Makeup So Good, You Can Sleep in It

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in beauty and cosmetics but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Fiona Chan, founder, and CEO of Youthforia, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At Youthforia, we make makeup you can sleep in. All of our makeup products are formulated to act like skincare, and we test everything by sleeping in them. We're best known for our Tiktok viral BYO Blush - the world's first color-changing blush oil.

Tell us about yourself

I started Youthforia during the first week of the pandemic. I think it was the inability to go out and see people that I realized that for me, makeup is about going out and having fun with friends. And I'm someone who if I'm out and I have one sip of wine, I'll end up falling asleep in my makeup. So that's where the idea came from. When I looked into makeup ingredients, I realized that most products are made from basically liquid plastic. On average, a woman puts on 15 products a day, and that's about 300 chemicals she's washing down the drain. So I'm really motivated to make products that are not only great for the skin but great for the environment as well.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is creating makeup products you can sleep in that are not made with fossil fuels. We create products that have never existed before (like color-changing blush or our daily protective primer that stops your skin's histamine response from irritation or redness). When we nail a formula, I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest thing that comes with being a business owner is that things hardly ever go smoothly or the way you expect them to. I always say that running Youthforia has been more of a mental health journey for me than anything else, and that's because it's so important to have resilience because things go wrong. At this point, I expect things to go wrong and account for that. It allows me to be tackle problems more clearly as they arise.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

If you have an inkling that you want to start something, just start it. You'll develop resilience over time. I'm so grateful that I started Youthforia because I love what I do, and I regret not starting it earlier.
Have a good mental health routine. It's great to have a morning routine to jumpstart your day, but it's just as important to have a routine to get yourself out of funk days. Funk days are totally normal - allow space and self-compassion for those days. It's important to have a routine to get out of them and to make important decisions on good days.
Identify the difference between fear of failure vs. fear of success. Try not to have your fears hold you back from taking action towards your dreams.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://youthforia.co/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fionacochan/
https://www.instagram.com/getyouthforia/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.