Talking with Women of Wonder:
Ada Lip Beauty
In celebration of Women’s History Month, SHOWFIELDS wanted to take this moment in time to highlight the female founders and artists who are pushing the envelope with mission-based topics that resonate most with our community. We like to refer to them as our Women of Wonder or “WOW.” This week we will be sharing an interview with the Founder of Ada Lip Beauty.
Introducing Introducing Ada Hsieh, Founder of Ada Lip Beauty
What motivated/inspired you to start your company, Ada Lip Beauty?
AH: Makeup. I love makeup. Makeup was a therapeutic and creative outlet for me. I worked in finance and after hours of spreadsheets and numbers I just needed something different. I also struggle immensely with mental health and these makeup/art sessions just made me feel better as a whole all the time. I took a liking to Special FX makeup, which deals with a lot of chemistry/chemicals, leading me to take note of what ingredients are in every day makeup. As you already know, it's a lot of chemicals and toxins. What concerned me with lipstick in particular, is that we're literally eating it with every bite and sip we take. Studies have shown that our bodies collect pounds of lipstick over a lifetime because they don't know how to expel the chemicals. I wanted to create a lipstick that was as food based as possible since we are ingesting this stuff anyway. Ada Lip Beauty's lipsticks are plant based and 100% naturally derived with pigments from vegetables.
As a female leader, what has been the most significant barrier in your career?
AH: Funding/capital. I've been fortunate in having a career that has allowed me to have that financial freedom of using my savings on my business development. However, as I grow I know that I will have to seek outside financial backing in the future, and I know the stats for that. Women and particularly women of color just don't get funded by investors. Also, most investors don't even have a beauty category in their portfolio. Glossier really broke grounds and paved the way for beauty as an overlooked investment. So at least we're on the way. I'm always looking to break the stats even further. It's fun.
What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
AH: Trust and listen to your gut, first. If it's confused and lost, you need to hustle and actively look for the answer. Never feel like you're entitled to have answers given to you. Like Britney said - "You better work"
If someone is new to your brand - what's the first thing you'd suggest they try?
AH: I am.Perfect. - it's an everyday nude shade that you can dab on for a light tinted look or dive in with more layers for a deeper nude.
What's a desert island product from your brand?
AH: Lip Rally is our lip scrub in a convenient chapstick form that's blended with hydrating oils to hydrate and get rid of dry lips, so talk about seriously needing this for a desert island!
Who do you look to for inspiration?
AH: Ann McFerran, CEO of Glamnetic. She's breaking grounds with what she's doing. I love that she's beauty and brains - you really can do it all and have it all.
