We had the good fortune of connecting with Ariell Ash and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ariell, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Originally, my thought process was to find a product for my clients. Through my work in the beauty industry, I reviewed and tested almost every product on the market but I could not find a superior lash line. when I di come across a lash line that I really loved eventually the quality would shift and the consistency just wouldn’t be there. That’s when I decided to create my own private label lash line for my clients. After two years of researching, and product development I created Socialite Mink Lash. My clients loved the product so much that they encouraged me to make it available to the public.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Before I became a Youtube celebrity and beauty brand owner, I was the ideal housewife. I prided myself on taking care of my home and my children until I suddenly found myself divorced with two kids and trying to find a job. Thankfully, I had a marketing degree and a cosmetology license to fall back on, but I know for a lot of women, that’s not the case. I was blessed to land a job at Mac cosmetics, which helped me to establish myself as a leading makeup artist in the Houston market. I have worked with radio personalities, Olympic athletes, recording artists and Fortune 500 CEO’s. While building my name in the industry I tested multiple products on my clients and I started to review them on Youtube. As a vlogger I shared my love of makeup and my channel grew from only a few subscribers to over 11K subscribers and over 500,000 combined views. This was also around the time that I started working on my lash line and developing the Socialite brand. I worked hard to create a product that would provide every woman with the same quality that you see your top celebs and influencers wearing. I have four lash styles that reflect the socialite lifestyle including; 9 to 5, Nightlife, Afterparty and Dayparty. Our lashes can last up to 20 uses when maintained and they have a soft comfortable band that molds to any eye shape. Being a working mom of two, it was very important to me that my brand symbolizes women empowerment and uplift all women, especially women of color. During my time as a makeup artist and even now as I continue to build my brand I notice the lack of diversity in the beauty industry. That’s why I founded the Makeover Racism Podcast. It gives beauty influencers, Make Up Artists and beauty brand owners a platform to come together and discuss how we can use our influence to bring about change.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a black female business owner, I am a proponent of supporting female-owned and black-owned businesses. My visit Houston itinerary would consist of breakfast at Gatlin’s followed by shopping at Just B on The Runway Boutique and then art, culture and wine at Trez Art and Wine Bar followed by comedy hour, music and food at Phil and Derek’s

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My sister Ariann has been there with me every step of the way as my support system along my entrepreneurial journey. She is continuously pushing me to go for it and if I doubt myself she is the one telling me how great I am. She has been an integral part of not only my business but the development of me as a person. We serve as each other’s champions and accountability partners, which keeps me focused. If slack up she checks me and helps me see what I may need to do differently.

Website: https://socialiteminklash.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialiteminklash/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialiteminklash
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AriellAsh

Image Credits
All photos are copyrights of Socialite Mink Lash.

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