Rea Ann Silva on Building Beautyblender

Rea Ann Silva has come a long way since her days doing makeup for the cast of the TV show “Girlfriends.” Silva shared how she founded Beautyblender 15 years go. The idea came to her on the set of “Girlfriends.” She didn’t know how to bring an airbrusher to set, so she decided to use a makeup sponge instead. Beautyblender now sells 17 of its makeup sponges every minute and is one of the most popular beauty brands on social media solely through organic posts. “I never spent one cent on advertising or social media,” Silva said. The company is a 100 percent self-funded business. Silva has no investment partners and, for more than six years, didn’t take a paycheck in order to maintain Beautyblender’s status as completely self-funded. Her business is a family business: her daughter, Erica, is the face of the brand and is responsible for about 80 percent of its social media content. Silva’s husband heads up their joint production company, A Good Egg, which produces content for Beautyblender’s social accounts, as well as for others’. Silva’s brother, Robert, is also Beautyblender’s facilities manager. A makeup artist at heart, Silva refers to her customers and fans as “the everybody artist.” They help guide

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