Brittany Lo Shares Her Approach to Running a Woman-Led, Asian-Owned Beauty Business

Published on May 11, 2021 at 5:55 PM

Brittany Lo, founder of new wellness brand Beia, started her beauty bridal brand Beautini in 2015, fresh out of college with little experience in the wedding industry but lots of motivation. (In fact, she recorded a firmly dedicated career goal of working in the beauty world in her second grade journal, so you could say her success was a long time in the making.) Today, Lo works with a team of 80 stylists at Beautini to provide confidence-boosting makeovers for brides on their big day. Rather than focusing on speed and convenience, Lo takes a slow approach, getting to know every single one of her clients and understanding their vision, especially the way in which their culture plays a part in their personal hair and makeup routines.

"A priority of mine is building a diverse team of stylists who are able to cater to different features, skin tones, and hair textures."

"I knew there was white space for a brand like Beautini," she told POPSUGAR. "From the start, I made it my top priority to listen to our prospective brides and create an enjoyable, stress-free experience. Growing up, I had trouble finding makeup artists for my proms who knew how to do my eye shape as an Asian-American, so a priority of mine is building a diverse team of stylists who are able to cater to different features, skin tones, and hair textures. Creating an inclusive, enjoyable, and stress-free experience for our clients is the key to our success."

Lo also revealed how that success has led to the launch of her newest venture: Beia Beauty. The line of clean wellness products, out today, was directly inspired by her Beautini brides and currently includes a Daily Hydrating & Setting Mist that is vegan and cruelty free. It incorporates beneficial ingredients such as green tea, which Lo drinks on a daily basis, and it is made for intimate, feel-good moments when a spritz may be all you need to complete a natural, makeup-free beauty look.

Lo also explained how her honest conversations with clients helped her in the development of the company, and she is shedding light on what it means to be a business owner right now. That means bringing attention to other AAPI-founded companies in her space and constantly keeping her eyes on the women in the bridal business who she respects and admires. Scroll to read about her impressive journey.

Creating Beautini Brides

POPSUGAR: What was your approach to breaking into the bridal beauty industry?
Brittany Lo: The wedding industry prides itself on the number of years of experience, which is important, but I knew I could build a beauty brand in the wedding space, despite my lack of wedding experience. This situation pushed me to focus my time on marketing directly to brides and giving them that top-notch experience. From there, we would be able to build trust from vendors to refer to us as well. Thankfully, our approach worked, and I am grateful that now both couples and vendors proactively reach out to work with us because of our focus on our services and experience.

PS: How have you seen brides weave their culture into their beauty or skin-care routine on their wedding day?
BL: Seeing how couples weave their culture or traditions into their wedding day is one of my favorite things to talk about during a beauty trial. My parents had a culturally blended marriage — my dad is Chinese and mom is Irish — which turns into a culturally blended life.

We have a lot of couples who fuse their different cultures together on the wedding day as well. We have worked with a few couples where one partner is Indian and the other is Chinese, so it is a multi-day celebration with the Sangeet one day, the Chinese ceremony another day, and the Western-American ceremony as the culmination. This means one day we get to create a hairstyle with a tikka woven into the hair, create a beautiful makeup look with a bright red lip for the Chinese Tea Ceremony, and then add a textured updo that complements her white gown. Watching couples fully embrace each other's culture and traditions is so beautiful.

PS: What skin-care advice do you give to brides leading up to the wedding day?
BL: There's so much pressure to look perfect on your wedding day that I've seen brides trying brand new procedures, peels, and products just days before the wedding. I do believe that leading up to your wedding day is a great time to establish a skin-care routine and to try out new procedures — if you begin this nine to 12 months in advance. Within three months of the wedding, I would suggest not changing up the skin-care routine to avoid reactions or skin issues that would affect your makeup on the day.

PS: What have the brides you've worked with taught you?
BL: On a romantic note, I was single the first five years of running Beautini, so hearing brides' love stories about their SOs and how they keep perspective on what's truly important helps me in my current relationship. When you think about the beauty industry, most people will tell you how saturated the market is, but when I have intimate and honest conversations with our brides, I learn about how much white space and potential there is to speak to customers differently and build products that allow them to feel confident.

Launching Beia

PS: What does Beia introduce to the beauty and bridal space?
BL: The concept for Beia was inspired by my Beautini brides. My clients have been instrumental in developing the concept and have been inspiration every step of the way. I had many focus groups and conversations with our Beautini clients to understand what was still missing in this very saturated beauty market. However, as I started developing Beia, I realized it's for beyond the bride — this brand and product is for every day, and not just a wedding day.

"There are a lot of taboo topics for women, including sex, so I wanted to create a brand that empowers women to feel comfortable."

Through my conversations, I learned that there is so much confusion surrounding how to apply beauty products. Many women don't even understand what they do and they're ashamed to admit it. Additionally, there are a lot of taboo topics for women, including sex, so I wanted to create a brand that empowers women to feel comfortable exploring new products and indulging in self-care, sans taboo.

PS: How have you woven your heritage into the Beia brand?
BL: Beia's name originates from the Chinese word "bao bei," which means means precious treasure. One of the ingredients in our very product, the Daily Hydrating & Setting Mist, has green tea extract, which was inspired by me drinking green tea and learning about all the benefits of it during a trip to China. Green tea has antimicrobial properties to help fight against maskne or active acne breakouts, calm irritation and puffiness, and even out discoloration.

Being a Business Owner

PS: What does it mean to launch a minority-led company in the beauty space?
BL: Sometimes I think when we put ourselves into the "female-founder" or minority bucket, we see it as a disadvantage or extra obstacle when in fact, I see it as a benefit! I am endlessly inspired by women founders and minority-led businesses. The more we see diverse founders out there dominating the world, the more little girls of all backgrounds will take note and make their dreams a reality too.

"The more we see diverse founders out there dominating the world, the more little girls of all backgrounds will take note and make their dreams a reality too."

PS: What are some Asian-owned companies within the bridal and beauty industries that you personally love to support?
BL: There are endless reasons why I am proud to be Asian American, from our culture and holiday traditions that allow me to spend more time with my family to our delicious cuisine and teas. The AAPI community is filled with brilliant minds, creative geniuses, and loving souls. My culture taught me strong work ethics and the value of family and I wouldn't be the woman I am today without it. Susan Shek, Kylee Yee, and Twah Dougherty are incredible wedding photographers, Meena Lee and Tzo Ai Ang are talented wedding planners, and Caila Quinn and Christine Tran are content creators who provide a ton of wedding advice to their followers. Caila is getting married in May and Christine got married two years ago, so it's insightful to hear about the whole process and listen to their recommendations.