We were lucky to catch up with Brigitte Tolson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brigitte, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I was fortunate that at a very young age, I knew I loved helping people feel better about their appearance and my career would go some where in that direction. When I was 4, I would do makeup on my mom’s friends (what troopers!), and I would make face masks from plants in our garden with items in our kitchen with no clue what I was doing. I first explored photo editing as a young teenager for beauty publications, and since no one knew who I was online, I managed to start a small business with it. By 15, I started doing makeup for theatre as I was an opera singer throughout high school, and in my senior year I got a job at the freshly opened first Sephora in Los Angeles at 3rd Street Promenade, and I immediately gravitated towards skin health and forgot about makeup. At this stage, I was still making my own products from the garden and kitchen, but obviously with more education, and I self treated my own acne this way. I also made plenty of mistakes, and had a few skin disasters along the way too, which lead my to go to school to become a licensed esthetician the moment I graduated high school.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
The next chapter for me is very much themed around collaborating and expanding. I’ve been partnering with a cosmetic chemist in Milan Italy as well as Arizona to Green Chemistry’s medical grade line HARA Medical, once only sold through privately through physicians, and finally offer formulations on our website. I’ve deeply enjoyed collaborating with other local business owners, and have been shooting our products and myself with Helms Flowers owner Sandra Huerta, who just opened her second West Los Angeles florist shop. We have involved other local woman owned companies in our photo shoots for wardrobe and beyond. This year, HARA Medical made it’s debut in British Vogue and Vanity Fair, which was especially exciting to my dad in the United Kingdom who could see the actual magazine in print. I feel exceptionally fortunate to continue to love what I do more as the years go by.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Consistency is crucial. We all want immediate results from our efforts, but real results take time, fine tuning your skills, and being committed. Another huge factor is what you tell yourself: we all have an inner monologue, sometimes we aren’t even aware of it, but you have to work towards telling yourself that you can achieve what your goal is, because if you don’t believe it, no one else will. Possibly most important, is being honest with yourself about what you truly want. I encounter a lot of people who realize they are pursuing a goal, a career, or a relationship they realize they don’t completely want. If you do this, you’ll wind up sabotaging yourself or staying unsure of why the direction you’re going does not feel just right. All of this sounds ideal, but all of it just requires discipline, and that simply takes time and not letting for mistakes or failures keep you from moving forward.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes! I have loved collaborating with other local business owners, whether it’s creative projects like photo and video shoots, or simply cross referring clients. I feel very fortunate to have grown a practice with wonderful clients I look forward to seeing, and I always aim to evolve and grow my work and who I reach with my products and my treatment services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brigittetolson.net
- Instagram: @brigittetolson @greenchemistryskincare @losangelesfacials
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brigitte-tolson-skincare-and-esthetics-los-angeles
- Other: greenchemistryinc.com
losangelesfacials.com
Image Credits
Photos of me: Elmer Diaz
Product Photos: Courtney Dailey
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
