April 14, 2020

Meet Mandy Madden Kelley

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandy Madden Kelley.

Mandy, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My name is Mandy Madden Kelley, and I am originally from New Zealand. Growing up, I often struggled with my skin. This was a physical aspect of my body that made me feel self-conscious, and I was ashamed of it. As I matured, I learned the importance of self-love through self-care. Although my background is in Law and Marketing, when I moved to Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to rediscover myself and gain the courage to get on board a new adventure in my new country. That is when my love for beauty and skincare grew and became something I wanted to dedicate my life towards. This was and still is something I am passionate about. I wanted to be part of the beauty and skincare industry. I felt like there was not a single platform out there dedicated to teaching women about beauty and skincare. I decided to share my love for this topic on my blog, as well as my Instagram platform.

For the past couple of years, I have been working alongside some of the industry’s most well-known professionals and luxury brands. However, I still felt like there was a lot of “noise” out there. I noticed I was receiving a lot of personal messages from girls and women asking how to achieve healthy, glowing and clear skin. Of course, having access to great products helps, but you certainly do not have to purchase a $500 face cream and see instant results. That is when I realized that the ‘secret to glowing is a matter of discipline.’ My goal is to inspire and motivate other individuals out there who also struggle with their skin for different reasons and to teach them how to take care better care of themselves.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I grew up in Romania. Being the only dark-skinned person in my community, I always felt sidelined in a communist country run by dictator Ceausescu. As a girl, I was bullied for my skin. At the age of 7, I moved to New Zealand. While I was hopeful that people in this more progressive, modern, and the developed country would be more welcoming, I had to face a big language barrier. I found that the teasing about the color of my complexion had followed me to New Zealand. Instead of letting this define me, I embraced skincare as self-care, and now I dedicate time every day to loving my skin, both literally and figuratively. I have learned the importance of taking time for myself, as well as the value of committing to a skincare discipline. I find it best to combine it into my regular self-care ritual.

Please tell us about your business.
I have perfected a flexible skincare regimen over time, with the help of the industry’s best professionals, and will now be sharing what I had learned and practiced with my readers. I recently wrote a skincare guide for anyone who’s just getting started with taking care of their skin (and soul), and it will soon be available for free on my website. I know that there’s a lot of information online and elsewhere regarding skincare, and that can be both confusing and overwhelming to know where to begin. In these times, it is also difficult to differentiate between what works and what’s a marketing gimmick. Today, I am on a new journey as a mom, teaching women that you do not have to purchase every product you see advertised to have the skin of your dreams. It is all about clearing out the noise and establishing a simple routine that you can stick with and regularly follow, just like brushing your teeth.

Do you feel like our city is a good place for businesses like yours? If someone was starting, would you recommend them starting here? If not, what can our city do to improve?
I do think that this is the perfect place for someone interested in getting involved in the beauty industry or someone who wants to gain knowledge about the beauty world. We have the world’s most successful and talented individuals residing here, and for this reason, it is impossible not to walk out of your house and get inspired every single day. Believe it or not, the beauty world and blogging community are very small. I find myself always bumping into the same individuals at certain events. I love connecting with them and sharing ideas, as well as gaining inspiration in return. We support each other, and we encourage one another. For these reasons, I feel very grateful to live here.

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