This is the Art Beauty podcast, where we are always reaching for truth in beauty. Remember, the brands and the people on here are not paying to be here. So we get to ask them the questions we know you want answered because you deserve to be informed so you can make the best choice for yourself. With that said, I'm Amber, and today my fabulous co-host is Alicia Grande, the founder of Grande Cosmetics. Probably what you have here. Grande Lash, M.D, one of the best selling products.
And we're also going to be talking a little bit about and this is why I love this podcast. We're going to be talking about the recent class action lawsuit that ... Grande Cosmetic face. I love that Alicia was brave enough to come on here. In full disclosure, I know her professionally. When we started at NewBeauty and since have grown a very personal friendship with you, I respect you as a woman, as a brand founder. You do so much for the industry and for people.
And when this happened and you called, I have to just give you props because it was like, Hey, Alicia, The reason I started this podcast was because it is unsponsored. So we can have these kind of tough conversations sometimes. Do you want to come on in? And to your credit, you were like, Yeah, I do. So with that said, Welcome, and I just respect you to the Nth Degree. Welcome to the show. Amber It's my pleasure to be here and thank you so much for having me on.
And yes, yes, and you know, talking about lawsuits is not my favorite subject. So but I want everyone to understand and understand me and the company and what it's all about so they can feel safe about using garnish and which is so important to me. Yes. I mean, I've used GrandeLASH-MD., and I have to say, so this has been on the market now for over sixteen years. This is your first product. You’ve sold 10 million bottles of this too. It is so impressive.
What is it about this that you are so proud of? Well, you know, over 16 years ago, I started Grande Cosmetics with my first product GrandeLASH-MD.. And what I am so proud about it is, is that it is a product that has over 11 safety studies. But the biggest thing, Amber, is that it works and it delivers results. And the people that use it, my God, they feel so confident. They I hear the stories all the time.
Like when I first started the company, I used to answer the phone and hear women telling me, even in their nineties, their transformations, and, you know, 16 years later it doesn't get old. So that is my biggest accomplishment. It's not about the money because I'll be honest, Amber, I came from nothing. I had one doll and one pair sneakers growing up from a divorced household.
I took my life savings because I knew that I found a product back in 2006 okay, that claimed it would enhance your eyelashes. So I tried it on myself and my postpartum lashes that were like minuscule from after having two boys. I used this product that the scientists made and it completely changed my lashes. It was a game changer, and I knew with the last name Grande this was like this was it. It was meant to be. It was meant to be.
So yeah, my the proudest the proudest moment is just hearing the stories from the women and the men and the grandmas and the mothers and and even young people now. Yeah. Who just need that confidence boost and, and GrandeLASH-MD is giving it, I mean yeah. I mean you know, so when and I like to keep it real here with everybody right. Yeah. You called me and you were like, hey Amber, your in jurnalism. Like, have you heard we've got this class action lawsuit going on?
And I was like, of course I going to my little Google and all that came up. And I remember I was on the phone. I'm like, All I'm saying is pages of pages of YouTube videos and reviews of people who are like, Look at my before, look at my after. This is so incredible. I actually hadn't heard anything about this.
But, you know, with doing a little bit more research, you know, and for people who might know, like lawsuits in the beauty industry tend to be more common, actually, in any industry now they're getting to be a little bit more commonplace. But I know that sometimes when you see this movie with a brand that you've loved and supported, it can be a little bit shocking. Can you tell us a little bit about what the settlement was about, what the outcome was about?
Can you give us a little insight there? Yeah, Yeah. So we actually just settled the class action lawsuit and it really at the end of the day, it's it's the product is the same. It remains the same. No changes in the ingredients. It was about marketing practices. Okay. So the the plaintiff basically said that we did not disclose our ingredient, one of our ingredients that's in our proprietary blend Isopropyl Cloprostenate which I know is a tongue twister.
And I'm going to get into more about what that ingredient is and why it is a superstar in GrandeLASH-MD and why you want it in your lash serum. But so what it was about is that she felt that it wasn't disclosed well enough. Okay. And then the lawyers took that and was able to create a class action lawsuit and quite honestly, I am now changing my directions. I'm updating it, making it more even.
I thought they were good before, but now they're going to be even more intricate because I'll tell you the truth, Amber, there's a lot of people that don't use GrandeLASH-MD correctly. And you know, maybe I lost sight of that when I was growing so much, you know? So I'm happy to to update those things. And we are also going to disclose Isopropyl Cloprostenate is a prostaglandin analog we could get more in-depth about what what that is. So those are the only changes that are going to happen.
So again, it's just marketing changes. The formula is going to remain the same. And and you know, you might be thinking if you're listening like, well, why did she settle? Right? You know, Well, I'll tell you what, Amber, lawsuits could drag out and stop you from doing what you love. And I love making products truly that enhance women and men, their features. They feel good about themselves and I've been doing this for 16 years and it doesn't get old.
And I didn't want to be dragged down by a lawsuit. That's the God's honest truth. It's, you know, that's what it is. Well, I have to tell you, I think it's so commendable that you're coming out here getting ahead of this. I'm also sure with 10 million bottles sold, there's a lot of women and men out there right now who are like, thank God she's not changing the formula because, yes, it does work on the directions. I myself am terrible. I will open something, start to use it.
In fact, I had a mask that was delivered. It's an electromagnetic therapy. You have to put water on your face. And I was strapping it on and my husband's like, Did you read the directions? And I'm like, No, He's like, Amber electric and water on your face. And I was like, so I get it. You know, I'm not making excuses, but if you don't read the directions for something that is can be detrimental. And you know.
Amber funny story, but I'll tell you the truth, I always say to my husband, that's why I keep you around, because I can't put things together. I'm not good at reading directions. So I get it. You know where we're always rushing through things that we think we know. it looks like a, you know, something for your eyelashes. I'm going to put it all over my eyelashes can tell you how many times I have seen that, you know. Yeah. So with so many different things. Right.
And you're like, I can buy this at Sephora, right? I think a lot of that, you know, your product I know was available to for us. Yes. So you think, okay, well what's going to happen if I use this incorrectly? But you know as and this is goes across the board for all skincare, you know, we're seeing more potent ingredients, higher concentration of actives that are being delivered now. And like, you know, this is just a little PSA to everybody out there, myself included. Read the directions.
Just exactly the reaction. So. You know, you mentioned this before, and I'm glad that you're saying and I'm actually going looked at it, too. It's Isopropyl Cloprostenate. Can you give us some insight into what that is and also maybe why it makes Grande LASH-MD different than some of the other serums on the market? Yes. Isopropyl Cloprostenate is a prostataglandin analog. It's actually listed in the cosmetic dictionary INCI which is internationally recognized as a hair conditioning ingredient.
Right. So some people think, you know, this is a hormone. It's not a hormone, okay? It is a synthetic compound that is made in a lab. And then, you know, some people think the word synthetic is is is bad. Well, I'm here to tell you it is not because it's consistent and it's controlled, which is very important to me, because I want the first tube of GrandeLASH-MD to work as well as the last two that you purchased. Right. Consistency is very important.
Yeah. So that is is a you know, it's an ingredient that is made in the lab. We have a lot of natural ingredients in GrandeLASH-MD and we have great ingredients like vitamin E hyaluronic acid. But again, one of the rock star ingredients is, Isopropyl Cloprostenate. It is such a minuscule amount that you wouldn't even believe. And then people say, well, if there's controversy, why don't you just take it out? This product does not work as well without this very amazing ingredient. Yes. You know.
So knowing that it works, why do you think it is that it has such a bad rap? Because of the misinformation out there on the Internet, you know, And, you know, people do Tik tok and they have clickbait and they it's crazy. The stuff that's out there. I mean, even the FTC commissioner has said that upwards of 50% of the information that you hear on the Internet is false. Right. So, you know, people beware of that. And and, you know, they want things to go viral. So negativity does go viral.
I have seen negative things on my product. And I you know, GrandeLASH-MD was commissioned into a big study, a very big study, the biggest out of the 11 studies that we did in 2023. We did an eight month clinical study, and we wanted to make sure that any of the myths out there like peri orbital fat loss, iris color change, you know, listen, if it was true, I would want to know that. Amber Because it's like the truth. I've been using it for 16 years.
My mother, my sister, my nieces, my son's girlfriends. Okay. You know, all these people that I care about. And guess what? All my customers I care about, I truly do. So I wanted to make sure that this was false. Okay. But the the news is, is that in this study, these women wear all different eye colored use GrandeLASH-MD. every day for eight months consistently. And they were tracked by, you know, a very prestigious clinical research firm that does even pharmaceutical studies.
They they said in the report, which is on my website, under safety and usage. Okay, because I'm not hiding anything. This is transparency today, right? They said you do not get periorbital fat loss. And I don't know if everyone knows what that is, but we could talk about that or iris color change. So those two, you know, those that that would be, you know, something that is a structure function that would you know that that is damaging. Right.
Do you have one set of eyes, you know, and you want to, you know, especially these people with their baby blues or these beautiful green eyes, they they don't want them to change. And I don't blame them. Yeah. And I don't want to be a part of it. So this study negated that. However, there are people that are sensitive like you were talking about with, you know, skin care because there's these out. Yeah. So first of all, maybe you're not using it, right. Okay. Or you're sensitive.
Not everything is for everyone. So it's really important to listen to your body and know your sensitivities. I mean, I've had people that I know they go, I'm not going to use that because I am such a sensitive person. I'm afraid I'm not going to argue with them on that. You know, you know yourself. You know yourself.
So good point, though, for people who because because I know you and I respect you, but something that your brand stands by, if somebody was to buy the product and they have an issue with it, you're with sensitivity. You're your 90 day money back guarantee. 90-days Yeah, we we definitely have, you know, an extensive customer service that will, you know, walk them through it. Some people like they deal with like, let's say, retinol or, you know, glycolic.
They have to start low, get acclimated to those ingredients. So there's a lot of people that I'm sure you know, might have been more sensitive but gave them gave themselves a chance to get their body used to that ingredient. And the ingredients, not just Isopropyl Cloprostenate, but there's a plethora of ingredients in GrandeLASH-MD.. Yeah. So it's a yeah, go ahead. So. You know, I, I do want to just take a minute here. Yeah. I commend you. One, you've put these safety studies up.
You've made them you're here today being so open and so honest about this. And we are talking about a product that's won numerous awards, that's sold over 10 million bottles. How are just you as as how are you feeling with all this? I mean, this has to be. Yeah, Yeah. You know, it is tough because, you know, I have two sons and I always say GrandeLASH-MD. and Grande Cosmetics is my third child. So I. I really care about the company, the people that work there.
And you know, who who are cheerleaders for the brand. And the people who love the product. And I don't want I'm scared for people to feel that they're using a product that is not safe. And I and I really want to with emphasis, say GrandeLASH-MD. is a safe products doc. they don't It's okay. Look the dog. Is okay the dog also wants out mean you know the dog's like. I agree yeah. So you know with all of this I think you're so brave for for for putting this out there today.
You know, let's talk about this again. Now. Don't get mad at me, okay? One of my my favorite Grande product is actually the GrandLips. I wear it every day. It's a clear one I have this year. I know. I know this is your baby, but I have this in every single bag. What's next? How are we moving forward? What's new on the horizon? Yeah, yeah. So we just launched Grand a Hair Fall boost collection. Okay. And it's really exciting.
We we hired this, this, this amazing woman who has expertise in hair, and I had my grand hair serum for eight years. Okay, is part of my assortment but people knew you know Grande cosmetics for GrandeLASH- Sometimes they knew about GrandeBROW they really did not know that we had hair. So we decided to make a extend the line with an amazing shampoo and conditioner and and also a foam that gives you that instant Chia Pet look. You know, you have thinning hair. Yeah, yeah.
If we're really based it, basing it on science and fun and we're we're picking a lane with this it's really going, you know, for women the way I am because the people who really come to Grande. it's mostly women. So we're keeping the other Grande hair more unisex the the original scent. Now we have like a new set, new packaging. Yeah. The shampoo and conditioner is completely different. It's all over my website right now.
It's on Ulta. Yes. So I am happy to to, you know, really get under the hair. It took six years to to be able to even take it seriously at this point because I've been building, you know, my hero my baby GrandeLASH-MD. and that's why we are, you know, the number one in the market. I mean, when I first started, it's funny, one of my biggest competitors came up to me and thought that it was just like as a woman, you know, this is you know, you're not a real competitor.
You know, this is just going to be a hobby for you, lo and behold. But little did they know that this is my absolute obsession. I am like a walking robot that is always speaking GrandeLASH-MD.. I can't stop. You are, you know, But also you are just such an incredible I like I said in Keeping it honest here, I know you personally. I know you first professional see through that I get to know you personally. I know you do a lot of work in charities.
You do a lot of work in the health, the sciences, supporting that, supporting young people. So just, you know, I have to thank you for that. And I want to thank you for being on here today. You know, and and just talking about this, this can't be easy. It's not you know, I think that being open and honest is actually why I created this podcast was so that I could talk honestly about products.
And then when things come up like this, like we can just have an honest discussion if there's, you know, you got 10 million sold, you've got millions of followers. I'm sure. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be glad to know that the formula is not changing now because it does work, you know, And just thank you.
And I think it says a lot to your character and your passion and your love for the brand and wanting people to know about everything that's going on, that you were brave enough to come here today. If people want to know more, if they want to look in their safety studies, if they want to see what the new hair products are, where can they go?
So if you go to Grandecosmetics dot com, we have all the hair products and all of our products that, you know, everything that we do as a study to back it up. But specifically we created a safety and usage section that will disclose all of the safety studies, the 11 studies that we have done and videos to really make sure you're applying it properly. And there's a lot of information out there. I am not hiding a thing. Not a thing. Amazing.
And listen, if you at home have questions you want me to pass on to Alicia, I'm always happy to do that. You can email me at Hello at Art Beauty podcast dot com. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube @ArtBeautypodcast. And as always, we'll see you next Tuesday. And Alicia Girl, I love you. Thank you so much for having me as a guest. I really appreciate it.
Amber And getting this story out there to people is really important because it's so important that they feel safe about a product that they love. So thank you. All right.