In celebration of the launch of Being Frenshe (found exclusively at Target), we’re giving you a behind the scenes look into how the line got made. As the saying goes: it takes a village! We’re highlighting some of the folks who helped us bring Being Frenshe to life and how they get it done. Today, we’re featuring Kelly Hunter, a product developer for the Being Frenshe line, and what an average work day in her life looks like.
I work on the Blue Sky team at Maesa, which has to be one of the world’s best jobs for a wellness and beauty product obsessed person like myself! Our job is to know all the industry trends, consumer dynamics and new products coming out into the world, and then use that info to partner with founders like Ashley to bring amazing new brands to market. I met Ashley at the start of the Being Frenshe project and instantly connected with her story. As someone who has struggled with my own mental health, I loved that Ashley had such a strong vision of helping people do just one thing a day to care for themselves.
Kelly Hunter
06:15am: Waking up, I… have a quick snuggle with my pup, Penny Lane. It’s the first thing I do every day – she gives me an instant serotonin boost and makes early mornings a little easier. In the summer, I’m lucky enough to live by the beach so I get up, make coffee and head down to the ocean to surf for an hour before my first meeting of the day. Carving out time before 9 am where I can do things I enjoy (without my phone) is super important for me – it helps clear my mind before a busy day of meetings and zooms.
10:30am: To nourish myself, I… eat a filling breakfast to fuel me through to the late afternoon. Currently my obsession is a tropical matcha smoothie – I use ceremonial grade matcha powder, pineapple, mint, frozen coconut, honey, almond milk and spinach and then blend it with a scoop of protein powder and a scoop of collagen powder. My favorite brand is Gainful, which tailors your protein powder to your specific goals and usages. It’s very clean and completely tasteless.
10:30am: My favorite part of the job is when I… get to see how excited people are about the brand and the products. Since we launched, I’ve been checking social everyday to see what our first customers think of the products. When I see a review on TikTok of someone saying the Balance & Harmony Bergamot Cedar Hair, Body & Linen mist made them feel peaceful and calm, it’s so rewarding to see that customers are experiencing the intention behind the scents. Our scents are really special because we developed them with our MoodScience Scent Technology™ – a science-backed approach that allows us to create fragrances that target specific emotions. Fragrance has such a strong ability to influence our mood from one day to the next. We used that insight to infuse scent in a way that impacts our well-being. I love how we took traditional aromatherapy and self-care to the next level by using MoodScience Scent Technology™ and pairing it with ritual focused products to create a whole new experience.
2:37pm: To focus, I… take a walk in the sun with my puppy. I’ve been reading and learning a lot about the power of the sun on our well-being. I recently listened to a podcast by Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Standford University, where he talks about one of the keys to long-term mental and physical health is to spend 20 minutes a day in the sun without sunglasses on. He recommends doing it first thing in the day, but I do it whenever I can fit it in, so I use my mid-afternoon dog walk as an excuse to stretch my legs and take in all the benefits.
6:30pm: I feel most fulfilled when I… get to actually use and enjoy the products I worked on. It’s so rewarding to look back over the past years and think about the journey we went on with Ashley – how we came up with our products, tested submissions (soooo many submissions), and then finally hit just the right formulas. I’m an evening shower person, so I like to jump in post work to signal to my brain that it’s the end of the day. Using the Joy&Bliss Solar Fleur body wash puts me in such a chill, happy mood for the rest of the evening. I’m also obsessed with the candle in this scent. The emotion is a reflection of where I’m at lately – very grateful, happy and delighted with life – and the beachy floral scent totally enhances and channels that.
10:00pm: To recharge for the next day… I have an hour long pre-bed ritual. It sounds like a long time, but it goes by so fast! This hour is my me time. I put my phone in another room and don’t touch it until the next morning. I start with my skincare routine – currently I’m loving the Dermalogica Milkfoliant and the Dieux Instant Angel face cream. Then in my bedroom I’ll light the Unwind & Rest Lavender Cloud candle and sip on my magnesium sleep tea. Ashley turned me on to magnesium before bed, and I’ve totally ditched melatonin to help me fall asleep. Finally, I’ll put on my LED light therapy face mask – 15 mins on each of the 3 settings – and listen to a podcast. Its my tried and trued pre sleep ritual and it almost never fails!