Junkie Cosmetics

We have both been make-up junkies for as long as we can remember! Kara began experimenting with make-up at a young age, putting on a full face of make-up and trying all the different products in her mom’s vanity every day after school. Her allowance was often spent at the drugstore on the latest products. I have also loved make-up since early on, often swapping clothes or Barbies for make-up with the junior high neighborhood girls. I remember absolutely having to get my hands on some purple eye shadow one of the girls had! It was cutting edge back in those days.

Kara grew up in a family full of entrepreneurs, including her mother and father independently, as well as many aunts, uncles and grandparents. Even her maternal grandmother owned her own businesses, which she started back in the 40’s when most women were either stay-at-home moms, teachers or nurses. After college, Kara went on to work for Lorac Cosmetics and the now defunct Tony & Tina Cosmetics, as a freelance make-up artist and sales rep around various Nordstrom and Sephora locations in Arizona and California. She always dreamed of owning her own cosmetics company but did not have the business experience at the time to know where to start.

After graduating college, a job offer in the travel industry afforded me the chance to move across the country and I was very excited about the prospect of exploring a new city. I have since lived in a couple of different states and have enjoyed many types of jobs including selling real estate and working in various corporate environments. I am a very creative person however and have neglected my right brain for most of my career. I have always longed to do something I’m passionate about but was never quite sure what that was….until now.

We met several years ago through business and became fast friends. One day we were having lunch and started talking about starting our own business. Both passionate about beauty and make-up, we quickly came up with the idea of starting a cosmetics company. Kara felt that it was time to get her dream underway and she now felt she had a sufficient amount of business experience to make this dream a reality. With her business background and my creativity and marketing experience, it really seemed like a match made in heaven. Within two weeks of the idea’s conception, we set off to find a manufacturer and Junkie was born. We spent the next year developing our products and getting ready to launch. With dedication and our sound business philosophy ~ we treat all our customers the way we want to be treated ~ we esteem to make Junkie a leading cosmetics company in the industry. Lip gloss is our biggest addiction so that’s what we decided to start with however we are currently working on several additional products, including eye shadow, lipstick and blush. We also have plans to grow and expand into additional sectors of the cosmetics industry.