Jamella isn’t just the founder of Lipstick Famous; she’s a wife, mom, and business mentor with a passion for empowering women. Born and raised in Chicago, Jamella’s journey started with a swipe of her grandmother’s mauve lipstick. Frustrated by a lack of inclusivity in the beauty world, Jamella launched Lipstick Famous in 2022. Her mission? To create luxurious, hydrating lipsticks for every woman while inspiring them to live a life of purpose aligned with their faith. Jamella believes small moments can lead to big transformations, and she wants you to feel confident and pampered with every swipe of a Lipstick Famous shade.
Introduction:
Networking has never been one of my strong suits. I’ve always walked into places, read the room, and chosen to engage with individuals who typically gravitate toward me or with whom my spirit feels free. I’ve never been one for small talk or useless conversations. I get in, get what I need, and get out. But all that changed in March of 2023.
After registering for Built To Impact, an amazing conference for businesswomen, I decided to sit while waiting for the doors to open. There was one seat left next to a woman whom I intended to greet with a simple “Good Morning” as I was extremely sleepy. However, that morning, there was a woman who would not accept anything but greatness from me. She inspired, educated, and motivated me in ways she never knew.
Atlanta, I would like to introduce you to the owner of the famous lipstick brand, Mrs. Jamella Stokes. – Victoria Poole
The Interview:
Why lipstick? I’ve been obsessed with lipstick ever since I was a little girl. I went from sneaking into the bathroom and putting on my grandmother’s lipstick to building a collection of over 100 tubes and ultimately creating my brand. Lipstick is one of the easiest ways to transform your look—it can take your outfit from “That’s cute” to “Ok, Sis, I see you!”
What is the most fulfilling part of your business? One of the most fulfilling parts of operating my business is fulfilling orders – I tend to imagine what my customer’s reactions will be when they open the gold packaging and see the thank you card, the small gift I’ve included, and then roll the lipstick from the tube and their eyes light up. At least, that’s how I imagine it. The other part of that is the reviews. I love it when customers DM, leave a review, or email me that they love their product.
How do you define success for your business, and how close are you to achieving that definition? Success is pulling a thought out of my mind, creating an action plan, implementing the plan, pulling together all the resources and supplies, and launching. How many of us set our dreams? Hoping and wishing but never doing—doing what I said I would do is my definition of success.
If you could be a shade of lipstick, what color would you be? If I could be any shade of lipstick, it would be green. Not only is green my favorite color, but it represents wealth, nature, peace, renewal, and balance, all of which I possess. It also feels electrifying and excitable, which represents my personality.
If you could have a major celebrity promote your brand, who would you choose? I’m not into celebrities, but if I had to choose, it would be Diahann Caroll’s fictional character, Dominique Deveraux, from Dynasty. Ms. Deveraux represents everything I want Lipstick Famous to be – intelligence, style, grace, elegance, and a little sass.
This may sound a little unusual, but I remember writing love letters in school and using my mother’s lipstick samples to leave a kiss mark at the end of the letter. If you could leave a lipstick stain on a handwritten letter, who would you give it to, and what would you say? If I could write a letter to anyone and seal it with a kiss mark, it would be to my paternal grandmother. I would tell her how I achieved everything she hoped I would and then some. I would thank her for teaching me work ethic at such a young age, which I didn’t understand then. I would thank her for believing in me and supporting me even when I didn’t believe in myself.
Fast-forward 20 years. What would you like to say was your greatest accomplishment? Twenty years from now, my most significant accomplishment will be the countless young adult women I mentored and poured into the young women whose lives were changed because of my pour.
What type of experience do you imagine a woman would have when she purchases your product? I want her to feel a range of emotions, from excitement to obsession. She is excited to open her new package and loves her lipstick so much that she becomes obsessed and can’t get enough of it.
How important is networking in the beauty industry? It’s everything! What good is having a brand that no one knows anything about? Most of my orders and collaborations have come through word of mouth—a woman I meet at an event will tell her friends, and they will tell their friends, and so forth. I believe that I do a really good job of being an ambassador for my brand, and I make sure to make at least two connections before I leave an event.
Do you have any other talents or business ventures the world should know about? Yes, I do. I’m also a business mentor, partnering with aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their product-based brands.
Where can we follow your journey, view, and purchase your products?
Website: www.lipstickfamous.com Instagram: @lipstickfamous
Jamella, It has been a pleasure interviewing you! On behalf of SitiGirl Maganize Atlanta, Thank you for gracing us with your presence and sharing your fantastic energy! It’s been a blast chatting with you. Wishing you oodles of success and all the good vibes in the world. Until we chat again, keep shining bright like the star you are! Take care, and stay LIPSTICK FAMOUS!
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