A STUDENT OF BEAUTY

Gabbi Pascua spent most of her adult life as a TV makeup artist and the owner of a skincare practice she built from nothing. Then a quiet idea about producing a documentary turned into four years, a co-founded production company, and a complete reinvention she never fully planned for.
In this episode, she gets honest about what that pivot actually required: the clarity she wishes she'd had before her first partnership meeting, how to tell the difference between real confidence and performance when the stakes are high, and the imposter syndrome of stepping from makeup artist into showrunner, managing teams across three countries while learning the job in real time.
If you're mid-pivot, building a partnership, or trying to be taken seriously before you feel like you've earned it, this one's for you.

Our daily audio exclusive brings you behind the curtain of ASOB Media & the team's upcoming travels. A summer that slowed to a near stop became a lesson in acceptance. Gabbi Pascua shares what stillness taught her about leading as a co-founder, learning to receive support, and letting go of control, and why she's entering a busy fall more ready than ever. If you're building something and the pace isn't what you planned, this one's for you.

It's prep week. In a few days, Alan and I head to France to take our project to market, sitting down with the networks, studios, and distributors who decide what gets seen next. It's our second year doing this, and this time, everything feels different.
In this first entry of a new mini-series documenting the lead-up to this trip, I talk through what changed in the last twelve months, the shift from splitting my time between production and leadership, the lessons in delegation and trust, and the maturing process that came with four years of building something from nothing. I share the one thing I refuse to compromise on when pitching my work, why I've been hesitant to show up on this podcast, and the tension I'm sitting with between being open with you and protecting what Alan and I are still building.
This is the start of bringing you along for the ride, not a polished recap, but the real version of what it looks like to build a media company and take a creative idea to a global market.

Host Gabbi Pascua shares her experience completing a 21-day Daniel Fast, giving up caffeine and processed foods, to reconnect spiritually and regain energy. She talks honestly about grief, creativity, and why vulnerability is her practice.
Gabbi explains how the fast brought clarity, eased anxiety, inspired lifestyle changes, and renewed her commitment to joy and content creation while inviting listeners to join her on the journey.

Twenty-four hours into a social media detox, Gabbi Pascua picked up her phone and recorded this. Not because it was planned, but because the clarity came on a walk, and she needed to say it out loud. In this episode, she names the fear she's been carrying: wanting to step into the creator and public-facing space but stopping herself from it. She talks about the podcast she started in 2018 and put down because of a seed of doubt, what it's like to navigate funding rounds for a media company while figuring out what it means to be a woman in her mid-to-late 30s, and why stepping away from social gave her the creativity, confidence, and clarity to finally step in.

There's a cost to building something. Time. Relationships. The version of yourself you thought you were supposed to be. In this episode, Gabbi Pascua gets honest about what it's actually cost her to build ASOB Media and the documentary series A Study on Beauty: missed family moments, letting go of material things, and shedding an identity she outgrew. She's in the middle of it right now, and she's sharing what that actually looks like. For anyone who is building something and wondering if it's worth it.
Finding Beauty Every Day is an audio exclusive from A Study on Beauty.

Being seen is something I have been quietly struggling with for over a decade. And in this episode of Finding Beauty Every Day, I'm finally talking about it.
I spent 15 years as a professional makeup artist working in LA, in entertainment, in television. I was trained to stay behind the scenes. And even now, as a co-founder of ASOB Media and creator of A Study on Beauty, showing up on camera, using my voice, putting myself out there has been one of the hardest muscles to build.
In this episode, I share three things that have genuinely helped:
Showing up makes you a better communicator. The cringe is part of the process. It gets better the more you do it.
Nobody cares about what you're doing. But they do care when it relates to them. That distinction changes everything.
The right people show up for you. In your community, in your process, in your corner. And the ones who don't? Let them go.
I also get honest about deleting a blog in 2013 out of fear, getting removed from jobs because of social media, and why I finally decided to just push through.
If you've been holding back from showing up, this one is for you.
Follow @astudentofbeauty on Instagram, TikTok, Substack, and Threads.
host @gabbipascua
Produced by ASOB Media.

What does it mean to find beauty in starting over? In this episode, Gabbi Pascua gets honest about taking a leap of faith at 32, spending four years unrooted, and arriving at the most fulfilled she's ever been. She talks about comparison, the pressure of being a woman in her mid-thirties, and why she believes fulfillment can't happen without truth. If you've ever felt the pull to do something different and haven't jumped yet, this one is for you.

In this episode of Finding Beauty Every Day, Gabbi gets honest about navigating a challenging season: no permanent address, four years of constant change across Asia, Europe, and the US, and the quiet work of figuring out what actually grounds her when external validation stops being enough.
She shares three practices that have genuinely helped her find beauty in the everyday, not because they're trendy, but because they work for her. Sleep and the discipline around it. Morning meditation and the science behind why those first five minutes matter. And movement, even when you really don't want to.
She also reflects on what beauty has taught her this week: that concealer can only hide so much, and that saying "I'm not okay" might be the first real step toward actually being okay.
This is a show about finding what works for you, not following someone else's formula.

Joy isn't a mood. It's a practice. In this episode of Finding Beauty Every Day, Gabbi gets honest about navigating a heavy season — loss, transition, and uncertainty — and what it looks like to intentionally search for joy when it doesn't come naturally. From a journal she once called "The Good Things Journal" to noticing golden hour light and listening for laughter in public spaces, she shares the small, real ways she's been finding beauty in the everyday. Plus: a peek at what's coming this summer, including a How to Shop series for global travelers.
 
Follow us on instagram @astudentofbeauty @gabbipascua