From a very young age, Michelle Phan enjoyed creativity, specifically using her creativity through makeup. Because she was too young at the time to do her own makeup, she would do it on her mother. Phan says she loved makeup so much because she believed it was almost like creating a story or narrative using her extensive creativity. Fast forward a few years, and Phan had to decide the route which she would take for schooling after high school. Her mother really wanted her to go to school to become a doctor or teacher. However, Michelle wanted to pursue her passions even if it sacrificed a greater salary. Pursuing her love and passion for makeup, Michelle committed to an illustration school where she could continue to use her creativity and imagination. Michelle had an exceptional work ethic which was exemplified through the way she worked her way through illustrator school. Michelle got a job at a restaurant during her schooling to assist herself financially. Eventually, Michelle longed to have a legit occupation. She applied for a sales position at Lancome (a cosmetic company). Unfortunately, Michelle did not get this job and began to consider other job possibilities other than the restaurant which would benefit her creative side. Phan started up a YouTube channel where she talked about herself and beauty tips for girls. The viewers appreciated the beauty tips very obviously, so Phan focused on cosmetics in her videos.
After many years of YouTubing, the head of Lancome contacted Michelle after seeing one of her videos including a non-sponsored Lancôme product. Phan’s video popped right up when the owner of Lancome researched a question about a cosmetic product. It was after this that the owner of Lancome reached back out to Phan to see if she would accept their job offer as official video makeup ambassador. Phan accepted the job offer and has loved her job since. Using her YouTube platform, she invented the idea of Ipsy in 2011. Ipsy is a community of people who value cosmetics and ship sampling bags to the subscribers of Phan’s platforms. Ipsy included most cosmetics involving hair, makeup, or skincare. Because of her commitment to her YouTube platform and subscribers, Phan’s company, Ipsy, now holds a value of more than $500 million today.

Source: Michelle Phan, Entrepreneur – Into The Gloss | Into The Gloss