From passion, to dream, to reality: an interview with Indi Beat Cosmetics owner, India Mills
"At an early age I knew I wanted to have something more than the typical nine to five job as income," India Mills said, Indi Beat's owner. "I tried my hand at making candles, soap and even jewelry. None of them filled the void the way makeup did."
Mills said she had originally joined a makeup MLM, and discovered just how passionate she was about makeup.
"Unfortunately with some of those companies you work extremely hard for just a fraction of the sales," Mills said. "I decided if I’m going to work that hard then I deserved the entire sale. Besides makeup, my other true love has been music. I've been writing songs since the womb. So I decided to honor the two biggest inspirations of my life by merging them into a music-themed makeup brand."
Mills said the hardest thing about starting a brand is the process of validating yourself. When she stared Indi Beat Cosmetics, she wasn't well-known in the beauty space.
"If you are already well-established as an influencer with a significant following, then it's easier to transition into owning a brand," Mills said. "In my case no one really knew who I was so it was important to create statement, flagship products that would make us stand out to the average consumer."
According to Mills, the process of even being able to afford production cost is strenuous and laborious.
"I was working 50 hours a week at a job to help support both my family and my dream," Mills said.
The name for Indi Beat Cosmetics stemmed from Mills' own name, India, as well as from the reference to indie brands. "Beat" was in reference to both musical beats and a slang term "Beat face", Mills said. The first palette to release from Indi Beat was one inspired by a Missy Elliot song, and the brand has evolved since to focus more on creative makeup artistry.
"Our first launch was a vibrant colorful eyeshadow palette called, 'Flip it and Reverse it' inspired by the Missy Elliot song....where we literally took lyrics from the song and reverse them as shade names in the palette! It was wildly satisfying to see people when it clicked and they realized it was backwards in the palette," Mills said. "Over the past few years we evolved majorly by switching our primary focus to more of the creative makeup space instead of beauty. While we will always carry basic beauty products, the creative makeup space in indie brands is so untapped. We wanted to provide more options for consumers who want to shop with small businesses. That’s how Face Bass, our colored foundations, came into existence."
Mills said that as a novice creative makeup artist, she was always intimidated by paints and special effects makeup.
"I felt that I had a pretty good grasp on beauty makeup because foundation is very easy to apply. So the concept was bringing the simplicity of an everyday foundation to the colorful world of creative makeup."
According to Mills, Face Bass simplifies the process by providing a full coverage, streak free application in half the time of traditional body paint.
"This product is one of a kind because it is not a paint, it does not crack, it blends to give you the most skin-like finish imaginable," Mills said. "With various colors that are capable of being mixed together, you can literally create any shade you desire."
Face Bass started in Mills' kitchen as a test pilot. Mills said she would mix the foundation and pigments herself in a blender, and fill the many bottles.
"It was a huge success. After a failed kickstarter, I ended up raising the money myself to fund the product with a manufacturer," Mills said. "Since then we have gone on to expand the initial shade range to include metallic foundations as well. We have had our Face Bass used by some incredible artists such as Candylover, Mama Kerr and shared by Mannymua."
Mills said that, in the future, Indi Beat intends to keep expanding by offering solutions in the beauty space; such as the Face Bass. In September, 2023, Mills said the brand will be launching the Chroma Colored Setting Powders that will help retain the integrity of the Face Bass once they are set on the skin.
"We also have some big products planned for production next year. We would love to see our products used in television and movies and on shelves in makeup stores everywhere," Mills said.
INDI BEAT COSMETICS
Photos provided by Indi Beat Cosmetics.
Special thanks to India Mills of Indi Beat Cosmetics.
I'm a huge fan of India and I think she is a genius