Success is sweet like honey. And no one knows the feeling better than Honey Beauty.
The New York City-based clean haircare brand rooted in Latin culture was the winner of Prose Beauty x Luna Magic’s Second Annual Mentor Magic. The competition – the ceremony of which was held at Above the Heights Hotel in Washington Heights on Sunday, Oct. 15 – awarded $10,000 to the brand to further its entrepreneurial efforts in addition to coaching and one-on-one time with the event CEOs.
Shaira and Mabel Frias, cofounders of Luna Magic, talk about the crowd about the importance of being authentic when starting up a business at the Mentor Magic event at Above the Heights on Oct. 15, 2023.
Shaira and Mabel Frias, cofounders of Luna Magic, talk about the crowd about the importance of being authentic when starting up a business at the Mentor Magic event at Above the Heights on Oct. 15, 2023.
Luna Magic Beauty was founded in 2018 by sisters Mabel and Shaira Frias – Washington Heights natives – after they made an appearance on “Shark Tank” in 2021. They pitched their color cosmetics business to the panel of investors and TV personalities, walking away with a deal with long-time Shark investor Barbara Corcoran.
With Mentor Magic, they wished to pay it forward by helping their fellow BIPOC business owners. Applications for “Luna Magic” were received from all over the US and judged, in part, by the Frías sisters and Helen Nwosu, vice president of social impact at Prose Beauty, the direct-to-consumer beauty brand that makes “hyper-personalized” hair and skincare products.
Nwosu said Prose appreciated Honey Beauty’s authenticity and the brand’s gumption to get off the ground.
“Last year, I was at the event and I hadn’t even launched yet,” said Honey Beauty CEO Genesis Dominguez, adding that the “mental fortitude” and perseverance despite other roadblocks like motherhood helped her move full steam ahead with her business. “Thank you so much for this opportunity; I appreciate it and I’m so thankful.”
One of Honey Beauty’s bestselling haircare products “Therapy Rescue Hair Set” uses botanicals such as lavender, argan, castor and peppermint oils and its star ingredient – honey – to hydrate and strengthen to address hair issues common in textured hair including dryness, breakage, split ends, knots and frizz. The hair elixir and leave-in conditioner also help with thinning hair and color enhancement by serving as a heat protectant against complex styling including braids and weaves. The result is healthier, vibrant hair.
Luna Magic eyeshadow palettes were used on guests as complimentary makeovers offered at the event.
Creating Tomorrow's Golden Opportunities
Nwosu first connected with Frías during a panel discussion on diversity and inclusion in Los Angeles, CA in 2022. While Luna Magic had hosted its first annual Mentor Magic event last year, the fast-friends decided to stage on another event, this time, as a culmination of Hispanic Heritage Month, which was held from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
“Any opportunity that I have to connect with entrepreneurs from everywhere specially, BIPOC female entrepreneurs, I do that,” said Nwosu.
“There’s only one way that’s going to solve all the problems we have in beauty,” said Nwosu to the crowd. “It’s going to take multiple voices and people from different backgrounds to create products to create a community that is inclusive for all.”
Prose Beauty, she explained, is an exemplar example of the kind of business that aligns with the value of wishing to help other businesses succeed.
“I have founders, who don’t say ‘I want to make a billion dollars; I want to take over the world.’ They say ‘I want to foster entrepreneurs, innovation and success for other people,” Nwosu told the crowd.
“There’s enough space. The cosmetic industry is a billion-dollar industry,” she continued. “I hope that whoever wins Mentor Magic today [becomes] a company that’s bigger than Luna Magic; that’s bigger than Prose.”
