We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mimi Kamara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mimi below.

Mimi, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Before becoming a celeb. makeup artist, I worked in beauty retail for quite some time. 2 key things that these years taught me were: 1. all women really just want to feel acknowledged and included.
2. no brand had a Nude Lip gloss that catered to women of all races or complexions. There was so much beauty segregation in finding the perfect Nude Lip.
As I grew as a freelancing makeup artist, I had to mix 4 or more shades from different brands just to get a great nude, and it was super frustrating! I found myself always saying, “if I ever create a beauty brand, it’s gonna be nudes for every complexion!” and as time went on, I realized the a brand with the perfect nude didn’t exist. Through faith and a lot of prayer, MIMIK Beauty was birthed!
A multi dimensional nude lip for women of any complexion. A community for women.

Mimi, 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?

While getting my degree in psychology, I was always the friend that wanted to give you makeover, tell you what beauty products were best, and create an overall look based on my friends’ personalities. I guess I was creating aesthetics before it was a thing! In my senior year of undergrad I began to fall in love with makeup, viewing it as a form of therapy for me and whatever face was my canvas. So after I graduated, I packed up a small U-Haul van, $400, and my faith in God to become a cashier at MAC Cosmetics! From there, I grew professionally and artistically. Gaining opportunities within New York Fashion week, editorials, television, and with celebrities.
All of these years became the informal grad. program that taught me what the beauty industry lacked (a perfect multi dimensional nude lip), how women wanted to feel, and that customers were loyal because of their experience first and the product second! You could say I got my masters and graduated without realizing it!

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

A lesson I had to unlearn was that Black women could not successfully create, own, or operate beauty businesses; because this was a space for White men and women only. I unlearned this myth through several experiences: 1. As a beauty retail manager, I was privy to statistics of the store I managed and I company I worked for. Learning that Black women make up over 60% of the beauty industry’s consumer.
2. Who qualifies better than a Black woman to start, own, and operate a beauty brand? I am the person who influences and consumes beauty the most.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been and is faith & authenticity. I am unapologetically a Christian woman first and a business owner second. Within a short period of time, MIMIK Beauty has been featured on The View and Watch What Happens live, not because of my connections but because of my faith! Of course I did and do the work, the product is amazing, but I never asked for favors or to be featured on The View or WWHL.
Instead, I boldly asked God to let the world know how great MIMIK Beauty is and He sent people to do just that! People saw me doing the work and were happy to support me. Nothing more than a faith move ;-).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mimikbeauty.shop
• Instagram: @mimik.beauty