How To Become a Beauty Boss

It's me, Julissa. Welcome back. Today, it's not just me. It's also one of my really good friends. She is a boss babe. She is a TV host. She's also the owner of Beauty Magnet. She is a wife, a mother. I don't know how she does it. One thing about Liz Kennedy, I call her the connector. If you say anything that you wanna do and she happens to know someone that can connect you a little bit closer to that goal or that mission, she wastes no time. She's like, oh, wait, what do you wanna do? Yeah, oh, I know that person. Oh, okay. And the next thing you know, you're on a group chat and you're like, oh, wow, this happened. We're both from New York and we live in L.A. And from the minute we met, we clicked. We have mutual friends. Everyone around us were like, I can't believe you guys don't know each other. We really bonded over the fact that we both really missed New York and she was having a hard time when she first moved out here. She's trying to be nice. I called her every day hysterically crying, being like, I hate L.A. I hate the people here. I have no friends. I miss the people back home being super real. So she was literally one of my first friends here. I spent my entire quarantine with Julie. When we're together, we don't talk about anything other than how to build our dreams and hype each other up and encourage each other and COVID changed the game for us. Absolutely. We got really close during quarantine because we were both getting ready to launch these brands of ours and the idea of that and the world shutting down, we basically were freaking out. We both- And by freaking out, she means like I was crying and she was like, I don't know, this might be forever and we were just, we were a mess. And we were like, okay, how do we, as per usual us, how do we pivot and we would just encourage the living out of each other to make our dreams come true? Absolutely. She was doing makeovers on the same show that I was coming on to do this panel of opinions and you guys know I'm opinionated. Liz and I really connected because she was getting ready and was working on her brand, Beauty Magnet. Show the people Beauty Magnet. Obviously I have one because Julie and I talk about our products all the time where it was like, how can we make it better? Do you like this? Do you not like this? This is what I was working on during COVID while she was working on Republica. So we would use each other as sounding boards. It is a Swiss army knife for beauty tools, but magnetized. So you have the eye roller, tweezer, rose quartz roller, the, I say blackhead remover, but it's the chromodone extractor. The professional version. And then the microneedle. Oh, derma roller. Derma roller, microneedle roller, yes, I think. Derma roller. When we were both working on our brands, we really leaned into each other's expertise. Her and our other friend, Lisa, the way they saved me from making a crazy decision up to the second. I had approved pretty much everything when it came to packaging. And I showed them this color of the box that I originally thought that I wanted to go with. And they were like, Julie, you can not put that out there. No chance. And I was like, wow, you're right. The thing is when you're developing something and you've been working on it for so long, you're so excited to get something done that you just want it done sometimes. And you need that friend. That's why it's really important when you're developing something to have honest people around you, to be like, eh, that's not really great. At the end of the day, your friends are potentially your customers. When you're creating something that physically doesn't exist, it's a mold that doesn't exist, this is like a patent. It's a lot of money. It takes a lot of money. You were able to raise over $250,000. I actually raised a little under a million. Wow. So during quarantine, she was a wife, a mother, raised $900,000, launched the company. It sounds so much cooler when someone else types it up because during it, you cry yourself to sleep and you think you suck and you're never gonna make anything happen. I can only imagine the pressure of some other people giving you $900,000 and saying, here, go, let's see what you come back with because I better get my money back. The truth is when you're an entrepreneur and you know the space and you know beauty, you start to look at things like, okay, what's missing from the market? And then you just start to plug in ideas. How many times have you asked your man or your girlfriend, where's my tweezers? Where's my roller? And that person looks at you like, girl, you've asked me. 15 times, where are your tweezers? I'll keep it in one spot. If I'm having this issue and other women are constantly looking for their stuff 24-7, maybe there's something that I can do to create something that's in uniform, looks really beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, and you can find it all in one spot. So that's kind of how it came to life. If you're sick of losing your stuff, you can buy Beauty Magnet at Ulta.com and I partnered with a company called Nudestix to bring it to life. So you can shop it there. It's $85 and you will never lose your stuff ever again. Or you can just hit the link below and you can get your own Beauty Magnet. People that follow Julie and the people that follow me, they love beauty and they wanna be educated in it. And that kind of is why you started what you did. People in your community were saying, are you gonna start a skincare line because we'd like to see something different? I kept telling you like, do you think that they're gonna take me seriously in this space? Because I'm not a licensed esthetician. But she's a beauty expert in her own right. Guys, we've been doing this for a long time. It's a lot of trial and error. Without aging ourselves. We are vets in this space. So during quarantine is when things like, I feel like that's when we really got off. Yeah, hitting each other up every day because we were going crazy. I mean, I live alone so I would hit her up and be like, hey, do you wanna go on a hike? And I just had a baby so my hormones were crazy. I had no job. I was basically losing my damn life. Ready to just jump off the first bridge she could find. She's like, I hate it here. I don't understand. I'm a licensed esthetician. I know what I'm talking about. What are these trolls on the internet telling me otherwise? And I said, take a breather. Let's get you right. We need to take advantage of this time that we do have to really focus on what we wanna do. For her, it was Beauty Magnet. You guys already know. For me, it was Republica. When you get older, you start realizing like how dope the people around you are and the company you keep is really important. It inspires you. It makes you wanna be a good person. Fast forward to the Republica launch. Yeah. Hey! Woo! Yeah. And see you there. Oh my God, it was so much fun. Everyone that has given me their time, their opinions, their efforts. I mean, it's wild to think that. Julie's face was just smiling from ear to ear. One, two, three. We are Republica! And the whole event was like, it was so on brand with Republica. These rich greens. And everyone wore green or white, which was really cool. Even the location looked like- Yeah, for sure. It was a piece of like DR tucked in LA. Again, it goes back to the company you keep. Liz Maris, who is also one of my best friends, is also an expert in experiential marketing. She has an eye for aesthetic. You know how her and I get to be pinky in the brain. Like, what? I was so much fun. When Liz Maris and I walked in and I saw everybody there and like the visions that we had for the thing. You know really quickly who really loves you when they like stand by your side. They're smiling like alongside with you. It's like, you pick up really quickly. And who shows up for you, man. At the count of three, Republica. One, two, three. Republica! Yay! It just happened so in a blur. Like you plan for this day. You have the vision for it. You do all the things. And then you're just saying hi to everyone the whole time because they're like hyped to see you. And you're like, hi, hi, hi. It's literally what a wedding's like. The food, the drinks, the this, the that. And then it just, and then it just happened. I wish that you could have experienced it, especially if you're a beauty lover, which you're watching this because you love beauty and you love Julie. Oh man, it was so amazing. Like the ceviche and the drinks, like even a few of them smoked. Remember those drinks that smoked? Did you get the moon? Girl, I think I, this is no lie. You were the only person that brought me a drink. You were like, Julie, you don't have a drink in your hand. Because it's like a wedding. That's so rare. You're saying hi to everyone and you're just bopping around. And then you're like, oh wow, I haven't even eaten the food or had a drink. That's what happened. Is everybody having fun? And wow, we spent all this money for everyone else to have a great time. I mean, I ended up having a blast, but it's so stressful to finally get the vision to a reality. We've lived in LA for a bit and it really did feel like a little bit of like jungly-esque vibes. Like how do you explain, like with that big tree, that one big tree. That was the goal. You guys should have seen the first location. I thought the first location was it. It was good, but I think this one, we nailed it. It felt way more intimate. The first location was massive. And I was like, wow, this is it. We feel like we're in Bali. And then Liz Maris was like, yeah, but we want to go to Dominican Republic. I said, you're right, we have to look at another place. I didn't even realize how much of an impact it made to have that big screen where it kind of showed the commercial of how it came to life. I thought that was really cool. Everybody, please, let me get your attention to the screen right here for the official Republica Sugar Body Polish campaign. Shot in Dominican Republic. That was a must. I ate six empanadas that night, okay? Like six. They were so good. I did have Dominican food because first of all, in LA, I had to put it on my social media. I put it on my Instagram like, who in LA can pull off Dominican food? Who's that girl, XIXI? She's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. She was killing me. We were at the bar and she was like, finally, real food and not just lettuce in LA. And I was dying because we were the ones, like, we were on plate number three. I was so adamant about certain things, like the same way I made sure I wanted to shoot that campaign in Dominican Republic. I said, uh-uh, I cannot. Yeah, I had to. Just seeing everyone, like all the influencers that I thought weren't gonna show up, actually show up. I could go around this entire space and thank you all individually, but it would take me forever. Oh gosh, the speech. You guys know I can talk all day, but the speech had me so mad. Julie never cries. I've never seen this girl cry. It's like my husband. Oh, on here, I cry. Sorry, I didn't think I would cry. You cry on here? Anytime I talk about Republica, I'm freaking waterworks. It's so annoying. Oh, that's special because that night when she cried, I got all weird and I had my period, so I got really weird about it because I was like, wow, like, you are super emotional. Oh my God, I'm gonna get sent out. And if you've been my friend for a while, you know I never cry. But this is always the one thing, whenever I talk about Republica, that makes me emotional. You know, to see your friends, like, really happy and excited about something, especially, like, you know, we come from, like, families where we, you know, had to do everything by ourselves. Yeah, I know. I didn't wanna cry, sorry. That means a lot because, obviously, it resonated with you and, you know, we know our struggles to get our brands out there and finally launched, but to see everybody come together and really support, and that's where, really, I wanted to speak from when I said that speech. You know, I had something, I think, completely different, actually, on my phone. I just had a bunch of notes. Oh my God, I'm gonna cry. No, you just have to let, I know. That's the goal, man, is to ultimately inspire, and if you can have your friends along the way, you understand, like, how important it was when I was, you know, harassing you for your opinion, you know, because you are the expert, and I was like, dang, I know, like, you get paid for this, but as your friend, I didn't want you to feel overwhelmed with me calling you up every second, but. A real friend will never feel overwhelmed. You should be able to use and abuse your friends like crazy and they still be like, I'm here, I got you. And that's what I felt the night of the launch. I couldn't have done it, and I literally can't do it, and I could not be standing here if it wasn't for each and every one of you. And everyone in that room was actually genuinely, so you know when you always kind of feel like if someone's not, everyone in that room had a grin from here to here, and was happy to be there, for real. I know, Drea came up to me, and she's like, so how does it feel to be a CEO? I was like, ah, like, I don't know. Am I a CEO? Am I? Ooh, I don't know, girl. Circle back in like six months. Literally, do I still have hair after this dress? Right, seriously. My friends are great. I mean, you, Adri, and Lana, I mean, I reach out to my friends, and they're always down to give me their, down to help, down to give me their opinions. But I have such a thing with asking favors. Because you've done so much by yourself. Exactly, when you do so much by yourself or on your own, asking for help, it can be a difficult thing. Yes. Even though you're not. You work hard, I work hard. We're here to support each other. We definitely, I think we have a great community like that. Like, even if all of us don't see each other all the time. If one person shows up, it's a lot. If one person makes you feel seen, it's a lot. So, all of you have not only done that for me, and with me, many, many, many times over. So, thank you so much for showing up, for making me feel seen, and for all your love and support. Thank you, guys. Love you. All the women that were there, they're always down to support you, and your cause, and your efforts, and vice versa. So, that's what I mean by, like, use and abuse. You should be able to do that, and, like, confidently. And I always felt, you know, like, oh, I don't wanna always mix my friends, because I don't know who's gonna get along, and I don't, but I think you get to a certain age where, to your point, you may not like all of my friends, I may not like all of your friends, but one thing about each other, we're gonna respect each other, because, at the end of the day, I can respect the fact that she's a boss about her business. For sure. That's what's up. Yeah. Basically. And even if it's not about business, if you're not launching a brand, but you have a big job interview, or a date, I've had friends that are like, girl, we will go on the date with you, we'll just sit at the other table. I said, that's crazy, but will you really? Or that one friend that's like, you know what to do, text me, I'll call you, go to the bathroom, I'll wait five minutes till you get back. I'm so sick, I got diarrhea. No one's ever going to challenge diarrhea. That's for sure. No one. They believe you. That's how you get out of everything, no one questions a single thing. But you're lucky, you have a baby. Yeah. I'm not saying you should just use your baby for excuses, but I'm saying, if you have a baby, when you have a child, you could, oh, babysitter. Get away with anything, yeah. Yeah. You could get away with that, or your baby had diarrhea. Yeah. These are real excuses. The launch was awesome. We need to pull up on this frame right now, Julie's shoes. Those shoes were crazy. Yo, those shoes. Those shoes were insane. I hope they got a shot of that. Because the heel's not even that high, but the way I wanted to chop my feet off and find the bird these feathers came from, oh my goodness, they hurt. I mean. They're fabulous, that's the reason why I bought them. And they were perfect with the theme. I don't know if anyone can really understand the beauty of Bottega shoes. The heel's not even that high, though. I don't know why. But it's this thin strap that digs into your foot. You need like a. My third toe on my left foot, I promise you, I have no sensation. I can't, I don't know what's gonna happen to me. But a moment for the shoes. Just a moment. These were the official Bottega. Because they might not be out ever again. Launch shoes. And trust me, you will find these for a fraction of the price very soon on sale on an app. Yeah. Goes to show there's pain in all forms of the business. Even down to the shoes you wear. It's all part of the game. Because it ain't easy walking in an entrepreneur's shoes, let me tell you. Okay. It's so true. When you finally work on something for so long, you launch it. It's kind of like, I would imagine, again because you're married and you have a child, is when this happens. So, what are you launching next? What's next on the agenda? You're like, dang, I just spent 10 years working on this. Can I live in this moment for a second? Yeah, it's hard. I mean, I know what's next for you. Are you even allowed to talk about it? For Republica, yeah. Basically, it's gonna be a three-step system. You know how you do steps. Everybody does steps for the cleansing, then the toning, then the moisturizing. You're gonna polish first, and then you're gonna do two other things after. For anyone who hasn't tried it, a lot of body polishes do a beautiful job at exfoliating, but they don't hydrate simultaneously. That's why when you take that photo, people are probably like, why is she so wet still? It's not because she's just like, oh, I just got a shower. The hydration after the polish, it's like a two-in-one. You're exfoliating, but you're getting that really beautiful film of hydration. She be knowing. It kills two birds with one stone. It's not only taking off the layers, but also adding all the things that you've taken off to the nourish as well. And if you're like me and light and super fair and get spray tans, because that's how I stay healthy looking, not transparent, it's great to do before you get a spray tan the night before. You know it'll really sink in, and then the next day I'll get that spray tan, and I am prepped. Wow, I didn't even know I can talk about my product the way she just did. Like, dang, girl, thank you. So if anything, hopefully from this episode, you guys took away the fact that you can rethink who you have around you. Call your friends up, and shoot, if you're even going on a date, and you need them to say, look, call me, and say that I have diarrhea or whatever. Clearly, your friends should be there to do that for you. Now everyone knows our secret. We know, we watched. But what are you guys working on? Let us know so that we can support as well. Comment below, let me know so Liz and I can support it, so we can check it out. And if you guys wanna hear more of these kinds of real conversations about how to go from an idea to putting it out there, I mean, whatever it is that you guys, your takeaway, drop some comments below. And of course, don't forget to subscribe. And thank you so much for coming. I love you, sweetheart. Appreciate it. Keep each other inspired. Yes.