She Built a Beauty Empire Doing the Opposite of Everyone Else in the Industry | Dianna Cohen
She Built a Beauty Empire Doing the Opposite of Everyone Else in the Industry | Dianna Cohen  
Podcast: Not Alone
Published On: Wed Sep 09 2026
Description: We live in a world that has made being a founder a whole personality: move fast, be visible, build in public, become the brand, and make sure everyone sees how hard you're working. Dianna Cohen built Crown Affair by doing almost the exact opposite. Crown Affair is at Sephora and Goop, with Gwyneth Paltrow as one of its earliest investors. But this conversation isn't really about beauty. Dianna built her company around three words: "take your time". And a few years into building it, she made a decision most founders would struggle to make: she stepped down as CEO after realizing her nervous system wasn't built for the way she'd been leading. We talk about why slowness can be a strategy, what it means to lead from feminine energy, the difference between being an operator and a creator, and why creativity and intuition deserve a place in leadership conversations. Dianna also shares what burnout taught her, why our bodies often know things before our brains do, and the line I haven't stopped thinking about: when everything in you says push harder, sometimes the answer is to do the opposite. This episode is for anyone tired of moving at everyone else's pace, and wondering whether success really has to cost you your sanity. New episodes of Not Alone every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one. Follow Dianna: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diannacohen TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@diannacohen Crown Affair: https://crownaffair.com/ Take Your Time Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/take-your-time/id1896516883 Substack: https://dianna.substack.com/ Follow Valeria: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valerialipovetsky TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@valeria.lipovetsky Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valerialipovetskyblog Follow Not Alone: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notalonepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notalone.pod Podcast: https://www.notalonepod.com/ Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/valerialipovetsky What we talked about: 2:02 Meeting in Miami four years ago 3:31 Building a world around taking your time 5:13 Time is the ultimate luxury 6:25 It started from a Google Doc 9:02 Getting into beauty and why ignorance is bliss 10:39 Two years of nights and weekends before going all in 12:45 The bathroom as a sacred space 14:11 Is slowness actually a strategy? 16:48 What she gained by going slow 17:43 Stepping down as CEO 19:27 Couples therapy for a founder and operator 20:04 The nervous system that wasn't built for the way she was leading 20:32 Do the opposite of what your brain is telling you 20:52 “Happy people don't start companies” 22:36 Gary and Valeria's own sabotage 26:33 Operator vs. creator 27:44 The fear of being seen 30:35 Why the CMO should be the last hire 32:46 Creativity and feminine energy in a masculine industry 35:23 What feminine energy looks like in practice 36:04 Intuition is a hard skill 39:30 Playing in the sandbox again 42:28 Why isn't creativity in leadership books? 45:15 The Artist's Way 48:53 Trust vs. faith 52:04 Why we don't talk enough about the nervous system 52:55 Our bodies speak a different language than our brains 55:36 Growing up in a household that didn't allow crying 58:14 Scarcity and learning to receive abundance 1:00:22 Success with emptiness inside 1:03:03 Lessons from iconic women she worked for 1:05:40 Founder culture and cosplaying CEO 1:07:18 Expert, creator, celebrity and product brands 1:08:57 The triangle of delusion 1:11:37 How many people you move—not how many you reach 1:12:00 Why she'll never build in public 1:16:33 The two-phone trick for Instagram addiction 1:19:37 What women should understand about creativity 1:21:30 Rapid fire 1:25:30 What women aren't saying out loud Disclaimer:The links in this description are sponsor or affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a credit or commission at no additional cost to you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices