As an entrepreneur, I started Wright Beauty because I wanted to see more inclusive representation in the beauty world. In 2023, I had the opportunity to write for InStyle and give my honest reviews on makeup launches. I wrote about the Makeup By Mario foundation line and Tarte’s new contour sticks. After having my work published, I started to receive several PR opportunities from companies like Maison Margiela and Prada. One day as I was working on an article, I thought to myself “If I’m so enthusiastic about writing about other companies’ products, why not create something of my own I’m excited about“.
My Business Journey & How I Created My Products
That simple notion is what birthed my beauty brand and inspired me to launch my body butter and beauty oil. I started last year by going through a 12-week entrepreneurship training course with the city of New York. During that time, I learned about foundational business principles, researched other entrepreneurs’ journeys, and worked to develop my own product. Going through that program gave me confidence and taught me how to start “messy”.
“Messy” in the sense that everything may not be super clear in the beginning. But if you keep working towards your dream little by little things will be revealed to you. So once I finished with that program, I started to double down on making my product. I was eager to take what was in my head and create something physical that I could hold.
I quickly found through word-of-mouth an amazing family-owned manufacturer in Long Island.
Over the next 6 months, I worked on sourcing packaging, getting my samples filled, and testing labels. I finally landed on this eye-catching, tangerine orange jar that reminds me of the vibrancy of my hometown of Miami. I created the labels myself using Canva and worked with Avery to help me print the labels for the body butter. My vision was to have a label that complimented my packaging, so I used a lighter orange shade and graphics depicting the ingredients. All the pieces were coming together and it was time to test the formula.
Ingredients & Self-Funding The Business
As someone dealing with dry skin, I wanted a body butter that would nourish and hydrate the skin. My formula uses raw cocoa butter and incorporates refined avocado oil. My butter is lightweight and has a soft vanilla fragrance that makes it perfect to use for your self-care days. This comes in an 8oz jar and with this being a thicker consistency a little bit goes a long way. Plus, all the packaging is recyclable and meets the sustainability commitment I set forth for my brand.
Black Beauty
After finalizing my sample, I began to start the production process. Last year, after receiving my tax refund I set aside $550 to produce both my products. I used $275 towards producing 10 units of my creamy body butter.
Avery sent over the labels to my manufacturer and my packaging supplier mailed over the empty jars. Within a week my butters were filled, labeled, and ready to go. When it came time to pick up my first set of inventory I became overwhelmed with emotion. I spent so much time nurturing my idea and self-funding my dream, so to see it come to life was such a surreal moment.
My vision for my brand is to serve the needs of black women who struggle with dry skin. Oftentimes in the beauty industry, we’re thought of second. But this time I want black beauty to be the focus and formulate a top-notch product for us by us. Not to mention body butters have such a a deep cultural significance to the black community. Ingredients like shea and cocoa beans grow naturally in the motherland of Africa.
I’m elated to have started my business venture and have my brother be my first customer to buy my body butters and support me in the early stages. As I continue to spread more brand awareness around the launch of my products, I’ll also be working on crowdfunding and getting grants to grow my business. In such a short amount of time, I’ve accomplished so much and reached new heights I never thought was possible. You can shop my body butter line now and tag my brand @Wright Beauty when posting content.