Kim Roxie was looking forward to presenting on a beauty and tech panel at South by Southwest.
When Austin canceled the event, she was initially devastated.
Then it struck her as she talked to the company working with her business, LAMIK Beauty, to make virtual try-on of makeup possible.
“After the initial shock and disappointment, I thought ‘Isn’t this why you created this — so people can try on makeup no matter where they are?’ ” Roxie recalled.
LAMIK — a vegan makeup line for people of color — has pivoted during the coronavirus pandemic to focus on e-commerce, particularly its virtual capabilities to help women find natural and organic makeup that matches their skin color. The virtual try-on — powered by AlgoFace, allows users to try new products before ordering.
The current public health crisis became an example of a “very relatable reason why this was needed,” Roxie said. “There are women all over the world who need this.”
Roxie worked at a makeup counter while she was in college.
She remembers “the pain of women trying to find makeup that fit their complexion. I became passionate about finding a solution to that pain.”
When you can’t find a shade that matches your skin, “you feel like you’re not beautiful. This is a beauty counter, and you don’t see yourself represented. You start asking yourself, ‘Who is seen as beautiful? How do I look like that person?’ ”
She eventually met a chemist who had retired from Estee Lauder. He worked with her to develop a clean makeup line in a “range of shades that would fit all women,” she said.
Roxie opened Lamik Boutique and ran it in Houston from 2014 to 2018.
She turned her daughter’s bedroom into a studio and has been holding makeup parties on Fridays...
In 2018, Roxie decided to focus on online sales. She applied for the Sputnik ATX Accelerator and was part of the summer 2018 cohort. She received $100,000 in funding and raised the rest of the money she needed through crowdfunding in her community.
“I raised money from my own customer base,” she said. “I’m getting ready to fundraise again.”
The first product LAMIK — short for Love and Makeup in Kindness — featured for virtual try-on was its Celebrity Brow Kit.
Customers can upload selfies, go live on the site or use a model to see what kit best matches them.
“It’s been an amazing way for someone to match their color,” Roxie said. “Our AI is inclusive. I went to a show in Las Vegas, and the company — I won’t mention which one — couldn’t match me.”
AlgoFace, based in New York, has worked hard to be a resource for all women, she said.
The virtual try-on launched in March.
“It’s been a lifesaver,” she said.
Roxie plans to add other products to the try-on studio, including foundation sticks, eyeshadow palettes and lip gloss.
She turned her daughter’s bedroom into a studio and has been holding makeup parties on Fridays, selling makeup online and teaching women how to do their brows and other makeup.
“We’re ramping up what we were going to be doing anyway,” she said. “I’m so hopeful right now. It’s pushing us to do things that we’ve been wanting to do.
“I don’t think it’s been a disruption. I think it’s been a true acceleration.”
