Guide Beauty Founder, Terri Bryant
How did GUIDE BEAUTY get started, and what does it look like now?
GUIDE Beauty was an idea born out of love and challenge. In the prime of my career as a makeup artist and beauty educator, I started to notice stiffness in my shoulder and a loss of dexterity in my hands. There was a growing disconnect between my ability and the brushes, lipsticks and liners in my hand. Makeup artistry that had been second nature was becoming a real struggle. Eventually I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Empowered by knowledge and a life-long love of makeup, I partnered with human factors designers and clean chemists to create a better and easier way and a new, more inclusive approach for the industry. Through our Universal Design approach we were inspired to create game-changing components and formulas that make beauty easy, fun, and accessible to a much broader community of makeup users. Now those who may have previously felt left out due to skill or ability, for whatever reason, can enjoy applying makeup with ease and confidence.
Why is your work so important to you?
I can’t think of a time when makeup wasn’t a significant part of my life. For over 25 years the beauty industry has been my livelihood, my creative outlet, and my happy place. Early on in my career I learned that while my enthusiasm for makeup seemed to be shared almost universally, my skill set and natural ability as a makeup artist was not. Passionate about my craft I set out to change that. I was sure as a professional artist I could simplify and demystify the techniques that came easily to me for those who they did not. That was before my own shift in ability opened my eyes and introduced me to Inclusive and Universal Design.
Iconic designer & architect Charles Eames once said “Design for someone you love. That someone might be you.” GUIDE BEAUTY is my love story to an industry and an artform I love, to myself and every person who sat in my makeup chair and said, “I wish I could do this for myself”.
What are your aspirations professionally and personally?
Professionally and personally the goal is that more and more brands will integrate Inclusive and Universal Design methods into their product development, and we will see a much-needed shift in the narrative around inclusivity in the beauty industry.
What has been the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome?
While I spent most of my career avoiding mistakes, I’ve certainly made my fair share. Developing and launching GUIDE BEAUTY has been so refreshing as I now find myself developing through a design process that encourages and celebrates them. It’s a key element of Universal Design. We continually strive for better based on the “mistakes” and “roadblocks” identified while watching people use existing products and prototypes. Our prototypes went through so many tweaks and adjustments along the way. There were times we thought we had gotten it just right to find a test user pick it, and for whatever reason, it failed the test. Those moments are gold, and the ones you celebrate most as every design process helps inform the next. You are innovating in white space with no clear design road map. There are references, but the bulk of the work comes down to extensive exploration and countless reworks. It’s an incredibly hands on, iterative process. Getting around setbacks takes time, and you have to be open to learning, tweaking and adjusting as you test internally and across a broad range of users. While this can be a much longer and more difficult path, if you can learn just one thing from each iteration, you’ve made progress.
What have you learned through your experience as an entrepreneur that can be used by aspiring business individuals?
As we do in our design process, I’ve learned to lean into the roadblocks and mistakes. They are your greatest opportunity. □
Article Credits
Instagram: @guidebeautycosmetics
Facebook: @guidebeautycosmetics
Youtube: Guide Beauty
Website: guidebeauty.com