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

Alright, Tamara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

When I first started my journey I was 19, I was a soon to be nursing student in my third year of college at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi and dedicated. I didn’t want to disappoint my family and those that were close to me but the picture I painted of my future had changed and I knew exactly what route I wanted to travel through. It was entrepreneurship. I worked with a neurosurgeon for about a year, transferred to Texas Southern in Houston, changed my major, opened up my brand Honeydipped Cosmetics exactly 3 months after moving and the rest is history! I ended up in Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and so many other great avenues that I will always tell the next person to bet on themselves. Now, I’ve established a solid side hustle for myself until I’m able to tackle biophilic architecture after finishing surgical technology school in 2025.

Sometimes a reroute is only redirection into a space you’re meant to be in. A transference of energy. You’re challenged more, learn more, gain more and will eventually have such an outstanding amount of discipline it will be hard to break your focus in any capacity.

Choose your hard, even if it’s a long term one.

Tamara , 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?

Starting in the medical field was my first open door and I loved it – just not entirely. I felt I didn’t have a grip on the exact lane I wanted to be in but I had the right idea. I was 17 starting off as a nursing undergraduate and eventually became a business owner at 19 in 2017 for what you may know as the dreamiest brand in the world and “a skincare house” – Honeydipped Cosmetics. A 70% herbal, 30% vegan brand that is clean and gives a new philosophy to what we know as skincare.

This brand stands out from its competitors because we do not sell a pitch to buy our products we educate on why it’s imperative to choose clean products over skincare that may harm more than it helps. “Healthy Skin from the Inside – Out.” It’s an overall lifestyle choice that hooks you in because it is than a gimmick it’s facts.

When I first started my brand, the growth was quick! I underestimated the feedback I would receive after launching but making 10k a month from products can be overwhelming if you don’t have a hold on things and it’s been quite a journey. Now, I’m in my 7th year, I’m 27, a medical licensed aesthetician since 2020 and I’m on a journey to bringing The Honey Skin Bar into a biophilic architecture experience.

I’m currently learning surgical technology and will be graduating in 2025. I’ve returned back to my roots in the medical field and plan to integrate my entrepreneurial skills in the beauty realm to serve my audience and follower-ship to the fullest capacity.

But for now, I serve through my hands and skills. I offer services like lash artistry, custom facials (spa or corrective), face and body waxing, 1:1 classes, spa parties for ages 10-70, and cosmetic chemist developed products from Honeydipped Cosmetics.

You can find my brand @honeydippedcos on all platforms or visit our website for a digital experience via thehoneyskinbar.co

My goal is to work with women globally. Opening a community herbal garden at our biophilic location is something I want to accomplish as well. Working with women in the plastic surgery industry and integrating my medical aesthetician skills is the route I would love to fully tackle. A place where you can unwind for a spa day, get cosmetic or medical services and treatments for recovery and spend time in nature fully and comfortably. To spread self awareness and new understanding of what self care truly interprets is what I’m doing now through the clients I’ve established in San Antonio and Houston.

I’m very excited to see where everything goes as I further my career.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In December of 2022, I lost my dad to stage 4 cancer. It’s something that im dealing with to this day, it’s fresh but I fought stagnation and had to take a break. It was tough and probably the lowest and most lost I’ve ever felt in life but it had taught me so many things about life and myself.

When you lose someone extremely important to you it feels like a part of you is gone forever but I feel maybe I needed a guardian angel a little bit more than I needed my dad here in the physical with me. He was in so much pain but didn’t show it much. Our prayers were answered essentially and he isn’t hurting anymore, I just wish my family and those that loved him didn’t have to lose him the way we did. He is deeply missed and is my reason and why. I told him my plans and will stick to them.

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

I feel the most effective way to grow clientele is consistency. Especially with building a brand – I was fully consistent every single day by myself and added about 4 consistent interns to my team. As an owner, I was able to soak in a lot key lessons during the process of our team learning the skincare – marketing industry and growth was exponential. Now that I’m redirecting the brand it’s still active and targeted promotion is in full motion due to past consistency being such a driving force in current relevance and demand. The brand is still alive and active while I’m pursuing school. This is all I could hope for and I’m grateful my supporters understand where the brand is at too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thehoneyskinbar.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeydippedcos?igsh=NmxpczJ1N3NpOXFj&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/6mCthFBE9xm8f8PF/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Image Credits
Gabriela Rivera @Richyrae @docshootsa