We love the month of March for a number of reasons – the season changes, flowers bloom, and March is Women’s History Month. Who doesn’t love roses and a good discussion about women who run the world? From changing diapers to changing leadership positions, we love sharing the wonderful accomplishments of beautiful women everywhere. Today, we’re honoring some of the best women to ever step foot in the beauty industry, and how they changed the game for pretty much, the world.
Janell Stephens – Camille Rose CEO
In an ever-changing, competitive industry, our CEO and Founder Janell Stephens remains a staple. Her acute focus on vegan ingredients for total body wellness is what drives her long-standing business empire. Stephens launched Camille Rose in 2011 to inspire and offer consumers a full-body wellness approach to their beauty and hair needs. After creating a breadth of products for her children suffering from eczema, she made it her mission to educate and help others do the same. What started in her kitchen has now blossomed into an international enterprise with Camille Rose products available at national retail stores in the U.S., such as Target, Sally Beauty, Whole Foods, etc., as well as the U.K.
Estée Lauder – Estee Lauder
Estée Lauder’s uncle sparked her interest in cosmetics when he taught her how to make velvety skin cream for women. In partnership with her husband, Lauder built one of the largest and most successful beauty empires ever. Dubbed a fantastic marketer, she combined her love for reaching the customer and her skills to create the “gift with purchase” selling point that many brands use in their marketing and sales tactics today. Estée Lauder is an iconic American entrepreneur and is still one of the top beauty companies in the world.
Sarah Spencer Washington – Apex News and Hair Company
Sarah Spencer (1889-1953) is a hair care icon. The entrepreneur started her career as a hairdresser in 1913 and several years later started and launched her very own hairdressing business Apex News and Hair company in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In a small one-room beauty shop, she concocted products from trial and error and was eventually granted a patent for a new system of straightening the hair of black women.
Spencer worked in the beauty salon and taught students tricks of the trade during the day while selling her cosmetics throughout the city. Her hard work, tenacity and talent would make her business one of the most sought after and largest New Jersey black-owned business and one of the nation’s leading black manufacturing companies. In addition to the cosmetics company, she owned Apex Publishing Company, which published Apex News for beauticians and sales agents, Apex Laboratories, Apex Drug Company and Apex Beauty College. There were 11 beauty schools in the US and franchised schools overseas.
Lisa Price – Carol’s Daughter
Inspired by her mother, Carol, Lisa Price concocted hair and beauty products in her Brooklyn kitchen in 1993. She began selling her hair and skin products at local markets and to her surprise, gained a dedicated following. It was during one holiday season when she ran out of inventory because of high sales that she realized her business was booming. The Carol’s Daughter fan base is extensive, including Halle Berry and Jada Pinkett Smith, who was an early investor. Carol’s Daughter is sold nationwide in Target and Ulta.
With so many women icons, we could not include them all. For all of our Rosette beauty enthusiasts, who has inspired you that we did not mention? Drop a comment below and let us know.
These Women Changed The Beauty Game
by Amber Williams – March 06, 2020
