Growing up, Bianca Ramos always had a pull to the beauty industry and became fascinated with how just a little bit of makeup can make any women feel brand new.
She started her journey by learning how to do makeup in high school. Her friends loved her makeup, and they began begging her to do theirs. Once she was in college, Bianca decided to take her fun of loving makeup to the next level, by making it a career. She worked at MAC Cosmetics in Atlanta for almost four years, and that’s when things really began to take off for her. She graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Merchandising and knew she wanted somehow to merge her degree and love of the beauty industry.
Bianca then fell in love, as one does, with her now-husband whose career took them to Frederick, Maryland. At that time, Bianca’s threading career blossomed, and her love of beauty bars flourished. She was able to manage and be a right-hand woman for a wonderful boss who was just starting her own beauty bar at that time.
Once they ultimately moved back home, Bianca had learned so much from the experience and she had gained the confidence to open Native Beauty Bar.
Learn more in our interview with Bianca below!
Our Interview with Bianca Ramos, Owner of Native Beauty Bar
What should people know about Native Beauty Bar?
Too many times in the beauty industry, I’ve heard those terrible stories of women walking into these bigger box beauty stores and being ignored, feeling judged, and uncomfortable asking for help. My favorite thing to say to my clients when they come in is to make yourself comfortable. I want my clients to always feel like Native is a safe place in all aspects, from customer service to quality of ingredients of the brands we bring in.
I’m passionate about making people laugh and smile. We’re all about good vibes and being happy in a relaxed atmosphere. On top of that, we love it when a client leaves feeling beautiful, refreshed, and revamped.
What are your favorite products that Native Beauty Bar carries?
My favorite skincare line we carry is Laurme Skincare. I use something from Laurme every single day and go through it the fastest because I’m addicted. It is a safe, natural line, but also minimal and simple. It’s perfect for any woman on the go, but the ingredients are so impactful.
I always try to teach my clients about a good skincare routine, then makeup. When it comes to makeup, you can’t find anything better on the market then Ilia Beauty. They are so ahead of the game with clean, long-lasting, and high-quality makeup. It’s not even funny.
Our Anecdote candles smell heavenly, are clean-burning, and have the quirkiest little names and sayings. They make the perfect gift.
And finally, we carry the comfiest softest clothes, from athleisure to daily trendy wear. I always find myself wanting to keep everything I bring in.
How do you decide on which products to carry in the store?
When it comes to our clean beauty lines, I have tried so many. Unfortunately, sometimes lines can be misleading, or not quite what they should be. I’m so picky at making sure to feel, try, and wear everything before bringing it into my store. If I wouldn’t trust it on my face, you won’t find it at Native.
I also keep my target demographic in mind. I bring in brands that speak to a broader group of people and not just me. We have little something for every mom, sister, husband, grandma, and baby.
How has the COVID-19 climate affected business? Have you had to pivot or rethink your strategy at all during this time?
COVID-19 has taught me never to feel comfortable when it comes to owning your own business. Starting a business is always scary, and continuing the business is a constant learning curve. To be honest, this has been one of the most stressful years to navigate. I’m so thankful we have so many loyal and supportive clients to keep us going.
We have also learned a new threading technique. Usually, we hold the thread in our mouth, but now we are tying it around our neck. We have grown to like this technique and will continue to thread this way even after this crazy pandemic is over. We also learned never to take a can of Lysol for granted.
What does your day-to-day routine look like – and what you love most about what you do?
I’m thankful to say my personal day during the week is usually a full day of facial threading. My threading world has really taken off, and I have grown to love it. Eyebrows have always been important to me; it makes me so happy to be able to help make someone feel good about themselves with just a little brow cleanup. I have wonderful employees that help me with ringing, booking, and assisting with the retail side.
To be honest, I always step in wherever I can help. I love every aspect of running my store. On weekends, don’t be surprised to see me and my girls working on a whole bridal party for a bride’s big day. Weddings have always been so special to me, and being able to host bridal parties in the studio is even more magical.
We also do makeup for proms, big events, Christmas parties, and birthdays. Any reason, you name it. We’ve also opened our studio doors to host girls’ night outs for makeup lesson parties and individual lessons.
I absolutely love my days at Native. I truly can’t believe I get to call this work. My employees and clients are like family to me. We have the best time!
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is being able to walk into the business I built, call it mine, and see continued growth.
I started Native in a tiny tanning salon room, before moving to our now second-story 500 square foot studio in Peachtree City. Shortly, we will move to an almost 900 square foot first-floor storefront at the wonderful Pinewood Forest community.
I never knew my business would grow like this in just five years. I started Native scared and hopeful. To think about how far we have come, and the relationships we have made is truly a dream come true. Success, to me, is continually striving for better in this hard world and always bringing something positive to the table. If we can bring better to this world in any small way, that is a success.
How do you practice self-care?
Self-care, my favorite!
Sleep, to me, is my favorite thing in the world, I’m such an advocate for getting your full eight hours.
My husband and I are members of a wonderful CrossFit gym in town called Dirty South. I’m thankful for a good hard work out a couple of days a week and getting to spend some quality time with my husband.
I love to cook and make healthy home-cooked meals almost every night. Cooking is my Zen time. I get to zone out, throw on some jazz music, and be creative.
Last but not least is my nightly routine of showering and washing my face with Laurme milk cleanser with my sustainable makeup eraser towelette. Then I apply a nice healthy spritz of Laurme’s Rose water toner, a little peptide or vitamin C serum, followed by Laurme’s night cream. Let’s also not forget about the under eyes with Atlanta’s own Little Barn apothecary’s carrot seed eye serum, and some Ilias balmy days lip balm. It sounds like a lot, but some days, I take my time and thoroughly enjoy it, while other days, I do it in five minutes and get some comfy pajamas on – and guess what – get to SLEEP! And yes, these products are from Native Beauty Bar.
Do you have a woman in your life past or present that you admire or look up to? How has she impacted your life?
I come from a powerful line of strong independent Hispanic women. All the women in my family have always motivated me and pushed me to consistently better myself and my future.
My grandmother, who I call Baba Molly, left Cuba when she was young to better her life in America. She raised my mother and my aunt on her own and constantly worked several jobs. Eventually, she opened her own floral shop in Miami, becoming an entrepreneur herself.
She not only ingrained in me to work hard, but also my mother. My mother, Dennisse, is one of the hardest working women I know. Along with my stepdad, they own a real estate agency and interior design company. She taught me the meaning of hard work and never to rely on anyone else for your own success. On top of that, they are the kindest and most giving people you will meet. I’m thankful they taught me to be positive, hopeful, kind, creative, giving, and strong.
If you could go back and give yourself three pieces of advice when you first started your business – what would you tell yourself?
I would tell myself to slow down and enjoy the little things. I would say to myself you can’t make everyone happy, even when you know you’ve done everything you can, and that’s okay. And lastly, to not be so hard on yourself and be prouder of all the big and little wins every day.
What’s next for you both and for Native Beauty Bar?
Two words: Pinewood Forest. If you aren’t familiar with the booming community just south of Atlanta, and only a 25-minute drive to the airport, you’re missing out. When looking for a permanent home for Native and a retail ground level storefront, I could never find a spot in the area that spoke to me as Pinewood Forest does. Not only will I be moving my store to Pinewood Forest, but I also live in the up-and-coming neighborhood.
The town will consist of 1,400 residential dwellings, from townhouses, cottages, apartments, canopy homes, and even tiny homes. There is literally a space for everyone. All are just a short walk to a soon to be booming town center that will house over 50 retail stores, a food hall, boutique movie theater, restaurants, bars, and market – basically everything you could want. It’s a place for creativity, community, shopping, eating, fun, play, basically thriving. I’ve been a part of this community for three years, and I am constantly finding something new to love. I knew this would be the perfect next step for Native.
We hope to open our new storefront in early 2021, where we will bring even more clean beauty goodies, apparel, home goods, and giftables. We might even have a small name change. We can’t wait to share the new space, the new look, and look forward to all the great memories to come.
Be sure to follow Bianca Ramos and Native Beauty Bar online at the following links:
Emily Sprinkle, also known as Emma Loggins, is a designer, marketer, blogger, and speaker. She is the Editor-In-Chief for Women's Business Daily where she pulls from her experience as the CEO and Director of Strategy for Excite Creative Studios, where she specializes in web development, UI/UX design, social media marketing, and overall strategy for her clients.
Emily has also written for CNN, Autotrader, The Guardian, and is also the Editor-In-Chief for the geek lifestyle site FanBolt.com
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