Here's how Beautyblender founder Rea Ann Silva reinvented a sponge and created a new category: ForbesOver50
about how not getting a patent for her now-iconic makeup sponge didn’t stop her from disrupting the multi-billion beauty industry.hen Rea Ann Silva used to do makeup for magazine cover stars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, editors would call her, begging for the list of products she used. Invariably, after she divulged her secrets, those same editors would call back, frustrated with their inability to replicate Silva’s artistry.
“That's the beauty of Beautyblender, because you can take a mass makeup product, or you can take the highest-end product, and you'll still get this amazing application.”“When I was in my thirties looking at 50, I thought I would be one foot in the grave. I made a promise to myself by the time I was 50 years old,” she toldin an hour-long phone interview, “[that I would] create products and bring simplicity to women and make them feel good about their age.
That conflict was a Q-tip-like medical device that, like Beautyblender, was made of an egg-shaped foam. Silva, a veteran TV and film makeup artist with nearly three decades in the business, argued that hers was a cosmetic applicator and therefore markedly different from the medical ear cleaner. She believed in this so strongly that she re-filed for the patent on four separate occasions, despite ever-increasing processing fees for each attempt.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Introducing The 50 Over 50: Women Proving Success Has No Age LimitMeet our inaugural class of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and creators who, after the age of 50, are achieving their greatest accomplishments and making their biggest impact. Together, they embody a new movement of women who reject the idea that the most dynamic part of life is the first half.
Read more »
The Future Of Personal Finance: Fintech 50 2021From digital banking to micro-loans, these 10 personal finance startups made it onto Forbes’ latest ranking of the top 50 fintechs in the U.S.
Read more »
The Future Of Small Business Lending: Fintech 50 2021Despite a trying year for small business, a slew of fintech companies thrived by offering credit to buzzy startups and mom-and-pops alike.
Read more »
Fintech 50 2021: The NewcomersFor our sixth annual Fintech 50, 20 of our picks have never appeared on the list. Digital banks, crypto and blockchain startups and payments companies made a particularly strong showing.
Read more »
The Future Of Small Business Lending: Fintech 50 2021Despite a trying year for small business, a slew of fintech companies thrived by offering credit to buzzy startups and mom-and-pops alike.
Read more »
The Future Of Investing: Fintech 50 2021After a year of frenzied trading and sky-high asset valuations, these are the most innovative investing companies in fintech.
Read more »