Written By: Samantha Cee

This month we sat down with the amazing Tie Cooper for an exclusive cover story for Fashion Gxd Magazine. Beau Tie Cosmetics is a new line of products with a keen focus on luxury and inclusion of all shades of beauty. The creator, Tie Cooper, is a Philanthropist, Makeup Artist, and Beauty Editor with more than 14 years of high-level experience and training. She has worked with celebrities and has led events and national campaigns with some of the world's largest brands, such as Revlon, Nike, Bronner Brothers, and Crème of Nature, to name a few. Tie has always had a philanthropic arm when it comes to the beauty industry that has directed her path and led her to form a nonprofit 501c3 called the Hi Beau Tea Party (HBT). It is a scholarship fundraiser that uses proceeds to help aspiring beauty professionals and students obtain their licenses and further their education. HBT has been instrumental in providing funding to women of color to help keep the beauty industry alive by ensuring educational and business guidance. Her devotion to serving the beauty community will be continued with Beau Tie Cosmetics. For every purchase, a portion of proceeds will be donated to HBT to help build all sides of beauty, which will add so much value to lives and the beauty industry. "My mission is to help women of color to discover their internal and external beauty," states Tie Cooper. Take a look at our exclusive interview with the rising brand below.

Print Issue Available November 11th

FGM: It's an honor to sit down with you all. Tell us a little about your brand and how you've come to this vastly successful peek in your career.

Answer: My passion and the need to change the beauty industry to be more inclusive of all women past and present, birthed the luxury cosmetics line, Beau Tie Cosmetics. Beau Tie Cosmetics is an exhilarating and necessary tribute to women who flaunt vibrant hues but lack true representation in almost every facet of life. My purpose has created a lane of success for me to educate and gain large platform exposure that has set me and the line apart from other beauty brands. When curating the line, I planned a mission to return pride to women of all shades and specifically women of color who were forced to stay on the sidelines or in the background when it comes to enhancing their diverse notes of beauty.

FGM: How do you feel you make a difference in the world?

Answer: The purpose when curating Beau Tie Cosmetics was to return pride to black and brown women in history that set trends that are still followed today, although they were never given their rightful place in the beauty industry. Those women then, and the ones today, belong proudly at the top. They can now regain their spot and shine brilliantly with Beau Tie Cosmetics where we honor and celebrate your features, our past, and your future of increased self-love.

FGM: Tell us about a time when you showed determination to continue as an entrepreneur

Answer: As a struggling makeup artist and esthetician, the pandemic forced professionals like myself in the industry to cease all services performed in person to prevent the spread of COVID19. Overcoming and pivoting as a result was definitely unchartered territory that none of us have been accustomed to. Fortunately, I’ve managed to adapt by using the time that I've had to delve into being my other expertise as a beauty editor/host, educator and motivational speaker by hosting podcasts and makeup tutorials. In addition, I decided to diversify my income to absorb some of the loss by teaching and providing virtual coaching classes. Pivoting my focus to secure funds also allowed me to focus on the extension of my services to form a business by extending my brand with launching a new cosmetic line entitled, Beau Tie Cosmetics that is available online.

FGM: Give me the three best qualities of your brand

Answer: The first quality of Beau Tie Cosetics is the mission/purpose. The signature lipstick case collection was curated with historical classic women of color icons in mind. Inspired by the lack of recognition in the past and present of black women when it comes to enhancing their diverse notes of beauty, to celebrate and pay tribute to women who flaunt vibrant hues. Designed to bring women in history to the forefront that set trends that are still followed today, although they were never given their rightful place in the beauty industry.

Secondly, are the products! The lip collection is an elegant and comfortable formula enriched with moisture, creaminess, and a supremely melting effect that creates a perfectly balanced lightweight formula with a smooth satin-like flawless texture lip embellishment, a symbol of sophistication!

Thirdly, is the packaging and branding! These luxury and chic beauty products tie in the radiance, sophistication, and uniqueness these women possess. The vintage feel of the line reincorporates needed glamour back into makeup and cosmetics. Each product adds to a gorgeous story of classic beauty, poise, and resilience that women of color can relate to in some fashion.

FGM: Give me an example of when you worked irregular hours?

Answer: This happens almost everyday! However, I do not consider any hours or the amount of time that I work on the brand irregular due to it being a part of my passion. I make sure that I allocate the time I spend to create a fulfilling life balance. This is achieved by hiring the necessary resources and subject matter experts to assist in the everyday operations on the cosmetics line which is key! I've made the mistake of trying to do it all by myself and I learned very quickly that this was not achievable if I wanted growth and success. It became apparent to me that if I wanted this to be a hobby, I could continue doing things myself. However, if I wanted this to be one of the biggest and one of the most successful cosmetics brands in the world I needed a GREAT team to accomplish this.

FGM: Being an entrepreneur is a 24/7 job, how did you get ready for that?

Answer: As an entrepreneur, it is vital to have a mentor or circle to help you prepare and plan prior to execution. With that being said, it's a lot easier to work on your business if there's a plan in place to execute. Your team will also thank you for this as it's very frustrating to be a part of something that has no vision or purpose. Outside of preparation and planning, I don't think you can really truly get ready for what's in store as an entrepreneur....that's the fun part!

FGM: How did you acquire the ability to work under pressure to beat meet deadlines as an entrepreneur?

Answer: Working under pressure is a skill that I do not think I've mastered but I'm getting really good at it. As an entrepreneur, your mentor or circle of friends that help you to prepare and center yourself is very important. I learned that even if I have to stay up to get a project completed that's what I will do. As an entrepreneur, your word is all that you have when conducting business. When that is lost, so are the relationships that can ultimately get you further in life than money.

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FGM: What is your favorite inspirational point, place, to develop new brand developments?

Answer: Traveling allows me mental freedom when creating or developing a new product.
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FGM: Which current public figure, are you inspired by or appreciate the most?

Answer: I don't have any one particular person that comes to mind, but I do find an abundance of inspiration from women of color in history (i.e. Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Madame C.J. Walker) that accomplished success without all of the things we have at our fingertips today.

How do you handle stress?

Answer: I would consider myself a spiritual person, as I was raised with a mother that woke all seven of me and my siblings up for church every morning. So I try to continue to ground myself with prayer and surrounding myself with my loved ones to help me handle stress.

FGM: What are the three qualities you feel an entrepreneur must have?

Answer: Courage, Drive, and Endurance!

FGM: Where do you see your business in 10 years? How do you plan to get there?

Answer: I don't know if I can speak to 10 years just yet but what I can communicate are my short term goals. The beauty market is already oversaturated with a vast amount of beauty brands, therefore as an emerging beauty brand, I have to strategically plan goals to remain innovative, relevant and competitive. One of the biggest goals we have for business this year is to create content and garner a digital presence with our beauty brand. In this new digital era, research shows that digital and beauty is a wonderful marriage, so creating and establishing an ecommerce store is key. During the pandemic, we’ve learned to establish and execute a digital platform with an emphasis on social media and marketing strategies to help reach more customers. Learning and providing educational series virtually has allowed us to provide service beyond our customer’s expectations while increasing sales. This helps us create a community of loyal customers and while creating an experience. Fun fact, my biggest “personal” goal/dream is to be on Oprah’s Favorite Thing and The Real talk show to showcase what we have to offer and reach a larger audience to help us continue our mission to inspire the discovery of one's internal and external beauty through self-love.