Alumni

Grad Jenna Phalouka is Brand Marketing Manager for Star Peyton List's Pley Beauty

Born in San Diego, California, and raised in Queen Creek, Arizona, Jenna Phalouka attended Poston Butte High School before taking courses at Central Arizona Community College. She received her Esthetician License at Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology, and in 2018 she graduated from FIDM with her Professional Studies in Beauty Industry Management Degree. She is now the Brand Marketing Manager for Cobra Kai star Peyton List's new beauty brand Pley Beauty. We caught up with Jenna to learn more.

Tell us about Pley Beauty's popup event going on in DTLA until this Sunday, March 13: To celebrate the launch of Pley Beauty, we launched a pop-up event in Downtown LA where makeup lovers could experience the world of Pley Beauty in real life. We developed a sky-high playground that's full of surprises - from a roller skating rink, to a pink moonbounce, swings, slides, it's basically the adult playground of your dreams! The pop-up is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until March 13th and tickets are actually free; encouraging everyone and anyone to come and PLEY. In addition to all the fun activities, you can experience our products in our beauty room, test/swatch to your heart's desires, purchase product and special merch at a discount, and get a free PLEY THINGS face gem applied onto you by our staff.

Pley Beauty invitation to popup event in Downtown Los Angeles 2022

Tell us more about Pley Beauty: Pley Beauty introduces a more bold, playful side to clean beauty. Founded by celebrity and actress Peyton List, Pley Beauty offers products that are cruelty-free, sustainable, made with skin-loving ingredients but yet offers vibrant, high-performing pigments—something you don't traditionally see in the clean makeup space in the beauty industry. Pley encourages you to be creative, to be bold, and play with makeup however makes you happy.

Tell us about your role: As Brand Marketing Manager for Pley Beauty, my responsibilities span across a lot of areas but mainly serve as the central hub between all departments. I have my hands in lots of areas but the main categories are: 1) Working with Product Development; 2) Managing content on digital platforms; 3) Leading production for events and photoshoots; and 4) Serving as the key contact for external partnerships.

1) I work with Product Development on upcoming launches and have responsibilities such as competitive analysis, leading feedback for formula development, and crafting product marketing copy that will serve across all marketing channels.

2) I assist in writing copy and merchandising web pages for our Pleyground blog that's on www.pleybeauty.com and develop email marketing briefs that go out to our database.

3) Whether it be event production or photoshoot production, I am the lead project manager. From concept to execution, I work with all types of creatives and talents to bring our campaign/product launches to life and project manage every step of the way.

4) I serve as the contact for our external partnerships, one is RePurpose Global. Working as the point of contact between the partner and the Pley Marketing team to request/deliver assets needed for any and all projects.

What do you love about working in the beauty industry: I have always been obsessed with makeup since I was a young girl. I always envisioned growing up that I'd be a celebrity makeup artist or one day have my own cosmetic line, but FIDM has opened my eyes to so many things outside of that. Once I got a peek behind the silver curtain of what it was like to work behind the scenes for a beauty brand, I was hooked. It's so fascinating to see all the hard work that goes into launching a product/brand. It is so rewarding in a million ways and there's no better feeling than being able to get involved hands-on and bring something to life. The beauty industry is filled with so much love, passion and creativity. It's constantly evolving so it's always fun and NEVER boring!

How did FIDM help prepare you for your career? FIDM certainly opened my eyes to realize that anything is possible. I chose FIDM over other colleges because whether it was my major, or my career choice, I didn't feel pressured in having to choose between only a few options. Choosing something as marketing for a career, FIDM helped me realize there's 10,000 different paths just within marketing. For example: I started off doing Social Media, then jumped to Digital Marketing, then now in Brand Marketing. I don't at all feel stuck and limited in my career. FIDM gave me the tools for learning flexible skills that I can apply in so many areas of marketing and adapt to different companies/brands. FIDM also helped me network and create connections I wouldn't find anywhere else. I learned after college that a degree can get you a certain distance, but the connections and relationships you build will propel you farther in life and can open so many doors for you, even years and years later!