Aleah Rae Dorsey has created an innovative way to buy makeup locally with her company, Makeup Meltdown.
By Angela Bobo
As many stories of career discovery go, Aleah Rae Dorsey’s path did not begin in beauty. She was a French teacher for years before passion prevailed and led her to a career in makeup. After selling cosmetics for brands like Bobbi Brown and Smashbox, she became increasingly disheartened when clients would settle for a lipstick color that wasn’t exactly what they had in mind. Her gut instinct kicked in again, and this year Dorsey launched Makeup Meltdown, a brand that creates personalized lip shades.
Custom lipsticks can be ordered through the company from in-person events or online. Swatched Saturdays at Tomboy Studios allow for a one-on-one consultation and mixing session with her. Afterward, she will send you the finished shade at no additional cost. However, one of the most innovative ordering options is Makeup Meltdown’s online “CC lippie” platform. Clients fill out a questionnaire and upload an unfiltered photo and inspiration shots. Based on those, Dorsey will mix and send three samples from which the customer can choose a full-size lipstick.
Since starting Makeup Meltdown, Dorsey has learned the importance of adapting, which led her to create something she never imagined: a ready-to-wear lipstick collection. “I never sought out to compete with [luxury brands]. What I knew was going to make my brand unique was that it was customizable,” she says. “Two of the ready-to-wear shades were colors that I had created for someone at a Makeup Meltdown party, and everyone at the event wanted one. People started asking if they could just buy any shades right away.” Currently there are eight ready-to-wear lipsticks, and as a testament to Dorsey’s ability to supply when there’s a demand, she will also release two limited-edition holiday shades on Dec. 1.
1. “All of the custom lipsticks ($35) that we make, and even the ones from our ready-to-wear line ($16), are all made from these base colors. The base colors are a regular cream formula; changing the lipstick to a matte or more sheer formula happens later on in the process. These are the basis for every color in our collection.”
2. “At any given time we have between six and eight different styles of lipstick tubes. When creating a custom color, you can choose any one of those tubes. We find that our most popular styles are the ones that are not black, believe it or not, because people want to be able to see exactly what lipstick [it] is when they are digging through their makeup bag.”
3. “A palette knife is a tool used to mix up the actual colors when we are mixing on a transparency sheet. It’s actually a tool used for everything—when the colors are melted, I [also] use it to stir. I cannot live without my palette knife.”
4. “There are eight ready-to-wear shades in our collection. They are all named after different islands. There are four mattes and four creams; [they are] very comfortable to wear and can be worn on any skin tone. Those are colors that could be worn year-round, so it’s not like they are just for a particular season. At any given time we also have limited edition shades that can be purchased through our Etsy store.”
5. “Fresh flowers are a signature at every [Makeup Meltdown] event. I always bring fresh flowers. I think that having them just makes the space that much more inviting, more beautiful, more exciting; it makes you feel special.”
6. “Our lip scrub is sugar-based, completely organic and paraben-free. A dollar [of each sale] of [the scrub] and our lip balm goes to the Beauty Bus Foundation. It is an organization that gives beauty products and beauty services to terminally ill people and their caregivers. At all of my lipstick parties, I always have a box there. So if you have any unused beauty products, you can drop them off there, kind of like Toys for Tots.”
(November 2015)