I started a side hustle from my council estate bedroom – now it’s a multi-million pound beauty empire and I own a Lambo
FROM growing up on a council estate to owning an eight-figure cosmetic brand, Paige Louise Williams is the ultimate rags-to-riches story.
The 31-year-old left school with no qualifications and was earning £600-a-month in Selfridges when she set up her eponymous cosmetic brand as a side hustle.
The last time CEO Paige spoke finances in 2019, the brand was turning over an eye-watering £6 million a year.
This has likely rocketed since the P.Louise brand was cemented as a household name thanks to its popularity on video sharing app TikTok.
Paige was originally hailed for making the “world’s best” eye-shadow base in 2016.
But her brand’s recent hero products are the £22 sell-out Bad B***h Energy Lip Duo in 75 flavours and £15 The Cheek Of It liquid blush in 51 hues.
Among Paige’s business portfolio is also an academy, where she teaches others her signature dramatic make-up style, P.Louise store and tourist-attraction cafe in her Stockport head office.
She appeared as a guest judge on BBC’s make-up artist competition, Glow Up, last year and took the opportunity to share more about her story.
“I went from council estate to a cosmetic kingdom,” she shared on Instagram after the episode aired.
“From being Paige from Droylsden – the girl with no qualifications, no business plan, no money – just a girl with goals and determination to succeed.
“To now being P.Louise the cosmetic range, the make-up academy, the brand; my empire that I have built.
“I came from nothing.
“The life I live now is something I have had to work tirelessly for.
“It hasn’t always been Lamborghinis and six-figure cheques.
“When P.Louise was just me with no brand behind the name, life was a different story. I didn’t come from money and it showed”.
Paige became a MAC make-up artist for Selfridges in 2013 after working tirelessly for the positions and a few rejections along the way.
Biggest beauty mistakes
Fabulous' Beauty Editor Tara Ledden has shared the do's and don'ts when it comes to beauty.
“No matter how much time and money you spend on your beauty routine, if you’re not getting the basics right, the rest is wasted.
“There aren’t many non-negotiables, but these are the biggest beauty mistakes sabotaging your regime.”
- Not wearing SPF: Sun-damage is the main cause of premature skin ageing, so if you want to keep your skin looking plump and glowing, sun cream is vital.
- Using expired products: Best case, they’re ineffective and don’t deliver the results they promise, worst case they cause irritation and infection. The shelf life of beauty products differ – for example, mascara is usually good for 3-6 months while lipstick can last for 9-18 months. Check the ‘POA’ symbol on the packaging (it looks like a jar and will have a number inside for how many months it’s safe once opened. If you can’t remember when you opened your product, throw it away and start again, marking the month and year with a permanent marker on the packaging.
- Not knowing your undertones: If you’re using make-up with the wrong undertones, it’ll never look natural no matter how much you blend it! An easy trick to work out whether you have cool, warm or neutral undertones is to check the veins on your wrist – if they look blue, you have cool undertones, if they’re green, you have warm and if they’re a mix you have neutral.
- Skipping heat protector: It might feel unnecessary, but much like sun damage on the skin, excess heat is the most common cause of hair damage. So, if you want shiny, healthy hair, or you’re trying to grow it longer, using a heat protection product is key.
- Not washing your face before bed: it’s as simple as this, if you’re not washing your face before you go to sleep, everything that’s been on your skin during the day is sitting there for even longer, clogging your pores and drying out the surface. Any skincare applied on top isn’t going to be effective with a layer of dirt underneath, and you’re probably going to end up with dirty pillows too – yuck!
However, her payslip was just £593.18-a-month and she hatched a 10-year plan to create a global brand.
P.Louise was then born.
She initially freelanced as a make-up artist before setting up an academy to teach other girls her signature glam style – something she still does to this day for a whopping £600 a pop.
I came from nothing. The life I live now is something I have had to work tirelessly for. It hasn’t always been Lamborghinis and six-figure cheques
Paige Louise Williams
As her following began to grow, Paige created her viral eye-shadow base, now known as the £10 Rumour Base… and it’s still a bestseller.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The P.Louise brand went from strength-to-strength and is achieving record sales through a wide range of beauty products – including skincare – thanks to its newfound popularity on TikTok.
“I manifest everything and anything I desire and it’s always worked,” Paige added.
“You always have to believe in the inevitable and the impossible and by manifesting what you truly want in life, you will attract it.”