Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marquita Toliver. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marquita, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Tell us the story of how you came up with this Idea for your business?Paint the picture for us so we really understand the context, circumstances, the emotions etc.
. In 2019, God gave me a vision to go out and do what I love, encouraging women to feel and look beautiful despite the challenges life throws at you. In 2020, H.O.O.D -Having.Overcome.Our.Despressions QueenZ Cosmetics was birthed!

Walk us through how you knew this was a worthwhile endeavor – talk to us about the logic of why you felt this would work?

I knew this was a worthwhile endeavor and that it WOULD work because it’s not something I just got up and started. It was a vision given to me by God! God showed me H.O.O.D QueenZ Cosmetics and if he showed it to me then that’s what he had for me.

Were you solving a problem that no one else was solving?

In a world where a woman’s beauty is defined by her outer appearance, depression is at an all-time high and women from the hood are overlooked. Hood QueenZ Cosmetics inspires confidence in and celebrates beauty within so that all women feel included!!

What about this idea got you most excited?

What excites me the most about this idea is that No woman will feel left behind, all women feel beautiful and included!!

Marquita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself,

Hi Queens, my name is Marquita (Quita Michelle) Toliver, and I am the founder and Visionary of HO.O.D Queenz Cosmetics. Born and raised in Houston, Texas. As a child I have always loved everything about beauty! Helping women look and feel beautiful has always been my passion. But for a young girl growing up in the projects comes with many challenges, especially for a girl who was told, she would never be anything. No one plans to become a teen mother, high school dropout living on welfare. Despite the dark days, I always knew that God had a purpose for my life! Giving birth to my first-born son lit a fire in me to press my way through. In 2003 I enrolled back in High school and in 2004, I became the first female in my family to receive a high school diploma. Generational Curse broken; Fastforward to 2018. By this time, I was married and had given birth to two more children. April 30,2018, I became the first person in my family to graduate college. Although I had over came so many obstacles and accomplished many achievements, I still felt lost, dealing with traumas of growing up in the hood that I had never healed from which drove me into a deep depression. In the back of my mind, I have always known that the beauty industry was included in my purpose, just didn’t know how. During my healing, life became defined. I started playing in makeup. I had no clue of what I was doing, but the feeling I felt while playing in it was amazing. It became therapeutic for me. Slowly I started building my confidence back and before you knew it, I felt alive again! Then it hit me that there are women all over the world just like myself who suffers from depressions that comes from the traumas of growing up in the hood, women who are overlooked and needs help getting their confidence back!

What type of products/services/creative works you provide?

Hood Queenz provide Quality color cosmetics products such as eyeshadow pallets, lipstick, lip gloss, mascara, and many more! Starting April 2023, we will start offering makeup services and classes.

What problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others.

What sets us apart is that we inspire confidence in and celebrates the beauty of all women leaving no woman behind!!

What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.

The many things we want potential clients/followers/fans to know is that Hood Queenz takes pride in making sure we provide Excellent Quality products for you that are cruelty free and harmless. Also, that at Hood Queenz there is “No Judgement, Just Beauty” and all women are included!! XOXO Quita Michelle

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

As of today, I’m still learning and building my audience on social media. A few things I can say that have helped me get this far is being true to myself, staying consistent, creating/posting content, and engaging with my audience.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2022 I had to pivot in life and business. May 2022 I was diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor that has changed my life tremendously. Many days it’s hard for me to get out of bed and work on my business, but despite it all I continue to press forward trusting God!

Contact Info:

• Website: Hoodqueenz.com
• Instagram: hood_queenzcosmetics
• Facebook: Hood QueenZ Cosmetics

Image Credits
pureimagehouston