We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Santoyo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My career began as a freelance makeup artist from 2013-2020 and the unexpected happen covid-19 pandemic. With the world at a halt, so was my career. No events, no special occasions to dress up for other than living room dates. During covid, simultaneously my husband and I would have date nights in the living room every week to break up the monotony of pajamas, sad news, and unshowered days as well as trying to figure out how to make an income. My first swing at an income was designing t-shirts and using a third-party company to print my tees which led to uncontrolled shipments. Scratch that. Second, I love fitness so why not own my own fitness clothing line? Invested a few hundred dollars, and sizing and fabrics were an issue…scratch that. Third, my friend called me up and convinced me that I needed to be creating a makeup line, told me about his 5 Shopify stores and I said I’m in! And the rest is history or Herstory! It only made sense, I had experience, and I already had customers that trusted me. With the world at a halt and the need for self-care on the rise, I created a line that not only made you feel glamorous with its array of sparkle and glitter but looked gorgeous sitting on your vanity as well. Building a brand around my passion for makeup and love for everything glitter has made my work, an obsession.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Currently, I am 42 years young and have always loved makeup since my late teens. Hanging out with my older cousins and friends, they would ask me to do their makeup before they went out. Then when I became of legal age to go out to clubs & bars, I would get asked by my friends to do their makeup too! One said to me “You need to be doing this as a job!” Nothing was taken too seriously at the time, laughed and enjoyed our night out. It was not until I found myself divorced at 30, raising 2 kids, ages 8 & 4, and looking for more income. I was going to school part-time, working as a customer service rep with Verizon, a bartender/waitress afterward and I started my own LLC as a makeup artist. I would book clients in my own free time in between life. I loved it! The instant gratification I received from transforming looks and giving others a beautiful feeling about themselves was the ultimate reward. The saying goes, do good, feel good although I also got paid for doing so. Winning. I did this, grew my clients between 2013-2020 and the world became gloomy when the pandemic hit.
During this time, of the pandemic, Date Nite Beaute was birthed. As per my interview on WGN DayTime Chicago on Oct. 1, 2021, I wanted to create a makeup line that made you not only feel fabulous but looked fabulous. We needed a pick-me-up, and what better way than with glitter and glam? I use my experience as a makeup artist to curate my products. I want them easy to use, with pigmented colors, and gorgeous packaging but also lasts all day, and some with skincare ingredients to do double duty.
With all things that sparkle, I have a friend who is a makeup artist for the pageant systems. I handed her some of my makeup products to start using and the beauty queens loved it! I am currently a second-year state pageant sponsor for USOA Illinois/Wisconsin pageants and second-year USOA Nationals in Las Vegas.
I also have a celebrity purchase from Oprah’s personal makeup artist, Reggie Wells. From June 2022-December 2022, I had a homegrown project opportunity provided by my town, The Berwyn Shops, in which I participated. With a successful 6-month storefront along with 11 other vendors in the shopping strip, I grew my customer base and product line including extending into bling accessories. After our term, we were awarded $10,000 in grant money to use toward a permanent storefront in the town of Berwyn. I am currently working on finding our new home for Date Nite Beaute.
I have done makeup classes, one on one facetime tutorials, and in-person demos and I try to make myself available for questions. I feel I’m not only here to sell a product, but I want you to know how to use it. When you know how to use it, you will then love it! And that’s where the magic happens because you are going to tell your friend and you will most likely come back. I have experience as a makeup artist, so why not give value to my customers? In my previous experience in customer service jobs, I’ve always been one to build relationships. I’m not only a business owner but a relationship builder. We lose that when we shop online or go to a bigger store and we may never see that employee again who guided us to the brow section. I feel it’s important and I love it. I build friendships and trust.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Every Saturday morning, my husband and I turn on the morning news, WGN channel 9 Chicago. We both love how they make us laugh, especially Tonya Fransciso, the news anchor. I would watch, and one day I started noticing she wears a lot of red lipstick. I thought to myself, I should send her one of my Pearla Collection lipsticks. It’s bedazzled in bling and pearls on the outside and the red is a stunner. Some time went by, and it was just a thought. Until one episode I heard them say her birthday was coming up! I thought I got to send her one! With a card, to express how much I love her personality and a gift that was as extra as she was. I already had a celebrity purchase, and I feel no one knows you exist until you make yourself known. My minor is in marketing, and whether she mentioned my brand on television or not, I was still honored in sending her my product. Ultimately my gift came from the heart, so no harm was done. The business person in me knows planting seeds is necessary. Some may grow fruit and others not, but I won’t know unless I do. Off in the mail was Tonya’s gift. Months went by, and Tonya announced her leaving the WGN9 morning news, I was sad knowing my Saturday mornings would not be as funny as it once was, but I was excited about her next endeavor. She was starting her own talk show with Amy Rutledge that would air at 10 am cst. It was not until 5 months after I mailed off her gift and she started her new career that I received an Instagram message. She asked if I was the woman who gifted her the beautiful lipstick. She then followed with “How would I like to come on her show and talk about a covid born business and give makeup tips?” I was over the moon thrilled. I not only got to meet a celebrity, my admired celebrity but there was a better opportunity the universe had for me than just Tonya mentioning my gift on air. I got the opportunity to be aired and talk about my brand personally!
I truly believe when you do things from the heart, good things come. I’m always trying to market my brand and myself. I stay working and always look for opportunities.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe my reputation in my market began from the previous experience I’ve had as a freelance makeup artist. My social media makeup page and personal page already had existing clients that followed me, booked me for services, and trusted me with my knowledge of makeup. As my career switched from makeup artist to makeup brand owner, I began to network with other business owners, and through this, connections and relationships are built. Credibility and reputation come from my actions backing up my words. People see that and respect it. I always try to be transparent and honest with friends, customers, and network connections. I’m huge on supporting other businesses/friends too, so others can see I believe there is plenty for all of us.
Throughout building my brand, in the wise words of Oprah’s makeup artist Reggie Wells spoke to me, continue to build my foundation. With a celebrity purchase from Reggie, an interview on WGN DayTime Chicago, and sponsorship in the beauty pageant industry, I’m building my foundation and my reputation.
As I curate my cosmetics line, I personally, carefully test each product for quality and within a small test pool that includes fellow makeup artists. Because of this standard, products purchased and then reviewed by customers have kept me a 5-star standard on google reviews, along with incredible product reviews on my website and Facebook.

Contact Info:

• Website: datenitebeaute.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/datenitebeaute/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/datenitebeaute/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@datenitebeaute
• Other: https://linkpop.com/datenitebeaute

Image Credits
Headshot: Eva Flis Photography