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This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
After years in the luxury wedding industry providing top-notch beauty services with her company Beautini, Brittany Lo has set her sights on tackling a new industry. “The sexual wellness category and its products have such an opportunity to be elevated and luxurious,” say Lo, discussing her newest venture, Beia. “And we have an opportunity to create this new understanding that they’re truly skincare products—it’s not just these goopy things you use just for sex.” With big beauty names like Sephora getting into the sexual wellness game, Lo’s business is moving at full speed having already launched two products with another on the way. Read on to hear more about Brittany’s start-up journey, her two businesses, and that time she launched a mascara in high school.
Kristen Maxwell Cooper: How did you get started in the beauty industry?
Brittany Lo: I actually wrote in my second grade journal that one day I would have a beauty company. I discovered my mom’s makeup bag the morning of my first ballet recital—I think I was two years old and I looked like a clown. But I felt amazing. If you saw the videos of me dancing, I wasn’t even doing the right moves but I was glowing. And from that point, I always dabbled in my mom’s makeup bag. Then in the second grade your parents start asking you about what you want to do when you get older, and I remember one day my dad asked me that question. Usually I’d say ballerina or a teacher, but that day I was like, ‘you know, Dad, I love beauty.’ And he said, ‘great, you can go work for Clinique or Estee Lauder. I love that idea.’ And I responded, ‘nope, I’m going to have my own beauty company,’ and I wrote it in my journal that day. And that has been my dream since then, which is kind of wild. I’d say that I’ve been manifesting it for a very long time.
KMC: I love that. I, similarly, had been saying I wanted to be a magazine editor since the fourth grade, so I completely understand.
BL: I think a lot of people can’t relate to that because, well, a lot of people don’t know what they want to do. But I always caution it too. The blinders I put on myself weren’t always the best. It really did steer me away from opportunities that might have led me to the same place that I am right now. But I didn’t even dabble in anything else that wasn’t associated with my vision. I think it was a great blessing to know what I wanted to do at a young age, but it also comes with some disadvantages as well.
I didn't even dabble in anything else that wasn't associated with my vision.
- Brittany Lo
KMC: That makes sense. So your first company, Beautini, offers hair and makeup services for weddings. What made you want to get into weddings?
BL: Initially, I thought we would be like the makeup complement to a Drybar—just quick services. But I was 22 years old and I looked into how much real estate was in New York, and quickly realized that it wasn’t even an option for me. So I started thinking about how we could do this without having to pay for real estate. We ended up doing some pop ups in Equinox and just trying to do it in already existing real estate establishments. As the gig economy and on-demand services started becoming more popular, we tried doing more one-off, everyday services for women before a meeting or an event. But What I quickly noticed was that at the price point the market had set for those kinds of services, I couldn’t get the right talent where I could be truly proud of the quality. And, the person receiving the services didn’t care who was doing their hair, didn’t care who was doing their makeup. They just wanted it done and they wanted it done quickly. I wanted this to be a meaningful experience, where women felt empowered. If they’re just going to an event or a weekly meeting, they’re not getting that, and I’m not achieving that.
At the same time I was starting Beautini, I had a few friends who are getting married and they all were struggling to find hair and makeup services that made them look and feel like themselves. They didn’t want caked on makeup and crazy hairstyles, but instead wanted something that made them look like the best version of themselves. They were approaching me asking if I knew anyone or if we would do it, and that’s when I had that “aha” moment. So I started to dabble—I tried a wedding expo to see what it was like, and so I understood the competition. And what I found wass that so many competitors in the space were so focused on making you look so different from your everyday version of you. I thought there was a lot of opportunity to help women feel beautiful on that day, and so we got into weddings.
KMC: How has Beautini grown since then?
BL: When I had my “aha” moment I honestly had maybe one stylist. I was also 22 years old and had never been in a wedding before. And because I didn’t know how weddings worked, I signed up for that first expo. Then I signed up for a few more to learn the industry. But one of the first things I did was figured out the brand. I wanted it to be relatable but also inspirational. I set up a photo shoot of a fake wedding where I highlighted the hair makeup services that we could do. We did it at the Plaza in New York and I had my friend fly in to help me figure it all out. I kept thinking that the only way we were going to emulate the experience for women who have never gotten married before was through these photos. I was doing the makeup myself at first and had a hairstylist work with me because I felt that I really knew how to read people. I knew being present in an environment where we were working with clients was going to be the best way for us to grow and understand the true needs of our potential clients.
But it was wild—through events and expos people were like, ‘all right, here’s the money. Let’s try it out.’ We started doing trials knowing that a trial is only with the lead makeup artist and lead hairstylist. They may have ten bridesmaids, so we would need more people, but I had a year to figure out the rest of the team. I always say, see if you have the opportunity, try to sell your product and service. And if there’s a demand, then you figure out the supply. So that’s kind of what I did. I had this one hairstylist that I recruited and she was my go-to. So between her and a few other stylists, we would do all of the trials together. Once I got bookings and the deposits, then I started onboarding, training, and recruiting other stylists to be a part of the weddings. I don’t do the services anymore, but now we have an amazing team that can do the weddings without me being there.
KMC: In terms of wedding trends, what are some beauty trends you’re seeing right now?
BL: Pre-pandemic in 2018 and 2019, we were starting to see more people wanting that Instagram-look—like the filters were getting really big. So I found beauty moving in a not so healthy direction where people wanted this unrealistic, flawless airbrushed look. Essentially, a lot more makeup than the natural beauty that we focused on at Beautini. But during the pandemic, people stopped curling their hair every day and wearing a full face of makeup. And instead, they really started investing in their skincare routine and their scalp health. The beautiful part about that is that your skin is a canvas for makeup—the better your skin, the less coverage you really need. So now we’re seeing a lot of people who may still want to have fun with their eye makeup, but when it comes to their skin, they want coverage that is nice and light. They want something that makes them look like they do on a daily basis. And the same goes for hair. They don’t want a big, intricate updo; they want it to look like it was just thrown up—very effortless beauty. They’re excited to have themselves jazzed up, but the base of their beauty and their look is coming from a more natural place, which I am very excited about.
KMC: I love that direction for beauty. So tell us about Beia—what made you want to start your second beauty company?
BL: When I wrote in my second grade journal about starting a beauty company, I always thought about products. Fun fact: In high school I asked my grandma for a small loan to start up BLo Cosmetics and I launched a mascara. I thought we’d be in Sephora, no problem. Sadly, I think we still have a few big boxes of those mascaras in the attic of my parents house! I learned the hard way that it’s very hard to go into products and get people to buy because it’s a very saturated market. But when thinking about my business when I started Beautini, I knew services had to come before product. So instead of saying, ‘I think there should be more lipsticks in the beauty industry’ or just looking at a trend report, I wanted to talk to actual women and see what their concerns were. And the only way you’re going to do that is in a very intimate setting. So after a while, Beautini actually became more like this market research platform. You think we’re just doing hair and makeup, but we’re doing it for their wedding day. A day when they are feeling all the emotions and feelings. They share with us that their fiance just surprised them with a prenup, or that they can’t get along with their mother-in-law—we’ve created this space where they feel they can share these very intimate details. We have no connection to them, to their partner, to their fiancé, to their mother-in-law. It’s a very safe space that we created at Beautini, which I love. But what we learned early on from talking to these women was that it wasn’t necessarily about needing another mascara or blush. What we found was that women felt intimidated by the beauty space. When they entered a Sephora or an Ulta, they couldn’t understand what half the products did. And if their mom didn’t teach them how to do their skincare or makeup, they felt very insecure about how to even structure the routine.
We also learned that it wasn’t necessarily about concerns on their face. It was more like, ‘I have blemishes on my breasts that are going to show on my wedding day. What can we do to cover that up?’ Or ‘I smell really easily and I sweat. I’m a little bit embarrassed about that.’ That’s when I started thinking about that despite having skin all over our body, we’re all so focused on our face. And I started thinking about the opportunity to focus on these more intimate concerns that could be somewhat embarrassing, and that people don’t think there are skincare solutions for. That was one piece. The other stemmed from my experience navigating dating in my twenties, and not understanding social expectations for things like when you can sleep with someone or when you can’t. I finally ended up just saying I was going to own my sexuality, listen to my body, and do what makes sense for me versus being so concerned about what I should do based on society’s expectations. But it was that combination that made me start to realize that there was this big opportunity for skincare, but with a sexual wellness angle to it.
KMC: I think a lot of women can relate to everything you’re saying. Tell us about the products—you launched with a daily hydrating and missing spray. Why that product?
BL: My bigger vision was always that the brand would be more about sexual wellness. But if you think about the sexual wellness space, the only brands out there are K-Y, Astroglide—they’re neon colored; have gross ingredients; and you can only get them at CVS. Or you have these micro brands popping up, that are very raunchy. I knew if I said ‘hey guys, I’m launching a sex brand,’ that people would be very uncomfortable talking about it. They already feel very uncomfortable even purchasing these products! So I thought a lot about how I could get people to feel comfortable talking about our brand and try out the products so they could see the quality of our formulas. I wanted them to see how clean and beautiful they are because not only is the packaging elevated, but we’re also very mindful of the environment and being eco friendly.
We started off with a daily hydrating setting mist because it can be used on the face and body. It’s colorless, so it can be used on all skin types and skin tones, which was very important to me. And one of the concerns for our brides was smelling or sweating, as well as making sure their makeup stayed on all day long. So I decided to create this one entry product so people could easily talk about Beia. Once we had their loyalty, trust, and respect on the quality of our formulations, then we introduced our refresh wipes. Those have similar key ingredients—hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, and tea tree water–and can be used for after the gym, travel, or intimacy.
KMC: How are you presenting Beia in the market?
BL: We’re positioning ourselves as serious skincare for your personal pleasure—we’re not just focusing on intimacy itself, but we’re focusing on who you are before, during and after. Because if you’re insecure about how you feel entering intimacy or before you’re having sex, then you’re not going to feel your best self and you’re not going to have your best experience. And that’s where these wipes come in. Yes, they’re great if you’re running from the gym to a meeting or traveling, but they’re also Ph balanced and fragrance-free so you can make sure you’re feeling refreshed and ready to go before a date, before having sex, or whatever it might be. And most wipes are filled with alcohol and don’t really care about your skin—they just serve the purpose of taking away odor. For us, it’s all removing odors, but also hydrating and moisturizing at the same time. Our next product will lean into sexual wellness even more. But I do think these intimate concerns that people might think are silly or embarrassing, but they do affect our self confidence. And we want you to feel the true pleasure that you deserve, and part of that is making sure you feel your best self before, during and after intimacy.
KMC: The brand’s trajectory seems so smart. And I love that you are disrupting an archaic industry like the sexual wellness space and making it elevated.
BL: When we do focus groups, which are coming from both Beatuini and Beia, the women are always commenting on how other brands have bright pink, girly packaging. They’re like, ‘I am a woman. I deserve packaging and products that treat me like the woman I deserve to be.’ And that makes so much sense! Instead of feeling guilty and hiding your lube in the back of your sock drawer, I want it to look like a beautiful face serum that you’re proudly displaying on your nightstand.
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