on vacation. Maybe contribute to your 401k.”
• On sunscreen: “If your last name is McFadden, maybe you lived somewhere with a UV index of negative 2. But if you’re in Florida... get the damn sunscreen on.”
• On lasers and skincare: “Lasers and Botox will make your skin look very different, but if you’re not doing that daily practice, it’s actually a waste of money.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the perils of “clean beauty”:
  “People wanted really safe products. The problem was…not talking to scientists, not talking to experts… When you microdose misinformation for a long time, you’re going to go into much larger conspiratorial thinking.” — Charlotte, [06:34]

• On anti-intellectualism:
  “Anti-intellectualism and anti-science is a pipeline to fascism. And we’re in it because we’re living in an authoritarian shift in our country.” — Charlotte, [33:45]

• On sustainability:
  “You’re making a decision about good trash or better trash, because it’s all trash. …Buy products you use and finish. My preference is recycled aluminum.” — Charlotte, [19:04]

• On personal beauty routines:
  “Everyone wants to be non-monogamous with their skincare. For the love of God, the one place where you should be monogamous is your skincare routine.” — Charlotte, [22:54]

• On Botox & beauty pressure:
  "I live in that very cognitive dissonance place of: I care what I look like. I’m trying not to care about looking youthful... getting Botox helps me think less about how I look." — Charlotte, [25:00]

• On misinformation pipelines:
  “Just because something is lab-created doesn’t mean it’s dangerous. From the lab, from the land? That’s a pipeline to fascism.” — Charlotte, [33:42]

Important Timestamps & Their Topics

• [03:46] – Charlotte’s journey into skincare and why she started Dew
• [06:34] – Rise and unravelling of clean beauty, and the problem with “banned ingredient” claims
• [10:02] – Pushback and risks of radical transparency in the beauty industry
• [13:07] – Fundraising, profitability, and Dew’s scrappy roots
• [16:11] – Forever Eye Mask: dawn of a reusable product and greener beauty innovation
• [19:04] – Recycling truth vs. greenwashing: what consumers need to know
• [22:54] – The myth of constant “newness” and why routine matters more
• [25:00] – Botox, beauty standards, and self-compassion
• [29:23] – Debunking beef tallow, lab-made ingredients, and the politics behind “natural”
• [35:23] – Packaging pitfalls, microplastics, and environmental realities
• [39:50] – AI in beauty: creator threats, deepfakes, and the loss of a shared reality
• [44:52] – DIY skincare: what’s actually safe (and what should be left to chemists)
• [47:33] – Lightning round responses to common beauty myths and skeptic talking points
• [52:14] – Preferred lasers, devices, and myth-busting on at-home beauty tech
• [55:48] – Recommendations: favorite fragrances, K-beauty makeup, and lip products
• [59:14] – Mental health, hyper-productivity, and finding calm as a founder

Charlotte’s Current Beauty Favorites

• Fragrance: Jordan Samuel’s bergamot and tobacco/fig/leather scents; tamburins from Seoul
• Makeup: Canmake liners, Danessa Myricks Colorfix, Kulfi and Violette lip stains, Clio Kill Lash mascara
• Skincare: Dew’s cult hits (Trinity Serum, Instant Angel Cream), Edam lip balm (guava flavor)

Reflective & Personal Moments

• On feeling beautiful:
  “I feel most beautiful… when I wake up on the weekends with my boyfriend, cuddling… and that’s when I’m most comfortable.” — Charlotte, [61:23]
  Emphasizes the value of comfort and self-acceptance over perfectionism.

• On staying grounded:
  Charlotte shares openly about anxiety, hyper-productivity, therapy, and the role of ketamine therapy in self-care, encouraging honesty about the hard parts of entrepreneurship.

Episode Tone

Honest, incisive, and refreshingly irreverent, the tone is candid and grounded in real expertise—never straying from big-picture questions about beauty’s function in society. Charlotte brings a mix of wit, skepticism, and vulnerability, making the episode equally insightful for veteran beauty obsessives and industry newcomers.

For Further Listening

This episode is recommended for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how beauty culture reflects and reinforces larger cultural currents, and for those wanting to cut through the hype with a more holistic, critical, and compassionate perspective.

Listen to the full episode for more: Naked Beauty Podcast