Style-ish Podcast – Episode Summary

Podcast: Style-ish
Host: Shameless Media
Episode: Shay Mitchell’s Skincare Line is…for Kids?
Date: November 11, 2025
Hosts: Madison Sullivan Thorpe (Mads), Joanna Fleming (Jo), guest cohost Zara McDonald (Zazie)

Episode Overview

This lively episode of Style-ish delves into the intersection of fashion, business, and beauty, focusing on trending and at times controversial topics. The main stories explored: Shay Mitchell’s newly launched skincare line for children and the intense criticism faced by female founders when launching products, as illustrated by The Girls Bathroom podcast hosts. The episode closes with a relatable discussion: is modern life making everyone a bad texter?

Key Topics & Insights

1. Warm-up & Personal Swaps (00:19 – 08:57)

Hosts Share Weekly Product and Lifestyle “Swaps”

• Zara McDonald:

  • Huda Beauty Lip Stain: Recently started using this thanks to Melbourne influencer Izzy Armitage.
    • “I saw Izzy Armitage post this... and when she used the Huda Beauty lip stain I was like, that looks like a product for me.” (02:09)
    • Reports it lasts about two hours, perfect for recording and provides staying power without being too permanent.
  • Where to buy: While often sold out at Sephora, Zara found hers on Adore Beauty (03:08).

• Madison Sullivan Thorpe:

  • Mechamax Complexion Buffing Brush: Recommended for its durability and affordability ($22), as seen on Dua Lipa’s socials (03:16).
  • Quality Time with Mum: Emphasizes the value of meaningful, unrushed time with loved ones, specifically her mum, referencing a recent city outing as particularly special.
    • “In my diary it looks like I give her time, but I don’t think I’ve been giving her the best time.” (04:13)
    • Reframes the idea of “girlhood” as intergenerational bonding.

• Joanna Fleming:

  • Shoe-wearing Tips: Shares practical advice for breaking in synthetic and leather shoes for comfort—using hairdryers and Ziploc bag water freezing tricks. (05:08 – 06:43)
    • “If they’re leather shoes, you can fill up little Ziploc bags with water, put the water bags inside the shoe and then put them in the freezer.” (06:28)
  • Blister Band-Aids: Recommends hydrocolloid patches for their superior protection and adhesion compared to standard band-aids. (07:47)

2. Main Story: Shay Mitchell’s Skincare Line for Children (09:06 – 18:45)

Background & Launch Details

• Rinny: New brand by Shay Mitchell, a skincare line “engineered with kids in mind,” first launching aloe vera sheet masks with fun animal faces (dog, panda, unicorn).
• The name “Rinny” is the Korean translation of “children.” (09:42)
• Shay’s messaging: Skincare framed as self-care and fun for kids.

Hosts’ Analysis & Sentiment

• Zara's Honest Take:
  • Calls the venture “greed” (11:25). Notes Shay already has a wildly successful luggage brand (“over 200 million US in revenue”).
  • Questions the necessity and authenticity of launching another, potentially opportunistic, venture.
    • “Do we need this in your career? Do we need this generally?” (12:02)
• Madison:
  • Wonders if this move discredits Shay as an entrepreneur, shifting from true innovation to opportunism (12:23).
• Joanna:
  • Reports universal negative online reactions, likening Shay to “the final boss of capitalism” for targeting children with beauty marketing. (12:48)
  • Discusses the cultural unease of marketing beauty and self-care to children, especially young girls.
• Nuanced Challenge:
  • Acknowledges that young children are already engaging with mainstream skincare (e.g., Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe); some argue safer, child-targeted versions could make sense (13:27).
  • However, default sentiment is discomfort and concern over instilling beauty anxieties in very young children.

Language & Positioning Critique

• “Self-care” Messaging:
  • Zara points out the absurdity of language—children’s lives are already filled with being cared for.
    • “All kids do...is be cared for. The idea that a child needs self care, like, it is laughable.” (14:19)
  • Critiques the adultification of product language and the lack of nuanced adaptation for the audience.
• “Engineered” & “Non-toxic” Language:
  • Madison and Jo both challenge the overblown, pseudo-scientific branding:
    • “The wording ‘engineered’ pisses me the fuck off...since when are we engineering an aloe vera sheet mask?” (18:21)
  • Jo references Charlotte Parlor’s critique that “non-toxic/clean” language is a “gateway drug into much more conspiratorial thinking,” especially when unregulated and targeted at kids (16:44).

Where Hosts Land

• All three agree the concept is tone-deaf, unnecessary, and perhaps harmful, with no redeeming case found for the need to market sheet masks to preschoolers (“I just can’t...a mirror for a three-year-old should be, these are your eyes, this is your nose, this is your mouth. Not...this aloe vera is going to hydrate, nourish and rejuvenate. Like, come on.” – Madison, 18:03).

3. Are We Making It Impossible For Female Founders? (18:45 – 35:04)

Case Study: The Girls Bathroom “Rooms” Launch

• UK podcast hosts Sophia and Chinzia launched a lifestyle brand (“Rooms”) with premium-priced items: $220 robe, $120 candle, $90 slippers—triggering backlash over “expensive and out of touch” pricing, especially on TikTok (19:46).
• TikTok by Grace Beverley: Critiques the double standard faced by female founders—male entrepreneurs aren’t dragged like this for high prices. (20:09)

Discussion and Reflection

• Hosts Contrast This With the Shay Mitchell Story:

  • Zara: “The conversation we’re about to have is not about whether female founders are beyond criticism...but are there ways that we beat things up from female-led businesses that we would never beat up from male-led businesses?” (21:32)
  • All agree, were a man to launch children’s skincare, it would also be rightly ridiculed; however, the pricing backlash for women feels unique.

• On Pricing and Consumer Complaints:

  • Madison: “Not everything is created for you...there would have always been something for someone to complain about...someone would have been angry about their lack of sustainability...no one can get it right, especially not female founders.” (22:27 – 24:24)
  • Jo: Echoes the concept of “what about me-ism”: “It’s like, ‘Oh, well, if I can’t have that, well, there’s something wrong with it then.’” (24:24)
  • Zara: “No one is holding your bank card forcing you to tap...they can price it however the fuck they want because it’s their brand.” (25:03)

The “Impossible” Standard Female Founders Face

• Launching in the Spotlight:

  • Female founders feel pressured to only release “fully baked” (near-perfect) products, unlike men who can “build the plane while flying it.” (26:47)
  • Madison, from business and marketing, notes that women only launch when “99.99% there” whereas men assume “we’ll figure it out as we go.” (27:09)
  • Tension between accessibility, profitability, and public expectations.

• On Competition and Criticism:

  • Demand for instant “sell outs” as a metric of success, which can be gamed via small stock units—many consumers don’t recognize this (29:25).
  • “If it had sold out in half an hour, people would have been furious." (29:47)
  • Zara: “I’m sure if there’s something else we do...people came for us straight away.” (32:31)
  • Madison expresses personal anxiety: “I am petrified to put a product out with a price point and people go, how dare you? You have excluded me...” (27:09)

• Notable Quotes:

  • “It is really cool to try, but now I’m like, all right, we’re just gonna put the chips on the table and go.” – Madison (33:39)
  • “Rarely does a man get on TikTok and break down his pricing strategy...I had this exact conversation with a very successful female founder...are you prepared for people to question you and interrogate you?” – Madison (31:15)

• Influencer Brands:

  • Jo says she’ll “never do a skincare brand,” only perhaps a collaboration, reflecting how fraught the space is for new founders. (34:25)

4. Is Being Constantly Contactable Making Us All Bad Texters? (36:57 – 46:54)

Article Prompt

• Vogue’s Nina Miyashida explores “contactability fatigue”—the struggle & guilt of keeping up with endless digital comms.

Hosts' Reflections

• Mixed Skills:

  • Zara thinks she’s becoming worse at timely replies; Jo’s good at texts but lets emails slide for weeks; Madison divides attention between work and friends, prioritizes close contacts (37:26 – 40:16).

• Technical & Emotional Tactics:

  • Tricks: marking messages as unread (swipe right on iPhone!), but sometimes messages get lost anyway (39:09).
  • Desire for two phones—work and personal—to reduce mental load and make boundaries. (40:48)

• Generational Shifts:

  • Jo reflects: “We're the last generation to have not grown up totally contactable...I don’t know that our brains fully adapted to that.” (42:01)

• Texting Etiquette:

  • Response time expectations spike when group plans are being made. “We’re playing tennis now!” (43:09)
  • If someone in a group chat doesn’t reply instantly when planning, the rest move forward anyway—“Sorry, you’re out!” (43:59)
  • “If someone doesn’t respond to me, my preeminent feeling is relief...because thank god it wasn’t me.” – Zara (42:42)

• Vacation Boundaries:

  • All agree: on holidays, it’s healthy and right to cocoon and not check in (44:34).
  • But sometimes friends expect continued texting even while away! (46:10)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Kids’ Skincare:
  • “The idea that a child needs self care, like, it is laughable.” – Zara (14:19)
  • “This is all wrong and we are putting beauty anxiety on children when it really shouldn’t be developing...” – Madison (13:27)
• On Female Founders:
  • “Not everything is created for you...no one can get it right, especially not female founders.” – Madison (24:24)
  • “We are so annoyed when we think influencers do ‘nothing’...but make it absolutely impossible for an influencer who wants to go out and build a business.” – Zara paraphrasing Grace Beverley (25:16)
  • “Rarely does a man get on Instagram or TikTok...breaking down his pricing structure.” – Madison (31:15)
• Texting:
  • “There are so few places you can be invisible anymore.” – Zara (39:53)
  • “We can’t even be invisible on your Sunday walk...because I keep bumping into you.” – Jo (40:01)
  • “We're the last generation...I don’t know that our brains fully adapted to that.” – Jo (42:01)
  • “On holidays...I just cocoon myself from everything to get my sanity back.” – Zara (44:34)

Important Timestamps

• Warm-up banter, swaps: 00:19 – 08:57
• Blister Band-Aid & shoe hacks: 06:43 – 08:57
• Shay Mitchell’s “Rinny” discussion: 09:06 – 18:45
• Female founders critique (Rooms): 18:45 – 35:04
• Modern texting woes (“contactability fatigue”): 36:57 – 46:54

Tone & Style

Conversational, sharp, self-aware and often humorous. The hosts bounce off each other with warmth (and a few lollies—literally and metaphorically). They’re unafraid to voice cynicism, check their own biases, and dig into meaningful cultural conversations, keeping it engaging for the business-minded and beauty-curious alike.

In summary:
The episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the tensions at the intersection of beauty trends, female entrepreneurship, and modern social connection—with plenty of wit and honesty from the Style-ish team.