Enterprenuer
Karima was a child who understood the power and benefits of natural remedies from an early age.
Her earliest memory is mixing a particular skincare product of flowers, grass, and leaves on her grandmother’s lawn.
She planned to sell her formula door to door in her neighborhood.
She was fortunate that her entire supply was purchased by the first neighbor she approached.
That moment was a memory she will never forget, and she is still committed to making natural-based formulas 45 years later.
Karima’s love for people and the environment is another guiding principle.
She spent her summers at Monterrey camp, CA as a child.
There, she shared a tent with other campers and slept outside.
She was inspired by this experience to care for the environment and strive to leave the planet and nature better than she found it.
She is uncompromising in her desire to protect people and the earth.
Karima was raised by a single mom and had a strong work ethic that has helped her launch Six Glen.
The company’s ability to do anything has allowed Karima to lead the revolution in beauty and promote sustainable, clean products.
After working for large beauty brands for many years, Karima and her cofounders were tired of compromising quality and ethical standards just in the name of profit.
Six Glen was created to offer consumers a better choice.
To uphold the highest standards of cleanliness, transparency, and sustainability, Six Glen is committed to using only high-quality formulas based on over 400 years of Korean herbal medicine.
Six Glen makes use of scientific advances to refine, hone and maximize each ingredient’s potential for exceptional efficacy and results that restore radiance to all skin types.
Karima worked for over 25 years in creative multi-media direction at award-winning magazines, creative agencies, and advertising agencies in New York, Los Angeles, and London.
She was responsible for creating national TV and print advertising campaigns for well-known consumer brands.
Popular magazines sought her out to help them transform their web properties’ creative direction, which resulted in more traffic.
She was also the visionary leader for several luxury and beauty brands while at the agency.
Karima and Six Glen, a team that aims to make the world a better place than before, are leading the charge to ensure the industry meets the highest ethical and waterless standards.
They also aim to be completely recyclable, compostable, and compostable.
What is the story of Six Gldn?
My partners and I have been in the beauty business for over 20 years.
We got tired of watching companies compromise on formulas and packaging to save money.
The combination of cheap, non-sustainable, and unclean ingredients that aren’t good for the environment and the excessive use of plastic packaging is causing the earth to be destroyed.
It was time to start a revolution. It is time to end wasteful beauty products and harmful ingredients.
We need a no-compromise skincare line. Six Glen wants to be the leading brand in clean beauty.
We will uphold the highest safety standards. We go beyond the EU’s ingredient safety guidelines, which ban the use of over 2,500 ingredients.
We have very high sustainability goals. We will be 100% refillable by 2022 and 100% recyclable, and 100% plastic-free by 2023.
Our lab also works on waterless formulas to reduce carbon emissions and shipping costs.
How do you stay productive?
I am a productivity nerd. I enjoy organizing and fine-tuning my day to get more done.
It’s a joy to get up and start my day in the morning. Hot yoga is my way to start the day.
It helps me to connect to the universe and center myself.
Every morning at 8:30, we meet as a team to discuss new product development sales and catch up on London, our other partner.
London is usually done with her day by this time.
To have a short break and reset, I don’t try to schedule meetings back-to-back.
To reset, I will take my dog on a walk that puts me in the moment or meditate before going back to work.
Breakfast and lunch are filled with vegetables, protein, and nuts.
I consume fish oil, chelated magnesia, vitamins BD, and lots of water throughout the day. Every day, I get up and go to bed simultaneously.
I organize my workday in segments, even if I’m not attending meetings.
This helps me stay focused. Ansonsten, I will end up checking my email, doing some online shopping, responding to texts, and scrolling through TikTok.
After family time, I leave work at 6:00 pm and return to work every night between 8–9 pm to plan my next day’s to-do list and ensure I don’t miss any emails.
Our rescue animals are my biggest distraction. Our rescue animals include a three-legged cat (that’s her name) and Phineas and Ferb, our small dog (she’s one dog with multiple personalities and not two).
How do you bring ideas to life?
Awakening early to have a clear mind, mood boards, teamwork, surround me with talented people, hard work, passion with a purpose, and coffee.
What’s your favorite trend?
The industry refers to “minimalism,” which increases minimal-step skincare that prioritizes quality over quantity.
Six Glen is the ultimate in minimalism. This is the next generation in Korean skincare.
It takes four steps instead of 15 steps, just 64 seconds per day, and you have radiant, glowing skin.
Single benefit products are not feasible for many people.
It is just too tempting to look in the mirror and do 15 different skincare steps.
We want to give you more time to live — for more joy, love, and more adventures.
What habits make you productive?
Everything is visualized to me. It’s like a movie in my head. I also feel the feeling of having achieved it.
Next, I start to work towards the goal I already feel materialize in my head.
What’s your advice for the Noob?
It’s a good thing to be different. Growing up, I was different.
I didn’t see any representation of my family or me in the media.
I should have said to myself, “Own” my differences.
They are my superpower. Uniqueness is good. It’s not good to blend in.
What is one thing we can all agree on?
Avocados are not good.
What do you recommend as an entrepreneur?
Thank everyone for their support and gratitude. Every day, visualize your desired outcome and work toward it.
What’s your rich strategy?
You should make products that you enjoy and love to use every day.
You can’t guarantee your products are the best, and you don’t want anyone else to use them.
How do you overcome Failure?
We didn’t consider an additional 30% cost for shipping, tariffs, and other fees when we started.
Although it might not seem like much, 30% of large orders are substantial money that we didn’t allocate.
We learned a lot about shipping costs from our packaging made in Italy. This is a mistake we will not make again.
Can you share a business idea?
My obsession with outer space is uncontrollable. I’d love to create an app that allows users to log in and communicate with people from the International Space Station.
To hang out with them as they move around. It would be trendy, though I wouldn’t mind being on it every day.
My dream is for our products to go into space. 72 ISS women would love our Nourishing Face Oil.
They could use some nourishing and hydrating products in this pressurized cabin. @ISS, let’s talk.
What’s your recent best buy?
A massage. It’s a luxury that is so necessary. They are my favorite.
Two people messaged me in Thailand was the best I have ever experienced.
It was terrific to be massaged by two people.
I wonder if the experience is better if you have more people around.
That is something I’ll have to investigate.
What are your favorite Softwares or Apps?
CHIEF app. This app brings together some of the most talented women in America.
It is my favorite. It’s fantastic to see the quality of women in CHIEF. I use this app daily to connect with the community.
Which book would you recommend?
I will squeeze two books into …. Jen Sincero: You are a Badass AND Glennon Doyle: Untamed.
What’s your favorite quote?
Jump, and the net will be there.” This is the message I have tattooed on my wrist in my handwriting. I love taking chances.
Key Learnings:
- To get the most out your day, start your day early. But don’t forget to take time to relax and meditate.
- You don’t need to make skincare complicated or contain harmful ingredients. It can be fast, effective, and long-lasting.
- Do not be afraid to make a leap of faith. There are no rewards if there aren’t risks.
