Kim Roxie, Founder and CEO of LAMIK Beauty, shares her inspiring journey, from opening a modest cosmetics store in Houston, Texas to becoming the first vegan cosmetics line designed specifically for women of color, in the latest episode of Her Money Moves.
Roxie says women of color are part of a strong market that, unfortunately, is underrepresented in the beauty industry.
Headquartered in Houston, her brand, LAMIK Beauty, is a clean makeup company that helps women of color enhance their beauty naturally, with high-quality, inclusive products.
This episode covers topics such as formulating toxic-free beauty products, to building strong relationships, such as the ones Roxie has created with her LAMIK clients. The interview also covers the technological aspect and how it can be used to attract customers, even in the worst of times, such as when the COVID lockdown was lifted.
Here is Kim Roxie’s entrepreneurial journey:
How did the idea of creating LAMIK come about?
At age 16, Kim hit rock bottom. She had been expelled from high school, attending an alternative education program, and was frustrated that her chances of success were getting further and further away. With the help of a teacher and the support of her mother, Kim managed to graduate, attend the college of her dreams, and start her first job at a makeup store, located in a shopping mall in Houston. The admirable thing about this story is that it was not an ordinary job, but a professional opportunity that she had created for herself, by venturing to rent a place, and open her own makeup shop!
“I was only 25 years old when this was happening. I created a job for myself. My business was my first job. So, at that very moment, I was learning how to be a professional woman and at the same time be a business owner. I had people working for me, and I was learning how to be a leader,” Roxie recounts on the vodcast.
What is the work and mission of LAMIK Beauty?
The loss of her mother to breast cancer gave Kim a new perspective and alerted her to the use of toxic ingredients in beauty products. That’s how she began researching everything about the production of toxic makeup and discovered an alarming number of beauty products being sold to women of color.
Kim’s mission was for LAMIK not to join the heap of low-quality and highly toxic makeup products. That’s why she decided to focus on clean products with high-quality ingredients and positive messages. Additionally, one of Kim’s goals was for LAMIK’s women to feel confident every time they used her makeup.
Crédito: LamikBeauty.com
“Every name is an affirmation. LAMIK, the brand, has a meaning. It represents love and makeup with kindness, because love and kindness are your true makeup, because beauty is revealed and not applied. It’s about what you’re revealing to the world.”
What are LAMIK’s upcoming goals?
The brand aspires to a bright and impactful future. LAMIK is expanding and is now being sold through retailers like Ulta. Additionally, it is focusing on dedicated customer groups and brand followers on social media. But this is just the beginning: Kim knows that she still faces significant challenges and hopes that other women will follow her lead so that together they can achieve new milestones with the brand.
Key phrases for entrepreneurs
Here are key phrases from this vodcast conversation that will guide you on your entrepreneurial journey.
“You don’t have to start from perfection, you have to start from where you are.”
“When I opened the makeup shop, I had no customers. So I made it a point to go to the fast-food aisle and start talking to women, inviting them to come. That’s how I started building my clientele.”
“I was 25 years old when I created my own job, my business was my first job. At the time, I was learning how to be a professional woman and a businesswoman. I had a team working with me and I was learning how to be a leader.”
“Through my (market) research, I discovered that 75% of the beauty products that were advertised to women of color were toxic. That’s when I thought, “I have to create a makeup line that doesn’t contain this.”
“During the COVID lockdown, I was thinking, ‘How am I going to promote my product and inform people that we are operational?’ So one day it occurred to me to turn on the camera on my phone and go live, which I later called ‘Friday Night Live,’ a space where I taught women how to apply makeup and shop live during the broadcast. It started out as a kind of makeup party, which continues to this day.”
Watch the complete ‘HER MONEY MOVES’ VODCAST here:
