Jazmin Alvarez

Plant lots of seeds. You my not see the harvest right away, but rest assured that it will come.

 

Jazmin Alvarez, Founder of Pretty Well Beauty has been beauty obsessed since forever so it was no real surprise that she ended up working in the beauty and fashion industry for almost 15 years aligning herself with the industries most influential hair and makeup artists and for several leading brands including Ralph Lauren, Vogue, Calvin Klein, Prada, Fenty Beauty, etc.

Fueled by her own personal struggle to have clear skin, Jazmin set out to simplify her routine and during this period she discovered the transformative benefits of clean beauty. This was about 8 years ago and throughout the discovery process, as a consumer, she noticed a bit of white space in the area. The clean beauty and wellness space seemed to communicate and cater to only a very specific audience; the wealthy elite. After years of being a clean beauty advocate and learning more about the dangers of the chemicals used in traditional personal care and beauty products, the idea of Pretty Well Beauty was taking shape. It all started with instagram where she was able to share her aesthetic and message publicly.

In 2019, Pretty Well Beauty was officially launched on an e-commerce platform with 18 brands. Today there are 30 brands and the plan is to cap it at 50. Jazmin wants to create a space where consumers don’t feel intimated or overwhelmed with options. The idea is to streamline and set the highest standards of clean beauty by aligning with brands that adhere to only the strictest and most stringent standards in this unregulated industry. This is important due to the fact that so many others have fallen short and consumers need to have a place they can trust and whose values are built upon transparency and inclusivity. Everyone should have easy, uncomplicated access to wellness.

The Pretty Well Beauty standard is a 360 approach to wellness as Jazmin believes that beauty first and foremost is an inside job. What you put in your body should echo what you put on your body. To learn more please visit prettywellbeauty.com and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @prettywellbeauty

Where did the idea for Pretty Well Beauty come from?

The idea came from my obsession with clean and natural beauty alternatives. I started by experimenting with ingredients from my kitchen but then started noticing so many amazing brands emerging that were making clean beauty with incredible ingredients. I was shopping at a couple places that sold clean beauty and I noticed that my experience as a customer wasn’t the best. I either felt overwhelmed and intimated or completely ignored. I thought about how I could improve on this experience as well as offer a different POV as a woman of color who doesn’t come from privilege. There is this unfortunate perception that clean beauty and wellness is only available to a certain category of people and I wanted to create a brand that was inclusive that also gives back to an under-represented community. So that was where it all began. It was just a big fantastic dream at the time and I started slowly by thinking of a name and opening an instagram account where I could share my message and learn more about the people interested in clean beauty.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Well I work from home still as a team of 1. I do have an intern who helps me out. But a typical day starts with me getting up, washing my face and centering myself by doing Gua Sha which I learned from my friend Julie who is a shamanic facialist. Then after that I throw on some clothes and take my dog for a walk. Then once back inside I have a huge carafe of water, room temperature of course and then I check my emails. I usually log quite a bit of screen time between replying to emails, making updates on the website, writing blog content, researching products and brands, working on my never ending brand guide etc. I try to stay organized by keeping a calendar that links from my laptop to my phone so I always check my schedule from morning and throughout the day. I often have several phone calls on any given day with brand reps/partners, brand sponsors who I plan special events with, mentors etc. I start my day a little bit later around 10 am but work usually pretty late at night till about 10 pm or so. Oftentimes I have meetings with PR people, marketers, brand founders, creatives etc. I like to plant a lot of seeds so that when I have the financial traction I need to scale up to the next level, I already know who I want to work with. Also I work out everyday except Sundays. I always fit in time for a barre class as it’s important for me to have time to shut my brain off from work and just move.

How do you bring ideas to life?

A lot of my ideas come from random places at random times. Sometimes just walking down the street or in the shower or from a brain storming session with collaborators. That was actually how Clean Beauty Edit came to be. I was having a brand guide session with a friend of mine who is a brand strategist and we were talking about how I’ve been doing these beauty audits for my friends for years and the idea came as a service I could provide that will allow me to monetize on something I’ve been doing already for a long time. It was a total no brainer but an ah-ha moment at the same time. Then the idea of how to market this came to be so we came up with an idea to create content teasers that will live on Youtube and IGTV. Still in the pre-production phase of creating that but I love the synergy of brain storming because it’s an opportunity to just have a sounding board to toss everything out there in a space that feels safe and receive honest feedback.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I tend to shy away from trends as they don’t have the type of longevity that’s sustainable unless its able to evolve in the way clean beauty has. I love how beauty and how technology has married and that’s very exciting to me. There is so much cool technology that is emerging that I want to explore and develop for the clean beauty market. I’m working with a team in Mexico on a few concepts.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I would say setting goals and prioritizing your day and your to-do list is key to staying on track and keeping yourself accountable. Of course I have those days where I feel like I’ve accomplished absolutely nothing and then I have those days where I feel like I did so much that I can’t even remember if I had a drink of water. I like those types of days because as an entrepreneur there’s so much pressure we put on ourselves to produce results but being mindful that nothing great takes place overnight so practicing patience is also a key habit that I’m trying to embrace.

What advice would you give your younger self?

To my younger self I would tell her that when she’s older, she might not be as brave because she’s got a lot more to lose but that she should just do it anyway. I would have also advised her that the world and travel is one of the best teachers out there. I would also let her know that what she thinks she wants today will be totally different than what she will want 10-15 years later and that its ok to switch gears. I would also tell her that she will wish she never straightened her hair and that she should just embrace the hair she was born with.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Other people’s perception of you isn’t always reality.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Network, Network, Network. One of the things I’ve loved along this journey thus far are all the various types of people I have met along the way. These are people I would have never met before starting my business and when I was still working in fashion. Fashion is so homogeneous and everyone knows each other. But when you’re an entrepreneur and you go to so many types of events, panels, workshops, etc, you meet some really incredible people. In fact many of those new people I’ve met have become integral to the expansion of my brand awareness. I have people I’ve just met sending people to my site all the time and this would never happen if I didn’t network or say yes to every invite.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

I would say my events have really helped with my sales and brand awareness. Again these are opportunities to meet people you would otherwise not have the opportunity. Having that face to face personal interaction and not just being behind a brand is what helps me to stand out. Also I’m extremely engaging and personable not only at my events but on social media. I give people my email address and tell them them they can contact me any time for personal recommendations and I respond to everyone. What I’ve recognized from being a consumer first is that people don’t want to be treated like a customer or a number. They want to connect and I’m able to do this in a really authentic way. I don’t even call it a strategy because this is just who I am as a person so it comes naturally for me. It just so happens that this is what has become and will continue to be the vehicle that will drive success.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Not spending the time required to understand the architecture of building a website so I was forced to rely on outside sources as a life line. Giving away that much blind trust to a company is not advisable. I didn’t ask the right questions. I would have educated myself more in the beginning and saved myself a lot of time and money. But mistakes are inevitable and I try not to repeat them.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Have an idea for a mobile pop up experience in multiple cities around the world where clean beauty isn’t as accessible. That’s all I will share about that for now hahaha!

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Oh gosh, as a self funded entrepreneur, I don’t really spend that kind of money on anything outside of business these days. But the last thing I spent on myself cost about $75 and it was for a 90 minute massage at this hole in the wall Chinese massage spot in my neighborhood. It’s no frills and I bring my own organic massage oil but they give the most incredible massages hands down!

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Oh well I use google drive a lot. I keep all my file images and business documents, blog posts etc there and its all easily shareable with people.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

100 Days to Brave by Annie F. Downs. My friend’s mother gifted this book to me and it’s really uplifting on days when you don’t feel brave or just need to hear positive affirmations from real life circumstances.

What is your favorite quote?

I have so many but some of my favorites are:

“Honesty without compassion is brutality”-unknown
” People will forget what you said; people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou

“We are all born so beautiful, the greatest tragedy is being convinced we are not.” – Rupi Kaur

Key Learnings:

• Being an entrepreneur can be lonely most days so having a network of people who can offer help, advice, etc are key to staying sane
• You don’t have to complete your to -do list in 1 day. Learn to prioritize and everything will fall into place.
• Plant lots of seeds. You my not see the harvest right away, but rest assured that it will come.

Connect:

Website: www.prettywellbeauty.com
Instagram: @prettywellbeauty
Facebook: @prettywellbeauty
Twitter: @beprettywell
LinkedIn: Pretty Well Beauty

Headshot photographer: Romer Pedron