Today we’d like to introduce you to Lacey Haegen.
Lacey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello! I’m Lacey Haegen, I’m Lacey, and I started Beaute Nouveau in 2006 when I reached a breaking point in my career. I had worked for 22 years in the luxury cosmetic industry as a Makeup Artist, Product Specialist, and Manager for the industry’s finest luxury brands and retailers. It all started when my husband Josh, who had always suffered with Psoriasis was beginning to experience other health issues. One day, when we were going through a list of symptoms at one of his Doctor’s offices, I realized that I could check “yes” to almost every box myself. I was always tired, my skin was really dry no matter what I put on it, I had eruptive cystic acne around my chin that never stopped. And, I couldn’t leave the house without a bottle of Exederine Migraine pills.
While all of this was happening, I was a Manager at a luxury retailer and had access to pretty much any fancy cream my heart desired. I would go home and make Josh slather that fancy cream all over his wounds hoping they would help. I finally realized I should look at the ingredients instead of relying on the sales buzz words I knew about the cream and I was really struck by how many ingredients were like a foreign language. When I googled what they meant, google kept pulling up images of chemical formulas (AKA fillers and plastic). I thought, “if I won’t eat this – I don’t know if I should be putting them on Josh’s skin!” So, I got into the kitchen one football Sunday and started making my own product. Originally, I only wanted to make one product just for Josh to use on psoriasis – something totally natural that would heal, protect, and also gently exfoliate.
During my experiment, I ended up making so much product I had to give portions of it away in plastic baggies to friends and co-workers. To my surprise, people asked to BUY more. Then, they wanted other products. That is how Beaute Nouveau began. I truly had NO idea what I was doing. But I just kept experimenting and feeling my way through the dark. And here I am! Years later making clean, toxin-free skincare products and loving every minute of it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Anyone who’s started their own business from scratch can tell you it’s almost a guaranteed bumpy road, and my journey has been no different! From the early days with the basic things to more recently with going through supply chain issues and the loss of most of my wholesale business during COVID-19 I have learned to be very resilient. I have hit multiple points where it would have been easier and more convenient to quit and go back to a “normal” job. I remember just sitting down on the floor and sobbing wondering how I was going to make this what I knew it could be. BUT, I believed in my products too much and knew that women needed what I was making.
So, I kept pushing forward. Now, when I hear from women about how Beaute Nouveau’s products have changed their skin and simplified their life, and that they no longer worry about what skincare to use because they trust me- that is the only motivation I need to push through those hard points.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Beaute Nouveau (Boh-tay New-voh) means New Beauty. After years of being a Makeup Artist, I realized that the Beauty Industry was not making what Women were asking for. I was working with 100’s of Women who were telling me they “wanted one product that does it all” and they don’t have time for too many steps! They didn’t want to keep spending their hard-earned money on products that never seemed to live up to their promises. And, they didn’t want to have to be experts on cosmetic ingredients to know if they could trust a brand.
Mostly, they wanted to feel good, and they wanted to feel special. They were looking for something that didn’t exist, so I created it… a NEW kind of Beauty Brand that gives women what they ask for and that they can trust. All of our products are hand-made in small batches with the finest botanical ingredients. We make our products with our customer’s needs, desires, lifestyles, and health in mind. We’re here to help women take care of themselves with smart products that “do it all” in minimal steps, make your skin look and feel amazing, and provide huge value for your investment. Our products are squeaky clean and we are proud of all of our ingredients.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
As a child, I was pretty independent and spent a lot of time in my imagination. I was also an only child until I was almost 11 and my Mom was an Entrepreneur, so I had the privilege of watching a very driven Woman build a company, while having the responsibility to entertain and discover the world myself. I read all the time and I loved to explore the neighborhood on roller skates. I had very little supervision, so I was always out and about. By the time I was about seven, I had my first job at the specialty market down the street. I would walk down there after school and move the fancy cheeses from the deli case into the walk in refrigerator. I am not sure how that job transpired, or if they even wanted me there, but I made it my daily job – I just showed up and got to work. I didn’t get paid, but I felt important and I loved being there. I’ve had some sort of job or business ever since. My first money making job was when I talked a neighbor into letting me harvest the giant figs from their tree and then made a deal with a local store owner to let me sell them in front of her shop.
At a quarter a fig, I was the richest ten year old around. Naturally, I talked the store owner into hiring me when I was out of figs. It was an antique toy store and I worked there after school for about three years – dusting shelves, straightening stickers, organizing dollhouse furniture, and packing greeting card orders. I could not have been happier. So, I guess you could say, I was an Entrepreneur, a creative thinker, and a hard-worker from the start.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@beautenouveau.com
- Website: https://www.beautenouveau.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautenouveau/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH8u1ijsUvwoZWIbsNKKoew
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