When Melissa Butler recently moved back to Detroit from Brooklyn, she brought her business with her.
Butler grew up in Detroit and graduated from Cass Tech High School. She moved away to go to college in Florida and then lived in New York City for the last six years while working on Wall Street. She started making her own makeup in the last few years, which she eventually launched as her own line of cosmetics,
The Lip Bar. She moved back to Detroit earlier this fall to grow that business.
"I was really inspired by the rejuvenation and rebirth of Detroit," Butler says. "The reality is New York City didn’t need me. Detroit needs me."
Butler is running
The Lip Bar from her home on Detroit's east side. The cosmetic line consists primarily of lipstick and is sold online at the business’s website, the Urban Outfitters website, and a few retail locations. Butler would like to get her products into more retail stores and is even thinking of opening up her own storefront.
Butler started making her own cosmetics out of frustration with the options available on the market, which tend to contain numerous toxins and are not environmentally friendly. The Lip Bar's products contain natural ingredients that achieve higher environmental standards while making its users look good.
"It's guilt-free good looks," Butler says.
Source: Melissa Butler, founder of The Lip Bar
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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