Stacey Lee founder of Rude Cosmetics on Surviving Financial Collapse, Rejecting Industry Norms, and Building a Bold Beauty Legacy

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stacey Lee founder of Rude Cosmetics.

Stacey Lee has always been business-minded from an early age and has tackled whatever challenges put in front of her to materialize her visions. This was tested during the financial crisis of 2008 that left her completely broke. Financially devasted and left with very few resources when the dust settled, Stacey assessed her options and analyzed the best opportunity for growth and success. Without being in the industry nor having any experience in it, she concluded the best path forward under her circumstances were cosmetics combined with ecommerce. This foresight paid off and eventually, she was able to rebuild enough resources to realize her goal of starting her own cosmetic brand…Rude.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

In my previous life, I was a restaurateur with a grand vision of opening franchises throughout Southern California. I was on my way to achieving this goal and have already opened 5 restaurants when the financial crisis hit in 2008. Like a sudden wave of tsunami, the financial burdens were too much to overcome and I was forced to close all the restaurants. After thinking about my situation for a long time, I assessed the best way to rebuild with what little money I had left was to buy cosmetics from Los Angeles Downtown wholesalers and resell it on eBay. Starting with only one rack worth of products and working out of my bedroom (listing, packing and shipping), I grew this business into a multimillion-dollar operation within few short years. Although this business was phenomenal, I was pushing someone else’s product and needed a legacy of my own. That is why Rude Cosmetics was started that lead me to this path I’m on now.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

When Rude Cosmetics was started, I wanted to offer high-quality products that everyone can afford. I knew this concept alone will not make Rude stand out from the very crowded field of cosmetic brands. I needed to give Rude a brand personality that makes people draws toward her. I did this by conceptualizing very unusual eye-catching packaging that has never been seen in the industry. An example of this was our eyeshadow collection that looks exactly like a book with very whimsical names. Our first eyeshadow palette book, for example, is titled “Twinkle In Her Eyeshadows”. Every packaging design Rude churn out must be energetic, bold and, most importantly, must invoke an emotional response at first look. I believe product packaging design is an opportunity to tell a story about that product, a concept that is totally unusual from the industry-standard which makes Rude a totally different and disruptive brand.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I cannot really say there was any funny mistake, instead I can recall few awkward moments. The one that stands out was when I was in Dubai exhibiting in a tradeshow. We had product samples and did not want to ship it back with us, so I have decided to sell it on the last day to tradeshow attendees. I priced the products at extremely discounted prices for a quick sale. When the sale began, everyone wanted to buy at much lower prices then what was tagged. Coming from Western cultural values, this was very frustrating at first before I realized that this the way things are done in this part of the world where all things are negotiated.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

There are many naysayers and those who want to knock you off of your path, so, yes, I have my husband who has always been there to provide a solid footing whenever obstacles come in the way. As an unwavering partner in business and in life, there is not any one example of support as it’s always omnipresent. He handles the tedious tasks leaving me free to develop new products and design concepts.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

I genuinely believe being disruptive is very risky and can lead to failure in whatever you’re pursuing since there is no precedence set. This is especially true if your disruption is blind and not thought out very carefully. However, the reward is especially delicious if the disruption is exactly how you envisioned it will be accepted.

Yes, test of time is safe and somewhat predictable, but you will never stand out of the crowd and have a high probability of getting lost and fading away into obscurity. As they say, with great risk comes great reward.

Sometimes you know the risk is pushing the limits of acceptability but must go with gut instinct and push through. Our lingerie eyeshadow palette is an example of such disruption. The graphic shows actual photo of risqué undergarments with illustrated person drawled into the apparel. I knew this unique concept will not pass for registration in certain conservative countries. These are the compromises you accept for being disruptive.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

1. Stay true to your path — From the very beginning, I wanted Rude to become a full line color cosmetics and skincare brand. As a new brand, creating both lines at the same time was financially risky and a huge gamble. I was advised to do only cosmetics and abandon the skincare product, but I kept my vision for this brand regardless of the financial risks, I kept creating products in various categories not focusing on any one type. To truly create a brand identity, the brand must be well-diversified or otherwise, you are only known for the product, not the brand.
2. Do not follow the money, money will come to you — Do not get me wrong, money is always good, and I want to make a lot of it. However, I believe you can be blinded by money and can cause you to make decisions that you would not normally make if it were not for the it. So long as you stick to your vision, money will eventually follow you.
3. Being idle is death, must always move — There are bound to be mistakes when developing and producing new products, but regardless, the optimum work is “new”. I am always researching and analyzing which way the health and beauty industry is trending so that I can forecast our product line accordingly. Even you have a phenomenally successful product now, this may not be the situation the following season.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Yes, I’m certainly not done. I am currently working on a men’s skincare line and a new cosmetic brand which will be offered online only. It is all hush hush for now but stay tuned.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

In my personal experiences, I really cannot say there were any business challenges that I faced as being a woman then as if I was a man. When I deal with others, I look for professionalism and reliability in a person. If they do not show these traits then it is their personality, not because of your gender.

When it comes to family, traditionally the women were more involved in maintaining the family life. However, in my opinion, that is becoming more of a decision between the spouses to determine who will take the lead in that role.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

In my case, I cannot really claim to have of any one book or otherwise that had an impact on my way of thinking. I think I am who I am and greatly impacted because of my situation growing up. I grew up in a family where I was the only girl with two brothers in a working-class immigrant family where my parents expected me to do all the kitchen chores. I do not fault my parents for this unfairness as this was their way of thinking from their generation, but this had a deep impact on my way of thinking making me more resolute and determined to succeed.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I suppose if I was in that position, I would probably call it “One Step Forward Movement”. If you are looking at that’s impossible to achieve whether it is financial or personal, I will propose or challenge everyone to move forward by taking one step at a time. Whether that goal needs 10 or 100 steps, long as you’re moving forward you’re always getting closer toward your goal.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Action speaks louder than words”. It is ridiculously cheap to blur out words saying what you want to accomplish, but those words do not mean anything if there is no action toward it. This is the very reason why I am very careful not to say anything if there is a possibility that I might not follow through on it. Doing so would make me a liar not only to others, but more importantly, to myself.

How can our readers follow you online?

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and TikTok @rudecosmetics

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!