Naked Beauty

Sami Miro is the founder of Sami Miro Vintage, a Creative Director, and CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund finalist whose innovative approach to fashion merges circular design, emerging AI, and ethical production. During our conversation, Sami discusses how her sense of self was shaped early, growing up mixed-race (Black, French, and Russian) in San Francisco, raised solely by her father who reminded her of her inherent beauty. Sami’s style is incredibly unique, and in our conversation we talk about style differences between New York and LA, the beauty of individual style, and how vintage helped Sami find her voice, her style, and ultimately her career.

Today, her zero-waste collaborations with brands like Levi's and Nike, her dressing of Beyoncé and her 29 dancers on the Cowboy Carter Tour, and her work with the 2024 US Olympic gymnastics team prove that fashion and sustainability are not at odds, they are inextricably linked.

(00:00) Introducing Sami Miro
(00:02) Sami's Personal Style
(00:04) LA Style vs. Personal Expression
(00:09) Discovering Vintage Shopping
(00:10) Sami's Dad & His Wild Career
(00:17) From Tech to Fashion
(00:21) Building Sami Miro Vintage & Circular Fashion
(00:24) Vintage Denim Deep Dive
(00:26) Fast Fashion & Environmental Impact
(00:38) AI and Sustainability
(00:40) Beauty Treatments & Skincare Routine
(00:47) LA Beauty Standards
(00:48) When Do You Feel Most Beautiful?

Products Mentioned:
Saie Cream Blush Compact (coral)
Saie Setting Spray
Ilia Beauty Cream Blush Stick
Kosas Dream Beam Mineral Sunscreen
Quince Organic Bamboo/Eucalyptus Throws & Bedding

Rate, Subscribe & Review the Podcast on Apple

Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you’re listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard

Follow Sami: @samimiro

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Naked Beauty, I'm sharing the philosophy that has shaped the way I get dressed for years, and it's probably not what you think.
When I'm getting ready for a big meeting, a wedding, a gallery opening, a red carpet, or even just a night out, I don't start with the outfit. I start with the character. I start with the story. I start by asking myself one question: What category am I walking?

Inspired by the ballroom culture featured in Paris Is Burning, I break down how thinking in categories, not trends, style archetypes, or shopping lists, has completely changed the way I build a look. From corporate executive realness at L'Oréal headquarters to intellectual art girl at a Chelsea gallery opening, I'm sharing the framework that helps me make every styling decision feel intentional, cohesive, and uniquely me.

We'll talk about why most people aren't struggling with clothes; they're struggling with narrative. I'll share how I create a "styling suite" before major events, why the room matters as much as the outfit, how to edit like a stylist, and why the most memorable looks always begin with a strong point of view. Plus, in honor of Pride Month, we discuss how ballroom culture, drag, and queer creativity influence the way we think about beauty, fashion, identity, and self-expression today.

Whether you're getting dressed for a destination wedding, a job interview, a first date, or just trying to feel more like yourself, this episode will give you an entirely new way to think about personal style, because the outfit isn't the point. The character is.

Watch Paris is burning on tubi, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video

Watch Naked Beauty on Tubi

Rate, Subscribe & Review the Podcast on Apple

Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you're listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard

Follow Ruth @madison.utendahl
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Madison Utendahl returns to the show on the heels of an incredible career pivot and with her burnout in check. Madison has appeared as a guest on the show in her capacity as the Webby-Award-winning and Forbes 30 Under 30 director of the Utendahl Creative Branding Studio, and founding member of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Refinery29’s 29Rooms, and Museum of Ice Cream. Today she arrives as the Founder of Utendahl Consulting, the magnetic voice behind BURNT on Substack, and a fractional CMO. Madison has proven that she can do it all, and her nervous system tells the story of what happens when she does. During our conversation, we talked all about what having massive ambition and a work ethic in overdrive costs and how she’s healing in public.

During our chat, Madison walks us through her earliest experiences with ambition, success, and burnout in school and work. She shared that she always knew she wanted more from life than others, and that she was willing to do whatever it took to achieve it. And while she has achieved incredible success, Madison has also learned difficult lessons about burnout and how it manifests itself in her body and mind. We talked about how she came to understand when she needs to take a step back and sometimes away from her professional pursuits and pivot to something new. Madison explained that this can mean a career change, shuttering a successful business, or trying non-Western therapies to find peace and healing. In this incredibly transparent conversation, Madison opens up about the highs and lows of building a fulfilling career and defining success on her own terms and with her mental health intact.

Tune in as we discuss:
(00:00) Welcome Madison
(8:55) How Being Raised In New York Shaped Her Work Ethic
(16:00) Her Burnout Triggers
(17:50) Taking A Sequential Approach To Life
(26:55) How Burnout Shows Up In Her Body
(33:33) Experiencing Burnout As An Entrepreneur
(40:20) Why She Turned Down A Multi-Million Dollar Opportunity
(43:03) How She Ethically Closed Utendahl Creative
(49:08) How She Became An Artist and CMO
(50:45) Why She Turned To Non-Western Therapy
(54:45) Dealing With Intergenerational Trauma & Anxiety
(59:00) The Hoffman Process and Ketamine Therapy
(01:08:14) How She Navigates Estrangement With Her Mother
(01:10:25) Designing Her Day
(01:24:01) When She Feels The Most Beautiful

Rate, Subscribe & Review the Podcast on Apple
Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet
Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you're listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)
Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic
Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf
Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard
Follow Ruth @madison.utendahl
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is sponsored by smartwater®

Ruth E. Carter is a trailblazing costume designer known for her work on Malcolm X, the Black Panther films, Sinners, and so many more iconic works. She has been awarded Academy Awards, a BAFTA, a Critics Choice Award, the Costume Designers Guild Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But before that, she was exploring Black literature and history in Black Studies-focused enrichment programs in her home state of Massachusetts. When she was a young adult, she was deconstructing clothing and taking notes from grunge scenes, citing Lisa Bonet and Madonna as early beauty and style inspiration. In our conversation, Ruth walks us through her life and career, explaining how the girl who dressed like a grunge artist would introduce Afrofuturism to the world.

During our chat, Ruth tells us about how she has always drawn on her interest in literary, dramatic, and visual arts to design on film sets. She shared the initial culture shock she experienced at her HBCU, Hampton, and how the theater department helped her blend her artistic sensibilities with the coiffed presentation of her classmates. Ruth detailed how she drew on these experiences in her first position in School Daze, and how her dedication led to the first of many creative collaborations with directors like Spike Lee, which would shape her career. Our conversation ranges from the specific way she employs the lessons her psychologist mother taught her, like gaining and keeping people's trust, to spending time with Tina Turner. We discussed so much of her portfolio, and what compelled her to begin archiving her designs, which now make up the traveling exhibition “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design.” Ruth is open about her painstakingly detailed commitment to historical accuracy and how her early exposure to ideas about the future being a site of freedom and exploration shaped the visual identity for Black Panther.

Tune in as we discuss:
(03:35) The Sinners Award Season
(08:56) Exploring Malcolm X’s Time in a Massachusetts Correctional Facility
(12:50) The Loss of Personal Celebrity Style
(13:35) How The HBCU Experience Blew Her Mind
(15:15) Her Experience On School Daze And Working With Spike Lee
(23:55) Her Love Of Thrifting
(31:08) Deep Dive Into Her Experience On Sinners Set
(37:20) Deep Dive Into Her Experience On What’s Love Got To Do With It Set
(40:20) Met Gala Experiences And Thoughts
(43:50) Deep Dive Into Her Experience On B.A.P.S Set
(47:44) Early Introduction To Afrofuturism
(52:02) Her Favorite African Designers
(52:50) Ruth’s Personal Style
(54:30) The Power of Tailoring
(1:01:01) Maintaining a Calm Demeanor
(1:05:08) When Ruth Feels The Most Beautiful

Rate, Subscribe & Review the Podcast on Apple

Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you're listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard

Follow Ruth @therealruthcarter
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this very special episode of Naked Beauty, I had the privilege of talking to my grandfather, Calvin George Kemp, about his being 102 years old. He shared his experiences growing up in the segregated Vine City in Atlanta, Georgia. He explained how his father and other elders sheltered local children from the harsh realities of racism, and raised him in a community of Black people where he felt comfortable and safe. Things changed after he was drafted into the United States military, and he faced encounters no one should have. My grandfather, a brilliant and accomplished man, talked about rising in the ranks and fighting for the right to apply his skills and brilliance in Okinawa, Guam, and a host of other countries.

We talked about his memories of historic moments in American history that most people would only learn about in history books. My grandfather was open about the emotional toll of his experiences, including the joy of meeting my grandmother, who inspired him to step up his style. This conversation was a lovely reminder that “acting one’s age” is a choice, and that you can have a full and interesting life, so long as you commit to it. This conversation was intimate and revealing, and I’m excited to share his wisdom on how he’s managed to live a life filled with adventure and love for over a century.

Tune in as we discuss:
(0:10) Life at 103 Years Old
(1:20) What His 20’s Were Like
(1:50) 1940s Pop Culture
(3:30) Growing Up In Segregated Atlanta
(5:55) His Being Drafted Into The Military
(9:40) Encountering Mounting Segregation In The Military
(17:08) Initially Feeling Embittered By Racist Experiences
(21:44) Memories of Historic Black Events
(22:35) Voting For President Barack Obama
(26:40) Meeting His Wife of 45 Years
(27:30) Tips For Having A Long And Happy Marriage
(32:50) Having an Immaculate Personal Style
(37:20) What A Beautiful Life Means To Him

Rate, Subscribe & Review the Podcast on Apple

Join the Naked Beauty Community on IG: @nakedbeautyplanet

Thanks for all the love and support. Tag me while you’re listening @nakedbeautyplanet & as always love to hear your thoughts :)

Check out nakedbeautypodcast.com for all previous episodes & search episodes by topic

Shop My Favorite Products & Pod Discounts on my ShopMyShelf

Stay in touch with me: @brookedevard
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.