On-demand beauty isn’t a new concept. Yet Brittany Lo created a company that offers something more than just a quick blowout before work. Beautini by B. Lo provides hair and makeup services that center around an experience.
“The biggest misconception is that beauty is a very surface-level offering,” says Lo. “But it’s not so much about what exactly we’re doing to their face as how we make them feel.”
The beauty expert is very much in demand these days. On top of everything, she’s appearing on the new reality show Coupled, which premieres May 17 on Fox.
Her passion for beauty was sparked at age two, when she had her hair and makeup done for a ballet recital.
“My mother was very laid-back, so she allowed me to do my own makeup, and granted, the pictures weren’t always the prettiest because my makeup was all over. But I felt beautiful,” says the WeWork City Hall member.
In second grade, she wrote in her journal that one day she would start her own beauty company. In high school, she founded a women’s leadership organization, and discovered she was also passionate about inspiring others. She started her own makeup line with funding from her grandmother, but realized she wanted more than a beauty company: she wanted to empower women.
“How much can you really do by having a product on the shelf of CVS? How much confidence can you really instill through that method?” asks Lo. “Beautini is a tool for me to offer confidence and motivate women.”
What happens when the Beautini team arrives at a client’s home or office? Cue an atmosphere of utmost relaxation with silk robes and champagne. Lo trains her stylists to pay attention to little details, such as what’s going on in a client’s life.
“Little gestures go a long way,” says Lo. “For example, if the mother of a bride just got divorced and has a lot of low self-esteem and is very self-conscious about her hair because she has white roots, our hairstylists will recommend a hairstyle that hides her roots and makes her feel beautiful. It’s not so much about what we give, but how we talk to our clients.”
Sure, women could just look up a tutorial on YouTube and use the same products as the Beautini team, but Lo explains that adds a layer of stress to any big day that Beautini whisks away.
“There are definitely clients who know how to do their makeup on a daily basis and they look great,” says Lo. “But it’s more about being able to relax, and soak it in, and be able to reflect on memories of that day, rather than being focused on how to do your eyeliner.”
Clients rave about Lo’s positivity and ability to put them at ease. She has only been pursuing her company full-time since March 2015, yet Beautini has already received awards such as The Best of The Knot 2016 (given to the top 2 percent of wedding vendors) and the 2016 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award. Lo believes Beautini has exploded in the wedding industry because her service updates an outdated industry with a modern, genuine approach.
“The reality is, when you plan a wedding, it becomes a whole different beast,” Lo explains. “So even though you get your makeup done every day at the MAC counter, when it comes to your wedding, you want someone who specializes in weddings. We’re creating a company that is more aligned with the brides’ and couples’ lifestyles than other vendors that they have to choose from.”
Lo simplifies logistics for brides through her app, released last July. Her drive to meet clients’ needs is also exemplified by the fact that she recently obtained certification as a wedding planner and is now able to understand brides from a different angle. She hopes to someday create a product line, offering items designed to augment a specific occasion.
“We get little girls for bat mitzvahs, proms, and graduations, as well as birthday parties and weddings,” says Lo. “We cater to groups of women who want to celebrate life moments.”
Photos: Lauren Kallen, Katelyn Perry