Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Marcelin.
Emma, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Before I got started with my cosmetic line, I worked in hospitality and customer service for over ten years. Although I enjoyed doing what I did at the time, I always knew that I wanted to start a business. At first, I thought that I would be a fashion designer because, from an early age, I use to sketch and design beautiful garments. But that got really expensive, really quickly and I wasn’t prepared financially.
Unfortunately, I had to put a pause on my fashion career, which was devastating but I did not give up. I knew I was destined for something great! While I was trying to get my life and career together, I fell in love with makeup. I spent hours watching YouTube videos on reviews for different cosmetics and eventually started building my own collection. I was often at the mall trying out every product I can get my hands on. I was obsessed with makeup. In 2013 something amazing happened. The idea to start my own cosmetic line popped into my head so I started doing research. At the time, I couldn’t find all the information I needed but as always, I kept pushing. Finally, I started getting the results I needed and from there, I began my journey to launch my own cosmetics. It wasn’t easy and I had a few moments where I asked myself.
“Did I take on more than I can handle?” The beginning was stressful and definitely challenging. Nothing in life comes easy but when you start to reap the benefits from all your hard work, it’s truly the best reward. So on September 17, 2016, I officially launched my cosmetics line. I rented out a conference room at a hotel in Miami Beach and to my surprise, a lot of people showed up and supported me. That was the greatest moment for me because I realized that I had the potential to make my dreams come true.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Launching a cosmetics line isn’t easy. I find it to be quite challenging because people tend to stick with what they know. I have to compete with multimillion-dollar companies and celebrities who also have their own cosmetics lines. But I learned not to worry about that so much. My biggest focus is the customers that I have now and my future customers.
Please tell us about Emma After Dark Cosmetics.
Emma After Dark Cosmetic offers long-wear liquid lipstick, lipgloss, lashes and highly pigmented eyeshadow palettes. I actually have a new palette coming out this fall. My collection also offers mystery boxes for those who just want to sample my products. Each order that comes in is fulfilled by me, which is handled with care. I feature new products every few months and I plan to work with a makeup artist to create content. I find myself evolving more and more each day with the way I market myself. I want to be different and I want to create my own culture in the cosmetic industry. Because I was raised in Miami, I decided to incorporate that in my current collection so those who are from Miami will appreciate this collection.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I could start all over, the one thing I would do differently is starting off small. When I first launched, I started off with a huge collection, which was overwhelming for one person to manage.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emmaafterdarkcosmetics.com
- Phone: 9548061600
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/emmaafterdarkcosmetics?igshid=1o5abjls61vhv
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Emmaafterdark/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Emmiesoshady?s=21
Image Credit:
Photographer: photographedbyJaysan
MUA: Socommericialmua
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