What would you say if opportunity met you in an elevator? 👀

In this episode of Just Us with Liz & Kere, we introduce a brand new segment—The Elevator Pitch—and welcome our first-ever guest, entrepreneur and master esthetician Erica Fulton, owner of Kin Skin & Wellness.

From corporate strategy to entrepreneurship and self-care, this episode is packed with gems on how to show up prepared, positioned, and confident.

💼 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:

✔️ What an elevator pitch is—and why you need one

✔️ How to clearly communicate your value

✔️ Transitioning from military service to entrepreneurship

✔️ Skincare for melanated skin & common myths

✔️ The connection between stress, health, and your skin

✔️ Why self-care is essential—not optional

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome to Just Us with Liz & Kere

00:00:45 – Teachable Moment: What is an elevator pitch?

00:02:10 – Key components of a strong elevator pitch

00:05:10 – Why your elevator pitch matters for your career

00:06:30 – Introducing our first guest: Erika Fulton 🎉

00:08:40 – Erica’s elevator pitch (masterclass!)

00:09:30 – Breaking down what makes a great pitch

00:11:00 – Erica’s background: military to entrepreneurship

00:12:00 – What is paramedical tattooing? (powerful impact)

00:13:20 – Restoring confidence after trauma & surgery

00:14:30 – Mind-body connection: how skin reflects stress

00:15:00 – Skincare myths: yes, Black women need SPF 👀

00:16:00 – Gut health, stress & skin explained

00:18:00 – Creating safe spaces through wellness services

00:18:50 – How Erica got started in esthetics

00:20:00 – Representation in skincare for melanated skin

00:21:30 – Hyperpigmentation explained (the science!)

00:23:00 – Why TikTok skincare trends can be risky ⚠️

00:25:00 – How to connect with Erica & Kin Skin Wellness

00:26:00 – Water & skincare: fact or fiction? 💧

00:27:30 – “Black don’t crack”… or does it? 👀

00:30:00 – Final advice: self-care, rest & consistency

00:33:00 – Boss It, Gloss It, or Toss It (fun segment begins 🔥)

00:33:30 – Hot comb vs flat iron vs curling iron

00:37:00 – Bar soap vs body wash vs water debate 😂

00:40:00 – Washcloth vs African net vs loofah

00:42:30 – Bonnet vs scarf vs satin pillowcase

00:50:00 – Quick take: what feminism really means

00:52:00 – Closing + where to find Just Us merch

💡 KEY TAKEAWAY

“If I asked you to list everyone you love… how long would it take for you to get to yourself?”

🎧 WATCH / LISTEN

Full episode available on YouTube, Spotify & all platforms

🔗 https://linktr.ee/lizthepurposecoach

📲 CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST

Erica Fulton

🌐 www.kinskinwellness.com

📱 @kinskinwellness

💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Do you have your elevator pitch ready? 👀

Or are you still “figuring it out”?

Drop your answer in the comments ⬇️

🔔 DON’T FORGET

Subscribe for real conversations for Black women navigating corporate spaces

👍 Like | 💬 Comment | 🔁 Share

🏷️ HASHTAGS

#JustUsPodcast #ElevatorPitch #BlackWomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #SkincareForBlackWomen #CareerGrowth #WomenInLeadership #SelfCareMatters #BossItOrTossIt

EPISODE 8 FINAL Erika part 1.mp4

Liz Nolley

Hey everybody. I'm Liz Nolley

Kere Thomas

I'm Kere Thomas.

Liz Nolley

And welcome to the Just Us podcast, a place for Black women navigating corporate spaces.

Kere Thomas

Liz Nolley

Kere Thomas

Um, I'm very excited about today's episode. Me too. We we're switching things up a little bit. It's a historic occasion. Hehehe We are going to have our first guest, but we're gonna hold off on the introductions because we want to get right into something fun. So, give me a teachable moment.

Liz Nolley

Okay. Well, today's teachable moment is going to be really short and sweet because it is introducing our first ever segment called The Elevator Pitch. Yes. And so because today is the first time we're doing an elevator pitch on the show, I thought I'd make the teachable moment about what is an elevator pitch? Mhm. So Kere, do you know what an elevator pitch is?

Kere Thomas

Um, something that you're supposed to have that's like real quick to explain who you are, what you do, what you're trying to accomplish to some big wig that you might run into on the elevator one day.

Liz Nolley

Exactly. it's it's it's it's a critical piece in your corporate go bag, right? So, it's basically say ... You said that much better.

Liz Nolley

So, it's a tool that you want to have its name because um of the idea that like, let's say a potential boss or your CEO or somebody famous or whomever that you wanted to connect with, you met them in the elevator. What would you say to them? How would you sell yourself to them? And you only have like an elevator in an elevator ride, which is a really short span of time, right? So that's where the name comes from. And basically, it's a short persuasive summary of who you are, what you do, what your unique value is, and importantly, what you want. Because you're always selling, you got to ask for the order, right?

Liz Nolley

Liz Nolley

Well, we have one for the show, right? We just us podcast, a place for black women navigating corporate spaces. Subscribe at lizthepurposecoach.com slash podcast. Right? Because now I did an action, I told you who we are, who we serve, what we do. Yeah. And we asked for the order, which is subscribe, and then I told them where to go to subscribe. So that's the elevator pitch.

Kere Thomas

Okay, so I mean, I understand the concept of the elevator pitch. I know what it is, but I've never really sat down to put together my elevator pitch. So I'm going to work on it while we're doing this. But what are some of the components to an elevator pitch? What do I need to figure out for myself?

Liz Nolley

Well, I think you need to understand who you serve, right? Who you are, who you serve. Meaning like what's your what's your offer and what you do. Excuse me. A little froggy today. And what's your your unique selling proposition. And to get answers to all of these takes work. I mean, so it's so what was it Mark Twain said if I would have written something shorter but I didn't have enough time? You know, I'm paraphrasing, that's not the exact quote, but boiling it down to a 30-second or two-sentence thing is a whole body of work.

Liz Nolley

And I work with a lot of clients in my coaching practice to help them refine their elevator pitches informed by their purpose. So, um, so if you need help with that, hit hit me up. Um, and I have resources too in our inner circle community to help people, um, to help our members, our listeners who want to join it for free. Go to lizthepurposecoach. com/ invite. All the details are there, including discounts on our store and all of the things. But, um, but it is an important body of work that every corporate professional or business owner ought to have. So for my business, I'm like, I'm List the Purpose Coach. I help women align their careers and their purpose. And I do that through my coaching practices, my workshops, my books, and now my podcast.

Kere Thoms

Awesome. Okay, so I really need to work on my elevator pitch. I mean, I know all the stuff and you would think as a communicator that I would have this done, but I'm ... Children. Right. I was just gonna say.

Kere Thomas

The shoemaker's children have no shoes. Alright, well, one other question I have about the um elevator pitch is um what does having what's the benefit of having an elevator pitch at the ready?

Liz Nolley

Well, I think it boosts your personal brand, right? It shows this important person who could help you in some way, shape, form, or fashion that you're ready, right? So, like we stay ready so we never have to get ready. And your elevator pitch is proof positive of that . 'Cause it's one thing to pass somebody your business card and they're like , " Okay, what am I supposed to do with this ?" But if I pass you my business card with " I'm Liz the Purpose Coach, I help women align their careers and their purpose ," and I have this brand new podcast, and I'm building a private community for my listeners where I'm serving them with tools and early access and discounts.

Liz Nolley

Liz Nolley

Right, so you're always ready. So it's something that as a as a corporate professional or an entrepreneur or whatever you're doing, you ought to have at the ready.

Kere Thomas

That's awesome. Okay. Come back in a couple episodes and I will unveil my elevator pitch.

Liz Nolley

Okay, we may have to do um a more detailed teachable moment walk through like how to do one. great and with the people and and with guidance along the way. Yeah. But I chose that as our teachable moment because this is our first ever elevator pitch segment on the show where we bring in a third guest.

Liz Nolley

I know. You see, we're so excited we can't wait to introduce her to join us and have some fun with us today. And she's here and I know she's near and dear to me, but I know she's nearer and dearer to you. So I'm going to let you do the honors, but just so everybody knows what this segment of the show is about, we bring in either a professional who's looking for an opportunity or a business owner who wants to broaden her visibility and we invite them to come on the show and pitch themselves to our viewership. Yeah.

Kere Thomas

Well, of course, this is exciting for me because our very first guest is, I'm just gonna call her my baby sister, Erica Fulton. Hi Erica!

Erica Fulton

Hey!

Kere Thomas

Hello, welcome to the show. Look, she couldn't wait to get in there. She went over there. I was like, look, look, look, look, look. almost your turn playing double dutch I'm just gonna try to get in.

Liz Nolley

But but before before we have to officially welcome to Erica to the show with a piece of Just Us swag. So it is my honor to present you with an official Just Us podcast mug. Thank you.

Liz Nolley

That is yours.

Erica Fulton

Thank you keep me caffeinated

Kere Thomas

So, let me let me clarify. Erica is, um, she is my cousin, but I always say that's my baby sister. But she's more than just my relative. She is an entrepreneur with a growing, um, esthetician practice.

Kere Thomas

Um aesthetics practice, thank you very much. So, we wanted to um have her come on and be our first elevator pitch. So with that in mind, Erica. Yes

Kere Thomas

Why don't you give us your elevator pitch? Tell us a little bit about you. And go.

Erica Fulton

Well, my name is Erica Fulton and I am a master esthetician and master PMU artist. I am the owner of Kin Skin and Wellness located in Woodbridge, Virginia, where I specialize in melanated skin and focus very heavily on skin restoration. So whether it be through corrective skincare or whether it be through paramedical tattooing, correction of scars, it is our focus, whether you be near or far, to make sure that you are confident in who you are and how you present to the world or how you present to yourself because that is extremely important as well.

Kere Thomas

Amazing Love it. How'd she do?

Liz Nolley

She did awesome. So, let me just break down what had happened just now. So, she gave she introduced herself, one component of the elevator pitch, her business name, shared what she does. She gave us her experience, her expertise. She talked about the problems that she addresses. Yep. And the solutions.

Liz Nolley

awesome The only thing I would say is, how can the people connect with you?

Erica Fulton

Absolutely. So if you are in the DMV area, you can definitely visit us in Woodbridge, Virginia at Kinskin, but we also offer virtual consultations. So you don't have to be local. You can visit our website at www. kinskinwellness. com and you can schedule a virtual consultation. We'll talk, we'll chat, we'll send any products that you need directly to your home and then follow up with you to make sure that you're reaching your skin goals.

Liz Nolley

Awesome Spell kin-kin-kin skin.

Erica Fulton

KIN SKIN wellness WELLNESS dot com

Liz Nolley

Like, yeah. Kinfolk like info skin folk Right. On the wellness tip.

Erica Fulton

Yes!

Liz Nolley

Yay! Yay! Yay! Yes! I know, Amir didn't see that one coming. He I didn't see that one coming. Wow.

Kere Thomas

There are three things that I want to say. Um, one, obviously I've known her her entire life. Um, but you've known her for a while too because you know, we've all known each other. Oh, long time. Twenty years.

Kere Thomas

Yes, at least because yeah, AJ. Um, I am so proud of her and what she's doing. But the second thing that I want to say is like she is embarking on a new um level with her esthetician practice. And I do want to talk about that because that is something that I think is like so extremely important and I think a lot of people will love to hear it. Yeah. And the third thing I want to say is she was in the military for 20 years. And even though the military isn't technically corporate America, it is probably the biggest corporation we have in America.

Kere Thomas

So I think that she could bring a lot of perspective also to some of the stuff that we talk about in here, so Yeah, hundred percent. Thanks for joining us.

Liz Nolley

Absolutely.

Kere Thomas

I I do want to ask her about what she's doing next with her practice. And that's the um what do you call it? The paramedical ... Paramedical.

Erica Fulton

Medical tattooing

Liz Nolley

Yeah, I was going to ask you, what is that about?

Erica Fulton

So, um, I originally just did para, um, permanent makeup, right? So that is the tattoo eyebrows, the eyeliner, the lips. In the state of Virginia, there is a master's license, and that master license goes into paramedical tattooing. And what that is, is scar revision. So whether it be from an accident or incident or some form of cosmetic surgery and you have a discoloration and a scar or something of that sort, we're able to neutralize it or camouflage it so it blends more easily and more, um, seamlessly with your skin, and you're a lot more confident in that way. We in that paramedical field deal very heavily with mastectomy.

Erica Fulton

Clients that are post-mastectomy, I was unaware until my mom's um small bout with cancer a few years ago when I was more intimately involved in her process that post a full mastectomy, a lot of the times women are left without, you know, their natural areola in that area. And so in a in a way to help them feel more whole, you know, so you're not looking in the mirror and constantly seeing that scar, that reminder, we're able to tattoo a 3D areola and nipple so that it, you know, to the eye looks as if it is, you know, your natural given space.

Erica Fulton

And we did some, I had some clients this past weekend and when I tell you, it is the most rewarding experience. Some of these women have gone years, um, not letting their husbands see them because they just feel so incomplete or not wanting to look at themselves. And a lot of the time it's very tearful, you know, at the end of the service, but they're happy tears, right? Because you, it's an opportunity and a blessing for me to be allowed to be a part of the end of that journey for them, right? Because they're able to kind of move forward. And so I'm super excited to be bringing that to Kin Skin and super excited to be bringing it to my community.

Liz Nolley

Yeah, I don't think I I I think people don't understand the mind-body connection there in terms of because how we look does influence how we feel and how we think about ourselves and and all of that emotion can provide healing if it's positive. absolutely

Liz Nolley

It can be un-the opposite of healing to us is if it's negative, right? So, very disruptive. So what you're doing is so important.

Erica Fulton

Wow. I love it. I love it.

Liz Nolley

Absolutely So, let let me ask you this. Do you work and and my guess is you work with all different types of skin and everything like that. Are there specific issues that we as Black women that you see like need to know about that you're dealing with that maybe we don't know or should be paying closer attention to?

Erica Fulton

I wouldn't necessarily say that we don't know what I notice in a lot of my clients is that I always hear people say, I don't need SPF. You know, I don't I don't I don't need, you know.

Kere Thomas

She trained me out of that real early.

Erica Fulton

Reapply til you die.

Erica Fulton

We need the SPF. And I think that making sure that we are taking care of ourselves from the inside out. My clients are always amazed when I come when they come in and they lay back and I'm like, okay, you're really stressed. What's going on?

Liz Nolley

And you can tell that just by looking

Erica Fulton

Just by looking at the skin, really depending on where you start to have outbreaks and things like that, it tells me what's going on. Your gut health is so intricately tied to your skin health. And so I can tell, well, hey, you've been eating a lot of dairy, a lot of refined sugars, what's been going on in your life, you know, because those stressors, depressions, anxiety cause you to reach for certain foods, cause you, you know, and that starts to mess with your gut health, which affects your skin, right?

Erica Fulton

So a lot of time we don't take as much care of ourselves as we do other people. And I always, always, always tell my female client base to be as gentle with yourself as you would tell your best friend to be with themselves, right? Sometimes we have lots of good advice for our friends, lots of good advice for people passing by, but then when we when it comes to ourselves, we neglect.

Liz Nolley

Hundred percent

Erica Fulton

And so I asked one of my clients yesterday if I asked you to list all the people you love, how long would it take for you to get to you on that list?

Erica Fulton

And it's really important that we prioritize ourselves in that way and not feel that it is a selfish act, right?

Liz Nolley

Erica's got bars. Laughter She got all the buttons. Where do you think I get my buzz from?

Liz Nolley

No, it's true though , 'cause in my in my coaching practice, I have this whole thing around what would you do ? 'Cause you know, we're all big into WWJD, but I'm like, you know, you're you know, I tell my clients all the time like, if you were going if your best friend was going through the same situation at work, because I deal with professionals dealing with corporate workplace issues, like what advice would you give them? What would you tell them to do? Exactly. And okay, well, treat yourself like you're your best friend. What would you do?

Liz Nolley

So, I'm so happy to hear you say that because that philosophy plays out in different aspects of our lives. And we do, we do a much better job at taking care of other people than we do ourselves. Absolutely.

Liz Nolley

Yeah. Wow, that's crazy that's crazy though that you can see that physical mental connection just by assessing your client's skin skin condition.

Erica Fulton

Yes, absolutely. It becomes a personal relationship beyond that of just skincare, right? Because you people come in and it's the opportunity for them to relax. I pride myself on creating a safe space for our community. There is no judgment. You need to come in and take something off, whether it be physical, emotional, this is the place where you can do it. Sometimes we end in tears, sometimes we end in prayer, you know, sometimes we end and we may go to a bar.

Erica Fulton

But, you know, we're there we're there to support each other and I definitely um I appreciate and I don't take it as a small thing to be able to be considered to be so close in as in people's lives as I've become in this and didn't expect it. I thought I was just gonna be washing faces and you know, talking to them.

Liz Nolley

I was going to ask you…How did you come to do this type of work? Because I know, like, I mean, I've gotten facials before and stuff like that, but what you're describing is, you know, it's a form of medicine also. So how did you come come to not just form your business but fall into this particular niche?

Erica Fulton

I needed it. Um, it was very oddly one of my son's favorite movies when he was a kid, Robots, and it was see a need, fill a need, right? I needed that for myself. At the time, I was active duty military, I was living abroad in Germany, and I had health issues that caused my hair to fall out and my skin to, you know, freak out really bad. And Kere will tell you, they came to see me for the holidays, I would not take my scarf off. I was like, no, no one can see me this way. And there were only they were the dermatology office really only wanted to give me medication, you know, and they weren't trying to get to the root of the problem.

Erica Fulton

And aesthetics is very, um, largely respected field in Europe and so I was luckily able to connect with some people and to find more topical things that could help finding out with, you know, some of my diet, well I needed to back off of dairy. You know, these things weren't helping my situation. And when I came back to the States, I did not see a lot of estheticians that looked like me. When I decided to go to school, we learned European skincare.

Erica Fulton

And so it was really me wanting to fill that need and knowing that my community deserved and needed access to to this science, to these this knowledge, and really being very deliberate about this is what I wanted to do post the military.

Liz Nolley

Erica Fulton

Kere Thomas

Erica Fulton

It's right on tape. Erica's amazing. The coach said.

Liz Nolley

Erica Fulton

I think that it's really important for our communities to know that our skin is resilient, yet sensitive. Right, and so we are oftentimes

Liz Nolley

Just like us. But I digress. Yes!

Erica Fulton

It's it's sensitive, right? So we are more prone to hyperpigmentation. Right? So when, especially with my teenage clients, my clients that come back from college and visit me, when we have acne, right, making sure that we're caring for it in a way that we're not picking, that we're not causing trauma to the skin. I love hyperpigmentation. I'm gonna go off on a tangent for a minute. Okay. Okay. Okay. So hyperpigmentation is strictly the skin's response to healing itself, right? So if you think about when you are on vacation or when you guys are shooting the podcast on a beach one day and you're out in the sun with or without the SPF, right, you're going to naturally tan. That is the skin's way of trying to protect itself.

Erica Fulton

The skin says, oh my gosh, we're under attack. Let's protect ourselves, right? And that's what hyperpigmentation is. Is imagine you get a bump, you knock something over, you cut yourself, it's going to get dark first. The melanocytes release extra melanin to that area to heal it faster.

Kere Thomas

Melanocytes girl.

Erica Fulton

Melanocytes release extra melanin to that area to heal it faster. And so with understanding that we need to kind of be again kind and gentle knowing that we are more prone, right? And that there are steps that we can do to be a little preventative, using tyrosinase inhibitors which kind of slows that um reaction of excess melanin. So a tyrosinase inhibitor would be vitamin C, azelaic acid, if properly prescribed, hydroquinone. Um and also when we are healing or when we are seeking a professional to treat our skin, make sure that they understand it, right? Make sure that they have treated these issues before.

Erica Fulton

And if you're trying things at home, just kind of taking your time, you know, everybody's on on the TikTok doing the things and putting the the the herbs and just I would definitely say that while our skin is really resilient, it is very sensitive and so we have to the same care that I tell my clients to take with themselves that you take with your skin and be patient. Right. Be patient with it. Especially I deal with a lot of menopausal clients. This is their first time having acne in their whole life or they've had this hyperpigmentation since they were teenagers. If you've had this hyperpigmentation since you were thirteen and now we're forty-seven, I can't fix this in thirty minutes. I don't have enough lotion for that. Right.

Erica Fulton

It's gonna take a little time, it's gonna take a little patience, and it's gonna take learning what our skin can tolerate and take. So definitely.

Kere Thomas

She's very big on the education component. Um, you know, in working with her a little bit and helping develop some of her messaging and branding and stuff and learning about the education piece was core for me because I think we don't do enough of that. Yeah. In terms of like not just skincare but healthcare, wellness in general.

Kere Thomas

Yeah. like we need to be more educated about the science. And I love that she puts that at the front too. I love that she said, stay off the TikTok and talk to a professional. That's not exactly what she said.

Liz Nolley

No, but that's why, roundabout to paraphrase Malcolm X. That's my interpretation of what she has said. And I'm gonna take a time out for some black conversation around that.

Kere Thomas

Yeah.

Liz Nolley

Yeah. So, you know, like we have experts and you know, Erica is on the show, you're watching the show, she's part of your network. So give give them your socials so when people want to get real information from the real experts, give them your your connection points again.

Erica Fulton

So I'm available on all social media platforms, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Snapchat, at Kin Skin Wellness on all platforms.

Liz Nolley

See, this kinfolk is skinfolk. Skin folk. Skin folk.

Liz Nolley

So, but I wanted to ask you one more thing. Like, so I've been on this whole water thing. Like, and I know the tickety tocks and the hippity hops say that if we drink more water, it it helps with the skin care. Is that is that fact or fiction? Is that in my head? Does it really make a difference?

Erica Fulton

Partial effect. It is important, right? Um, I think sometimes people have dry skin and they think that we need I need to drink more water to fix this. Dry skin is a lack of oil.

Kere Thomas

Interesting.

Erica Fulton

Dehydrated skin is a lack of water. So making sure that you are clear on what the difference is if that is something that you're trying to treat with your skin and understanding that if you go through what I like to call a body drought where you're not giving yourself enough water for weeks or days at a time, when you start to drink that water, I wouldn't look for immediate results. If we start on Sunday, our skin isn't going to be plumped and juicy by Thursday because the inside gets hydrated first. Your organs, your tissues, other things. I mean, skin is definitely important and it's going to get the hydration, but it's one of the last things to get it.

Erica Fulton

So staying hydrated is going to be the best thing you can do to help with your moisture and keeping your skin from being dehydrated and keeping it, you know, looking nice and plump and juicy and youthful. Um but it's definitely not the sole key. Important, but not the sole key.

Kere Thomas

Yeah, like if you're drinking a hundred ounces of water but then you also counter that with seventeen cupcakes, what's the difference?

Liz Nolley

Refined sugar.

Liz Nolley

A little less guilt. Ah! Oh no! I'm like, uh uh, I'm not on that diet. Right. I'm just saying I'm not on any diet. I just been on this drink more water kick. but

Liz Nolley

But no, I I I I feel you though. But um, but I have one technical question to ask you. Yes. All right, this is some us and us conversation. Mm-hmm.

Erica Fulton

Love.

Liz Nolley

Is it true? Black don't crack?

Erica Fulton

Black, black will crack and crumble. Okay. if you if you do not treat it right. Okay. Right. Like any good thing, it it needs to be taken care of.

Kere Thomas

There you go.

Erica Fulton

If you have a fine car, you still want to take great care of it. You still want to take great care of it. A lot of I've had I've had a lot of clients come in and they're like, oh well, my grandmother and my mom only used Pond's cold cream.

Liz Nolley

Black conversation. That's the that's the way real quick.

Erica Fulton

And Noxzema. Deep. I'm glad you took a deep breath 'cause I and I say listen, and that may have worked for Beverly Ann and Laverne.

Kere Thomas

Oh no, she's calling out the Aunties.

Erica Fulton

But I always counter that with several different things. Our time is not their time, right? We are not eating the foods that they are eating. We are not taking in the chemicals that throughout life they've taken in.

Kere Thomas

Our environment is a lot different.

Erica Fulton

And it it the Ponds cream of sixty-two is not the thinned out stretched out how can we capitalize Ponds cream of twenty

Kere Thomas

The more chemicalized version

Erica Fulton

And so that's not to say it didn't work for them and it wasn't a good thing, but we are in a different time, we have different environments, and our skin is just different at today's point. So, we're going to get rid of that and we're going to get you a specialized skin regimen based on what your skin needs. And and I say that to say that if taken care of, it it will it will last you, it will last you a long time. And a lot of people are scared of oil. They don't want to look oily and sweaty, but I will say oil is a key component in our Don't Crack recipe. Okay. Keeps us moisturized, keeps us, you know, supple, because if we dry out, then that's when the cracking starts.

Erica Thomas

So we want to make sure that we're staying well hydrated and whatever can get the oil going, whether you're working out and you're sweating, you know, we want to make sure that we're keeping the skin very well moisturized.

Kere Thomas

Listen and after my skincare regimen as prescribed by master aesthetician Erica, my skin is always glistening. It's always some kind of oil on my skin.

Liz Nolley

You you you've had beautiful skin since I've known you, but

Kere Thomas

Well, thank you, but I'm able to preserve it, I think, because of her advice.

Kere Thomas

Any more questions for our guest ? 'Cause I want to get to our next segment, which I think will be so much fun.

Liz Nolley

Well, let me let me ask, let me ask our guest what final words before we pivot and just start the shenanigans start. like while we're still in the serious…While we're still in the mysterious phase portion of the program.

Liz Nolley

Um, what final words and advice would you give to our audience in terms of how to do better by themselves in terms of taking better care of themselves and their skin?

Erica Fulton

I would definitely lean back to what I said previously is making sure that you're ultimately taking good care of yourself. Right. Um that you are on a proper diet, that you are staying well hydrated, that you are taking the time to have physical activity and a time to decompress. Right. Because like we said, if none of that is imbalanced, the skin will never catch up. You know, the skin will never catch up. And so once you are finding that prioritization of things in your life that you find a professional, right, and you find a skin routine that is specialized for your skin type and what it is you're trying to achieve, and that you stick to it.

Erica Fulton

Stick to it, trust the process and and see it through and always make time to rest, right? Because our whole body's getting included, it needs that time. It needs that time to rest. That it is so crucial. You know how refreshed you feel, you know, after a vacation where you're you're rested, you've you've had time to eat well and just kind of decompress. It it shows. People say it like, oh man, you look so refreshed. You're glowing. You know, it definitely is the inside out process and journey.

Liz Nolley

I love that. in a previous episode we talked about how pause is an action.

Erica Fulton

Absolutely

Liz Nolley

Sometimes we get caught up as particularly as Black women, we we love to be in the do doing the most category. Yeah. And um sometimes you just need to take that time out. Absolutely. And it does show, it's like the song says, it is written all over your face. Literally.

Liz Nolley

Mmm. So. So right there. One more time, let the people know where they can find you and how they can connect with you.

Erica Fulton

So again, I'm Erica Fulton, Master Esthetician, and I can be found at www. kinskinwellness. com and and on all social media platforms at Kinskin Wellness.

Erica Fulton

Thank you for having me. This is so much fun.

Liz Nolley

Can we raise a collective glass to Erica? Real quick. Even though nothing's in my glass, but that's okay. I have water in mine. Ready? You get this ready.

Liz Nolley

Kere Thomas

Everyone's favorite segment, Boss it or toss it. We're going to switch it up a little bit 'cause Erica's here with us today. So, instead of doing our traditional Boss it or Toss it, we're going to do a little different one. We're going to do what's called Boss it, gloss it, or toss it. So, in the vein of Mary kill you know what, um, I'm going to throw out three things. Okay. And we especially made all of these related to your profession, so I hope you enjoy it. And then you're going to tell us whether you boss it. Which is, girl, I'm for it all day, every day. Gloss it, which means, you know, you gloss it up a little bit. When you need that little mmm, okay.

Kere Thomas

You you for it. or toss it when you're like, mm-mm, not in my repertoire at all. Okay. And and instead of us going all all at the same time like we normally do, you're the expert, so Yeah, we're gonna let you go first. And then then then we'll chime in and let the people know how we feel. you can use your boss it. I typically boss it or toss it. Okay. Um, Liz just tosses it. So you can however you want to use your toss it.

Liz Nolley

And if you want to floss it, floss it this way. Shout out to my pink and green system hood. But um, but however you want to floss it. What is a glossy? Glossy. Glossy. I'm saying flossing.

Kere Thomas

I'm going to give you three things now, okay? Hot comb Flat iron. Curling iron Which one would you boss? Which one would you glass? Which one would you toss?

Liz Nolley

Hot Hot comb flat iron flatiron curling iron

Erica Fulton

So, due to, I think, a deep childhood trauma. Ha ha ha ha ha. I think we are within our community We are we are immediately tossing the hot dog. We are imme-we are immediately ... ]I think we're all in agreement here. immediately tossed in, straight to jail. No.

Liz Nolley

Erica Fulton

Kere Thomas

Erica Fulton

Okay, so I would, in that same vein, I would gloss the flat iron, right? She she's come a long way, she does her thing.

Kere Thomas

Really?

Erica Fulton

Right, but I would boss the curling iron only because and and to be specific, I would gloss a Marcel. Now if you don't know what a Marcel curling iron is, you

Liz Nolley

I Don't

Erica Fulton

You know, back in the day, they had the little horseshoe and they would stick the curling iron in there.

Liz Nolley

Yeah

Erica Fulton

That so it it gives a little hot comb

Kere Thomas

It's definitely hot comb adjacent.

Erica Fulton

But I think that it's something that again, it brings a memory, right? Our aunt, our aunt did hair for a really long time and so I think that I would boss in in honor of my my aunt the Marcelle. Yeah, good little tight usher board curl. A good little tight Usher boy curl. Yeah, last year, last year all week. It will last you a week.

Kere Thomas

It will, it will. I was gonna say that we we have like our mom's sister was a hairdresser and then in the previous generation we also had a couple of hairdressers too. It's a family history thing. It's deeper than that.

Kere Thomas

Right, next up. Boss it, gloss it, or toss it. Bar soap. Body wash. Plain old water.

Erica Fulton

]Ooh, who does that?

Erica Fulton

I thought this was a cultural experiment.

Erica Fulton

What is plain water? Oh, so we're tossing plain water. Are we wat-is this about bathing? We're toss-we're tossing plain water. We're tossing plain water. Um ... mmm.

Erica Fulton

Oh, this is a tough one 'cause I feel like it can go either way. So I am going to, I'm going to ... I'm going to gloss bar soap and I'm going to boss body wash.

Liz Nolley

I agree with that.

Kere Thomas

You're glossing bar soap…and I'm the opposite. and Amir agrees too.

Kere Thomas

I'm the opposite. I'm bossing bar soap and glossing body wash. I'm sorry. Really? Tamieka agrees with you. Girl Of course. We have to talk about

Liz Nolley

I will boss Brooklyn Bar Soap.

Kere Thomas

You didn't specify. I'm not bossing. bossing like Dial or Lever. I'm bossing like, well, I will boss the peppermint soap, the Castile thing. They have that in Dr. Bonner's. I love that.

Erica Fulton

Baby, that is a peppermint patty in the shop ]I just do not want it. Especially on the chocolate. It is too much.

Erica Fulton

It is too much. But I do I will agree. I will I will definitely say that when we're talking more of the handmade, made with intention like Brooklyn bars or something in artisanal, then yes, definitely. But if we're talking that dried out dial antibacterial Mmm. Mmm. I don't really bring that in the house. That's what your skin sounds like.

Liz Nolley

Right That's right. Hey! Yes! But I have to give a special shout out to our makeup artist. Yes Tamika ]and her company, Brooklyn Bar Soap. She does all the essential oils and the handmade soaps and and all of that good stuff. So, I have to boss Brooklyn Bar Soap.

Kere Thomas

Absolutely Absolutely. All day. All day. Every day. And I was gonna say too, like, um, you are a fan of the African Net, Which brings us actually to the next one. Okay. Washcloth, African net plastic loofah. I don't know why we were I don't know why we were so specific about the loofah being plastic.

Liz Nolley

That's like black on black on black on black on black. like, like those are three really black choices right there. No, do we do the plastic loofah though?

Kere Thomas

Boss it, gloss it, or toss it.

Erica Fulton

Um, so I am going to toss for the sake of environment the plastic. Right. For the sake of environment, we're just gonna let go, we're gonna let go of the plastic, right? Anyway. I am going to gloss a washcloth or maybe and I'm sure you hear maybe in a Southern girl we say wash rag, right? 'Cause there's a there's a need for it.

Liz Nolley

We understand the very sacred place the wash cloth holds in our bathroom

Erica Fulton

And the need of multiples

Liz Nolley

Your washcloths are specialists. They're position players. It's like a basketball team. and not every washcloth is a point guard. Sometimes you need the shooting guard. Sometimes you need the center.

Kere Thomas

You need to rotate out your star players regularly. often. Regularly. regularly

Erica Fulton

No one wants to say a little stiff. I have three boys. I have three boys. ]And I am constantly like, hey, it's time to switch it out.

Liz Nolley

It's time to switch it up. beauty and health She knows. professional So she knows. So y'all out there watching, get your washcloth game in check. Absolutely It does not get it right.

Erica Fulton

But we're we're definitely bossing the soft port African net. I think that it's great to exfoliate, it gives you great reach in areas where you can't necessarily get with a washcloth. Um they dry a lot faster, which makes them more hygienic, right? They're not harboring moisture and that bacteria. So I definitely say for hygiene, for reach, for making sure you get a good exfoliation, we're bossing the

Liz Nolley

Love and the authentic African net, not the plastic ones that they manufacture in the The authentic African net imported from China. Not that one. I'm not that one.

Kere Thomas

All right, just checking. Alright. Here we got a couple more. Um, this one I think you will enjoy. Satin bonnet. Satin Scarf. Satin pillow.

Liz Nolley

Oooohhh. It's a Sophie's Choice. I have to ... Yes, you have to pick.

Erica Fulton

Okay. So I am going to toss the bonnet. I'm to gloss the scarf. I'm bossing the satin pillow case.

Erica Fulton

Do not wear your bonnet outside. That is indoor activity. And if you wouldn't take your washcloth, don't wear your bonnet.

Kere Thomas

Ooh, that's a good way of thinking about it.

Erica Fulton

Yeah, I tossed the bonnet. I glossed the scarf. Ooh, this is tough. I don't know. Okay, I'm gonna I'm I'm sticking to it. I'm gonna gloss the scarf. Um but I gotta I have a caveat for both of those things. Okay.

Erica Fulton

The same way we discussed the rotation of our washcloths, we need to be rotating those bonnets and those scarves. And we're going back into our skincare bag, right? When we think about um edge control or oils or sweat, right? We're reintroducing that every single time that it's touching our face. And the same with the pillowcase. So while I'm bossing a satin pillowcase, I'm bossing it as long as you're changing it out every two days.

Kere Thomas

Yeah. I'm with you.

Liz Nolley

I like it. I see what she did there. She used to do what she did. She came full circle.

Kere Thomas

I have like five satin bonnets.

Erica Fulton

As you should.

Kere Thomas

And I wear a different one almost every night.

Liz Nolley

And Erica said it without saying it. Some of y'all aren't aren't changing your sheets all the time. I picked up what you were putting down. I picked up what you were putting down. Ah! But but yes, it's bad for your health, it's bad for your skin care. Yeah edges is So, get it together.

Erica Fulton

Imagine, I always tell people when they leave, okay, clean hands, you know, make sure for the rest of the day we're very cognizant of clean hands and what touches our face, and clean pillowcase. Because if you haven't changed that pillowcase in a week or two, and then I've done all of this thorough exfoliation and you have all this fresh skin and now you're introducing it to last week's sweat, last week's dead skin, last week's everything.

Kere Thomas

Putting it back on

Liz Nolley

And clean clean those sheets. Yes change all them duvets and comforters while you doing that

Liz Nolley

I'm clutching my invisible pearls. Absolutely absolutely So that was a tough one. That's what Erica said about y'all. Let's get it together.

Get it together. But she's giving you Paramedical advice

Kere Thomas

It's her teachable moment. For real though.

Kere Thomas

All right, let's, last one, and I know a couple people in the room gonna enjoy this one. Shea butter. Essential oil. Regular old lotion

Kere Thomas

Wow, the production crew -- they're divided.

Liz Nolley

Oh man! See, we talking politics now.

Erica Fulton

Now, may I pose a question?

Where are we putting this? Are we talking body?

Kere Thomas

You tell us.

Erica Fulton

Well, we’re talking body? So if we're talking body, that Jergens has to go. Toss it. Regular lotion out of here. Out of here. Check

Liz Nolley

Yeah! Okay, I could say Nivea. Palmer's cocoa butter lotion.

Kere Thomas

I've never seen a lotion get boosted more than Nivea.

Erica Fulton

Is that why they had those sliding things at CVS?

Kere Thomas

Yes, anything behind the slider thing is a booster's fave. Hey, so regular lotion is out. So shea butter. Essential oils.

Erica Fulton

Uh, so I don't know that I necessarily want to gloss either one of those 'cause I want to boss them both. Wow. Is that allowed?

Kere Thomas

Tamika ain't gonna be bossing that. What about that regular lotion, Tamika? She said, "fuck that."

Erica Fulton

Yeah, I definitely want to boss them both, especially for body care, very nourishing. When using the proper essential oils, it can definitely be helpful to skin conditions, skin concerns. Um, our we as a culture are are natural people. We came from a place where we were using what was provided by the earth and so we would be doing ourselves the disservice to think that those things still don't matter, right? That those things still don't work. Because they absolutely do. And so I definitely will boss both shea butter and essential oils with a small caveat again. I keep having to caveat. Know with a good source, right? Know where you're getting them. Ah. So the three for the price of one on certain sites over. So understanding the source, knowing where our your products are coming from, right? And not just driving to your your closest discount store and just grabbing something.

Liz Nolley

And if it costs more...more than a dollar for a bottle, invest in yourself.

Erica Fulton

Yeah. You deserve it. You deserve it.

Kere Thomas

Put that dollar bottle back and get the other one with the natural ingredients verified

Liz Nolley

Because ]some of these vendors that y'all be vying for, mixing a little bit of Crisco and melting it down and trying to pass it off as essential oil. Trying to pass it off as essential oil. You know, got that chicken grease, that bacon grease from this morning. No, yeah. and put some musk flavor on it and put some scent on it and y'all be bringing it home. Definitely. Yeah, don't do that. Don't come in with dermatitis. Nope. Aaaah! Listen to the master. Invest in yourself. Make sure you products are legit. Absolutely.

Kere Thomas

Yes, and and we have a secondary source agreeing with you, so. All right, well that was fun.

Erica Fulton

Kere Thoams

I know. Well, you don't have to...

Liz Nolley

And I I just want to shout out, first of all, I have to shout out your shirt. Your t-shirt is so cute before you go. And tell everybody about your t-shirt.

Eric Fulton

So my t-shirt says feminism, feminism is for everybody and it is the truth, right? I am an ultimate boy mom, three boys, and I think sometimes when people hear feminism they think, you know, I don't know, hairy armpits and just angry women, right? And that's not necessarily what it, what it means. That's not what it means at all. As a minority woman in the Air Force for 20 years, um, it can be very difficult, right? And I think that if a person is doing just as great a job, if not better, they deserve a position, they deserve equal pay, they deserve more pay, right?

Erica Fulton

And making sure that we're advocating for women in that way, whether you are a man, whether you are a woman, it does not matter, we should always be advocating for equality for women. That's all feminism is to me.

Kere Thomas

In our next episode, we're going to get into a lot of about that. We're going to talk about your experience in the Air Force and what that means in terms of all of the things that we talk about navigating corporate spaces. Because I think that we need to reframe a couple of definitions that live out here. Feminism being one of them.

Liz Nolley

Amen to that. And I I love I love your shirt. I just had to and and in honor of our first guest entrepreneur here, I wore My entrepreneur shirt for Debo's Bike Shop.

Erica Fulton

Oh no! Oh, that's my bike!

Kere Thomas

First of all, it's one of my favorite movies so

Liz Nolley

But nobody's snatching my chain.

Kere Thomas

Nobody snatchin' your chain, you not gon' cry.

Liz Nolley

My daddy gave me this. So I had to like go a little entrepreneurial with the cultural reference on my shirt today.

Kere Thomas

I mean, one of the things that we're gonna do on this here podcast is rep some cultural t-shirts. So, thank you for bringing that. Today I'm just sporting our shirt too - just us.

Liz Nolley

Where can you get one of those, Kere?

Kere Thomas

Girl, you know where you could get this? lizthepurposecoach. com slash store

Liz Noley

Oh, okay. I have to get right over there.

Kere Thomas

Please do. ]All right, well that's all we got for today.

Liz Nolley

Thank you for joining us.

Erica Fulton

Thanks so much for having me.

Liz Nolley

We enjoyed having you here. Thank you. And thank you all for watching, and we'll see you in the next episode.