Meet the Beauty Business Experts

We interviewed four beauty founders who sell makeup online (and in-store) to hear first-hand about their experiences building makeup brands.

Joanna Rosario-Rocha and Leslie Valdivia

Founders, Vive Cosmetics

As first generation Latinas, Joanna and Leslie wanted to build a cosmetics brand that represented their culture and community. They launched Vive as a side hustle, with a small business loan and no industry experience, bootstrapping and Googling their way to success.

Melissa Butler

Founder, The Lip Bar

Melissa had become increasingly frustrated by the lack of diversity in beauty and decided to do something about it. She quit her Wall Street job to pursue her side gig—making inclusive cosmetics from her kitchen. Since then The Lip Bar has grown into a force in the beauty industry. Read Melissa’s full story.

India Daykin

Founder, India Rose Cosmeticary

India founded her namesake beauty store to bring her favorite natural and cruelty-free cosmetic and skincare brands together in one place. She curates collections in her Vancouver, Canada–based brickand-mortar and online stores.

Kate Loveless

Founder, Redhead Revolution

KateLoveless created Redhead Revolution after finding very few suitable options to suit her ultra-fair complexion and light eyelashes. She now sells makeup products like subtle shade mascaras to redheads around the world.

We’ve also pulled insights from many of our past articles and included examples of a variety of brands using Shopify to sell makeup online: from a science student turned beauty founder to the manufacturer of Kylie Cosmetics to a slew of super-niche brands selling makeup to athletes and tweens and women of color.