Bossy Cosmetics had a *fabulous* MEET THE FOUNDER launch party at Nordstrom NYC!
Hey Boss!
I hope this little newsletter meets you well! Team Bossy Cosmetics is certainly in the very BEST of moods! Yes, yes, yes! As you *should* be aware, we launched online with Nordstrom a few months ago and we've been having a load of fun letting our existing boss-friends and new boss ladies in on the great news!! It's always a thrill to extend our distribution into new and lofty retailers and in Nordstrom ("Nordy") we have found a partnership that sits beautifully in line with our core customer!
We've come to learn and love the Nordy customer. She is multi-generational and transcends all classifications. She is discerning and loves to treat herself to new experiences by way of shopping in a beautifully experiential store. She loves great quality at a price that matches the item. She is into the details of things and loves to discover new brands and new approaches to style and beauty. That describes Nordstrom to the core and her discernment fits completely with who the bossy woman is!
So the team had the great idea to have a launch party at Nordstrom's *stunning* flagship store in New York City and it was a BLAST!
Let's start with the core philosophy that Bossy Cosmetics exists to ignite confidence in women who self-identify as being ambitious. It's a core part of our DNA. We want all women to feel they can achieve their wildest dreams and we hope they'll do it wearing Bossy Cosmetics!!
We often tell people that our brand is a women's empowerment, mission-driven company that masquerades as a beauty company.
This means that first and foremost, we want our customers to FEEL beautiful before they even begin to think about LOOKING beautiful. This brand identity is what we always aim to center when we design our products, create brand assets, and host IRL events and the Nordy party was exactly THAT - all about making bossy women look, feel, and do good in the world!
What's also important to note is that the beauty team at Nordstrom felt that the perfect way for us to begin to develop a relationship with their customer is for them to get to know the person behind the brand. We completely agreed because there are millions of ways to purchase cosmetic products but there is only one Aisha and one Bossy Cosmetics and it's important to us that women have the opportunity to understand why we are so unique in the marketplace.
The fun kicked off the day before the actual event! I went to visit the store to check out the layout and meet the Nordstrom NYC events team who had been doing all of the work behind the scenes to ensure that the event went off without a hitch! If you'd like to check out my highlights of the event, you can see them here on Instagram! The team filmed a super quick video, which we collaborated on, to make sure as many Nordy customers knew that the event was happening the following day.
This video is a quick synopsis of how I was feeling the day before the event when I went to visit the store with my mom, who came into town to support us!
@bossybeautyinc Pinch me!!! Shop Bossy at @Nordstrom NYC 🎉🎉🎉 Come meet @Aishetu Fatima Dozie tomorrow 🔥♥️🔥♥️🔥 #meetthefounder #beautytok #blackwomen #excellence ♬ original sound - Bossy Cosmetics
Take a moment to watch the video below which very briefly tells you about who we are, why we are, what we do, and why we are AMAZING!
The next day was positively nerve wracking for the entire team. While we were soooo excited to host the event in the beautiful 7-storey store, we got the jitters BAD. So what does one do when one is dealing with anxiety?
Record a #GRWM video for instagram, of course.
If you don't know what that means, it stands for Get Ready With Me! It's basically a super fast recording of me getting ready and applying my makeup on, layer by layer. These videos actually relax me and I love creating them. As an aside, learning how to apply makeup to your face is about practice. I have tried the process millions of times at this stage (exaggeration, but you get the point) and I am gradually learning how I want my face to look and how I should use our products to create stunning palettes. It's a process that you have to trust because as you are going through the video, it is not clear that I will look good but... keep going! Watch the video below and let me know what you think about my burgeoning skills!
Once my makeup was on, it was time to head to the store and get things going! The videos below will take you through the event, and, as I hope is clear, IT WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESS!!!
We kicked off the event with a fireside chat where my long-time friend and Harvard Business School classmate, Samhita Jayanti (CEO and co-founder of tech-enabled coaching platform, ideamix) asked me a series of questions which helped to weave the story of how I started Bossy Cosmetics and why I started it. Everyone in the room was riveted and the discussion led to a number of thought-provoking questions from the audience members.
Let's talk about the Nordy ladies who showed up! Such a beautiful and diverse group of bossy women! What we are most proud of is that our brand attracts women who are looking to make the world a better place while living their fullest lives. This type of woman - the bossy woman - defies typical classification other than she is ambitious, driven, confident, collaborative, and focused. This is the exact description of the bossy woman and she showed up in droves to our event!
As is representative of our customer base, the Nordy ladies worked in professions such as banking, law, art investing, traditional venture capital investing, audit, consumer packaged goods, and other fields. We had Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and a few Boomers there too! It was a mixed group of women who are united by the fact that they are ambitious, which is why our brand slogan is WHERE BEAUTY MEETS AMBITION.
Enough from me today! I think between these videos and the photos below, you get the gist that our party at Nordstrom's flagship store in New York was EPIC!
Everyone had a great time and the consistent feedback was that everyone felt INSPIRED. That's a word we hear a lot and it brings me the greatest sense of joy to know that our business is an avenue of inspiration for working women around the world. Thank you for letting us inspire you. Thank you for listening to my story and for walking away knowing that you too can do anything you put your heart to.
Love always, aisha
