Danessa Myricks, founder of Danessa Myricks Beauty, is a visionary entrepreneur and makeup artist redefining beauty through inclusivity and education. In this episode of the Women on the Move podcast, with host Sam Saperstein, she shares how her journey as a self-taught artist and single mother led to the creation of a global brand that uplifts underrepresented voices. Her work centers on building community through mentorship, hands-on learning, and products that celebrate all skin tones and identities.
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of August 7, 2025 and they may not materialize.
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(00:00):
- You know, for me, beingdiverse and inclusive
(00:04):
is not just about a skin tone or race,
it's about, like, howwe experience something,
and how we all experience beauty is so...
The aperture is wide, like,it's a very wide lens,
you know, it's broad,
and so, it's about thinkingabout everybody in-between,
from the pro to the noviceand everybody in-between,
(00:24):
and making sure everybodyfeels good and feels confident.
- Welcome to the "WomenOn the Move" podcast,
I'm your host, Sam Saperstein.
This season, we're delvinginto how strong communities
create opportunities, foster belonging
and empower leaders tomake a lasting impact.
(00:45):
In this episode, I'm speakingwith Danessa Myricks,
the visionary founder and CEObehind Danessa Myricks Beauty,
a brand built on the beliefthat beauty is for everyone.
As a self-taught makeupartist and entrepreneur,
Danessa has redefined industry standards
through radical inclusivity, creativity,
and a purpose that centersrepresentation at every level.
(01:07):
Danessa, thank you somuch for being with us
on the "Women On the Move" podcast.
- Thank you for having me.
- It's so great to have you here,
I can't wait to talk about the products,
and the company, and you,
there's so many fans outthere, myself included,
so we're going to hit a lot of things.
So let's talk about how you got
into the beauty industryin the first place,
because it was not themost traditional path.
- No, this wasn't traditional at all.
(01:27):
- [Samantha] Tell us the story.
- I mean, we'll try and makea very long story short.
My original career path was,
I think like most people my age,
I'll be 55 this year, soif you can roll it back
to what it might've been forme when I was in my teens
and what my parentsmight've been telling me,
it was a full-on...
A corporate journey, right?
And there was no perspective
(01:48):
on creativity being away to earn money, right?
And so, for me, being the first
of a lot of things in my family,
like the first to go tocollege, you know, the...
There was a lot of firsts.
I wanted to do it all right,
and so, I was pretty much focused
on having a very corporate path,
(02:08):
but if you think about my upbringing,
it was quite the oppositebecause, you know, we...
I mean, I grew up poor,but the kind of poor
where you don't know you'repoor until somebody tells you,
it was great, but we grew up poor,
and so, we had to be super creative,
like, we made our own clothes,
like, I remember making, like, skateboards
(02:31):
from old skates andboards we found outside,
like, we were alwaysbuilding tents outside,
or I was washing out milk cartons
and painting them to make dollhouses,
so my whole upbringing was veryart-forward, very creative,
very "if you don't seeit, close your eyes,
imagine it, and then, makeit with what's around you,"
so that's how I grew up,
(02:51):
but that was not my perspectivewhen it came to work,
and so, my journey was very much, like,
"Do your best in a corporate world,"
but I landed myself ata publishing company
and they published black hair magazines,
and it literally changedmy perspective on so much,
it's really where I...
My eyes were opened
(03:11):
to what possibilities mayexist in the beauty space,
like, prior to that, Isaw myself outside of it,
very disconnected from it,
I never saw myself represented, I...
My journey as a young adult,
I was never able to find that thing
to cover my acne, or, you know,
I couldn't be with thecool kids with my makeup on
(03:31):
because there weren't things
for people my complexion, period,
I wasn't able to create solutions
or solve problems formyself in the beauty space,
and I didn't see myself anywhere,
I didn't see anybody who looked like me
with my skin tone, whohad a life like mine,
so I literally lived outside of it,
you know, excited about itand thinking it was cool,
but not ever thinking it was for me,
(03:53):
but my journey at that publishing company
just showed me somethingdifferent 'cause I participated
in selling photo shootsand preparing them,
and, you know, the artists that would come
were people who lookedlike me, who were...
Who had careers that wereartistic, and they were creating
(04:13):
these really beautiful transformations
on people who look like me as well,
and I was like, "Oh, it is possible?"
And, you know, I beganto see myself in it,
not seeing a path to it,but I saw myself in it,
and I guess the universetook care of it for me
because that company,
the founder decided that hewanted to do something else,
and at that point, I was asingle mom with two kids,
(04:35):
a seven-year-old and a newborn...
- Wow.
- And I was faced with having
to start all over again in my...
In the corporate journey, butI had a new perspective now,
my aperture was broader andI just couldn't see myself
going back to do something
that I didn't reallyfeel passionate about,
and also, the fact that, you know, my...
The rug can be pulled outfrom underneath me so quickly,
(04:57):
just the awareness of that,you know, I just thought,
"I really want to be more control..."
"In control of my financial destiny,
and I also want to dosomething that feels good,
that when I wake up in themorning, I want to go do it,"
so that's where it all began.
- So it really feels like so many things
were converging on this moment,
and you had been thinkingabout this for a long time.
- You know, I wasn't thinking about
(05:18):
being an entrepreneur per se,
or being an entrepreneurin the beauty space,
I just knew that Iwasn't fulfilled, like...
"'Cause if so, this sucks."
- Yeah, and you were honestabout it, that's incredible.
Well, so in growing up,
given you were doing somany things creatively,
how did beauty comeinto play in your life?
(05:39):
Like, what role did it playwhen you were growing up?
- I mean, again, for mepersonally, not much,
but I can say, you know, I...
You know, my mother is...
She's so beautiful,
and, like, that was the imagethat was in front of me,
like, if I didn't see myself anywhere,
I can come home and see it,
and, you know, she loved her red lipstick,
she loved her face powder,you know, she had...
(06:01):
You know, I watched her use beauty
as a way for her to feel powerful
when she was going toimportant places, right?
- [Samantha] Ooh, I love it.
- It's what made her feel good,
so that was my initial connection there,
and I also remember there wasa point in my early journey
where, you know, she did everything,
when I say we went even to costume stores,
(06:24):
like, to find something
that would make me feelmore confident with my acne
and how I was feeling about myself,
and then, she landed on...
Because she realized thatthe solution wasn't there,
she was like, "You're goingto wear a blue eyeliner,"
and I was like, "Blue eyeliner?"
Like, and, you know, at this point,
I was maybe like 11 or 12, maybe 13,
(06:44):
and she was like, yeah,"Because what I learned
is that blue eyeliner onbrown eyes is the magic,
and no one's going to focus on your acne
they're not going to focus on your skin,
they're just going to beso focused on your eyes,"
and literally, like, justthat little bit of information
just changed the way I felt about myself,
so I wore blue eyeliner,I wore blue mascara,
and when I put it on, becausemy mom had told me so,
(07:06):
I felt beautiful, and so,you know, it was there
where I realized just, like, how important
just being able to findjust a glimmer of confidence
through beauty can be for someone,
especially, like, a young girl
in the formative years of your life
where you're really putting together,
like, what beauty means foryou, how you're feeling,
(07:27):
how you want to show up in the world,
just how something like an eyeliner
can change how you navigate the world,
I think is super powerful.
- Very, I just love that story too,
and how that advice from your mother
meant so much to you at a critical time,
and as a brown-eyed girl,I'm going to take that,
so thank you for that.
So you talked about,you were a single mom,
(07:48):
you were thinking about what to do next,
and I guess I want to tiethis to what I recently saw
in one of your Instagramposts, you wrote...
The company,
"We're connecting heartsand minds through beauty,"
so what does that mean to you?
What does that purpose mean to you
as you've built a successful company?
- Oh, wow, it means so much,
I mean, I've had the privilege now...
(08:08):
I've been in the industrynow for about 25 years,
and I've not just have...
I don't just have the...
My own lived experience to draw from,
I have the experiences andthe voices of so many people
that I had an opportunity to talk to,
to train, to service all around the world,
and for me, you know, there are a few...
(08:32):
I mean, there's so manyexamples I can give you,
but I remember my firsttrip outside of the U.S.
to do something in the beauty space,
I was invited to do a masterclassin Vladivostock, Russia.
- Wow.
- Now, if you knowanything about Russia...
But Vladivostock is eighthours outside of Moscow,
(08:53):
so just know that there's no one there
that looks like me, right?
And so, that experience for me,
or one, the fact that I was invited
told me that there was a hunger
for people to feel moreconnected in this beauty space
because they reached out to me,you know, that's number one,
but when I got there, Iwas just so blown away
(09:17):
by just the narrative that they had
around people who looklike me versus reality
and the things that they said to me,
like, things like, you know,
"We only get a chance to seeblack people on the news,"
and if we have any perspective
on what the news cycle looks like,
(09:37):
especially for people who look like me,
it's not always positive,
and for them, they wereintrigued initially
that they were inspired by somebody
who looked like me sofar away, that was one,
but just, you know,bringing me to their homes
and talking to theirgrandmothers and their mothers,
and hearing their experiencesand sharing perspective,
like, literally, my presencethere in Vladivostock, Russia
(09:59):
changed the way peoplethought about black people,
and that happened as a resultof a product that I made,
and how I was able to show them
how to use it in that curiosity,
so a product like Colorfixconnected, culturally,
people on the other side of the Earth
and made them have a sense of empathy,
(10:23):
a sense of togetherness,
a sense of, like, we are all the same,
that we would enjoy the samethings, share the same ideals,
like, for me, that was really powerful.
- I bet, I mean, that is remarkable
to go through that experience
and to think about a productthat, as you started with,
meant something to you personally, right?
Makeup being a part ofyour personal self-esteem,
(10:45):
but then, knowing to bring that to others
who are so different from you
halfway around the world, remotely,
and have that experiencetogether with them,
that is fantastic, I'dnever really thought about
makeup being able to do that, or beauty,
but absolutely can see it.
- And I have thousandsof stories like that
and I hear them every day,so, you know, for people
who think that makeup is trivial,like, I can write a book.
(11:08):
- [Samantha] Absolutely not, you should.
- And tell you all the reasons why.
- That will be another day,
but okay, so Danessa Myricks Beauty,
the company is known for many things,
and I think one of them
is this inclusivity you're talking about,
this meeting people wherethey are in different spaces,
really being able to servea variety of skin types,
(11:30):
and one of the things Iloved seeing on the website
and also in the stores wasjust how many different people
you are showing using your products.
I mean, that is so phenomenal,
so talk about how that came to be
such an importantphilosophy of the company.
- I mean, just from myown lived experience,
like, I knew how important it was,
like, I know all of the nightsI laid on my pillow crying
(11:52):
because I didn't feel seenand I couldn't see myself,
and so, I know I can't be alone, right?
You know, and as I journeyed through
the beauty space as a whole,
I mean, I've done so many things,
I was an artist, an educator,
I developed productsnot just for our brand,
but for others, I workedcorporately for other brands,
you know, I got a chance tosee the other side of things
(12:15):
through other people's lenses
and see how products come to life,
and, you know, I had achance to work in labs
from all over the world
and see where the challenges are there,
and I just knew that I really wanted to be
the change I wanted to see.
I knew for a fact thatthere were a lot of stories
(12:36):
that were never going to be told,
you know, when you think about
how a lot of brands make product,
everybody's looking at past data,
so if it didn't exist in the past,
they're not going to make something now,
if you can't see thesuccess of it in the past,
then it's not worth...
You know, they can't see the math
and how it's going to be profitable,
but you're never going to seeit if it was never there, right?
(12:58):
- Right, someone has to take a chance.
- Yeah, it was very hard tohave those conversations,
especially as a consultant,and I knew from my own eyes,
and my own experience,and all of my travels,
that there were a lot of different ways
that people are participating in beauty,
I've heard the voices
and I knew that there was a lot of people
who didn't feel a part of it,
(13:19):
and these are real people,
they live on this planet with us, right?
And so, I just knew how important it is
to feel like somebody's thinking about you
and creating something with you in mind,
especially when you're talking about
something that's problem-solving.
Even if I go back to just mytime, like, very severe acne,
like, that was my wholeworld at that moment
(13:41):
and I was desperatelylooking for solutions,
and if you could imagine, ifthere was a solution there,
and it was perfect and itwas the thing that I needed,
but it wasn't made for me, right?
I wasn't thought about inthe construction of it,
like, that makes youfeel even worse, right?
And so, for me, there's nothingmore important than that,
(14:02):
like, if you have a business,
whether you're providinga service or a product,
there's a person on the other end of it,
and it's like, who is that person?
And for me, it's everyone.
I cannot even imagine for a moment
separating someone from the group,
of somebody who I want to make feel good.
- That's interestingbecause many companies,
(14:23):
I think, have personas in mind,
they really design theirproducts and services, right?
- I hate that, because peopletrain that all the time
and I'm just like,
"So you're strategicallyexcluding people,"
and when we talk aboutbeauty, for me, like,
and knowing that it's a necessity
and knowing that it really...
It's something at the core of a human...
Like, it's where their confidence lies,
(14:45):
it's where, you know,they feel self-assured,
where their power comesfrom, I mean, personally,
I can't see excluding anybodyfrom the conversation.
- The good news is you don't have to
because you have somany products that work,
so I was in Sephora pickingup some of your products
and I wanted to see justhow it was displayed,
and there was quite a fewpeople around me also buying,
(15:06):
I had to sort of edgearound them and get them,
so you'll be happy to know,
so I have this Colorfix, the Goldmine on,
and I also have the blurring balm powder,
which I can't believe howlittle you need to use
to really get an effect,it was unbelievable,
so I have to go light,
but tell me about whatproducts stand out to you
(15:27):
in terms of their uniqueness.
- In terms of our collection?
Well, for me, there's so muchintention about everything,
so for me, they're all very unique,
like, you named two of my...
I would say the top two
that really tell the story of the brand,
Colorfix, for me, was a culmination
of, like, my life as an artist
and how I started as an artist,
(15:48):
like, most people don't know,
when I started doingmakeup, I had zero dollars,
and so, I had to find things
that I can use to do a lot of things,
and I would go to thedrug store, buy pencils
'cause they were always,like, 99 cents or $1.50,
you know, they were underfive dollars 100% of the time,
and I would break them open,
scrape out the lead and melt it down,
(16:09):
and then, I had thisvery high-pigmented cream
that I could put anywhere,
and I used it all over the face,
it's literally how Istarted as a makeup artist,
it was the base of me building my kit,
and so, when I was thinkingabout the first thing
that I would make thatwould be manufactured,
like, that's all I can thinkabout, this multi-use thing
that can do everything, go everywhere,
creates a lot of value, notjust if you are an artist,
(16:32):
but just as an everyday person,
if you have one thingthat could do everything,
like, it's your Swiss armyknife, what would it be?
And that's what Colorfix is,
so I love that you grabbed that.
- I love it, so you'resaying I can use this
not only on eyelids, but...
- Your cheek, your lip,
you can mix it in with your foundation,
it literally is, "I do everything,"kind of a product, yeah.
- That's incredible.
- And balm powder, for me, also is...
(16:53):
The reason why it really tells
such a full story of thebrand is that it takes...
That product is a techniquethat I used to do as an artist,
I used to really prep the skin very well,
so lots of good skincare,
and then, I would takepowders in different colors
and I would do your entire face
with powder underneath the foundation
(17:15):
because it was a way of makingthe skin look very flawless,
you didn't have powdersitting on top of the skin,
which sometimes can agesomeone, it looked like you,
it made the makeup look very natural,
but it absorbed all theoil, it kept sweat away,
and so, I used to do a seriesof things to get that result,
and balm powder is the one-stepthing that everybody can do,
(17:39):
so like you said, you can just open it,
put your finger in it,
and you can be an artist, your own artist,
and the confidence that it brings you
to know that you canget all of those things
just by going like this onyour face with your fingers,
I mean, for me, it's really powerful,
so that particular productI'm super, super proud of,
we've won so many awards for it,
(18:00):
but it just tells the story of our brand,
innovation, inclusivity, takingartistry, making it easy,
creating products that build confidence,
like, it tells the full story,
so I love that those are the two products.
- I mean, I'm going to keep usingit now everywhere, I love it.
So it says on it, the back of the box,
"With Upsalite technology,"what is that exactly?
- So Upsalite is aproduct made in Uppsala,
(18:24):
it's a Swedish product, and during COVID,
I was working on thisproduct, balm powder,
and with the intent of making sure that
that absorption of oil and sweat was there
and that it blurred the skinbecause that's something...
Everyone has issues with texture,
and I knew that was a problemthat I wanted to solve,
and during COVID, like, I was...
(18:45):
You know, in 2019, I traveled300 of the 352 days in a year.
- Oh, my goodness.
- In 2019, I did not, and so...
I mean, 2020, so I was home a lot,
I was in my office, I was researching
and an email came across aboutthis particular ingredient
that no one had used in the way
that we've used it in thisproduct, and it was...
(19:07):
It had the highest blurring index
of anything in cosmetics,the highest absorption rate,
like, one gram of Upsalite
can absorb a tennis court's surface area
of oil and sweat, yeah.
- That's incredible.
- It's super, super powerful,
we have four grams in our balm powder...
- Oh, my goodness.
- [Danessa] Just to giveyou some sense of, like...
- Yeah, no oil's getting through on that.
Yeah, and so, I was...
(19:28):
That was the magic ingredient
into what we were already building
to take this product to the next level,
and I'm really proud we were the first
to ever use it in a hot pour,
and no one else to date has done it
in the way that we've done it, so it's...
I'm super proud.- That's incredible,
congratulations.- Thank you.
- That's incredible,and I've talked to users
who really appreciate thatoil-absorbing capability,
(19:49):
so you're onto something.
- Thank you.
- I think what's also reallyunique about the brand
is that professional makeupartists really love it,
but it's very accessible to consumers
and you're selling itdirectly to consumers,
it doesn't seem like there's many brands
who can do both of those things,
so how do you do that?
How do you approach...?
'Cause those will be different segments,
and how will you talk andposition the product differently?
(20:09):
- Yeah, for me, honestly, it's really easy
because if you think about how I started,
I'm a self-taught makeup artist,
I had to teach myself how to do things,
so I needed things to be easy, right?
And so, I was taking complex ideas
and trying to make itdigestible for myself,
so for me, I was alwaysthe customer, right?
And so, like, that'smore where my mind is,
I understand the complexity of artistry
(20:31):
and have been able...
Really blessed to be able
to have to do artistryat very high levels,
but I also understand, like,me starting as an artist
and, like, what I didn't know,
and also, just me as a general consumer
and the people who are aroundme, what they don't know
that would make their experience easier,
so I feel like I have it all...
(20:52):
I'm surrounded by it all...
- You lived it.
- Yeah, I've lived it andI'm seeing it around me,
and so, for me, it's like,that's how I think about
creating in the beauty space, is what...
You know, for me, beingdiverse and inclusive
is not just about a skin tone or race,
it's about, like, howwe experience something,
and how we all experience beauty is so...
(21:14):
The aperture is wide, like,it's a very wide lens,
you know, it's broad,
and so, it's about thinkingabout everybody in-between,
from the pro to the noviceand everybody in-between,
and making sure everybodyfeels good and feels confident.
- So the entrepreneurship experience
is often a rocky road with testing and...
- Often? It's always.
- Always a rock road, so I'm very curious,
(21:35):
take us back to the time
where you're makingsomething in your kitchen,
you talked about this so far,
and tell us aboutsomething that went right,
and then, maybe tell ussomething that didn't go as well.
- Yeah, I've...
Wow, how long do we have?
So I would say, you know,
I think the best time thatI had and the most fun I had
is, like, in my basement making things,
(21:55):
like, mixing it until I knew it was right,
and, you know, I was makingsmall batches of things
and I did every step ofit, so I knew it was good,
I can trust every step of it,
and also, I was the personstanding behind the booth
sharing it with the customerand telling the story of it,
applying it to them,
so that experience, beinginvolved 360°, like, I...
(22:18):
You know, I think it's very powerful,
and for anybody who'searly-stage in their business,
like, cherish that time.
I think the most challenging point
was trying to scale those,you know, basement ideas up,
you know, to be able toserve thousands of people,
I think it just changeseverything, and not...
I didn't know what I didn't know,
and so much of what I've donehas been learning on the job,
(22:40):
so there have been moments where at the...
When I...
Like, the...
Even the idea of Colorfix,
Colorfix has gone throughso many iterations...
- Hmm, interesting.
- Like, it started out in a pump
because I wanted it to be very hygienic,
I wanted, like, an artist to be able
to put it in their kit veryeasy, it was super tiny,
I knew you only needed a littlebit, so I just wanted you
(23:01):
to be able to pump out the tiniest amount,
but the first generation of Colorfix,
people were like, "I love this!"
And then, the next day,it didn't pump out,
because, you know, itwas drying in the tip,
and so, this is whycommunity is so important,
like, my community, like, stood by me,
they were like, "We know this is good,
we're here to support you, fix it,"
and so, the next iteration was in a tube,
(23:23):
and so, they were like, "This is great,
this is, like, the best, best thing,
but then, I sourced a tube
that wasn't as robustas the formula needed,
so the tube was great,but people were like,
"Wait, it's drying inside the tube,"
so air was getting into the tube,
and so, there was a point in my business
(23:45):
where I refunded or exchanged,
like, maybe I would say about, like...
This is going to...
It makes my stomach hurt,
like, maybe, like, 30,000units of Colorfix...
- Oh, you weren't kidding.
- But I think that's whymy community sticks by me
because they're like,"Something was wrong,
and you fixed it, and we moved on,"
you know, now, Colorfixis perfect, obviously,
(24:07):
and it's in, like, multiplefinishes and whatever,
but it was hard to learn that.
- Fascinating story, I mean,how would you know that,
going from mixing this inyour basement, to the tube
and the way it had...?
- You had to learn. Trial and error.
- Yeah.
Never made those kindsof mistakes again...
But, I mean...
(24:27):
- But thankfully for thecommunity really stepping in,
so talk to us about that,
you know, we're reallyspending a lot of time
on community in this season,
and it's vital toeverything that we're doing,
personally and professionally,
so your community cameout for you, clearly...
- Always, always.
- And stuck with you, whatdid you draw from this?
I mean, and how do you continuallyreplenish that community
(24:49):
and the connection you have with them?
- Yeah, I mean, I just never let go.
I mean, for me, it's been...
From the very beginning,
it's been the communityhas built this brand
who has supported me, whohas supported my ideas,
who have cheered me on,
I think, you know, theysee themselves in me,
I mean, if you think about it, I'm...
There was nothing specialabout me, I just...
(25:09):
I'm like so many people on this planet
who just want somethingmore for themselves,
to want something more forthe people around them,
and just took a chance
to build something andto create something,
and I think a lot of people feel that way
and want that for themselvestoo, and they see it in me,
and so, they can understand,like, where I'm at,
I didn't have any previouseducation in this space,
(25:31):
there was nobody telling me how to do it,
and so, they were justreally rallying behind me
and cheering me on from day one,
and I never let go of them,I always listen to them,
I always ask for their ideas,
I ask, like, for what they need,
I ask them if it's working, is it right?
And we've always had thisreally beautiful dialogue
I've never forgotten it,
(25:52):
like, they've been with me on the journey,
and as people are introduced to the brand,
they're also introduced to the community,
I mean, people tell me all the time
when they read the commentson social, they're like,
"There's no negativecomments on your post..."
- No, they're really not.
- And it's because, like, people really...
They know who I am andthey know my intent,
(26:16):
and this community,like, when someone joins,
if there is a negative comment,they're all jumping in,
"Hey, this..."
"Not in this house,
like, this is not what we do here."
- I love that support, I love that.
And by the way, you can't buy that.
That is really authentic,you've built that.
- It's real.
I really care about the peoplewho experience this brand,
and I think people know that,
and so, yeah, they stick in there with me.
(26:38):
- I'm really struck too
at how much joy and fun they have, right?
With the colors, and everytime you post something,
I mean, it's beautiful...
- Thank you.
- But I think you also seeeveryday consumers buying things,
and experimenting and usingcolor, so I love that.
So tell us about the moment
you felt like you had a big break,
you know, was that gettinginto a retail outlet
(27:01):
or just having your first big order?
What was that momentwhere you said yourself,
"Okay, we're about to take off?"
- Wow, there were a lotof different moments
at different times, ifI can go back to the one
that I think, you know,really made me feel like
this is a real business
is when we got ourfirst wholesale account.
Up until that point, if youwanted to buy the product,
(27:22):
you know, it was out of my truck,
knocking on my front door or,like, meeting me at a show,
and Alcone is a world-renownedpro artistry shop,
like, big pros from all around the world,
when they're in New York,that's where they go,
or that's where they buy it online
because they know that everything
that's important in beauty is there,
(27:42):
and they were the first store
to take a chance on the brand,
and it changed everything for us
because the people who were shopping
were notable in the space andthey were using our products,
and it just...
It built confidence on a different level,
and it enabled us to tell thestory on a much grander scale,
(28:06):
and not just through my voice,
but through the voice of people
that other people respectin the beauty landscape,
and once Alcone took the product,
then multiple other pro shops followed,
so that was pretty powerful,
the next ones for me, theyactually both happened
all around the same time, in 2019,
(28:28):
the first, I would say,retail chain carried us,
that was Morphe, and we werestill running the business
out of my basement at that time,
so I don't know if you can imagine
what that looked like,but it was very tricky,
but it just made me feellike, "Wow, if a..."
"You know, a larger retail chain saw us
and saw value for their customers
(28:49):
and were able to purchase,like, these big orders,
like, wow, we're on our way,"
but the magic reallyhappened for me in 2021,
that's when we launched in Sephora,
which is, like, a dream spaceif you are creating in beauty,
and that's also when we won
our first Allure Best in BeautyAward, it was for Colorfix,
you know, which is really powerful,
(29:10):
like, the first productthat we've ever manufactured
was the first product that we won
this very prestigiousaward in the beauty space,
and I think what was moreimportant for me with the...
Our launch in Sephora is that,
you know, up until that point,
you know, our awareness wasreally around professionals,
or beauty enthusiasts,
(29:33):
or influencers whoreally knew of our brand,
but, you know, the Sephoracustomer is very different,
it's the average everyday beauty wear.
You know, what was powerfulfor me and for the brand,
and what really made me feel good
is that what we set outto do, we were doing
because we were verysuccessful from the start
(29:54):
and grew very quicklywith a brand-new customer,
and the fact that this new customer
was able to walk into the store
and see themselves in thebrand was really powerful,
and that's when we really knew
that we were on the right track,
that we were doing the thing
that we said we werehere to do, yeah, it...
That year was a really special year for me
(30:14):
and will always be, yeah.
- So that's so fascinating to know
you started with a group ofinfluencers, if you will,
the pros, and it took onecompany to take a chance on you
which really led to so much more,
and I think that's just agreat lesson for entrepreneurs,
that you went to a veryspecific channel, and that's...
That channel could reallylead to so many other things,
(30:37):
and you didn't start direct-to-consumer,
which some brands do.
- Yeah, and we also...
We always had our website going,
and I was not a webmaster,so anybody, I apologize,
and, you know, for anybody
who ever purchased from us early on
because it wasn't the mostfluid and sexy experience,
(30:57):
but thank you all for sticking with us,
but yeah, so we stillhave our D2C business,
but, you know, Sephora, obviously,
is where our largestcustomer base is, yeah.
- That's fantastic.
So you've talked about your community,
which sounds like a verybig online community,
what is your social media strategy?
How would you say you liketo show up in that channel?
(31:17):
- Authentically.
Like, honestly, everybody'salways asking like,
"What is it you guys are doing?"
We're out being ourselves,
like, and I think that'sreally important, there's...
You know, what you see onour pages is who we are,
it's not like we're creating something
separate from us for social,
it's who we are, it's always important,
and, you know, when wesit around the table
(31:37):
and talk about what we want topost and what we want to do,
it's always like, you know,
"If I were this kind of person
and I came to our page today,
would I feel like I belong here?"
And that's always our strategy,
like, this brand mustalways be a safe place
to land in beauty, that is our priority,
and so, if anything, we'rejust making sure that
(31:58):
that diversity always shines through
and those conversationsare always happening,
but it's actually kindof easy because our...
If you came to my office,you would see the world,
and you would see every age,
we have seven-year-oldsworking at our office, right?
Everybody is there, right?
(32:20):
Yes, I mean, across the board,
we have multiple languagesthat are being spoken,
different parts of the worldthat are being represented,
like, every identity is there, like...
- What I noticed that it'snot only the skin tones,
but it's gender diversity that's...
And I do not see that reallyon many beauty brands.
(32:43):
- I mean, it's who we are,
so we just show up onsocial being ourselves,
and I think that's what ourcommunity enjoys about us
is that we're consistent, we'renot performative in any way,
and if anything is ever missing,
they ask for it and we answer.
(33:04):
We did a casting recently,and most people don't know,
like, from the beginning of the time,
like, all of our images
have always been peoplewho consume the brand,
they've always been customers
or personal relationships,like, not through agencies,
it's really, you knew us,
and so, we amplified thatrecently doing a casting,
and that casting was so important for me,
(33:25):
like, we did a castingcall and we're like,
"Anybody who sees themselvesin the brand, show up,"
and I honestly thought that,
"Ooh, maybe we'll get,like, 100 or so people,"
because it was a very smallwindow, the casting call,
like, literally we had...
I think at the end of thatday, we saw over 800 people...
- Oh, my goodness. Wow.
- Yeah, and it was like a party basically,
(33:48):
and what was most, like...
Yeah, I get emotionalthinking about it now, what...
It wasn't like what youwould traditionally see
at a casting call for a modeling agency,
you know, people came in wheelchairs,
we had people of everybody size, every skin tone,
every age, to your point, every gender,
(34:11):
when you see somebody comewho has, like, one eye
to the casting call, feeling so confident
that they're in the right place,
like, I can't even put into words,
like, what that day felt like,
and then, when you see them
actually show up in our campaigns
and you really know that,you know, this is...
Yeah, we're doing the rightthing, you know what I mean?
- That's incredible.
(34:32):
800 people from all walks of life,
I mean, what a joyful thing.
- It was incredible.
- Probably not many people
were able to move on to the next round,
I'm sure they enjoyed beingthere for you and celebrating.
- Oh, and we still go back to that list,
like, when we launched our concealer,
we had 108 models andall came from that room,
and every campaign, evenon our teach-me Tuesdays
(34:54):
or whatever it is, wealways go back to that list.
- That's incredible, I love that.
So tell us more about what'son tap for you this year,
because you are still doingso much in the community,
what are you looking forward to the most?
- Wow, you know, anytime that I could...
You know, I'm outside alot more, you know, I...
(35:14):
I don't know, maybe I'ma non-traditional CEO,
I'm supposed to be very focused
on just maybe this globalview of the business,
but I'm, like, in the weedsprobably more than most,
I'm out a lot, like, forme, it's really important
to be with the peoplewho consume our brand,
the storytellers of ourbrand, so I'm out a lot
and really just trying to create
(35:34):
as many opportunities justto meet people in person.
I think we operate uniquely
where we know that we can notonly just touch our audience
through our audience,but through partnerships
and collaborations with other brands,
and I think people will be surprised
to see how collaborativewe are with other brands,
(35:57):
even competitive brands,
just to do what we say we're here to do,
connect heart, to mind, to beauty, right?
And so, it doesn't...
You know, so we're veryupfront, very personal,
really leaning into the digital space,
I mean, that's really been
the success of our brand from day one,
like, people really got to meet us first,
(36:18):
whether it was on social orthrough a digital masterclass,
and so, we're creating a lotmore digital experiences,
like, even me personally,just making time in my workday
to schedule just Zooms to meet people
in different parts of the world,
customers who consume the brand,
like, just having more intimate,
up-close-and-personalinteractions and conversations
(36:40):
with our community is super important,
it's what drives everything for me,
what drives our innovation, sofor sure, that's a priority,
but I'm really excited for the newness
that we have coming in,
just some new ideas thatare on the way, yeah.
- Well, it sounds like
you're very driven by innovation, clearly,
so I can't wait to see what comes up next.
You know, on the subject of leadership,
(37:00):
as a black woman founder,how important is it for you
to be that representationto so many others?
I mean, you talk aboutbeing out in the community,
you're probably very visible,
you know, as relatingto others, is that...?
Does that come with a responsibility?
- Oh, 100%, I mean, and it's everything,
like, I'm very consciousof everything that I do,
I'm very conscious of how Ishow up, anybody who knows me
(37:24):
knows that I take mentorshipreally, really seriously,
we have programs that I've started,
there's programs thatI've collaborated with,
other artists, otherentrepreneurs on, like, you...
If anybody looked atmy calendar in a week,
they would know what's importantto me, and it's always...
If it's not a podcast, it's a...
Talking to another group,
whether it be a groupof new entrepreneurs,
(37:47):
maybe it'll be active founders
who are looking tocollaborate, trade stories,
to support each other in thatway, whether it's students,
like, I'm always making myself available
because I just rememberjust me and my journey,
and I just can only imaginehow different it would've been
if I would've been able to ask questions
to the right person at the right time,
(38:09):
so mentorship is really important to me,
and also, the one thingthat I know for sure
is that it's important for people...
You know, people know thatthey can be it if they see it,
and I want, when they see meand they understand my journey,
they know what's possiblefor them, so yeah, I'm...
That's always going tobe a priority for me.
(38:31):
- I love that, I mean, that sounds like
such a legacy for your business
that you're pulling that throughout,
so what would you leave our listeners with
in terms of your advice if someone wants
to maybe pursue somethingin a creative field,
but doesn't yet see thepath for themselves?
- You know, there's a Rumiquote that I read recently,
and I hope I don't botch it,it's says something like,
(38:54):
"As you start on theway, the way appears,"
and so, what I would say is just start.
Like, I never had all the answers,
to be honest, I never hadany of the answers, really,
it was just, like...
I think the one thing that I did
that I know with certaintyworked was start,
(39:15):
and so, I would encourage anybody,
regardless of how you may see yourself,
you know, that imposter syndrome is weird,
I felt it my entire journey,but it doesn't matter,
the fear that you feel...
You will feel your entirejourney, it doesn't matter,
it's about feeling thefear and doing it anyway,
just start and the pathwill unfold in front of you.
(39:35):
- Danessa, it's so nice to talk to you
and to see your success, thisis really uplifting for us,
thank you for being here...
- Thank you for having me.
- And continuing to beout there in the world.
- [Danessa] Thank you.
- Thank you for listening
to my conversation with Danessa Myricks.
I loved how she created acommunity with her customer base
(39:58):
and how she's able to connect with people
across the world through beauty.
Thank you to Danessafor sharing her purpose,
passion and power with us.
As you move through yourjourney, we invite you
to reflect on the powerof community in your life.
When you build mutualtrust in your community,
everyone benefits, and as a bonus,
the community will be therefor you when you need it.
(40:21):
If you enjoyed this podcast,don't forget to like,
share and subscribe to it onyour favorite podcast platform.
- You know, for me, beingdiverse and inclusive
(00:04):
is not just about a skin tone or race,
it's about, like, howwe experience something,
and how we all experience beauty is so...
The aperture is wide, like,it's a very wide lens,
you know, it's broad,
and so, it's about thinkingabout everybody in-between,
from the pro to the noviceand everybody in-between,
(00:24):
and making sure everybodyfeels good and feels confident.
- Welcome to the "WomenOn the Move" podcast,
I'm your host, Sam Saperstein.
This season, we're delvinginto how strong communities
create opportunities, foster belonging
and empower leaders tomake a lasting impact.
(00:45):
In this episode, I'm speakingwith Danessa Myricks,
the visionary founder and CEObehind Danessa Myricks Beauty,
a brand built on the beliefthat beauty is for everyone.
As a self-taught makeupartist and entrepreneur,
Danessa has redefined industry standards
through radical inclusivity, creativity,
and a purpose that centersrepresentation at every level.
(01:07):
Danessa, thank you somuch for being with us
on the "Women On the Move" podcast.
- Thank you for having me.
- It's so great to have you here,
I can't wait to talk about the products,
and the company, and you,
there's so many fans outthere, myself included,
so we're going to hit a lot of things.
So let's talk about how you got
into the beauty industryin the first place,
because it was not themost traditional path.
- No, this wasn't traditional at all.
(01:27):
- [Samantha] Tell us the story.
- I mean, we'll try and makea very long story short.
My original career path was,
I think like most people my age,
I'll be 55 this year, soif you can roll it back
to what it might've been forme when I was in my teens
and what my parentsmight've been telling me,
it was a full-on...
A corporate journey, right?
And there was no perspective
(01:48):
on creativity being away to earn money, right?
And so, for me, being the first
of a lot of things in my family,
like the first to go tocollege, you know, the...
There was a lot of firsts.
I wanted to do it all right,
and so, I was pretty much focused
on having a very corporate path,
(02:08):
but if you think about my upbringing,
it was quite the oppositebecause, you know, we...
I mean, I grew up poor,but the kind of poor
where you don't know you'repoor until somebody tells you,
it was great, but we grew up poor,
and so, we had to be super creative,
like, we made our own clothes,
like, I remember making, like, skateboards
(02:31):
from old skates andboards we found outside,
like, we were alwaysbuilding tents outside,
or I was washing out milk cartons
and painting them to make dollhouses,
so my whole upbringing was veryart-forward, very creative,
very "if you don't seeit, close your eyes,
imagine it, and then, makeit with what's around you,"
so that's how I grew up,
(02:51):
but that was not my perspectivewhen it came to work,
and so, my journey was very much, like,
"Do your best in a corporate world,"
but I landed myself ata publishing company
and they published black hair magazines,
and it literally changedmy perspective on so much,
it's really where I...
My eyes were opened
(03:11):
to what possibilities mayexist in the beauty space,
like, prior to that, Isaw myself outside of it,
very disconnected from it,
I never saw myself represented, I...
My journey as a young adult,
I was never able to find that thing
to cover my acne, or, you know,
I couldn't be with thecool kids with my makeup on
(03:31):
because there weren't things
for people my complexion, period,
I wasn't able to create solutions
or solve problems formyself in the beauty space,
and I didn't see myself anywhere,
I didn't see anybody who looked like me
with my skin tone, whohad a life like mine,
so I literally lived outside of it,
you know, excited about itand thinking it was cool,
but not ever thinking it was for me,
(03:53):
but my journey at that publishing company
just showed me somethingdifferent 'cause I participated
in selling photo shootsand preparing them,
and, you know, the artists that would come
were people who lookedlike me, who were...
Who had careers that wereartistic, and they were creating
(04:13):
these really beautiful transformations
on people who look like me as well,
and I was like, "Oh, it is possible?"
And, you know, I beganto see myself in it,
not seeing a path to it,but I saw myself in it,
and I guess the universetook care of it for me
because that company,
the founder decided that hewanted to do something else,
and at that point, I was asingle mom with two kids,
(04:35):
a seven-year-old and a newborn...
- Wow.
- And I was faced with having
to start all over again in my...
In the corporate journey, butI had a new perspective now,
my aperture was broader andI just couldn't see myself
going back to do something
that I didn't reallyfeel passionate about,
and also, the fact that, you know, my...
The rug can be pulled outfrom underneath me so quickly,
(04:57):
just the awareness of that,you know, I just thought,
"I really want to be more control..."
"In control of my financial destiny,
and I also want to dosomething that feels good,
that when I wake up in themorning, I want to go do it,"
so that's where it all began.
- So it really feels like so many things
were converging on this moment,
and you had been thinkingabout this for a long time.
- You know, I wasn't thinking about
(05:18):
being an entrepreneur per se,
or being an entrepreneurin the beauty space,
I just knew that Iwasn't fulfilled, like...
"'Cause if so, this sucks."
- Yeah, and you were honestabout it, that's incredible.
Well, so in growing up,
given you were doing somany things creatively,
how did beauty comeinto play in your life?
(05:39):
Like, what role did it playwhen you were growing up?
- I mean, again, for mepersonally, not much,
but I can say, you know, I...
You know, my mother is...
She's so beautiful,
and, like, that was the imagethat was in front of me,
like, if I didn't see myself anywhere,
I can come home and see it,
and, you know, she loved her red lipstick,
she loved her face powder,you know, she had...
(06:01):
You know, I watched her use beauty
as a way for her to feel powerful
when she was going toimportant places, right?
- [Samantha] Ooh, I love it.
- It's what made her feel good,
so that was my initial connection there,
and I also remember there wasa point in my early journey
where, you know, she did everything,
when I say we went even to costume stores,
(06:24):
like, to find something
that would make me feelmore confident with my acne
and how I was feeling about myself,
and then, she landed on...
Because she realized thatthe solution wasn't there,
she was like, "You're goingto wear a blue eyeliner,"
and I was like, "Blue eyeliner?"
Like, and, you know, at this point,
I was maybe like 11 or 12, maybe 13,
(06:44):
and she was like, yeah,"Because what I learned
is that blue eyeliner onbrown eyes is the magic,
and no one's going to focus on your acne
they're not going to focus on your skin,
they're just going to beso focused on your eyes,"
and literally, like, justthat little bit of information
just changed the way I felt about myself,
so I wore blue eyeliner,I wore blue mascara,
and when I put it on, becausemy mom had told me so,
(07:06):
I felt beautiful, and so,you know, it was there
where I realized just, like, how important
just being able to findjust a glimmer of confidence
through beauty can be for someone,
especially, like, a young girl
in the formative years of your life
where you're really putting together,
like, what beauty means foryou, how you're feeling,
(07:27):
how you want to show up in the world,
just how something like an eyeliner
can change how you navigate the world,
I think is super powerful.
- Very, I just love that story too,
and how that advice from your mother
meant so much to you at a critical time,
and as a brown-eyed girl,I'm going to take that,
so thank you for that.
So you talked about,you were a single mom,
(07:48):
you were thinking about what to do next,
and I guess I want to tiethis to what I recently saw
in one of your Instagramposts, you wrote...
The company,
"We're connecting heartsand minds through beauty,"
so what does that mean to you?
What does that purpose mean to you
as you've built a successful company?
- Oh, wow, it means so much,
I mean, I've had the privilege now...
(08:08):
I've been in the industrynow for about 25 years,
and I've not just have...
I don't just have the...
My own lived experience to draw from,
I have the experiences andthe voices of so many people
that I had an opportunity to talk to,
to train, to service all around the world,
and for me, you know, there are a few...
(08:32):
I mean, there's so manyexamples I can give you,
but I remember my firsttrip outside of the U.S.
to do something in the beauty space,
I was invited to do a masterclassin Vladivostock, Russia.
- Wow.
- Now, if you knowanything about Russia...
But Vladivostock is eighthours outside of Moscow,
(08:53):
so just know that there's no one there
that looks like me, right?
And so, that experience for me,
or one, the fact that I was invited
told me that there was a hunger
for people to feel moreconnected in this beauty space
because they reached out to me,you know, that's number one,
but when I got there, Iwas just so blown away
(09:17):
by just the narrative that they had
around people who looklike me versus reality
and the things that they said to me,
like, things like, you know,
"We only get a chance to seeblack people on the news,"
and if we have any perspective
on what the news cycle looks like,
(09:37):
especially for people who look like me,
it's not always positive,
and for them, they wereintrigued initially
that they were inspired by somebody
who looked like me sofar away, that was one,
but just, you know,bringing me to their homes
and talking to theirgrandmothers and their mothers,
and hearing their experiencesand sharing perspective,
like, literally, my presencethere in Vladivostock, Russia
(09:59):
changed the way peoplethought about black people,
and that happened as a resultof a product that I made,
and how I was able to show them
how to use it in that curiosity,
so a product like Colorfixconnected, culturally,
people on the other side of the Earth
and made them have a sense of empathy,
(10:23):
a sense of togetherness,
a sense of, like, we are all the same,
that we would enjoy the samethings, share the same ideals,
like, for me, that was really powerful.
- I bet, I mean, that is remarkable
to go through that experience
and to think about a productthat, as you started with,
meant something to you personally, right?
Makeup being a part ofyour personal self-esteem,
(10:45):
but then, knowing to bring that to others
who are so different from you
halfway around the world, remotely,
and have that experiencetogether with them,
that is fantastic, I'dnever really thought about
makeup being able to do that, or beauty,
but absolutely can see it.
- And I have thousandsof stories like that
and I hear them every day,so, you know, for people
who think that makeup is trivial,like, I can write a book.
(11:08):
- [Samantha] Absolutely not, you should.
- And tell you all the reasons why.
- That will be another day,
but okay, so Danessa Myricks Beauty,
the company is known for many things,
and I think one of them
is this inclusivity you're talking about,
this meeting people wherethey are in different spaces,
really being able to servea variety of skin types,
(11:30):
and one of the things Iloved seeing on the website
and also in the stores wasjust how many different people
you are showing using your products.
I mean, that is so phenomenal,
so talk about how that came to be
such an importantphilosophy of the company.
- I mean, just from myown lived experience,
like, I knew how important it was,
like, I know all of the nightsI laid on my pillow crying
(11:52):
because I didn't feel seenand I couldn't see myself,
and so, I know I can't be alone, right?
You know, and as I journeyed through
the beauty space as a whole,
I mean, I've done so many things,
I was an artist, an educator,
I developed productsnot just for our brand,
but for others, I workedcorporately for other brands,
you know, I got a chance tosee the other side of things
(12:15):
through other people's lenses
and see how products come to life,
and, you know, I had achance to work in labs
from all over the world
and see where the challenges are there,
and I just knew that I really wanted to be
the change I wanted to see.
I knew for a fact thatthere were a lot of stories
(12:36):
that were never going to be told,
you know, when you think about
how a lot of brands make product,
everybody's looking at past data,
so if it didn't exist in the past,
they're not going to make something now,
if you can't see thesuccess of it in the past,
then it's not worth...
You know, they can't see the math
and how it's going to be profitable,
but you're never going to seeit if it was never there, right?
(12:58):
- Right, someone has to take a chance.
- Yeah, it was very hard tohave those conversations,
especially as a consultant,and I knew from my own eyes,
and my own experience,and all of my travels,
that there were a lot of different ways
that people are participating in beauty,
I've heard the voices
and I knew that there was a lot of people
who didn't feel a part of it,
(13:19):
and these are real people,
they live on this planet with us, right?
And so, I just knew how important it is
to feel like somebody's thinking about you
and creating something with you in mind,
especially when you're talking about
something that's problem-solving.
Even if I go back to just mytime, like, very severe acne,
like, that was my wholeworld at that moment
(13:41):
and I was desperatelylooking for solutions,
and if you could imagine, ifthere was a solution there,
and it was perfect and itwas the thing that I needed,
but it wasn't made for me, right?
I wasn't thought about inthe construction of it,
like, that makes youfeel even worse, right?
And so, for me, there's nothingmore important than that,
(14:02):
like, if you have a business,
whether you're providinga service or a product,
there's a person on the other end of it,
and it's like, who is that person?
And for me, it's everyone.
I cannot even imagine for a moment
separating someone from the group,
of somebody who I want to make feel good.
- That's interestingbecause many companies,
(14:23):
I think, have personas in mind,
they really design theirproducts and services, right?
- I hate that, because peopletrain that all the time
and I'm just like,
"So you're strategicallyexcluding people,"
and when we talk aboutbeauty, for me, like,
and knowing that it's a necessity
and knowing that it really...
It's something at the core of a human...
Like, it's where their confidence lies,
(14:45):
it's where, you know,they feel self-assured,
where their power comesfrom, I mean, personally,
I can't see excluding anybodyfrom the conversation.
- The good news is you don't have to
because you have somany products that work,
so I was in Sephora pickingup some of your products
and I wanted to see justhow it was displayed,
and there was quite a fewpeople around me also buying,
(15:06):
I had to sort of edgearound them and get them,
so you'll be happy to know,
so I have this Colorfix, the Goldmine on,
and I also have the blurring balm powder,
which I can't believe howlittle you need to use
to really get an effect,it was unbelievable,
so I have to go light,
but tell me about whatproducts stand out to you
(15:27):
in terms of their uniqueness.
- In terms of our collection?
Well, for me, there's so muchintention about everything,
so for me, they're all very unique,
like, you named two of my...
I would say the top two
that really tell the story of the brand,
Colorfix, for me, was a culmination
of, like, my life as an artist
and how I started as an artist,
(15:48):
like, most people don't know,
when I started doingmakeup, I had zero dollars,
and so, I had to find things
that I can use to do a lot of things,
and I would go to thedrug store, buy pencils
'cause they were always,like, 99 cents or $1.50,
you know, they were underfive dollars 100% of the time,
and I would break them open,
scrape out the lead and melt it down,
(16:09):
and then, I had thisvery high-pigmented cream
that I could put anywhere,
and I used it all over the face,
it's literally how Istarted as a makeup artist,
it was the base of me building my kit,
and so, when I was thinkingabout the first thing
that I would make thatwould be manufactured,
like, that's all I can thinkabout, this multi-use thing
that can do everything, go everywhere,
creates a lot of value, notjust if you are an artist,
(16:32):
but just as an everyday person,
if you have one thingthat could do everything,
like, it's your Swiss armyknife, what would it be?
And that's what Colorfix is,
so I love that you grabbed that.
- I love it, so you'resaying I can use this
not only on eyelids, but...
- Your cheek, your lip,
you can mix it in with your foundation,
it literally is, "I do everything,"kind of a product, yeah.
- That's incredible.
- And balm powder, for me, also is...
(16:53):
The reason why it really tells
such a full story of thebrand is that it takes...
That product is a techniquethat I used to do as an artist,
I used to really prep the skin very well,
so lots of good skincare,
and then, I would takepowders in different colors
and I would do your entire face
with powder underneath the foundation
(17:15):
because it was a way of makingthe skin look very flawless,
you didn't have powdersitting on top of the skin,
which sometimes can agesomeone, it looked like you,
it made the makeup look very natural,
but it absorbed all theoil, it kept sweat away,
and so, I used to do a seriesof things to get that result,
and balm powder is the one-stepthing that everybody can do,
(17:39):
so like you said, you can just open it,
put your finger in it,
and you can be an artist, your own artist,
and the confidence that it brings you
to know that you canget all of those things
just by going like this onyour face with your fingers,
I mean, for me, it's really powerful,
so that particular productI'm super, super proud of,
we've won so many awards for it,
(18:00):
but it just tells the story of our brand,
innovation, inclusivity, takingartistry, making it easy,
creating products that build confidence,
like, it tells the full story,
so I love that those are the two products.
- I mean, I'm going to keep usingit now everywhere, I love it.
So it says on it, the back of the box,
"With Upsalite technology,"what is that exactly?
- So Upsalite is aproduct made in Uppsala,
(18:24):
it's a Swedish product, and during COVID,
I was working on thisproduct, balm powder,
and with the intent of making sure that
that absorption of oil and sweat was there
and that it blurred the skinbecause that's something...
Everyone has issues with texture,
and I knew that was a problemthat I wanted to solve,
and during COVID, like, I was...
(18:45):
You know, in 2019, I traveled300 of the 352 days in a year.
- Oh, my goodness.
- In 2019, I did not, and so...
I mean, 2020, so I was home a lot,
I was in my office, I was researching
and an email came across aboutthis particular ingredient
that no one had used in the way
that we've used it in thisproduct, and it was...
(19:07):
It had the highest blurring index
of anything in cosmetics,the highest absorption rate,
like, one gram of Upsalite
can absorb a tennis court's surface area
of oil and sweat, yeah.
- That's incredible.
- It's super, super powerful,
we have four grams in our balm powder...
- Oh, my goodness.
- [Danessa] Just to giveyou some sense of, like...
- Yeah, no oil's getting through on that.
Yeah, and so, I was...
(19:28):
That was the magic ingredient
into what we were already building
to take this product to the next level,
and I'm really proud we were the first
to ever use it in a hot pour,
and no one else to date has done it
in the way that we've done it, so it's...
I'm super proud.- That's incredible,
congratulations.- Thank you.
- That's incredible,and I've talked to users
who really appreciate thatoil-absorbing capability,
(19:49):
so you're onto something.
- Thank you.
- I think what's also reallyunique about the brand
is that professional makeupartists really love it,
but it's very accessible to consumers
and you're selling itdirectly to consumers,
it doesn't seem like there's many brands
who can do both of those things,
so how do you do that?
How do you approach...?
'Cause those will be different segments,
and how will you talk andposition the product differently?
(20:09):
- Yeah, for me, honestly, it's really easy
because if you think about how I started,
I'm a self-taught makeup artist,
I had to teach myself how to do things,
so I needed things to be easy, right?
And so, I was taking complex ideas
and trying to make itdigestible for myself,
so for me, I was alwaysthe customer, right?
And so, like, that'smore where my mind is,
I understand the complexity of artistry
(20:31):
and have been able...
Really blessed to be able
to have to do artistryat very high levels,
but I also understand, like,me starting as an artist
and, like, what I didn't know,
and also, just me as a general consumer
and the people who are aroundme, what they don't know
that would make their experience easier,
so I feel like I have it all...
(20:52):
I'm surrounded by it all...
- You lived it.
- Yeah, I've lived it andI'm seeing it around me,
and so, for me, it's like,that's how I think about
creating in the beauty space, is what...
You know, for me, beingdiverse and inclusive
is not just about a skin tone or race,
it's about, like, howwe experience something,
and how we all experience beauty is so...
(21:14):
The aperture is wide, like,it's a very wide lens,
you know, it's broad,
and so, it's about thinkingabout everybody in-between,
from the pro to the noviceand everybody in-between,
and making sure everybodyfeels good and feels confident.
- So the entrepreneurship experience
is often a rocky road with testing and...
- Often? It's always.
- Always a rock road, so I'm very curious,
(21:35):
take us back to the time
where you're makingsomething in your kitchen,
you talked about this so far,
and tell us aboutsomething that went right,
and then, maybe tell ussomething that didn't go as well.
- Yeah, I've...
Wow, how long do we have?
So I would say, you know,
I think the best time thatI had and the most fun I had
is, like, in my basement making things,
(21:55):
like, mixing it until I knew it was right,
and, you know, I was makingsmall batches of things
and I did every step ofit, so I knew it was good,
I can trust every step of it,
and also, I was the personstanding behind the booth
sharing it with the customerand telling the story of it,
applying it to them,
so that experience, beinginvolved 360°, like, I...
(22:18):
You know, I think it's very powerful,
and for anybody who'searly-stage in their business,
like, cherish that time.
I think the most challenging point
was trying to scale those,you know, basement ideas up,
you know, to be able toserve thousands of people,
I think it just changeseverything, and not...
I didn't know what I didn't know,
and so much of what I've donehas been learning on the job,
(22:40):
so there have been moments where at the...
When I...
Like, the...
Even the idea of Colorfix,
Colorfix has gone throughso many iterations...
- Hmm, interesting.
- Like, it started out in a pump
because I wanted it to be very hygienic,
I wanted, like, an artist to be able
to put it in their kit veryeasy, it was super tiny,
I knew you only needed a littlebit, so I just wanted you
(23:01):
to be able to pump out the tiniest amount,
but the first generation of Colorfix,
people were like, "I love this!"
And then, the next day,it didn't pump out,
because, you know, itwas drying in the tip,
and so, this is whycommunity is so important,
like, my community, like, stood by me,
they were like, "We know this is good,
we're here to support you, fix it,"
and so, the next iteration was in a tube,
(23:23):
and so, they were like, "This is great,
this is, like, the best, best thing,
but then, I sourced a tube
that wasn't as robustas the formula needed,
so the tube was great,but people were like,
"Wait, it's drying inside the tube,"
so air was getting into the tube,
and so, there was a point in my business
(23:45):
where I refunded or exchanged,
like, maybe I would say about, like...
This is going to...
It makes my stomach hurt,
like, maybe, like, 30,000units of Colorfix...
- Oh, you weren't kidding.
- But I think that's whymy community sticks by me
because they're like,"Something was wrong,
and you fixed it, and we moved on,"
you know, now, Colorfixis perfect, obviously,
(24:07):
and it's in, like, multiplefinishes and whatever,
but it was hard to learn that.
- Fascinating story, I mean,how would you know that,
going from mixing this inyour basement, to the tube
and the way it had...?
- You had to learn. Trial and error.
- Yeah.
Never made those kindsof mistakes again...
But, I mean...
(24:27):
- But thankfully for thecommunity really stepping in,
so talk to us about that,
you know, we're reallyspending a lot of time
on community in this season,
and it's vital toeverything that we're doing,
personally and professionally,
so your community cameout for you, clearly...
- Always, always.
- And stuck with you, whatdid you draw from this?
I mean, and how do you continuallyreplenish that community
(24:49):
and the connection you have with them?
- Yeah, I mean, I just never let go.
I mean, for me, it's been...
From the very beginning,
it's been the communityhas built this brand
who has supported me, whohas supported my ideas,
who have cheered me on,
I think, you know, theysee themselves in me,
I mean, if you think about it, I'm...
There was nothing specialabout me, I just...
(25:09):
I'm like so many people on this planet
who just want somethingmore for themselves,
to want something more forthe people around them,
and just took a chance
to build something andto create something,
and I think a lot of people feel that way
and want that for themselvestoo, and they see it in me,
and so, they can understand,like, where I'm at,
I didn't have any previouseducation in this space,
(25:31):
there was nobody telling me how to do it,
and so, they were justreally rallying behind me
and cheering me on from day one,
and I never let go of them,I always listen to them,
I always ask for their ideas,
I ask, like, for what they need,
I ask them if it's working, is it right?
And we've always had thisreally beautiful dialogue
I've never forgotten it,
(25:52):
like, they've been with me on the journey,
and as people are introduced to the brand,
they're also introduced to the community,
I mean, people tell me all the time
when they read the commentson social, they're like,
"There's no negativecomments on your post..."
- No, they're really not.
- And it's because, like, people really...
They know who I am andthey know my intent,
(26:16):
and this community,like, when someone joins,
if there is a negative comment,they're all jumping in,
"Hey, this..."
"Not in this house,
like, this is not what we do here."
- I love that support, I love that.
And by the way, you can't buy that.
That is really authentic,you've built that.
- It's real.
I really care about the peoplewho experience this brand,
and I think people know that,
and so, yeah, they stick in there with me.
(26:38):
- I'm really struck too
at how much joy and fun they have, right?
With the colors, and everytime you post something,
I mean, it's beautiful...
- Thank you.
- But I think you also seeeveryday consumers buying things,
and experimenting and usingcolor, so I love that.
So tell us about the moment
you felt like you had a big break,
you know, was that gettinginto a retail outlet
(27:01):
or just having your first big order?
What was that momentwhere you said yourself,
"Okay, we're about to take off?"
- Wow, there were a lotof different moments
at different times, ifI can go back to the one
that I think, you know,really made me feel like
this is a real business
is when we got ourfirst wholesale account.
Up until that point, if youwanted to buy the product,
(27:22):
you know, it was out of my truck,
knocking on my front door or,like, meeting me at a show,
and Alcone is a world-renownedpro artistry shop,
like, big pros from all around the world,
when they're in New York,that's where they go,
or that's where they buy it online
because they know that everything
that's important in beauty is there,
(27:42):
and they were the first store
to take a chance on the brand,
and it changed everything for us
because the people who were shopping
were notable in the space andthey were using our products,
and it just...
It built confidence on a different level,
and it enabled us to tell thestory on a much grander scale,
(28:06):
and not just through my voice,
but through the voice of people
that other people respectin the beauty landscape,
and once Alcone took the product,
then multiple other pro shops followed,
so that was pretty powerful,
the next ones for me, theyactually both happened
all around the same time, in 2019,
(28:28):
the first, I would say,retail chain carried us,
that was Morphe, and we werestill running the business
out of my basement at that time,
so I don't know if you can imagine
what that looked like,but it was very tricky,
but it just made me feellike, "Wow, if a..."
"You know, a larger retail chain saw us
and saw value for their customers
(28:49):
and were able to purchase,like, these big orders,
like, wow, we're on our way,"
but the magic reallyhappened for me in 2021,
that's when we launched in Sephora,
which is, like, a dream spaceif you are creating in beauty,
and that's also when we won
our first Allure Best in BeautyAward, it was for Colorfix,
you know, which is really powerful,
(29:10):
like, the first productthat we've ever manufactured
was the first product that we won
this very prestigiousaward in the beauty space,
and I think what was moreimportant for me with the...
Our launch in Sephora is that,
you know, up until that point,
you know, our awareness wasreally around professionals,
or beauty enthusiasts,
(29:33):
or influencers whoreally knew of our brand,
but, you know, the Sephoracustomer is very different,
it's the average everyday beauty wear.
You know, what was powerfulfor me and for the brand,
and what really made me feel good
is that what we set outto do, we were doing
because we were verysuccessful from the start
(29:54):
and grew very quicklywith a brand-new customer,
and the fact that this new customer
was able to walk into the store
and see themselves in thebrand was really powerful,
and that's when we really knew
that we were on the right track,
that we were doing the thing
that we said we werehere to do, yeah, it...
That year was a really special year for me
(30:14):
and will always be, yeah.
- So that's so fascinating to know
you started with a group ofinfluencers, if you will,
the pros, and it took onecompany to take a chance on you
which really led to so much more,
and I think that's just agreat lesson for entrepreneurs,
that you went to a veryspecific channel, and that's...
That channel could reallylead to so many other things,
(30:37):
and you didn't start direct-to-consumer,
which some brands do.
- Yeah, and we also...
We always had our website going,
and I was not a webmaster,so anybody, I apologize,
and, you know, for anybody
who ever purchased from us early on
because it wasn't the mostfluid and sexy experience,
(30:57):
but thank you all for sticking with us,
but yeah, so we stillhave our D2C business,
but, you know, Sephora, obviously,
is where our largestcustomer base is, yeah.
- That's fantastic.
So you've talked about your community,
which sounds like a verybig online community,
what is your social media strategy?
How would you say you liketo show up in that channel?
(31:17):
- Authentically.
Like, honestly, everybody'salways asking like,
"What is it you guys are doing?"
We're out being ourselves,
like, and I think that'sreally important, there's...
You know, what you see onour pages is who we are,
it's not like we're creating something
separate from us for social,
it's who we are, it's always important,
and, you know, when wesit around the table
(31:37):
and talk about what we want topost and what we want to do,
it's always like, you know,
"If I were this kind of person
and I came to our page today,
would I feel like I belong here?"
And that's always our strategy,
like, this brand mustalways be a safe place
to land in beauty, that is our priority,
and so, if anything, we'rejust making sure that
(31:58):
that diversity always shines through
and those conversationsare always happening,
but it's actually kindof easy because our...
If you came to my office,you would see the world,
and you would see every age,
we have seven-year-oldsworking at our office, right?
Everybody is there, right?
(32:20):
Yes, I mean, across the board,
we have multiple languagesthat are being spoken,
different parts of the worldthat are being represented,
like, every identity is there, like...
- What I noticed that it'snot only the skin tones,
but it's gender diversity that's...
And I do not see that reallyon many beauty brands.
(32:43):
- I mean, it's who we are,
so we just show up onsocial being ourselves,
and I think that's what ourcommunity enjoys about us
is that we're consistent, we'renot performative in any way,
and if anything is ever missing,
they ask for it and we answer.
(33:04):
We did a casting recently,and most people don't know,
like, from the beginning of the time,
like, all of our images
have always been peoplewho consume the brand,
they've always been customers
or personal relationships,like, not through agencies,
it's really, you knew us,
and so, we amplified thatrecently doing a casting,
and that casting was so important for me,
(33:25):
like, we did a castingcall and we're like,
"Anybody who sees themselvesin the brand, show up,"
and I honestly thought that,
"Ooh, maybe we'll get,like, 100 or so people,"
because it was a very smallwindow, the casting call,
like, literally we had...
I think at the end of thatday, we saw over 800 people...
- Oh, my goodness. Wow.
- Yeah, and it was like a party basically,
(33:48):
and what was most, like...
Yeah, I get emotionalthinking about it now, what...
It wasn't like what youwould traditionally see
at a casting call for a modeling agency,
you know, people came in wheelchairs,
we had people of everybody size, every skin tone,
every age, to your point, every gender,
(34:11):
when you see somebody comewho has, like, one eye
to the casting call, feeling so confident
that they're in the right place,
like, I can't even put into words,
like, what that day felt like,
and then, when you see them
actually show up in our campaigns
and you really know that,you know, this is...
Yeah, we're doing the rightthing, you know what I mean?
- That's incredible.
(34:32):
800 people from all walks of life,
I mean, what a joyful thing.
- It was incredible.
- Probably not many people
were able to move on to the next round,
I'm sure they enjoyed beingthere for you and celebrating.
- Oh, and we still go back to that list,
like, when we launched our concealer,
we had 108 models andall came from that room,
and every campaign, evenon our teach-me Tuesdays
(34:54):
or whatever it is, wealways go back to that list.
- That's incredible, I love that.
So tell us more about what'son tap for you this year,
because you are still doingso much in the community,
what are you looking forward to the most?
- Wow, you know, anytime that I could...
You know, I'm outside alot more, you know, I...
(35:14):
I don't know, maybe I'ma non-traditional CEO,
I'm supposed to be very focused
on just maybe this globalview of the business,
but I'm, like, in the weedsprobably more than most,
I'm out a lot, like, forme, it's really important
to be with the peoplewho consume our brand,
the storytellers of ourbrand, so I'm out a lot
and really just trying to create
(35:34):
as many opportunities justto meet people in person.
I think we operate uniquely
where we know that we can notonly just touch our audience
through our audience,but through partnerships
and collaborations with other brands,
and I think people will be surprised
to see how collaborativewe are with other brands,
(35:57):
even competitive brands,
just to do what we say we're here to do,
connect heart, to mind, to beauty, right?
And so, it doesn't...
You know, so we're veryupfront, very personal,
really leaning into the digital space,
I mean, that's really been
the success of our brand from day one,
like, people really got to meet us first,
(36:18):
whether it was on social orthrough a digital masterclass,
and so, we're creating a lotmore digital experiences,
like, even me personally,just making time in my workday
to schedule just Zooms to meet people
in different parts of the world,
customers who consume the brand,
like, just having more intimate,
up-close-and-personalinteractions and conversations
(36:40):
with our community is super important,
it's what drives everything for me,
what drives our innovation, sofor sure, that's a priority,
but I'm really excited for the newness
that we have coming in,
just some new ideas thatare on the way, yeah.
- Well, it sounds like
you're very driven by innovation, clearly,
so I can't wait to see what comes up next.
You know, on the subject of leadership,
(37:00):
as a black woman founder,how important is it for you
to be that representationto so many others?
I mean, you talk aboutbeing out in the community,
you're probably very visible,
you know, as relatingto others, is that...?
Does that come with a responsibility?
- Oh, 100%, I mean, and it's everything,
like, I'm very consciousof everything that I do,
I'm very conscious of how Ishow up, anybody who knows me
(37:24):
knows that I take mentorshipreally, really seriously,
we have programs that I've started,
there's programs thatI've collaborated with,
other artists, otherentrepreneurs on, like, you...
If anybody looked atmy calendar in a week,
they would know what's importantto me, and it's always...
If it's not a podcast, it's a...
Talking to another group,
whether it be a groupof new entrepreneurs,
(37:47):
maybe it'll be active founders
who are looking tocollaborate, trade stories,
to support each other in thatway, whether it's students,
like, I'm always making myself available
because I just rememberjust me and my journey,
and I just can only imaginehow different it would've been
if I would've been able to ask questions
to the right person at the right time,
(38:09):
so mentorship is really important to me,
and also, the one thingthat I know for sure
is that it's important for people...
You know, people know thatthey can be it if they see it,
and I want, when they see meand they understand my journey,
they know what's possiblefor them, so yeah, I'm...
That's always going tobe a priority for me.
(38:31):
- I love that, I mean, that sounds like
such a legacy for your business
that you're pulling that throughout,
so what would you leave our listeners with
in terms of your advice if someone wants
to maybe pursue somethingin a creative field,
but doesn't yet see thepath for themselves?
- You know, there's a Rumiquote that I read recently,
and I hope I don't botch it,it's says something like,
(38:54):
"As you start on theway, the way appears,"
and so, what I would say is just start.
Like, I never had all the answers,
to be honest, I never hadany of the answers, really,
it was just, like...
I think the one thing that I did
that I know with certaintyworked was start,
(39:15):
and so, I would encourage anybody,
regardless of how you may see yourself,
you know, that imposter syndrome is weird,
I felt it my entire journey,but it doesn't matter,
the fear that you feel...
You will feel your entirejourney, it doesn't matter,
it's about feeling thefear and doing it anyway,
just start and the pathwill unfold in front of you.
(39:35):
- Danessa, it's so nice to talk to you
and to see your success, thisis really uplifting for us,
thank you for being here...
- Thank you for having me.
- And continuing to beout there in the world.
- [Danessa] Thank you.
- Thank you for listening
to my conversation with Danessa Myricks.
I loved how she created acommunity with her customer base
(39:58):
and how she's able to connect with people
across the world through beauty.
Thank you to Danessafor sharing her purpose,
passion and power with us.
As you move through yourjourney, we invite you
to reflect on the powerof community in your life.
When you build mutualtrust in your community,
everyone benefits, and as a bonus,
the community will be therefor you when you need it.
(40:21):
If you enjoyed this podcast,don't forget to like,
share and subscribe to it onyour favorite podcast platform.
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