During their careers as professional makeup artists, eventual best friends and colleagues Niki Mcclanahan and Megan Kelly felt their industry was straying too far from its roots.
"We felt it was becoming more about how much product you could sell," Mcclanahan says. "It was getting away from being fun and creative, and helping people find a look they never thought they could achieve."
She and Kelly joked off and on for a few years about striking out on their own, but by last spring, the joke became serious. After careful research and planning, they started
Blink makeup studio. The freelance makeup artists have a shop in
Northside International Airport, an eclectic retail, arts and entertainment space.
Blink sells its own line of handmade soaps, shower gels, lotions, bath bombs and essential oils. The shop also features an essential oil bar.
"We started from scratch, and did a lot of research on how essential oils and natural oils work," says Mcclanahan. "If a customer comes in to our oil bar, we can mix a custom blend right in front of them."
Among their most popular products is a brown sugar lip scrub. "People have really started using it all over their bodies because it's a very gentle exfoliant," she says.
Blink has recently expanded into the founder's first love—makeup. They've worked with an outside company to develop Blink's artistry makeup line. They're starting out small, offering products for eyes, lips and cheeks.
For their more environmentally-conscious clients, Blink offers mineral-based eyeshadows, a line they plan to expand.
Cincinnati is taking notice of Blink. It's was recently featured in CityBeat's 2013
Best of Cincinnati issue and in Cincinnati Magazine's
Bridal Buzz blog.
By Feoshia H. Davis
Follow Feoshia Twitter
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.