Fiona Frills
23rd March 2023
Interview & Digital Editor: Pankhuri Bhutani
Fiona Frills rose to fame from her widely prominent beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel but what most people don’t know about her is that after years of struggling with brands that didn’t understand her teen skin, Fiona founded her own company merely at the age of 13 years in order to provide a one-stop-shop for accessible clean skincare and acne-fighting makeup that is 100% cruelty-free.
As featured in Forbes, Bustle, Justine and more, Frills was frustrated when brands didn’t seem to understand her skin and that experience further led to Fiona creating Frilliance: a one-stop-shop of clean skin-care as well as acne-fighting makeup for sensitive, acne-prone skin at an affordable price.
We recently had an insightful conversation with Fiona discussing insights into her entrepreneurial life.
Pleasure having you on ReVamp, Fiona! How’s it going? How are you doing?
Hey! So excited to be here. All is amazing with me, and you?
Do you remember the first moment you knew you had to join the world of entertainment as a profession? What was it that drew you closer to this field?
Let’s see. I have always loved filming myself on my old mac showing how I make crayon lip gloss, duct tape wallets, and trying out crazy foods. I was homeschooled so I didn’t have a lot of friends so talking to the camera became an outlet for me to talk talk talk. My mom noticed and submitted me to several agencies in the Bay Area to represent me and try to get work modeling and acting. Crazy that all the agencies wanted to represent me. I booked quite a few jobs and then at the same time started my YouTube channel, which started to gain traction too.
You founded your own company at just the age of 13 years in order to provide a one-stop-shop for accessible clean skincare. I’d love to know the initial inspiration behind this.
Great question! My personal experience with skincare brands in my tweens/13 when I was breaking out with acne, is why I started Frilliance. Most, like 99.9% of cosmetics brands, are created by women and men that don’t seem to have a clue about teen skin and our needs. When I looked at and researched the ingredients in these so called popular teen products, I was shocked. Most are awful for sensitive teen skin. Then on the other end of the spectrum is clean but very high priced products. I created a skincare makeup brand that is developed for teens (by me, an actual teen!) at an affordable and accessible price point.
How has this journey been on with “Frilliance”? Have you been enjoying the response being received on this endeavor?
Honestly, I am overwhelmed by the positive response and support in building my brand. Creating Frilliance has been and continues to be my passion project. I still can’t believe Frilliance is sold in over 500 Walmarts. I love that Frilliance is available to teens around the USA at affordable prices.
Having been involved in beauty, lifestyle and so much more, is there anything else that you’d definitely like to venture into in your future years?
That’s a really great question. Currently, I’m very focused on building Frilliance and growing the store count with major retailers, so I haven’t had time to think about new ventures. My goal is always to give back — so any new venture would be a business or social cause that gives back to teens around the world.
You also have an immensely popular YouTube channel. If given a chance, do you have any dream YouTubers that you would love to collaborate with on your videos?
Thank you! I would want to do a collab with Kylie Jenner. She is more than a YouTuber but her beauty empire is so inspirational given she started doing this at a young age — she was 18!
Lastly, what’s next for you, Fiona? Anything in the pipeline for next year?
We’re going to be launching Frilliance at CVS in January. I sometimes have to shake myself to realize that I can walk into a Walmart and soon CVS and see Frilliance on the shelf. I am so grateful and thank each of my followers and customers for loving Frilliance and believing in me.
Kindly note: Some of the excerpts from this interview have been derived from other outlets with permission from the artist’s management.