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

Sandra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

As a beauty fanatic, I have also tested many different cosmetic products and found a passion within it. Considering my skin type and the sensitivity, I wanted to create a more affordable cosmetic line that could be so diversified but yet so detailed and catered to one’s skin type. As someone who has worked in retail and purchased tons of makeup, I found one common thread within certain makeup artists which was the ability to match my undertone and skin tone correctly. My cosmetic line is parables free, cruelty free, vegan and eco-friendly. In the past, I was employed in the makeup industry. I worked in a makeup/barbershop shop for a few months while working at the cosmetic counters for Macys & Bloomingdales. . While working in both department stores, I was able to completely understand the diversification of makeup and the overall products. This was evolution of Star Artistry.

Sandra, 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?

What sets Star Artistry apart from others is the fact that we specialize in vegan, eco-friendly cosmetics. We are an affordable black-owned cosmetics line based out of Atlanta. Everything produced through Star Artistry is created with cosmetic formulating chemist. We do not work with any vendors and take time to perfect every product that is produced and sold. I worked with several people in the chemistry and biology departments in undergraduate in which I was taught how to combine certain ingredients to create formulas. I do not have an actual vendor in which I do not buy and resell any of my items. All of my products are made in house, however, I chose vendors to only create packaging.

Some of the best sellers are the Baking & Setting Dust (water resistance and 6 shades), matte foundation, stellar brow definer, and our waterproof luminous long-lasting mascara.

I am most proud of keeping my brand authentic, I do not plan to sell or have someone else create formulas for me. I am 100% hands-on with everything in my business.

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

As a very social person, I always create content about my personal life. For my makeup brand, I worked with my fellow classmates, family and friends to test and market the product with total transparency. In the last year or so (2021), I started a new marketing venture, I employed 2 additional people and also hired 3 interns to work on social media campaigns/marketing. Two people were hired as beauty influencers in which they used the products, posted reviews and generated ales/insights.

Advice that I would give to others would be, create that indeed posts and hire interns. Seek people outside of your social circle as they are many strangers who will promote you much more than your family and friends. You do have silent cheerleaders.

On social media, I also promote my STARter lessons. I am a certified makeup artist and a lifestyle coach. I have a diversified background in skin care, beauty products and teaching others how to grow their makeup business. I not only create and sell cosmetic products but I also do makeup.

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 is that the people closest to you or in your social environments are not the people that will completely support your brand. You have to look beyond the people in front of you and create a target audience in which will drive sales, views and awareness to your beauty campaign.

There were many family and friends who over complimented my makeup but never posted, reposted, or even purchased from my brand. Thats a huge lesson in itself. Some people want you to prosper but just not at a higher level than that of theirs.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.starsartistry.com
• Instagram: Starsartistry
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandraporter1
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/StarPorter