Ep. 180: From Startup To Success: Melissa Butler's Journey As CEO Of The Lip Bar + Thread Beauty

On this episode of the Friends in Beauty podcast I welcome Melissa Butler to the Friends in Beauty guest chair! Increasing representation and empowering women one day at a time, Melissa Butler, is a Detroit native who has skillfully and strategically launched parent company The Lip Bar Inc, which houses the cruelty-free, disruptive, and innovative beauty brands The Lip Bar and Thread Beauty, into a nationwide phenomenon.

Her pivot from stocks and bonds to beauty is one that she describes as natural and necessary, as her frustrations with the beauty industry’s lack of diversity, inclusion, and non-toxic offerings. Melissa decided who better than herself to provide a solution.

When Melissa started The Lip Bar in 2011, there was little to no conversation about inclusion in

the beauty industry, and lines with large shade ranges were often laden with chemicals or

incredibly expensive. While Melissa did not think of herself as a makeup maven or as an

entrepreneur, she was a consumer who couldn’t find what she needed. As a result, she started

experimenting with cosmetic chemistry in her kitchen creating lipsticks, and eventually left her

job on Wall Street to expand The Lip Bar as the vegan, non-toxic, and inclusive beauty brand.

In the midst of celebrating the 10th year anniversary of The Lip Bar, Melissa launched Thread

Beauty in February 2022 as the first-of-its-kind, unapologetically inclusive and cruelty-free brand inspired by the authentic experiences of Gen Z people of color. The brand challenges the lack of representation for the gender fluid community while offering inclusive and multi-use products at an amazing price point, with all of the Thread products at $8.

Today The Lip Bar is sold in its flagship store located in Downtown Detroit, and sold on

TheLipBar.com, Target, Walmart, and recently launched in 3,000 CVS stores nationwide. Thread Beauty is available for purchase at threadbeauty.co, Target.com, and Target stores nationwide.

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Social Media Info:

Melissa Butler (Instagram) - @melissarbutler

The Lip Bar  (Instagram) - @thelipbar

Thread Beauty (Website) - @threadbeauty 

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