Beauty Store Business

JUL 2016

For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!

Issue link: http://beautystorebusiness.epubxp.com/i/687990

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 25 of 115

24 July 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com Linda and Chris Tawil Co-Owners, Morphe Brushes Ages: 36, 39 morphebrushes.com IG/ Twitter: @morphebrushes "When you love what you do, everything else falls into place in an organic and powerful way." Siblings Chris and Linda Tawil may not have gotten their start in the beauty industry, but they have more than successfully navigated it, taking Morphe Brushes from a wholesale company to a thriving retail and online cosmetics brand in just a few years. "[We] came from different backgrounds and had very little industry knowledge; so becoming familiar with this industry was definitely a challenge," Linda says. Their immediate goals were to build the company's audience beyond the trade-show environment, with long-term plans to enter the retail market. "Some of the challenges were having to do everything on our own, traveling over 20 times a year because we couldn't afford to pay people to come help us; driving our product from state to state to avoid paying for freight, to save money; and differentiating the brand in a saturated and competitive landscape," Chris says. By August 2013, Chris and Linda had opened Morphe's first retail location, and had developed new products that would shape the brand's reputation. "The series of brushes have taken on a life of their own. Their look is iconic and distinct, and people gravitate toward the buzz we have created for each collection," Linda says. While Morphe was built on its incredible line of brushes, it's since grown to become so much more, with assorted color palettes—each boasting an incredible value: "Thirty- five shadows for an unbeatable price, and the pigmentation and performance that everyone from professional makeup artists to makeup enthusiasts can appreciate," Chris says of their eye-shadow palettes. Offering quality products at an affordable price is what has set Morphe on a path to become a beloved brand by the online world, nabbing the attention of 1 million fans on social media by 2015—a following that's grown to 2.7 million today. "People are so engaged and so loyal, and every launch is bigger than the next because people trust that our products will not disappoint." Social media and its many influencers have been pow- erful tools for the brand and will continue to pave its future. "We are moving into producing products at a slightly higher price point and a more luxurious quality. This year will mark the introduction of our liquid lipstick collection, and we will be entering nearly every product category and launching several collaborations with massive beauty influencers, who are in the process of creating their own signature products. These are always some of the most exciting launches, and we can't wait to announce everything we've been collaborating on." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY Neither Linda nor Chris Tawil came from the beauty world. But what they did know was business, and they credit their success to a passion for both. "When you love what you do, everything else falls into place in an organic and powerful way," Linda says. "[It was our] passion to always cre- ate affordable products with impeccable quality." Today, they've more than gained the approval of the industry. "We are at the age where we have the wisdom and maturity to make intelligent business decisions, while still remaining fresh and current with what the market is demanding. It has definitely been an advantage. Our professional backgrounds have effortlessly led us to this point; and though it has been a process, the industry now accepts us with open arms." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manna Kadar CEO/Owner, Manna Kadar Cosmetics Age: 35 mannakadarcosmetics.com IG/ Twitter: @mannakcosmetics "When customers come up and say, 'You've really been able to change how I look and feel about myself,' it's one of the highest honors you can get." After starting her own chain of retail cosmetics loca- tions at just 16 years old, Manna Kadar was not a stranger to the demands of the beauty business when she decided to start her own cosmetics brand. However, most of her experience was gained from the other side of the counter—developing relation- ships with consumers and pairing them up with the products that suited their needs. "I opened seven stores in six years," Kadar says. "It was during that time that I had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with male and female consumers, and really chat with them about the challenges they had with makeup. It gave me a really good gauge of what consumers were looking for in the marketplace." Nonetheless, starting a brand was quite the under- taking—especially at the time. "Times have changed quite drastically from when I first started," Kadar says. "Social influencers, blogs—that all came later. Tradi- tional public relations was very different back then. We'd hope to get editorial placement, but when we finally did, it didn't translate into that ROI that I was looking for." To this day, Kadar says it's still a challenge to mea- sure the payoff of targeted social-media efforts. What has been proven to work, however, has been sampling campaigns. "We've had a lot of success with the big box-sample companies. For an emerging brand, it's a whole different marketing piece. People can hold it, try it, get exposed to it." What they're exposed to are Manna Kadar Cosmetics' solution-based products designed and targeted to help makeup novices and professionals alike find easy solutions to everyday cosmetics challenges. "Makeup can be a little bit overwhelming. It's such a mystery at first," Kadar says. "I created a three- step process that really helps the consumer navigate makeup: Prime, polish and perfect." These three steps are built into many of the line's products, allowing makeup newbies to solve three problems at once. "When customers come up and say, 'You've really been able to change how I look and feel about myself,' it's one of the highest honors you can get." From her user-friendly products to her own knack for creating business opportunities, solutions are truly at the heart of Kadar's success story. "On a daily basis, an entrepreneur has any number of challenges—how do you turn a 'no' into a 'yes,' or what's wrong with this product. It's being able to successfully navigate that

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Beauty Store Business - JUL 2016