Episode 298 of Where Brains Meet Beauty is one of the most emotional and human conversations of the season. Celebrity Esthetician Miranda Sturce and creator, former Miss South Carolina and Bachelor alum Davia Esther Bunch join the show for a raw discussion on ambition, burnout, healing and finding your way back to yourself.

Miranda shares how caring for others has been part of her identity since childhood, soothing her father’s hands after long labor-filled days. That instinct led her into luxury hotel spas and ultimately her own practice, where touch becomes both artistry and therapy. She talks openly about the emotional weight of being a solo esthetician, the pressure to hold everyone together and the importance of slowing down long enough to feel your own feelings.

Davia’s story mirrors Miranda’s in surprising ways. She trained for years to become a professional ballet dancer, performed in Russia, then had to walk away after injury. That loss spun into pageants, where she won Miss South Carolina and went on to compete at Miss America. Then came The Bachelor, a move that gave her visibility but also forced her to face everything she had been running from. Now she balances content creation with a full-time beauty marketing role, and she speaks candidly about negotiating fair rates, unlearning people-pleasing and finding grounding in storytelling. Her newest dream: writing a memoir, one memory and one messy truth at a time.

Together, Miranda and Davia explore what it means to hustle without losing yourself, how to stay human in an industry built on performance and the quiet courage of asking for a pause when emotions break through. It’s a reminder that careers anchored in care require caring for yourself too.

In Episode 297 of Where Brains Meet Beauty, founder and CEO of Glamazon Beauty Cosmetics Kim Baker and content creator and Your Glow Guide author Felicia Walker sit down to talk about building careers that did not exist when they were kids.

Kim’s path starts at 13 as a model with Elite, crossing paths with legends like Andy Warhol and Basquiat, then being pulled out of the industry for her own safety. She later returns, co-pioneers plus-size modeling and eventually pivots into makeup artistry after years of struggling to find foundation that matched her skin. Mixing shades behind the counter at brands like Prescriptives and Bobbi Brown became an education in undertones and inclusivity that now powers Glamazon Beauty. Today, she is part artist, part founder, part motivator, writing handwritten notes to customers and using public speaking to help women feel “beautifully empowered.”

Felicia’s journey began in a different place: HR executive by day, beauty obsessive by night. She launched a blog simply to pour out everything living in her head about skincare, ingredients and routines. That curiosity turned her into an early “digital beauty space architect,” breaking down formulas and skin types long before ingredient education was mainstream. Blogging opened doors to editorial, product development and now authorship. Her focus has evolved into helping people truly understand their skin and spotlighting 50+ skincare and longevity, a demographic she rarely saw represented.

Together, Kim and Felicia talk about listening to the “whisper” of a calling, balancing data with gut, handling comments with grace (and a bit of edge when needed), and using influence to educate rather than just sell. One builds confidence with a foundation stick, the other with a framework for skincare, but both are expanding what it means to have a career in beauty on their own terms. Check out more from Kim at glamazonbeauty.com & Felicia's book Your Glow Guide.

In this Artistry & Influencer episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, content creators Jess Martinez (@jessstheblessed) and Kirti Tewani (@kirtitewani) share what it really looks like to build a career online while staying grounded offline.

Jess calls herself an “accidental creator.” After casually posting hair videos, one went viral - 46 million views in under three weeks, while she was still working full-time in criminal justice. The sudden visibility was thrilling and disorienting, but with support and boundaries, she found a rhythm: mission-driven work by day, creativity by night. Kirti’s journey began after motherhood made the long, unpredictable schedule of makeup artistry unsustainable. During the pandemic she launched a supplement brand, posted on TikTok for marketing, and unexpectedly went viral. She soon gained 80K followers in a month, then jumped from 4K to 120K on Instagram in a week.

Both now navigate two worlds - the everyday one and the digital one. To stay centered, they set firm boundaries. Jess keeps work and content separate and even created a “So You Want to Start a Business” group at her agency to manage questions. Kirti refuses all family-based partnerships, keeping her kids fully offline for their safety and privacy, even when turning down major money.

Their advice for creators: slow down, learn the craft, trust your intuition and stop chasing comparison. Growth does not need to be rocket-fast to be meaningful. Jess reframes consistency as a habit that builds over time. Kirti uses data to improve content without compromising her values.

Their message for brands: give creators creative freedom. Kirti’s community recognizes her in a simple black tank top, forcing a neon look makes the content feel less authentic. Jess rejects rigid scripts that don’t sound like her voice. And both prefer opt-in PR over surprise boxes at the door.

Together, they show that influence is not about going viral, it’s about boundaries, integrity and building a career that feels true to who you are.

If you are a creator trying to navigate your own boundaries or a brand trying to build better partnerships, this episode is full of nuance and real talk from two women who live it every day. For more information on these guests check out their socials @kirtitewani & @jessstheblessed and Jess’s new website jessstheblessed.com!