We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marci Estiverne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Marci, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Maquillage by Marcel is a movement that allows women to be themselves authentically and unapologetically all while showcasing their inner beauty with striking colors and bold lips. We encourage ALL women to unmute all that makes them unique and flaunt it like the queen she is. This is especially meaningful to me because our mission is to celebrate and enhance the unique beauty of all individuals, with a special focus on the needs and experiences of our community. Founded by a proud Black mom, we are dedicated to creating high-quality, inclusive cosmetic products that empower and uplift. Our goal is to inspire confidence and self-expression, while fostering a supportive environment that values diversity, authenticity, and representation in us all during any phase of our lives.
Our core values include:
Inclusivity: Offering a wide range of products that cater to diverse skin tones and types.
Empowerment: Championing the strength and beauty of women, especially mothers and Black women, through our products and community initiatives.
Quality: Providing safe, effective, and innovative beauty solutions crafted with care and precision.
Sustainability: Prioritizing eco-friendly practices and ingredients that are good for both people and the planet.
Community: Building a nurturing and inspiring community where every individual feels valued, seen, and beautiful.
We are more than just a cosmetic company; we are a movement towards redefining beauty standards and creating a world where everyone can embrace their natural beauty with confidence.
Marci, 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?
My name is Marci and my obsession with makeup really evolved when I was in college. I am an advocate of women owning their beauty in the best way that she sees fit. To the millennial woman who is juggling many hats whether that be through working, creating or raising a family then you should do all that your heart desires with access to beautiful and bold shadows and lippies.
Maquillage by Marcel is a cosmetics company that provides beauty products such as lipsticks and lipglosses in a variety of colors and what sets us apart is the forward thinking behind all the products we include in our beauty products.
At Maquillage by Marcel, we take immense pride in several key aspects that define our brand and set us apart in the beauty industry:
Inclusivity and Representation:
We are proud to offer a diverse range of products that cater to a wide array of skin tones, types, and needs. Our commitment to inclusivity ensures that everyone can find products that make them feel beautiful and confident.
Quality and Innovation:
Our products are crafted with the highest standards of quality and innovation. We use safe, effective, and ethically sourced ingredients, ensuring that our customers receive the best in beauty care.
Empowerment of Black Women:
As a Black mom-owned brand, we are particularly proud of our role in empowering Black women and mothers. We strive to create a platform that celebrates and supports their beauty, strength, and entrepreneurship.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
In the journey of growing Maquillage by Marcel, there were several lessons that I had to unlearn to better navigate the realms of business and social media effectively:
Firstly,The Bigger the Following, the Better the Engagement
I learned that It’s not about the number of followers but the quality of engagement. Building a smaller, more dedicated community that genuinely connects with your brand can be far more impactful than having a large but disengaged audience.
Secondly, Not all Social Media Trends are Worth Chasing
I learned that: not every trend aligns with your brand values or resonates with your audience. It’s crucial to stay true to your brand’s identity and focus on content that genuinely reflects your mission and appeals to your core audience.
Thirdly, Social media success doesn’t equal Immediate business success
I learned that High engagement on social media doesn’t always translate directly to sales. It’s important to build a comprehensive marketing and business strategy that integrates social media as one of many tools to drive growth and success.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
We currently sell our products on our site www.maquillagebymarcel.com as well as on Amazon and Etsy. In utilizing both techniques to sell my products this is what I have experienced.
Pros to selling on my own site versus amazon and etsy are:
control over my brand image, customer relationships, profit margins, customization and flexibility meaning the ability to implement custom features, promotions, and sales strategies tailored to my business needs.and the flexibility to integrate various tools and plugins to enhance functionality..
Some cons to selling on your own site are traffic and visibility, cost and maintenance, trust and credibility and logistics and operations where I am solely responsible for handling all aspects of order fulfillment, shipping, and returns., managing inventory, customer service, and other operational tasks.
In selling on platforms like Amazon and Etsy some pros are: High traffic and visibility, trust and credibility, simplified operations, marketing tools, Cons are fees and commissions, limited branding, competition, dependence on the platforms policies and limited access to customer data.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.maquillagebymarcel.com
- Instagram: @maquillagebymarcel
- Facebook: @maquillagebymarcel
- Twitter: @maquillagebymarcel
Image Credits
Orange and flower backdrop images were photographed by Talisha of @talilly.photography in Lake Worth, Fl.