Welcome to the first in our Experts Corners series where we will give you exclusive access to innovators, creators, educators, experts and more in the areas of skin care, suncare, health and wellness.
Today we are lucky enough to interview Nicole Lampsa, the founder of a visionary new beauty and technology company called HiLovely that brings beauty experts through your screen and into your home at the touch of a button.
Learn how HiLovely is shaking up beauty consults, how you can join and some of the best beauty advice Nicole learned getting HiLovely off the ground (of course sun protection is one!).
I also should mention that Nicole is a personal friend of mine for the last 10 years and I'm so excited for HiLovely and can't wait to use it myself. Also you can find some of our Block Island Organics products being used by these artists!
1) Tell us a bit about HiLovely - what is the service, how do people use it, etc.?
HiLovely is ultimately about a personalized beauty experience, whether you are interested in face to face instruction via video chat or 1:1 advice via email. The cornerstone of HiLovely is our 1:1 beauty advice sessions (called Beauty Chat). These are live, tutorial sessions for beauty advice with topics ranging from the latest eye makeup looks to optimal skin practices.
Our artists are all top in their field: they work with celebrities, film studios, runway events, media, etc. Every one of them has excellent experience and loves to teach. Artists walk through the exact steps and guide you through the technique to make sure you are doing it right. You can even learn hair tricks - we have a DIY Updo session that is really popular.
Beauty Chat sessions are $30 for 30 minutes. Additionally, anyone can visit our site and request a Beauty ID - personalized tips and product recommendations - for free. Completely free.
2) It's such a great idea, how did you come up with it?
We launched HiLovely with an initially different purpose around beauty services. Within a few months, we received consistent feedback from clients that they wanted to learn more about what they should be doing with their skin or makeup or hair and they needed something convenient and affordable. We did a private pilot focused on 1:1 beauty advice via video chat and the response was so fantastic that we pivoted the entire business to Beauty Chat.
3) Is HiLovely geared to everyone or are you catering to specific types of customers first? In general, who should sign-up for the service?
The majority of our clients are women who are busy - either working or taking care of kids - and they don't have the time or interest to go to the cosmetic counter. Many of them are overwhelmed with the amount of generic info on the internet - either on blogs or YouTube. They don't have time to weed through what works for them and they just want to go to the source to know what will work or get 1:1 instruction on how to do it.
However, we do have teenagers looking to learn intro makeup tips and we've even had more mature women that are just looking to mix things up and get access to the top talent we have. Because of these different audiences, we added separate customized sessions for Teens and Mature Skin.
4) Have you gotten feedback from customers? I'd love to know what they are saying about the service.
Clients send us beautiful, stunning pictures of their makeup along with comments about how proud that they can recreate their look again and again.
One of my favorites was from a woman in Florida, who sent us her picture after the session and said
"I loved how my makeup was turning out and could barely believe that the one holding the brushes was me! I know I can do this again and again and now realize how fun and creative makeup can be."
5) Obviously you work with a number of makeup artists and I assume they must also be interested in healthy skin? Do your artists have any tips or keys to keeping skin healthy?
They definitely see a LOT of skin - both young and old - so have great advice on how to take care of it. Universally, the importance of moisture and protection for your skin is paramount.
Many people think that oily skin does not need moisture or that darker skin does not need sun protection. If your skin is oily, you may not need a thick night cream, but not giving skin the moisture it needs just causes it to overcompensate in its own oil production.
And for my own skin, I never leave the house without some kind of sun protection. I mix sunscreen into my morning moisturizer and use a CC cream with SPF as well. Oh, and drink lots of water. It's beneficial for your overall health but specifically your skin.
6) On the personal side, what's one beauty trick you learned from working with your artists?
Highlighter in the corner of your eyes....makes them standout! Top of your eye look with a cream highlighter to achieve this.
7) Last, is there anything you can tell us about your future plans? Where do you see HiLovely down the road even if its a few months rather than years away?
I want beauty advice to be available to anyone and everyone that wants it. No one should be confused/embarrassed/too busy to take care of their skin and know how to do a few basic makeup techniques.
We know that a few tips go a long way toward boosting confidence and we want every woman to feel empowered to be amazing every day.
Thanks Nicole for answering our questions about HiLovely.