Hej, predivna! Spremna za malo ljepote i inspiracije?

Hey gorgeous! Ready for a little beauty and inspiration?

In the next installment of our International Women’s Month series, I want to take a wider lens than last week, when I shared how integral women are to my business. Now, let’s explore how they are interwoven into one of the fastest growing industries on the planet: the beauty biz. 

Since YouTube makeup tutorials took off in the early 2010s, we’ve seen the birth of “the influencer” as a cultural touchpoint, and a resulting massive explosion of amazing new products. Though makeup is (and always has been) for people of all genders, it’s been dominated by women for the past century, both as consumers and sellers, and especially in the past decade. From an economic standpoint, it’s an EXTREMELY lucrative market; from a social one, it’s fascinating to see women having more of a financial foothold here than in any other industry before.

As a cosmetic entrepreneur myself, I’m constantly looking to the ladies who both came before me and are walking alongside me for inspiration. Join me for a makeup lesson of a different kind – a history one! – and let’s celebrate their incredible achievements. 

Elizabeth Arden

Elizabeth Arden was amongst the earliest examples of the female cosmetic titan that we know and love today; heck, she launched her business before women could legally have checking accounts! Perhaps unsurprisingly, she knew the power of makeup beyond the physical and routinely used it to uplift other ladies; from suffragettes of the early 20th century to servicewomen of World War II, she supplied red lipstick as a badge of support, rebellion, and hope.

Jamie Kern Lima

As the co-founder of IT Cosmetics, Jamie Kern Lima rewrote the rule book when it comes to beauty entrepreneurship. Since launching the brand in 2008, her approach has been consistently personal, vulnerable, and consumer-centric. After selling her company to L’Oréal in 2016, she became the first female CEO at the brand (and made quite the pretty penny to boot). But she hasn’t stopped there; she’s written TWO books since 2021 to help others find their own power.  

Nina Park 

Celebrity makeup artist Nina Park is giving the beauty community a fresh face – and boy, is it a beautiful one. In an era of digitally airbrushed perfection, her simple, polished, “you but better” approach allows her clients to celebrate their features, relying on techniques pulled from both the American and Korean beauty worlds. Her style has taken social media by storm, encouraging fans to embrace the romance in freckles, blurred lips, and soft, subtle lashes (no falsies needed).

Though the beauty biz is far from perfect, it is still special to be part of an industry that is so inherently female. And that just means it’s our privilege to make space for EVERYONE in it, and to make it better for those who will come after us. Imagine how beautiful the world will be – inside and out – with that in our intentions.  

Ljubav, sjaj i poljupci!

Love, shine, and kisses!