How it all began………….
Hi Im Chantelle ✨ It’s been a while since my face has been on the grid and for any newbies that are to venture into the little land of PP I thought it was maybe best for my presence to be known, even though it slightly gives me the ick!. I don’t know why my feelings have evolved in this way lately, but we move and hopefully my rambles connect with some of you.
I’m the owner & creator of Peaches & Pearls Cosmetics, Skincare and Wellness and I also own our older sister @peachespearls.salon where within the coolest salon (near the city centre of Dundee) I create beautiful brows, for insanely kind and amazing humans!. It really is the best job.
The product side of my business is now 6 years young and the brows side is now 13 years thriving. So so grateful for all the support Iv had over the year and continue to get from you guys. Hardcore PP preachers and I love it!. (Comment on this blog if your a PP Preacher, please and thanks.)
The passion and curiosity I now have for ingredients (that work) is something I never thought I’d end up getting into, it wasn’t in my visions of my future. I still to this day, can’t believe sometimes just what I have created. I didn’t realise the depth of knowledge and understanding you need to create a brand and products, that people will love, until I ran right into the thick of it.
Here is how Peaches & Pearls products “kind of” started….
Many moons ago when I started on my brow artistry journey, I retailed brow products to my client’s that I bought in bulk off eBay, of all places. Im talking like 12 years ago. It was a powder palette for filling in your brows (the OG’s will remember) and they absolutely took off!. Everyone loved them. It not only brought in more income but it allowed me to teach my clients how to make the most of their brows at home with the aid of brow makeup. Along with these palettes, I would recommend other cosmetics brands to my clients and to cut a long story short I started to have a desire to have my own instead of funding these huge companies and having my client’s go here, there and everywhere to pick up my recommendations. What about if they could purchase what they needed from me, a one stop shop from the person who knows what suits them best?. My very own brand.
Years went by, there wasn’t a day I didn’t think about it. I was absolutely loving what I was doing and life was so good, I was determined and working so hard but yet I kept doubting that I could achieve this goal, imposter syndrome kept screaming at me that no one would care, purchase or support. So I did nothing.
My belief in myself had always been low, all the way back to being a child. Id always had to be my own internal cheerleader but my cheerleader was shy, insecure, a bit lost. She was the rookie just starting to figure out how to hold the pom pom’s let alone dance. I had always been hard on myself even though by this point I had managed to work a retail job, with a 4 year old, as a single mum, whilst then coming home at nights and weekends (any spare time) and building up a solid brow clientele which then led me to leaving my job and going self employed as a brow artist just 5 months after my brow course. I then fell pregnant with my second child a couple of years later, being able to only take two months off for maternity leave (I think it was even less than that) as to not lose any of my newly built clientele that I loved dearly.
In a short space of time a successful business had blossomed, with no help, no aid, no funding, no knowledge (at a time when very little people in the beauty industry were self employed, unlike today) but still my internal self was saying I couldn’t possibly have my own brand, how dare I think such things, silly girl. Isn’t it strange how we don’t allow ourselves to have a peek back (I mean, I do now!) and really take in our skills and qualities and have a little look around at just what we have achieved and where we started!. Its a weird one because you can have low self belief thats integral in that moment to your being but at the same time have a fire that burns so big in you. That was me, I had both, they were intertwined. Maybe it was for balance?, maybe I was still yet to grow?. But still, I done nothing.
Then another local brow business launched their own products, one step ahead, I kicked myself so so hard, I was devastated. Ever had that happen?, have an idea, sit on it and someone else does it before you. It happens all the time in life and especially in business.
We allow fear to hold us back. It whispers seductively in our ear, that its way better to sit back here in the “comfort zone” but still you can’t help think that fear is lying to you. Is fear lying to me?. Is the comfort zone the place to be, the creme de le creme?. Or do I leap into the unknown?. You just don’t know so you stay put in the comfort zone with fear lurking in the corner just waiting for you to move, ready to pounce. This was just another obstacle in my way, stopping me from perusing my goal. I thought everyone would think I was copying (so high school) and at the time being second to do something was just not me. I had the mentality that I’d rather not do it at all if that was the case. I can look back now and appreciate that I was just young, fearful and cared too much about what people thought. Holding myself back for the sake of what other people might think, that old story, so boring but real!. So the dream just swirled around in my head for a little longer.
There was also the fact I had absolutely zero knowledge on how to get into creating products. How would I do this?. How would I fund it? Would I need a website? What are the legalities?. Do I have the time to invest into this dream with being a single mum to two young children, along with being booked and busy with brows?. Will people even believe/want it? What will people think?. Who does she think she is?. So many questions, so many thoughts, so many fears and absolutely CLUELESS!.
I am firm believer in divine timing. All things happen just how they are meant to. If theres an obstacle in your way theres a reason, wether it be to learn, to grow, to pause, to heal. You just have to believe that the path you are on is the right one and it will all work out.
And I mean now reading back, the above sounds like an absolute sob story, should I be in therapy, probably?. But seriously, I wanted to openly touch on how I felt back then and the process and thinkings into creating what you now put on your lips or fill in your brows with. Its not just a product, its a whole fear/self belief love (can we call it love?) story. Can you tell I have just been to see Inside Out 2 and in my feelings!, its currently my whole personality.
Anyways do you want to know how I threw the cloak of invisibility over fear, nurtured self belief and tell you the beautiful story of how my whole mindset and being changed, for the better to allow me to birth PP? (And breathe!)
Find out in Part 2 baby! (sorry)
P.s there will be spelling mistakes and grammar errors, sorry NOT sorry!.
