Beauty Store Business

JUL 2016

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34 July 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com "My family owned a store that supplied a lot of famous makeup artists in the United Kingdom," Manning says. Indeed, not only was she raised in a family whose business was cosmetics; but Manning would go on to receive her training at the Bobbi Brown Program of Makeup Artistry at Emerson College. After working as a professional freelance artist, Manning decided to merge her early experiences and formal education to launch her own brand: Velvet 59. "I created the brand two years ago and officially launched in July of 2015," Manning says. "The biggest challenge I faced was people not taking me seriously because of my age. I'd go into meetings and no one would listen to me, or they would try and tell me to get another job in something that suited my age." While some young entrepreneurs are admired for their extraordinary success, Manning's age has, most often, been something to be overcome rather than celebrated. "Age plays a huge role in this industry," Manning says. "You [must] have a wealth of knowledge on both sides—the makeup-artist side and the business side, which takes time and dedication. Not many people will dedicate that to a business. But if you want to win, you have to know how to play the game." Manning has figured out how to win at that game by focusing on creating bulletproof, quality products. "My vision for Velvet 59 was to have a brand that women could rely on and know they weren't wasting their money on, and know that they were buying beautiful, good-quality products they could wear every day," she says. With those goals in mind, Manning created a line that was completely vegan, cruelty-free, and paraben- and gluten-free. Some of Velvet 59's most successful products have included the Matte to the Max Liquid Lipsticks and The Exotic Lotus Palette. The overall feedback—especially from fellow makeup artists—has been overwhelming. "Watching some of the world's most famous makeup artists use something I created and love it [has been a major milestone]. One of my favorite makeup artists, Mario Dedivanovic, used my products in his master class and called me out from the stage in front of hun- dreds of students to openly praise the brand," Manning recalls. "It was a huge moment for me because those artists are people I really respect; to have them praise my products is incredible." As for the future of Velvet 59, Manning is currently working on opening the brand's first flagship store in California, which she says is a dream come true. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BE TEACHABLE Having experienced so much success at such a young age, Paris Manning has had to endure it all—learning a few valuable lessons in the process. "Always be open to learn from other people, never think you know it all, and always treat everyone the way you want to be treated in return." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "I don't feel that age matters, and it's more about the passion you have. Some find it earlier than others, but it's the passion that is going to push you forward." Mireya Villarreal Founder/Designer, Pink Pewter Age: 40 pinkpewter.com IG/ Twitter: @pinkpewter FB: facebook.com/pinkpewter Raychel Harrison CEO, Nuuvo Haircare Age: 34 nuuvohaircare.com salonnuuvo.com IGs: @raychelharrison, @nuuvohaircare, @salonnuuvo "Put your heart into your product and what you believe. Try to make people happy, and you'll always be successful," says Mireya Villarreal, who lives by this quote on a daily basis. Given the extraordinary success of her accessories line, Pink Pewter, it's clear that passion has paid off. "My roots are as a stylist," she says. "Even though I initially received my degree in communications, the beauty industry has always had my heart, and I couldn't deny my passion there," she says. When she became a full-fledged stylist, Villarreal took joy in making women beautiful— whether it was via a blowout or a fresh set of highlights. However, she observed something was missing. "These women feel so beautiful once they leave the salon. But I felt that I wanted to offer more in between our appointments," she says. "On the flip side, I loved wearing hair accessories and putting them on my daughter; but I couldn't help but remain frustrated that they hurt or gave me a headache or just outright broke on me!" Combining her love for couture hair accessories, and her passion for making women feel beautiful, Villarreal launched a line of fashionable hair accessories that women could use to transform their hair on a daily basis. "It was definitely tough in the beginning, especially when creating a product that can, by the fashion world, be defined as a 'trend,'" she says. However, Villarreal had already developed a knack for identifying trends and, ultimately, defying them with universal styles. "This was something that made women feel beautiful, and to create that feeling is to create something timeless." Beginning with a small collection of headbands and clips, Pink Pewter soon grew to encompass all types of accessories and jewelry products. And they were instantly beloved by customers all over the map. "I'd have to say, seeing the look on women's faces [as they wore] Pink Pewter, realizing that it's so easy to do, is something I am still awestruck by every day," Villarreal says. "It's what drives me to constantly challenge myself to think outside of the box and keep creating new innovative designs." With its reputation growing in positive feedback every day, and its product line expanding to include hairstyling products, such as a combo dry shampoo/ volumizer, Pink Pewter is primed for rapid growth. "With our website [pinkpewter.com] now available to all consumers, there's no limit to getting Pink Pewter products in the hands of creative stylists and fashionis- tas alike! Having these women rocking Pink Pewter can only mean one thing—we're taking over the industry!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PASSION PROJECTS Mireya Villarreal runs her business with passion first— which she says defies all kinds of challenges, even age. "I don't feel that age matters, and it's more about the passion you have. Some find it earlier than others, but it's the passion that is going to push you forward. Having a background and experience in the beauty industry definitely helped me relate to the market. As long I continue to challenge myself and be 'in the know' of what customers want, it will remain beneficial. Then, at that point, age is simply a number!" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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