Detroit native Melissa Butler is an alumna of Florida A&M University, and the CEO and founder of the cosmetic brands The Lip Bar and Thread Beauty. Through her companies, she helps women by encouraging them to look and feel their best.
In 2015, Butler appeared on “Shark Tank” pitching her vegan lipstick brand, yet was denied by each judge. Since her “Shark Tank” rejection, she has gone on to build a beauty empire with products being found nationally in big box stores such as Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty and more.
Butler shared how being honest helped her build two successful beauty brands.
How did your career path lead you to where you are today?
I have two brands. The Lip Bar is 11 years old, I started that company making lipstick in my kitchen when I was working on Wall Street. I always tell people that it’s not because I’m a beauty girl, but because I am a self-esteem girl. I understood very quickly at a young age that if you feel good, you’ll be able to do good in the world. If you don’t have the confidence, it’s going to be very hard for you to make the moves in life. In 2010, I was so frustrated with the beauty industry, its lack of diversity, its excessive amounts of chemicals, and this idea that beauty looked like one thing. I was like, “this is why people are not confident, because they’re chasing something outside of themselves.” That’s honestly what made me start making lipstick in my Brooklyn kitchen.
Last year, I started a second beauty brand called Thread Beauty. It’s young, it’s fun, it’s super Generation Z, and it’s affordable. Every single thing is 8 dollars. With The Lip Bar, everything is like 14 or 15 dollars. Both are sold in Target stores across the country. The Lip Bar is also in Walmart and we’ll be launching [with] another retailer later this year.
As a beauty entrepreneur, what do you feel your superpower is?
We just launched an eye shadow product on the Lip Bar side last week, a duo chrome, and it is color-shifting. … The campaign for that was called Super Pigments for Super Women. Those are all superwoman campaigns. The fact that you asked me that question makes me smile. I think my superpower is honesty. I’m really honest and I try to be honest and when I’m not being honest, I feel a way inside.
If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would you say?
If I could go back, I would probably tell my younger self, that it’s OK to have big legs. … I would try to pour into every single thing that I didn’t like about myself, whether it was like my big legs or the gap I used to have although I ended up getting braces later in life. “It’s OK, Melissa, at the end of the day, these looks don’t matter, and on top of that, you’re a pretty girl. Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
