Even if you’re not familiar with Lisa Jauregui, you’ve probably seen her brand BK Beauty on TikTok. It’s not uncommon to see tons of videos of people sharing how the A506 Concealer Brush ($24) changed their under-eye habits or how the 109 Foundation Brush ($32) officially ditched their makeup sponges. Although the brand is known for its tools, the co-founder was first introduced to the world of beauty through her grandmother.
“Her name was Frances and she was my beauty inspiration,” Jauregui tells POPSUGAR. “She was an attractive woman who never left the house ‘bare-faced,’ as she used to say.” This, coupled with the fact that Jauregui was an avid Mary Kay fan, made her She had begged her mother to host a beauty party for her and her friends. Despite not having a mutual brand representative, it was the beginning of her career in the beauty industry. But Jauregui rarely pursued that, she said.
“I officially started in the industry when I was 18 or 19,” Jauregui says. “I simply loved cosmetics, so I got a job as a makeup artist at the counter at MAC.” This role was only supposed to provide extra income while I was in college, but I quit to work in advertising. That’s when she realized how deeply she had fallen in love with the advertising industry. “I had a really strong passion for makeup and I wasn’t willing to let it go,” she says. This “miserable” advertising experience led her to work as a make-up artist on weekends and continue to express her creativity. She looks back on her time working in corporate America and wonders why she didn’t take the plunge and pursue the artistry of makeup full-time, but that time helped shape her BK Beauty into what it is today. Jauregui admits that she was instrumental in building her relationship. Still, it was becoming her mother that really propelled her business into what it is today.
“I was going through a big change in my life,” Jauregui says. “When I was in my early 30s and then became a mother, I started reevaluating my ideas about beauty.” She said it had a huge impact on her self-esteem. She didn’t want to pass on her constant emotional roller coaster to her children.
“Apart from the fact that our daughters’ names are Brooklyn and Kate, the brand name BK stands for beauty and kindness,” she says. “After having kids, I started working on myself and understanding what it means to love and accept who I am. As a result, I started to feel more comfortable not wearing full makeup all the time. , that’s what sparked this journey to start BK Beauty. I want kids to know that not only do they need to be kind to others, but they also need to be kind to themselves. .”
“We want our kids to know that not only do we need to be kind to others, but we also need to be kind to ourselves.”
After a successful initial launch with just nine brushes, Jauregui’s husband, Paul, quit his job to lead the brand’s marketing efforts. Just five years later, BK Beauty has grown to heights beyond the couple’s wildest dreams. “TikTok was a big turning point for us last year,” Jauregui said. They joined the app in August 2023 when the platform launched a beta rewards program aimed at helping creators generate higher earning potential by posting high-quality original content. . “By September or October, it was 15 to 20 percent of our business,” she says. Currently, 50 percent of BK Beauty’s orders come from the TikTok shop. “One of the great things about being a small brand is that we can be very nimble and figure things out as we go,” Jauregui says. “This allows us to maintain the momentum we had from the beginning, and TikTok continues to have a significant impact on the business.”
Jauregui has big plans for the future of BK Beauty, but color cosmetics may be coming sooner than you think. What she’s most looking forward to is the transformation of the beauty industry as a whole. “We’re already seeing such changes, but I want the industry to continue spreading the message of inner beauty,” Jauregui says. “Everyone needs to know that makeup is fun and confidence-boosting, but it’s also an art form to be creative and just have fun. Makeup should never be used to hide yourself. You shouldn’t, but [instead] As a tool for self-acceptance. ”