Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalijah Stokes.
Hi Kalijah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I love this question because my answer is so brutally honest, but it’s my truth. NUDE Cosmetics started out my college apartment. At the time, I was a broke college student who wanted money lol, I’ve absolutely been IN LOVE with nude lip gloss all my life and also because I was a super work-driven individual who wanted something that was MINE. I adopted the name “The Lipgloss Dealer” as I use to sell glosses in the dorms, student centers and out the trunk of my car.
Fast forward to 3.5 years later and NUDE has turned to an empire in the making. NUDE Cosmetics is a lip gloss utopia designed with the classy, sassy, resilient woman in mind. In a world filled in artificial ideas of “beauty”, we pride ourselves in selling beauty that starts from within. Exuding confidence, humility, and full acceptance of oneself as you are in this present moment! It’s deeper than just lip gloss here!
As far as the present and my future plans, professionally, I work as a full-time consultant and have a background in digital marketing so I’ve begun to use my corporate life to truly understand how to properly run a scaleable business. NUDE Cosmetics has sustained itself for over 3 years on simply WORD OF MOUTH; meaning no paid advertising, partnerships, etc. So, I’ve clearly mastered having a great product, I’m now in the growth and scaling stage where I hope to become a household name for nude lip gloss.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The ugly truth is it hasn’t. And I don’t think any entrepreneur can claim to have had a perfect success story. There are patches of little to no sales, inventory costs, slow shipping times from manufactures and the list can go on! For myself, I’d say my biggest struggle is getting my products in the hands of larger audiences. I’ve been lucky enough to have my glosses used by some of the girl’s favorite celebrity MUA’s and seen on some big faces such as Queen Naija, RHOA star Latoya Howard, and LHHNY star Tara Wallace to name a few. Despite this, it can be hard gaining exposure and customers. I’ve never had anyone customer purchase and not come back for more, so I’m working hard to reach way larger audiences and I’m confident I’ll see the success I imagine.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about NUDE Cosmetics?
To be bold at bare none is to be beautiful in bare NUDE.
There are a plethora of amazing cosmetics and beauty brands. But, I take pride in knowing that I provide a niche product. There is no other brand that ONLY focuses on lip glosses in different hues of NUDE. THAT’S what makes us different. As our mission statement reads, we’re selling beauty that starts from within. Exuding confidence, humility, and full acceptance of oneself as you are in this present moment! Our product stands for self-love and acceptance of who you are without the extras.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I think it’s super important to be humble and find mentorship in those who are already the person you dream to be. There’s no growth nor elevation in limiting yourself to circles of those who cannot be as mutually beneficial to you as you are to them. Someone won’t like this but think about this quote — “Your network is your net worth”.
Pricing:
- All Glosses are $15.00
Contact Info:
- Email: support@nudecosmetics.co
- Website: https://www.nudecosmetics.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nudecosmetics.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nudecosmeticsco/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nudecosmeticsco
