We were lucky to catch up with Ada Hsieh recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ada, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?

It would definitely have to be Ada Lip Beauty. Our lipsticks are pigmented only with vegetables like beets, radish, potatoes, turmeric, and spirulina. Research and development took 4 years and we finally have a really nontoxic lipstick with pigment that packs a punch!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I used to work on Wall Street in NYC. While finance definitely provided the means to dig deeper into my hobbies and passions, it was also deeply unfulfilling. My passion was in fashion editorial, special effects, and creative makeup. I took tons of classes to learn different techniques, fell deep into the beauty blogs, and I loved makeup products. If anyone’s walked out of Sephora with their wallet intact, they know what I’m talking about. This isn’t a cheap passion. It was while I was in these creative makeup sessions that I felt really whole. Makeup provides a therapeutic release for me, where I can feel at peace. Where my mind quiets down. What can I say? I just fell in love. It was in the special effects sessions where I’m playing with different chemicals like wax, glue, acetone, that I started thinking about what’s in our day to day makeup. As you already know, it was filled with toxins and chemicals. What made me shocked was that we are actually ingesting our lipsticks. Research shows that lipstick wearers ingest 4-10 pounds of lipsticks over their lifetime and it just accumulates in our bodies. Traditional lipstick formulas are packed with horrible ingredients like heavy metals ie lead. Don’t think men can escape this problem. They kiss people who wear lipstick! I wanted to create a lipstick that was as food based as possible for this reason because we will ingest this no matter what. Since makeup has provided such a peace of mind for me, I wanted to make the brand all about speaking kinder to ourselves. When you put on lipstick in the mirror, it’s a very intimate moment with yourself. Each shade name is an affirmation so that you can see it, wear it, and speak it. Ada Lip Beauty is all about advocating for yourself and others, to speak up because your voice matters.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Show that you care! Send messages asking how their day is, how they’re doing. Provide value in people’s lives. People respond to that. Business is personal. I’m not sure who came up with that quote, “It’s business. It’s not personal.” – That’s an outdated quote that I hope no one is still doing business by. Times are changing and people care when you care.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I wanted to be the faceless shadow hiding and working behind the brand. Too bad. Business doesn’t work like that anymore. Founders are front and center. I had to learn to get over myself. I had to learn how to speak on camera and on video. In order for indie brands to grow and gain customer loyalty, a huge part of it is the founder. The founder story, founder-led events, and founder interviews. Every opportunity I had to grow the business, I had to be the face of it and at the center of attention. If this isn’t a problem for you, that’s perfect. For me, it was a huge groan. I didn’t want to be, but it was such a priority to get marketing opportunities. Everyone wants to know who’s behind the brand nowadays. Get ready to be pushed into “stardom”, that’s how your brand will thrive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.adalipbeauty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adalipbeauty/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adalipbeauty
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ada-lip-beauty/

Image Credits
Ada Hsieh