We recently connected with Ling-Ling Nie and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ling-Ling thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Tender Cosmetics is a category-defining beauty brand of cooling cosmetics that is anchored in self-respect and the belief that beauty should feel good. The company was born from my own personal health crisis when I learned the hard way what happens when you don’t take care of yourself. For the majority of my professional life, I devoted my energy and focus on advancing my legal career, and I deprioritized anything that would take time away from that goal. I gave up on relationships, leisurely travel, socializing with friends, and despite my body telling me something was wrong, I delayed medical treatments if it meant missing out on a work trip or a project that would lead to a promotion. I did this for years. Ultimately, I developed sepsis and a severe abdominal infection caused by endometriosis that required multiple surgeries and a long road to recovery. It was a life-altering experience.

Looking back, I often felt responsible for making other people’s lives easier at home and at work and at the expense of my own mental and physical well-being. I valued others valuing me, and while that can be a positive aspect of the human experience, I took it to the extreme. I also learned I am not alone and that this tendency is endemic among women.

As I built better habits to respect my body and mind, I became an enthusiast of morning routines and fell in love with under eye patches and face masks that cooled my skin that allowed me to start the day feeling refreshed. My desire to extend that feeling throughout the day led me to develop cooling color cosmetic formulas. I want more women to experience the feeling of taking good care of themselves as they go about their busy lives, and that is the guiding light of Tender Cosmetics.

Ling-Ling, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Getting my cosmetics company off the ground was very challenging at first because I had no experience or contacts in the industry. But I did feel strongly that I wanted to change the way we view beauty and shift the focus from not just looking good but to also feeling good. Many rookie mistakes were made along the way, along with discouraging moments, but I am a problem solver by nature and I’m resourceful and persistent. These same skills helped me achieve my goals over the past 20 years in my legal career, and I lean on that when I have to work through unexpected issues.

What fuels me in building my brand is when women share how my products make them feel and how they enjoy the sensorial experience and the cooling effects throughout the day. Tender Cosmetics is still just a tiny brand in the enormous ocean of beauty products, but if what I’m creating is making a difference to even a small group of women for now, then all of the hard work is worthwhile.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started Tender Cosmetics while I was working full-time as an in-house attorney at a technology start-up. Before that, I had worked in-house at mainly large organizations. Shifting to a faster paced environment where someone can have an idea in the morning that gets put into motion that afternoon was quite exciting. For a while I had this idea to create high quality creamy cosmetics infused with cooling ingredients and having a day job that fostered an environment of experimentation encouraged me to take a shot at bringing those products to market.

My day job was obviously my priority but every evening and every weekend was devoted to building my business. It was overwhelming at times and exhausting, but I felt great purpose pursuing something that came from the heart. Once the products were ready for distribution and the focus shifted to my go-to-market strategy, it became increasingly difficult to have the energy to be creative and productive after hours. All of my attention was given to my day job and my business would get what was leftover at the end of the day. I did not want to regret not giving Tender Cosmetics the attention it deserved, and so I left my job to work on my company full-time.

I don’t think that the attorney chapter of my life feels finished just yet, but I am putting it on the sidelines for now to grow my business. I am encouraged daily with the knowledge that there is great fulfillment in the pursuit.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Founding a business is exciting but it also requires confronting the reality of failure, and that possibility helps you make careful and thoughtful decisions as you grow. Being a first-generation Asian American, I had to unlearn the idea that failure is fatal. Many people in our community will not take the leap of faith required to step out on their own because the potential for failure is sometimes too costly from a social perspective. A person’s reputation and social status reflects back onto their families and even the smallest chance of causing harm or embarrassment can make you hesitate. For those who aren’t familiar with that cultural dynamic, this sentiment is probably pretty alien, but it is very real for me. I remember all the whispered judgments growing up of people saying what a shame it was that someone didn’t get into the best school, didn’t win first place, lost their job, or were forced to close their business.

Over time I’ve discovered that nothing grows while in your comfort zone. I no longer fear criticism from people who haven’t been where I’m going. Mistakes are made in order to propel yourself forward. Even if you land flat on your face, you’re farther along than when you started. I’ve learned to embrace courage and resilience in the face of fear.
My favorite description of fear is to “face everything and rise.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tender-cosmetics.com
• Instagram: tender.cosmetics
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Tender-Cosmetics/61568153464976/#
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tender-cosmetics

Image Credits

Hannah Lozano Photography