BOSSO BEAUTY

THE STORY OF A BEAUTY ENTREPRENEUR

Words By Kimberley Bosso

Vera Wang, Ariana Huffington, Julia Childs. What do these successful women and I have in common? We all began our careers later in life and were unwavering in the belief that success was ours for the taking and your mindset is everything that determines your success.

I knew myself at an early age because I’ve always been innately deep in my thoughts and analytical about, well, just about everything. I’m a Scorpio. I studied myself, my idiosyncrasies, my tenacity, my manners, my social skills, the way people perceived me. And it didn’t stop with me. I studied people. I studied their stories fascinated by their journeys, their adversities, always inspired, always curious, always learning. You can damn well say I was an analyzer and was intrigued by success stories and powerful women, one being Madonna. I studied everything about her and learned the ways of the streets when I left home as a teen to make my way cross country to grab what was mine. And she was my main strength. At that time, as a young girl, she was all I had due to unfortunate circumstances.

What I didn’t know was that I’d end up running a successful five entity makeup business in Beverly Hills. But, who does when they’re climbing up the ladder not knowing exactly where their ambitious journey is going, but just riding high on the adventures of life? I did know though that I’d do something in the arts and entertainment field and live in California. That was certain. There was nothing else for me. I just knew no matter what I did, I had to enjoy my work, be around creative and successful people and the money would follow.

As a young girl growing up on the East coast, I studied dance and piano at an early age and fell in love with both. Anything to do with music had my heart.

Entering high school, I chose a vocational one where I was able to study theater arts 3 hours a day and spend less time on the “banal” subjects. I mean I knew I wasn’t going to be an entrepreneur so why give math that much effort. Oh if I knew then what I know now! Ha!

I became THAT entrepreneur. (Kids, learn your math!! You will need it at some point if you plan to make 7 figures on your own)

So, what’s my secret to success? I’ll take ya back about 12 years ago when my then French boyfriend (aka Frenchie) went back to Paris after almost 4 years of being together, and horrifically my dog of 15 years died that same month.

It hit me hard and my world came crashing down. It was then I had a breakthrough. I needed to get up off my ass and not let these tragic moments determine my outcome. It’s typically through adversity when the amazing “turns” happen in my life. Corners I turn that I can never go back. Check this out…I was already a makeup artist with some celebs under my belt. How did I get those? I’ll make this short and say a photographer working for Popstar Magazine called me on the fly finding me on Google when Google was just a wee baby then and it spiraled from there. But back to my point… I was done crying and boohooing over what I lost and decided I need to take life by the balls again, like I did before the Frenchie smashed his croissant into my Hollywood heart. So, I placed a tiny ad on of all places Craigslist! Yes, Craig was my new loyal boyfriend making sure to keep me focused on my rise to success.

Back then “Craig” wasn’t as seedy as it is today. Actually, I didn’t place just one ad, but many, in various different states across the US. I had a strategy up my sleeve. I’d get so many people intrigued that they’d click on my link in the ad leading to my website KBosso.com and I’d gain tons of traffic to my site. Yes! I was doing Search Engine Optimization (aka SEO) by default before it was even a thing. I was way ahead of the game already. Afterall, it was just me and two other makeup artists on the front page of Google back then, but I soon dominated and was the pioneer of intensive makeup courses. There was no other in the early 2000’s.

My ad read: Want to become a Celeb Makeup Artist? Ever dream of working behind the scenes in movies and editorial or high-end weddings in Hollywood? Get makeup certified by Celebrity Makeup Artist Kimberley Bosso, just steps from CBS studios where American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are filmed. 4 Intensive Days. Maximum 4 students accepted. Taught by Celeb MUA. $2499.00

Edit, click, post! It was live. I went to bed.

The next morning, I got a call from a girl that told me her passion was makeup and she despised being a reality star agent at a very prominent agency in BH, and she wanted to take my course and asked when the next one was. I told her, “next week” and after answering all her questions and giving her my history and leading her to my website, she decided she was taking the course. We hung up. I was excited and panicked at the same time.

Shit! I didn’t have a curriculum put together! I worked the next 72 hours barely sleeping until I had a solid 30 hour extremely educational makeup course that I believed that could set anyone up with being a success in the makeup field. I could do this.

She showed up Monday laying an envelope on my coffee table in my one bedroom bungalow style apartment in Weho and we went to work. I gave her my blood sweat and smiles, (because with me there’s never tears), making sure she knew the ins and outs of the makeup world and all I have learned on my path thus far. She called me up months later to tell me how grateful she was and that she moved back to Texas, got married and opened her beauty business that she was always wanting to pursue. She actually used the words “Thank you for teaching me and setting me up for success.”

Boom. That was it. I knew what I needed to do. Educate people. Help them. Set them up. There was something to this. Something bigger.

Fast forward to a few years later, I got students calling me from all around the U.S., and then the word spread internationally. Ya gotta remember, these are the days before Instagram and the very start of Facebook, so people found me word of mouth or from blogs that students who graduated from my course were writing. At one point, I had so many Aussies’ enrolling that I started calling everyone mate for about a month. LMAO!

I soon realized my worth and how my popularity and knowledge was of great value, so my price doubled and I added a 6 day intensive for triple that, that included business and marketing and more extensive airbrush education.The gates were wide open and people were flooding in. Life was good.

But there was another area of makeup I was curious about. Fashion week. I wanted to work on a team. I called up an old colleague in Milan and I was able to finagle my way in to work Dolce Gabbana with my friend. Voilla! That was it for me. That insatiable mix of fashion and beauty. More please!

From then to the present day, I’ve lead my team(s) (17+ of my graduates) on fashion weeks in Paris, LA, and New York and still counting. Being lead is crazy fun, exhilarating, draining AF, thankless, and yet fulfilling, but I’d do it again and again bc I love the rush and satisfaction when the week is done and you see the footage and how everyone as a team (directors, hair, makeup, designers, models) all came together to create such eye pleasing entertainment.

Somewhere in between all of this I had a baby boy and couldn’t get enough of motherhood. Hands down the best time of my life, so I decided to slow down and absorb all I could of fleeting toddlerhood. No regrets. My heartbeat. God knows, I didn’t want to have a Steve Jobs mentality and miss what was important. You have to know when more is enough because my “more” was/is Brooklyn Rome. He fulfilled every part of me. Slowing down is good and necessary. I turned the volume up inside of me and said he’ll be older before ya know it so take it all in now. Beauty isn’t going anywhere. Just like sex drugs and rock and roll. Eternal. I’ll go back when the time calls.

Well, time whispered, when Brooklyn was about 4 years old. I got the inspiration from the heavens and decided to launch my very own makeup line called BOSSO Makeup Beverly Hills. Vegan formulas were my goal from the start and now over half of my line is Vegan. So proud of that! In my career, I achieved designing a successful makeup course in Los Angeles/ Beverly Hills that was recognized globally along with a second course in Florida. I had publicists and managers calling me to work with the likes of Marissa Tomei, Matt Damon, Paul McCartney, Taryn Manning, and Al Pacino. I had mentions in Magazines like Instyle, Women’s Health, New Beauty, Wedluxe, LA Confidential, Basic, and international features on me in the Spanish and Chinese Fashion Magazines Imagen y Belleza, and International Pheonix, and repeatedly invited to be a Beauty Expert on television shows such as The Doctors (Paramount) and Home and Family (Universal), was the national spokesperson for Ultherapy upon its launch.

Kimberley Bosso prepping a model for Fashion Week

Models on stage at Fashion Week - Makeup by Kimberley Bosso and her team

But, I couldn’t resist the next offer made to me by one of my graduates from Hong Kong.

I made an international deal with a beauty store (Argus) in Hong Kong that carried only American beauty brands. My first export deal. BOSSO Makeup Beverly Hills was overseas. Just. Like. That.

More notoriety came with news spots such as Fox and NBC, (and many more) and recently during Covid, BBC News invited me to discuss the pandemic and how it’s affected the beauty industry as a whole. During 2020 when the California governor shut us all down, I created online makeup classes that became an instant hit, and made other deals of interest outside of beauty.

My latest venture after the slowdown of 2020, is going 100% vegan with the BOSSO makeup line. As of now, our contour, blush, eyeshadows, concealers, glosses, HD powder, and face primer are vegan. I’ve also started writing my long overdue beauty story. Its not your average makeup how-to-book. Its so much more. So much deeper with trials and tribulations.

When my brain isn’t swirling in beauty, I still love to sit at the piano dabble in singing/ songwriting and teach my son about the arts, travel, business, Broadway, the French language and culture (thanks Frenchie), love, life, and letting go of any fear he’ll inevitably encounter at random and not so random moments in his life.

So, my entrepreneurial advice? Take big chances, hustle tirelessly, stay optimistic, chuckle at the naysayers, read as much as you can, listen to the wise ones, roadblocks are temporary, find your tiny trustworhty squad, keep them close, lift everyone up around you, meditate, envision, smile, manifest, and go fucking crush it out there! ■