Mikayla Nogueira on Filter Rumours, POV Beauty Secrets, “Mascaragate” & Makeup Hot Takes

Carlene Higgins (0:01)

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty.

Jill Dunn (0:14)

We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins.

Carlene Higgins (0:22)

Welcome back to Breaking Beauty Podcast, everyone. We are two longtime beauty editors, turn beauty podcasters. I'm Carlene Higgins and I'm here with my amazing friend and co-host, Jill Dunn.

Jill Dunn (0:34)

Hey, Carlene and hey, everyone. Of course, we are in your feeds each and every Wednesday chatting about the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty. And we have been doing that for more than 450 episodes with epic guests like Tracee Ellis Ross, Makeup By Mario, the Facialist to all of the fashion set, Joanna Chek, and this week we have an incredible casemaker in beauty joining us.

Carlene Higgins (0:56)

This week we're welcoming back self-taught makeup artist, creator and founder who many call the most influential voice in beauty right now, Mikayla Nogueira, also known as Mikayla Makeup.

Mikayla Nogueira (1:08)

Hello, hello.

Jill Dunn (1:09)

I can't believe you're here with us.

Mikayla Nogueira (1:10)

I know. We did it remote so long ago. I know. So cool to be with you in person.

Jill Dunn (1:15)

Thank you so much for being here.

Mikayla first joined us on the podcast way back in 2022 I think she was 23 at the time. We chatted in that conversation about her whole journey from an associate at Ulta to then pivoting to posting on TikTok. In her own words, she went from having nothing to becoming a millionaire in six months and she has legions of fans who are following her every makeup move.

Carlene Higgins (1:40)

Yes. I remember that's when you first tried bangs for the first time. Yes. It was that episode.

We're going to link to it in our show notes. If you guys missed it, you're going to be able to catch up. Today, Mikayla has a staggering 21 million fans across her social media platforms. She's been named on Time 100's creators list, Forbes 30 Under 30 and Forbes Top Creators every single year since its inception.

Jill Dunn (2:07)

Incredible. All of that and she's only 28 years old. In 2025, this is so exciting because Mikayla launched her very own beauty brand called POV, Point of View Beauty.

Carlene Higgins (2:19)

Yes, and it sold out, I think, in its first drop. It surpassed $1 million in revenue in under 10 minutes.

Mikayla Nogueira (2:27)

Three minutes.

Carlene Higgins (2:27)

Oh, three minutes. My goodness, that is mind boggling.

That really made it one of the biggest Shopify launches in history. The brand recently debuted at Sephora in North America as well.

Jill Dunn (2:39)

Big things are happening. Today, we're going to get into those rumors. We've heard about a retail bidding war for POV Beauty. We're going to be talking to Mikayla about building a brand, her thoughts on foundation reformulations, talc-free powders, and of course makeup tips.

Carlene Higgins (2:55)

And Mikayla knows how to court attention all the way to the bank, you could say. So of course, we have to ask her to reflect on some of her more viral moments. And don't forget, every single thing that we mention on the podcast will be linked in our show notes and on our website, breakingbeautypodcast.com. So let's dive in. Welcome, Mikayla.

Mikayla Nogueira (3:16)

Thank you.

Carlene Higgins (3:17)

All right. The last time we saw you, this was way before POV had come into existence. Maybe it was an idea. We didn't know if that version of you could see yourself right now. What would surprise you the most?

Mikayla Nogueira (3:32)

I don't think I would be surprised at all.

Carlene Higgins (3:35)

You must have been like cooking this up behind the scenes so long ago.

Mikayla Nogueira (3:38)

Yeah. I mean, I think I'm someone who's very just driven towards where I want to be. And I'm the type to do literally anything to get there. So I actually had the idea for POV before I was even an influencer. So it actually came when I was working in beauty retail. Because I really noticed the issue that I was trying to solve while I was working on the floor.

So I've had the idea for a really long time. And I was actually the one pitching the idea to investors. You know, they weren't coming to me with an idea. I came to them because I already had the idea.

Carlene Higgins (4:14)

Yeah, OK.

Yeah, that's a big difference because we've interviewed a lot of influencers and celebrities. And some of them have gotten candid. Remember when we had Lily Reinhardt?