The love of common interest for cosmetics has bonded friends Brittney Dickerson and Lizet Upia to form their own line, Loud’e Cosmetics (pronounced loud). The two women, both in their early 20s, look to revolutionize the cosmetics industry with their unique looks. Both Brooklyn natives, Brittney who is African-American, and Lizet who is Dominican, two have blended their two cultures and experiences to make their product distinctive. Parlé Magazine was able to catch up with these two young entrepreneurs to talk about their budding empire.
Parlé Magazine: What inspired you two to launch a cosmetics line?
Loud’e Cosmetics: Brittney Dickerson: We’ve known each other since high school and we’ve always had a mind for business. Cosmetics is something we’ve always wanted to do. We love everything about cosmetics, especially lipstick. We did our research on how to start our own business and after that everything came together.
Lizet Upia: We wanted to do something different so instead of your basic lipstick we put our spin on the metallic lipstick look because we liked it so much. We’ve seen so many women take a regular brand of lipstick and add glitter to it, well we wanted to combine the two. We experimented with shades and colors to get the right feel.
Parlé: Did either of you have a background in business prior to launching Loud’e?
Brittney: I went to school for business. We joined a lot of business-orientated programs in high school that opened us up to how things really work. My father is a big entrepreneur, so he taught me about how the business world works when I was growing up. We were already saving up our money from working at our 9 to 5 jobs because we knew we wanted more than that. Social media helped us out so much as far as getting the word out. Family, friends, and everyone that we’ve run into saw the potential in our products and were happy to help us. We’re still learning and growing as time goes on.
Parlé: Why the name Loud’e?
Brittney: It describes our personalities, but in a good way. We’re all about being empowering and bold. Loud’e can be your alter ego to allow you to be whatever you want to be.
Lizet: I feel like a lot of people are afraid to branch out because they get so used to how things are or they get comfortable where they are and they don’t want much else. Loud’e is here to say that you can do more and be more. We spelled it Loud’e to give it that twist to let people know that when you come into our world you can give it your own.
Parlé: Besides the metallic look, what separates your line of cosmetics from anything else that is currently on the market?
Brittney: Right now our main focus is lipstick but what makes ours stand out is that select colors can be used as a highlighter and eye shadow. Our lipstick can be used for so much more than just lipstick.
Lizet: The lipstick is very bold and vibrant, so when someone puts it on it definitely catches the eyes of people. We’ve gotten so many requests from both men and women, men wanting to buy it for their girlfriends or wives and women wanting it for themselves.
Parlé: How long has Loud’e Cosmetics been in business?
Lizet: It’s been in the works for two years but we’ve just launched the official website www.loudecosmetics.com
Parlé: Can you tell us about your ‘Bonnie & Clyde ’ product?
Lizet: It’s a lipstick with two colors blended together. One is a light purple (lilac) and the other is an olive green so when you mix them together on your lips it becomes a platinum color.
Brittney: We called it ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ as a symbol for us being rebels with our products.
Parlé: Most people reading this will want to know, is Loud’e costly?
Lizet: It’s affordable, $15, which is lower compared to other brands that are priced higher. Ours is under $20 and you can use it for a variety of things.
Parlé: What are your plans for the future with Loud’e Cosmetics?
Brittney: We’re going to be at a lot of conventions as well as networking events to get our name out as well as make contacts with people in other brands of cosmetics. Lizet is going to China this month to build up a network with manufacturers so we can have a relationship overseas.
Lizet: I’m not only going out there to network but to get inspired as well and see how things work on that end. We’re really big on tweaking and improving current things, if we like the way something looks we try to think of a way to make it better or make it our own.
Parlé: What is the end goal for this year?
Lizet: To get a buzz about our product so people will know what we’re about. Building relationships and inspiring people.
Parlé: Do you have any words of advice to inspiring entrepreneurs?
Lizet: Keep pushing. A lot of people think that because they don’t have the money to do something then it’ll never be. There are other ways to keep a dream alive. It’s hard work but anything worth having usually is. You have to work extremely hard for the things you want in life and you’ll get a lot of negative people but you have to keep pushing. If you truly want it go out and get it.
Parlé: How can the fan/readers and anyone who’s interested reach you?
Lizet: We have personal accounts but to reach us about Loud’e it’ll have to be through either the website or its designated social media pages.
Brittney: The main website is www.loudecosmetics.com Instagram and Twitter @Loudecosmetics.
Brittney and Lizet wanted to make sure the readers know that they are having an official launch in the summer in Brooklyn, NY at a restaurant that Brittney is opening. More info about the launch can be found on the main website or on social media.
