👧🏻 ABOUT THIS EPISODEShe was sick in bed, scrolling her inbox, and almost deleted the email as spam. It was Cengage (Milady’s parent company) asking her to be a contributing author on the next aesthetics edition because they’d found her teaching skin of color on TikTok. Six months later, she was on a set in LA shooting facial demos for twelve hours straight. Armenthia Carr, ASCP’s 2026 Esthetician of the Year, joins Laura and Brandy from just over the bridge in North Little Rock.This one is for anyone who’s ever felt boxed in by their license. Armenthia has built a thousand-student teaching career, an online CE company, a textbook credit, and a corrective skin practice, all inside the scope of an esthetics license. Along the way, she gets honest about what schools still aren’t teaching about melanin-rich skin, why following a brand protocol without reading the skin in front of you is malpractice-adjacent, and why “AI won’t take your job, but somebody using AI will.”🧠 WHAT YOU’LL LEARNHow many careers actually live inside an esthetics license (teaching, CE sponsorship, textbook authorship, brand education, social media), and why the treatment table alone won’t hold up your back for thirty yearsWhy a brand protocol is a starting point, not a prescription, and what happens when you put salicylic acid on dry, acneic skin because the sheet said toHow to learn ingredients instead of product lines, so you can still serve a client when you run out of your favorite brandWhat the education gap around skin of color actually looks like from inside a classroom, and how to close it for yourselfThe “loud and right” rule: how to research a position (medical journals, dermatologists, podcasts) before you advocate for it, and how to own it publicly when you’re wrongHow an AI dermoscope changes the client conversation from “trust me” to “look at this”⏱️ CHAPTERS(00:00) Meet Armenthia Carr, Esthetician of the Year(04:48) Chicago Beauty School to Arkansas Homecoming(08:38) Becoming a Milady Textbook Author(13:17) Building IAMA Artistry Online(17:17) The Skin of Color Education Gap(20:09) Protocols Versus Reading the Skin(25:13) Mentorship: My Ceiling, Your Floor(32:27) Inside the SmartSKN AI Dermoscope(40:47) Using AI Without Losing Soul(43:26) Becoming the Woman You Needed(46:23) Wrap & Farewell💡 TIP OF THE WEEK Before your next facial, pull the ingredient deck for every product on your shelf and learn what’s actually doing the work, not what the brand’s protocol card tells you to reach for. The day you run out of your go-to serum mid-week, ingredient knowledge is the only thing that lets you finish the appointment without wrecking someone’s barrier.🛍️ PRODUCT OF THE WEEKSmartSKN AI Dermoscope, a handheld device that images skin at 60x, reads moisture levels, and merges it all with a client questionnaire to return skin type, hydration, wrinkle depth, sensitivity, redness, and oil production. Armenthia has run 100+ scans and says it hasn’t missed yet. Head to the For Professionals tab, and you get a one-on-one onboarding with her when you buy.🔗 RESOURCES & MENTIONSArmenthia Carr, esthetician, educator, mentor, and advocate for skin of color; ASCP’s 2026 Esthetician of the YearIAMA Artistry, iamaartistry.com, Armenthia’s education company and the best way to reach her or book a class. Approved CE sponsor in Illinois for hair, skin, nails, hair braiding, and instructors. Classes in microneedling, dermaplaning, chemical peels, threading, sugaring, and more, one-on-one or group📅 Book a facial with Armenthia at Ur Skin Therapist, 812 Reservoir Rd, Little Rock, AR. Corrective skin care: consultations, signature facials, chemical peels, microneedling, acne and teen treatments, waxing, threading, lashes, and brow lamination📖 Booked, Paid & Unapologetic, available on Amazon, a step-by-step guide to the business side of a beauty career, for anyone tired of undercharging and overexplainingSmartSKN, smartskn.com, the AI dermoscope and custom Korean skincare line Armenthia serves as Director of Education for. Professional device info lives under the For Professionals tabMilady (Cengage), the standard aesthetics and cosmetology textbook. Armenthia is a contributing author on the upcoming aesthetics edition and shot the facial video content in LA; release expected late this year into nextAssociated Skin Care Professionals (ASCP), ascpskincare.com, where the Esthetician of the Year feature and full write-up are online in the magazineTalk about ingredients, not brands: salicylic acid vs. benzoyl peroxide for acne on dry skin; hydroquinone used correctly; balancing and repairing the barrier before treating pigment✨ HIGHLIGHTS“If you’re not willing to put in the work, I’m not the esthetician for you. You’d waste your money and both of our time. I can refer you to somebody else.”“My ceiling is your floor. Everything I know, I’m going to teach you, and it’s your job to grow with it.”“In order to be loud about something, you have to be loud and right, not loud and wrong.”“A brand can give you a protocol. But if they’re not physically looking at the skin, you can have acne and dry skin at the same time.”Social media: “You can be the best in the business, but if nobody knows about it, it doesn’t matter.”“AI is not going to take your job, but somebody using AI will.”“AI can’t touch people. AI can’t have that emotional connection with the client. Only you can do that.”“This is a trillion-dollar industry. There’s plenty to go around.”When teaching: “I want you to feel like a towel that’s been wrung out at the end of the day. This is your education, so ask me everything.”“That license opened more doors for me than my four-year degree ever did.”💥 CONNECT WITH US🎥 YouTube: @PrettySmartTooPod📸 Instagram: @PrettySmartTooPod🎵 TikTok: @PrettySmartToo👥 Facebook: Pretty Smart Too🌐 Website: prettysmarttoo.com🙌 LOVED THIS EPISODE? Follow Pretty Smart Too on Apple Podcasts & YouTube - and leave us a review! It helps more people find the show. We read every single one. 💗Wishing you love, peace, & great skin! Laura & Brandy XOXO 💋 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit prettysmarttoo.substack.com
👧🏻 ABOUT THIS EPISODEA teenager on a Young Democrats field trip sees the Rock the Vote bus parked in Little Rock and thinks: I want to be part of something bigger than me. Thirty-something years later, that same girl is a therapist, a mom of three, and, by her own description, “a very quiet and reserved person,” but now she's knocking on doors in Ward 2 in El Dorado, AR, running against an eighteen-year incumbent. Amy Smith is an underdog, and she knows it. She also isn’t a quitter.This one is about what it actually takes to raise your hand and show up for your community. Amy walks through what a city council member really does, why the flooded streets on the west side never seem to make the priority list, and the honest math of a town where over 50% of voters turn out for a presidential race and barely 15–18% show up for the local one that decides whether your street gets repaired. You’ll also get the practical stuff: what documents you need, where to go, and the date you have to beat in order to vote in this election.🧠 WHAT YOU’LL LEARNWhat a city council member actually does day-to-day: ordinances, the city budget, and being the voice for residents who aren’t being heardWhy local elections decide more of your daily life than the big onesHow Amy plans to represent a ward that holds some of El Dorado’s wealthiest and poorest householdsExactly what you need to register to vote in Arkansas and the deadline to beatThe best advice for any woman thinking about running: don’t wait until you know everything⏱️ CHAPTERS:(00:00) Cold Open — The Rock the Vote Bus(01:13) Welcome, Amy Smith — Ward 2, El Dorado(01:35) Thirty Years of Friendship, Theater & Birthday Music Videos(03:35) What Does a City Council Member Actually Do?(03:54) One Ward, Two Very Different Realities(04:50) Short West 2nd Street & a 23% Poverty Rate(05:52) Food Insecurity, No Grocery Stores, No Bus(06:54) Why She’s Running(07:28) The Streets That Flood & Never Get Fixed(08:16) What It Means to Run as a Woman(10:09) The Issues: Housing, Privacy & Drainage(10:53) Her Campaign Message(12:22) Underdog vs. an 18-Year Incumbent(13:48) What Female Empowerment Means to Amy(14:43) Advice for Women Who Want to Run(16:31) The Turnout Gap: 50% vs. 18%(17:07) How to Register — Documents, Places & Dates(18:27) Bill Clinton, Little Rock & the Spark(19:19) Wrap & Farewell💡 TIP OF THE WEEK:Register to vote in Arkansas — Arkansas Secretary of State: Voter Registration Information. 🔗 RESOURCES & MENTIONS:Amy S. Smith for El Dorado City Council, Ward 2 — therapist, mom to May, Owen and Reagan, and a first-time candidate running on inclusivity, infrastructure, affordable housing, and residents’ right to privacyRegister to vote in Arkansas — Arkansas Secretary of State: Voter Registration Information. You can also register at your county clerk’s office, the library, or the DMVCheck your registration status — Arkansas VoterView📅 Register by Monday, October 5th — Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. (2026 election dates)Rock the Vote — the bus in Little Rock that started all of this for a teenage Amy at a Bill Clinton rallyMichelle Obama — “There’s no limit to what we as women can accomplish”Madonna, “Express Yourself” — “Express yourself, don’t repress yourself,” Amy’s 90s-kid definition of empowermentLend Me a Tenor — the last show Laura and Amy did on stage together in El Dorado at South Arkansas Arts Center✨ HIGHLIGHTS:“Government should work for the people and by the people, not just for some people, by some people.”“One thing that I’ve learned about myself is that I’m not a quitter, even when the odds are against me.”“I’m usually a very quiet and reserved person, but this is a very important calling.”“Don’t wait until the timing’s perfect. Don’t wait until you think you know everything. Go out there, and you can learn as you go.”“They feel like their area is being neglected. I’m running to help them feel more included and heard.”“I hope the next generation, like my daughters, sees me being brave, taking risks, and is inspired to do the same.”“Not voting is a vote against yourself.” 💥 CONNECT WITH US:🎥 YouTube: @PrettySmartTooPod📸 Instagram: @PrettySmartTooPod🎵 TikTok: @PrettySmartToo👥 Facebook: Pretty Smart Too🌐 Website: prettysmarttoo.com🙌 LOVED THIS EPISODE:Follow Pretty Smart Too on Apple Podcasts & YouTube - and leave us a review! It helps more people find the show. We read every single one. 💗Wishing you love, peace, & great skin!Laura & BrandyXOXO 💋 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit prettysmarttoo.substack.com
👧🏻 ABOUT THIS EPISODE:Laura is standing in her bathroom, hair up, holding a nearly empty serum bottle she has cut open with scissors so she can scrape the last two days out of it with a cleaned makeup brush. “I’m only human after all.” That is the exact energy of this one lol. Twenty years of esthetician credentials delivered while yelling SCRUB, SCRUB, SCRUB and telling you to “exfoliate your dang chest already, honey.”You’ll walk away with her full morning routine in order: ZO Exfoliating Cleanser, ZO Exfoliating Polish, ZO Oil Control Pads or ZO Complexion Renewal Pads or MediCube Zero Pore Pad, ZO Exfoliation Accelerator, ZO Illuminating AOX Serum, ZO Intense Eye Cream, Mama Sol SPF …plus the why behind each step, and the second half of the episode Laura gets honest about turning 50 soon, losing over 52 pounds since January 3rd, and the small daily changes that actually moved the needle.🧠 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:The #1 mistake clients make is never getting their skin truly clean, and how adding a 60-second-twice double cleanse fixes it. Remember your treatment products do not penetrate well enough into dirty skin. How Laura exfoliates every single day without wrecking her moisture barrier (and what makes that possible)The one product almost nobody talks about that exfoliates under your makeup all day without lifting itWhich exfoliating pads match your skin type and the $21 drugstore-priced set that genuinely holds upThe SPF rules that matter more than the brand, including the spot everyone forgetsThe unglamorous habit changes behind a 52-pound loss: food prep, minerals, spring water, and cutting alcohol⏱️ CHAPTERS:(00:00) Welcome — Laura’s Turn in the Bathroom(00:47) The Cleanser She Won’t Live Without + The #1 Mistake(03:09) The Double Cleanse: 60 Seconds, Twice (03:30) Yes, She Exfoliates Every Single Day(07:05) Renewal Pads vs. Exfoliating Pads + The $21 Find(09:18) Exfoliation Accelerator: The Product Nobody Talks About(13:02) AOX Serum & The “Little Murderers”(14:45) Eye Cream, Weak Fingers & Happy Jobs(17:20) SPF — Use The One You’ll Actually Wear(20:40) Turning 50 & Losing 52 Pounds Since January 3rd(24:18) Hydration, Minerals & Ditching Table Salt(25:43) Why She Stopped Drinking (and the Red Wine Myth)(26:45) Clean Beauty, Lead Testing & “H2O Is A Chemical”(29:33) Wrap & Farewell💡 TIP OF THE WEEK:Cleanse for a full 60 seconds, rinse, then do it again for another 60. Two minutes total, morning and night. Nearly every “my products aren’t working” problem starts with skin that was never actually clean.🔗 RESOURCES / MENTIONS & LINKS TO PURCHASE:ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Cleanser — Laura’s every-single-day cleanser, ideal for normal to oily skinZO Skin Health Exfoliating Polish — crushed magnesium crystals; 20 years in, and she hasn’t found betterZO Skin Health Complexion Renewal Pads & Exfoliating Polish Pads — renewal for sensitive/dry, exfoliating for tougher, oilier skinMediCube Zero Pore Pads — Laura’s loving these! ZO Skin Health Exfoliation Accelerator — the daytime, under-makeup exfoliant she says has no equal on the marketZO Skin Health Illuminating AOX Serum — vitamins A, C and E fighting free radicals, with light-reflecting illuminatorsMama Sol SPF — zinc oxide, lavender, glass bottle; plus their eye SPF and lip SPF. Doesn’t sting through hot yoga or a sweaty Northwest Arkansas bike rideLucy Lindsey — Laura’s sister and the source of the “start where the pigment is” application tip. Beautiful products, honestly underpricedVe Neill Brushes — the makeup brush that rescued the last drop of AOXBareMinerals, Jane Iredale & MakeUp Forever — the powders and contour stick that finish the lookBaja Mineral Sea Salt — 90 plus essential minerals intact, no additives; Laura’s swap for stripped-down table salt✨ HIGHLIGHTS:“It’s killing them. It’s little murderers. It’s going deep and it’s fighting .. it’s fighting really hard for you.”“You exfoliate your skin every day? Are you crazy? Is your moisture barrier wrecked? No. It’s not.”“It’s a happy finger with a happy job.”“I don’t work for them anymore. I pay full price.”“H2O is a chemical. I’m doing the best I can.”“I’m proud of you, whoever you are out there listening. It’s not easy to get started, but you gotta get started.”💥 CONNECT WITH US:🎥 YouTube: @PrettySmartTooPod📸 Instagram: @PrettySmartTooPod🎵 TikTok: @PrettySmartToo👥 Facebook: Pretty Smart Too🌐 Website: prettysmarttoo.com🙌 LOVED THIS EPISODE:Follow Pretty Smart Too on Apple Podcasts & YouTube - and leave us a review! It helps more people find the show. We read every single one. 💗Wishing you love, peace, & great skin!Laura & BrandyXOXO 💋 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit prettysmarttoo.substack.com
🙉 ABOUT THIS EPISODE:“Brandy, who’s gonna do all that every morning?” If you’ve ever looked at a seven-step routine and thought exactly that, this one’s for you. We’re live from the bathroom, freshly showered, walking you through the real, unfiltered morning skincare lineup an oily girl swears by. From why the scalp is skin too, to the one product that makes every other product a waste of money if you skip it.By the end, you’ll have a step-by-step order of operations you can actually follow, permission to stop matching your brands, and the pro tips (bulk buy, break it down, protect your neck) that separate good skin from great skin.🧠 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:Why oily skin may need a daily hair wash and how your scalp and hairline breakouts are connectedThe correct order of operations: cleanse, exfoliate, serum, eye cream, brow serum, hydrate, SPFWhy you don’t have to match your brands The aesthetician bulk-buy trick: purchase the back-bar size and break it down at home for better valueWhy SPF is the single most important step and how the sun can undo everything else⏱️ CHAPTERS:(00:00) Good Morning from the Bathroom(00:28) Why Wash Your Hair Every Day (Your Scalp Is Skin!)(01:45) In the Shower: Cleanse & Exfoliate(03:30) It’s Okay to Mix & Match Brands(04:15) Step 3 — Vitamin C Serum(06:00) Step 4 — Eye Cream(07:15) Step 5 — Brow Boosting Serum(08:10) Step 6 — Hydration for Oily Skin(09:30) Step 7 — The Most Important Step: SPF(11:30) Don’t Forget Your Lips (13:00) Wrap & Farewell💡 TIP OF THE WEEK:Buy your favorite cleanser in the professional back-bar size and pour it into smaller bottles for every shower in your house. You’ll get far better value, and there’s one in reach every single day. Your scalp is skin too, so treat it like it.✨ HIGHLIGHTS:“Your scalp is skin just like on your face, and it must be cleansed, it must be exfoliated.”“You can do all these other things and go sit in the sun all day, and none of that’s gonna work.”“Who wants to have a saggy neck when you have beautiful skin on your face?”For more information about the products Brandy uses, make an appointment with Brandy at Exhale Med Spa in Little Rock, AR. 💥 CONNECT WITH US:🎥 YouTube: @PrettySmartTooPod📸 Instagram: @PrettySmartTooPod🎵 TikTok: @PrettySmartToo👥 Facebook: Pretty Smart Too🌐 Website: prettysmarttoo.com🙌 LOVED THIS EPISODE:Follow Pretty Smart Too on Apple Podcasts & YouTube - and leave us a review! It helps more people find the show. We read every single one. 💗Wishing you love, peace, & great skin!Laura & BrandyXOXO 💋 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit prettysmarttoo.substack.com
👧🏻 ABOUT THIS EPISODE:Reunited in the same state at last! Laura is talking quietly in an echoey, furniture-free new Arkansas house while Brandy juggles a brand-new gig at Exhale Med Spa alongside running The Spa at Rockwater. The girls turn the mic toward their thirteen-year-old selves. What advice would they give little Laura and little Brandy? The answers get real fast: passivity, people-pleasing, fear, and the myth that hard work has to mean running yourself into the ground.You’ll walk away with a warm, funny, and surprisingly moving set of life lessons about trusting your gut, celebrating your own wins, saying what you actually mean, and learning that rest is something you’ve earned and not something you have to justify. And in true PST fashion, the most important beauty lesson of the episode has nothing to do with skincare at all.🧠 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:Why saying what you mean beats going with the flow, and how a lifetime of being “passive” quietly costs youHow to trust your gut about people the first time they show you who they areWhy sensitivity is emotional intelligence, not weaknessThe “work hard, play hard” reframe: you can hustle AND actually rest without guiltHow connection (not correction) is what really reaches a nervous teenager in your chair⏱️ CHAPTERS:(00:00) Catching Up: Brandy’s New Med Spa Gig & Laura’s Arkansas Move(07:05) Welcome Back to Pretty Smart Too(07:58) Life Lessons We Learned the Hard Way(13:28) Advice to Our 13-Year-Old Selves(19:23) Myth vs. Reality: Success, Confidence & Sensitivity(24:24) The Teen Client & Why Connection Beats Correction(26:32) Wrap & Farewell💡 TIP OF THE WEEK:Put your rest on the calendar the same way you put in your work. Block the pool day, book the massage, and take the afternoon. You already earned it; you don’t have to justify it.✨ HIGHLIGHTS:“Believe who people are the first time they show you. Trust your gut instinct.”“You can work hard, and you can relax. You worked hard. It’s time to play hard.”“Being a sensitive person means you’re empathetic. That does not mean you are weak.”💥 CONNECT WITH US:🎥 YouTube: @PrettySmartTooPod📸 Instagram: @PrettySmartTooPod🎵 TikTok: @PrettySmartToo👥 Facebook: Pretty Smart Too🌐 Website: prettysmarttoo.com🙌 LOVED THIS EPISODE:Follow Pretty Smart Too on Apple Podcasts & YouTube - and leave us a review! It helps more people find the show. We read every single one. 💗Wishing you love, peace, & great skin!Laura & BrandyXOXO 💋 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit prettysmarttoo.substack.com