Today we’d like to introduce you to Eva Reyes.
Hi Eva, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I had the idea of creating a cosmetic line that celebrated the love of horror and makeup together in the back of my head for about two years and I needed the right push to start it. I was terrified of starting a business and getting exposure and just the idea of it getting out of hand terrified me but I finally just went for it and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I am so proud to be apart of the small cosmetic shop community as a Latina, a woman of color, and a minority. I felt like there wasn’t enough woman of color in the alternative/goth scene that were business owners so it’s an honor to be all of those things together to inspire, to give that push and to pave ways to anyone out there who wants to represent our community! It has been overwhelming yet amazing to receive tons of love and support from many types of people, whether they are horror fans or just makeup fans. Blood Babe Cosmetics is a handmade horror-inspired cosmetic brand that represents the love of horror and the love of makeup coming together to celebrate both while being affordable yet providing quality cosmetics!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I want to say it has been a smooth road for the most part but there are behind the scene struggles that I didn’t think would happen. For example, the more support and exposure I got, the more overwhelming it was to run a growing business on my own. I’m a one woman show so it definitely is a challenge to hand make cosmetics and do the packaging, the social media stuff, and the labeling products all on my own. Even though I now have the help of my partner, I wouldn’t trade those struggles for anything in the world because it has given me the thick skin I needed to be apart of the business world because running a business is no joke! Another struggle I didn’t think I would have is facing my social anxiety and having to cope with it when it came to meeting people at vending events. It is still a struggle sometimes but again, having to go through these obstacles is only making me stronger as a business owner.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Blood Babe cosmetics is a brand that brings the horror world and makeup world together, providing handmade lipsticks and other cosmetics in an affordable way. We specialize mostly in our matte lipsticks that are inspired by many slasher movies and other kinds of horror movies. One of them being “Scream”, which is our best selling inspired collection! We get the inspiration of the color shades from the horror movies themselves and try to reflect the colors you see in those movies onto our products and include movie references for our shade names. Apart from selling cosmetics, we want to provide comfort when you buy from us, meaning our cosmetics is not just limited to one specific type of audience. Whether you are into horror or you’re not of fan of horror and just enjoy makeup, whether you are a man, trans, colored, gay, a drag queen, etc., we want our supporters to feel welcomed and feel like every purchase is personal. We are mostly proud of the fact that we are a small business that pours blood, sweat and tears into our brand to handmake each product with love and package it in a way that represents the kind of business we are. We love interacting with our customers and making them feel like they are apart of our brand as more than just a customer; they are the reason our business is alive today. So we truly love handcrafting each product with our supporters in mind.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Networking is always a challenge because you’re not always going to meet the right person to guide you into the direction you wish to be in. But I can say that it’s an important stepping stone to finding that mentor or that right person to give you the tools to the right path. My advice would be to jump right in and ask/investigate and let them know what your goals are or what you’re hoping to achieve. What has worked for me when I was in the early stages of opening a business was to introduce myself to other businesses/brands and ask if they would mind sharing with me the steps they took when they were just beginning and lucky enough, I have met wonderful business owners that guided me and mentored me to where I am today. Even today, I’m always reaching out to businesses and letting them know, “Hey, I love what you’re doing and you have my support”. You’ll never know who you meet that can open doors for you if you don’t take that leap.
Pricing:
- Matte lipsticks are $13.50 (.10 oz tube)
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Bloodbabecosmetics.com
- Instagram: @Bloodbabecosmetics
