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These Female CEOs are Killing It in the Beauty Industry

This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at St. John's chapter.

Her Campus is all about female empowerment and being a boss. We also love all things beauty, so we’re taking this time on our #WomenPowerWednesday to highlight a few female CEOs who have been killing it in their industry:

Demetra Pinsent, Charlotte Tilbury

Demetra Pinsent has been CEO of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty since 2012. Originally training to be a doctor, she left medicine for management consulting at the top tier firm McKinsey with a focus on luxury brands. She now runs the five year-old cosmetics company, which has recently expanded overseas to the United States last summer.

Huda Kattan, Huda Beauty

Miserable in her finance job, then 26 year-old Huda Kattan quit to become a makeup artist and launched a blog in 2010, posting beauty tutorials and tips. Kattan started Huda Beauty with her two sisters in 2013 when she couldn’t find false eyelashes to buy. Today, Huda Beauty sells more than 140 products from eyeshadow pallets to lip gloss, which brings in at least $250 million in annual sales, according to Forbes. Kattan is MAJOR inspo for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere.

Anastasia Soare, Anastasia Beverly Hills

Romanian-born Anastasia Soare, dubbed as the “eyebrow queen”, came to the United States in the late 1980s and worked as an aesthetician. She then opened up her flagship salon in 1997, and eventually launched the first Anastasia Beverly Hills product line in 2000. Soare gave The Cut her advice for breaking into the beauty industry: “First of all, do your homework. You have to be the best and believe in your product. And you should not have a fear of being rejected, because you will be rejected.”

Rihanna, Fenty Beauty

I may have cheated here – although Rihanna is not listed as CEO of Fenty Beauty, she is the founder of the wildly popular beauty line, which has benefited greatly from her star power. Fenty Beauty has also been praised for its inclusiveness and wide array of foundation shades. BTW, the Gloss Bomb is BOMB.

Kylie Jenner, Kylie Cosmetics

Last year, Kylie Jenner was named by Forbes as the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. Though the “self-titled” part is heavily disputed, Jenner’s runaway success with her line Kylie Cosmetics is a notable one. Kylie Cosmetics amassed its fortune through its initial offering of lip kits, and has since expanded to other beauty products. As of March 2019, the company is worth $900 million.

Emily Weiss, Glossier

Glossier is everywhere. It’s hard to scroll through Instagram or go on YouTube without seeing their products being reviewed or pictured against an aesthetically pleasing backdrop. But success for CEO and founder Emily Weiss didn’t happen overnight. Weiss started out as a babysitter (the kid’s parent happened to work for Ralph Lauren), and spent the next few years working her way up the ranks. In 2010, she captured the attention of millions with her beauty blog, Into The Gloss, which gives an insider’s view of the routine and careers of beauty and fashion’s biggest names. In 2014, she capitalized on her blog’s popularity to launch Glossier, and the rest is history.

Katherine von Drachenberg, Kat Von D Beauty

Katherine von Drachenberg is a tattoo artist best known for her work on reality TV show Miami Ink, but wasn’t until when she launched her eponymous make-up line that she reached her large success. Her signature look with heavy eyeliner and red lips led Sephora to recruit her to set up her own product range, which is exclusively sold in Sephora stores and online. Kat Von D Beauty provides a line of long wear, high pigment products that consists of a vast range of colors. Von Drachenberg also emphasises that the brand is about inclusivity, telling Get The Gloss – “Kat Von D Beauty is for everybody – not just for gothic outsiders.”

Feeling inspired? We are! These women serve as a reminder that you are never too far from your dreams and success. If you have a passion, pursue it to the fullest – you never know if you’ll be the next Kylie or Rihanna!

Kayla White is a graduate of St. John's University in Queens, New York with a Bachelor of Science in communications and a minor in public relations. She was involved with Her Campus at St. John's for three years, serving as President in her senior year. Previously, she served as the national Entertainment Columnist Intern for Her Campus national in Spring 2019. She loves everything film, music, and fashion-related. When she isn't roaming around NYC and attending events, she can be found spending time with her sorority sisters, going to the movies and scrolling through Instagram!