Hey, Bombshells: Adriana here with a Breaking Into Beauty post!
Ever wondered how to break into the tough Beauty industry? For Carol’s Daughter impresario, Lisa Price, it was easy as doing something she loved and recruiting close friends as her first clients.
I recently interviewed Lisa to ask all about how she got her start. She shares, “After some time working as a writing assistant for The Cosby Show and creating personalized scents and products for the cast, my mom encouraged me to make a small batch to sell at a local church flea market. I sold out in the first day!” From there, Lisa began the business as a mail-order company and in 1999, almost ten years after she began it as a hobby, she opened her first Carol’s Daughter store in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
Lisa kept it real and adopted the name “Carol’s Daughter” in honor of the importance family has played in her life. Similarly, for up-and-coming beauty entrepreneurs, she advises, “Most important: always stay balanced and transparent. If you remain authentic while adapting to the changing landscape around you, you can never fail.” Also, “find ways in your community to test-drive your creation. I started with a local flea market run by our church. Use your family and friends for honest feedback. If they love the products they’ll tell their friends and so on. Word of mouth promotion is priceless.”
Her high quality products became her signature and soon, celebrity clients, including Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, came calling. And what are her notable clients’ favorite things? “Jada loves Lisa’s Hair Elixir and Hair Balm and it is her recipe for gorgeous hair. She’s also a big fan of our Body Butters. Jay-Z is a huge fan of the Ocean Collection and Gelee de Soleil, and Mary J. Blige is our biggest advocate for the Almond Cookie Collection!” Hmm, wonder if Beyoncé poaches from her hubby’s product stash? :-)
Lisa also offers a few skincare tips for Fashion Bombers:
“Our skin is our largest organ and we abuse it the most by not maintaining it. A good skincare regimen consists of using a natural-based cleanser that is created for your specific skin type, like my Wash Away the Oil or Bring in the Moisture, followed by the complimentary toner and lastly a hydrating moisturizer.” What about those rumors of sunscreen not being that important for black and brown folk? “Sunscreen is so very important. We all need it, despite the level of melanin in our skin. Our Gelee de Soleil is my essential for SPF!” You heard it straight from an expert!
As for the future of Carol’s Daughter, Lisa’s dream is to “help women see that we are all Carol’s Daughter. It can be used on a variety of hair and skin types, all shades of brown, beige, cream and everything in between!”
Truly inspiring! Thank you, Mrs. Price.
For more on Lisa or to buy online, visit CarolsDaughter.com!
~Adriana
