Interview: Stephanie Flor, On-Air Global Beauty Expert & Founder of Around The World Beauty Inc.

By Angela Tai

You’ve had an incredible career working as a celebrity makeup artist for Clinique and Cloutier Remix, which aspect of your job do you enjoy the most? 

Yes, it’s been a crazy journey. I think the aspect that I love the most is the make-up connection part of it - I’ve worked with everyone including some of the biggest celebrities in the world and some of the most prominent politicians. You see peoples’ true being and I love dismantling this idea of who people think they are. I get to see them in the presence of who they actually are; I’ve learned so much from all of the clients that I’ve worked with. Honestly, I feel like I’m a better person because of the people that I’ve worked with. 

You’re the founder of Around the World Beauty, an international travel company, where you help guide women around the globe on exclusive beauty experiences. What was your source of inspiration for starting this business and what do you hope to impart to other women?

For me, I think in my mid 20’s, I achieved a level of success in my career and didn’t know what was next. I wanted to do something more meaningful and translate my love for beauty and that journey took me all over the world. I was looking for validation for who I was, whenever I’d travel to these places around the world, these girls saw us as beautiful because we were Western and had good clothes, hair, etc. I figured it would be a dishonor to not show them how beautiful they are - I’m in their country and I wanted to. The journey has led me to my blog and representing top beauty brands but I think traveling is a great way to learn more about yourself. This is the secret to beauty - walking in someone else’s shoes can help you bridge the subtle differences in beauty through culture. My goal is to spark conversations - I’ve worked with some of the most powerful women who don’t see themselves as “beautiful.” So yeah, I feel that you can be the most beautiful version of yourself in this world on the outside and still need this validation in a way. I think it’s so beautiful to explore something outside of you, I’m hispanic but was born in the U.S. so I’m curious to learn more about these traditions globally. I think people are reawakening to beauty and finding out who they really are. 

Have you faced any disadvantages (or advantages) as a Latina in the beauty industry? 

Absolutely. I always speak out as a woman of color, there’s this conversation of what a woman of color is defined as. That term wasn’t used in our community for quite some time - there was a role that I had to play in the industry that I didn’t even know existed. I grew up in a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood and I come into this neighborhood where they’re wanting to amplify who I am as a person. Can I connect with the audience and speak Spanish? Good! There was definitely a moment in our industry where being of Hispanic descent was a hot topic. I said, “wow, let me lean into this!” I’ve definitely seen the benefits of being a Latina but this is the case with every race. It’s a very fascinating space when it comes to beauty - I saw a lack of diversity with the models I worked with. I would always grab the models with darker complexions at runway shows because I was so happy for them. We knew that the European models would only fall under the lighter pigmentations which have been popular for so long so it’s cool that I’ve been in the industry for that change. As a Hispanic, there’s many levels with how we discuss beauty and we have a long way to go. I think it’s up to us to inform others of our heritage, there’s been a rise in the Afro-Latina heritage. I think that there’s this conversation about not knowing what you don’t know. I didn’t know that I wasn’t equal to everyone else in the world of beauty. But why is it that only I can play that role? Now that I’m seeing all of this stuff moving forward, I’ve been on every Hispanic magazine and channel but I have yet to be in a thing for my market (look over). 

Prior to the pandemic, Around the World Beauty allowed women to explore exotic countries like Morocco and Japan and learn about various beauty rituals. With the ongoing health crisis, how did you pivot and strategize since most travel has come to a screeching halt? 

Yeah, I actually see this affecting travel for the next couple of years. I don’t see traveling to new destinations being the same — adding COVID on top of that — it’s going to take some time. I want to learn how to connect with customers so that they’re still knowledgeable about different cultures. The LatinX Rituals Beauty Box is a full ritual on what the ingredients are and where it’s sourced. What’s cool about it is you can travel with it once things settle down a bit. I plan on going back to Costa Rica sometime soon and I launched the Latin American box in June in order to sustain the business. As COVID continues, I realize that it’s going to last much longer than we all thought and that it's going to have a huge impact on our business. Then, we started to rely a little more on influencer marketing and we’ve been able to secure partnerships with different brands and that was a big goal of ours. We wanted to secure these partnerships and we’re going into 2021 with huge contracts with brands - that’s been really exciting, that’s all God and the universe protecting us right there. 

You created the Latinx Rituals Beauty Box, it’s so neat that 100% of the ingredients in the products are sourced from Central and South America. It’s a very creative way to honor your Latinx heritage; how do you hope to further expand the global conversation around beauty with these beauty subscription boxes? 

Our original vision that we launched was a walking tour in New York City and in Marrakech, Morocco. We were able to make money but it happened just twice a year. I felt like it was a dishonor to the beauty community to not do it full-time. And while we were doing this, something I discovered was that brands are always looking for things for their employees to do and if you can tie in beauty, then it’s even better. I wanted to bring our tours to these corporate partners. We wanted to offer these experiences as an incentive for their employees, selling our tours for the best-selling employees at Macys, etc. I figured that would inspire their marketing efforts and we can travel again once things settle down so it’s a win-win. 

Who are some people that have inspired you throughout your career?

I would say I’m very community driven. I work in the beauty industry, our community of make-up artists is so powerful and has been so inspirational for me. I think support is so important in what I do. I’m obsessed with these brands who also have a story to tell and I’m inspired by the stories I read and by the TED talks I watch. I’m inspired by seeing people everyday, I haven’t found someone like that in a long time. 

In Glam magazine, you talk about your unforgettable experience backpacking through South America. What did you learn about yourself and how were you able to transform your work because of it? 

That was one of the most transformative experiences of my life, I recommend anyone and everyone doing that. Cosmo for Latinas was coming out and I saw lots of brands wanting Latina experts. we are who we are — there's no outside of the norm with what we do — I felt like I didn’t connect with being Hispanic American. I had no idea that the land was so abundant with all of its beauty, all I know is that we’re trying to go into America. All of these crazy things that we believe and I believe that backpacking can really change who we are and I believe that people need to experience actual culture without a textbook and it just gave me the most unbelievable confidence. Hispanic isn’t a music, it’s none of what you think it is. As people from different cultures, it was like I could work with any brand. Nobody could tell me anything different about not being Hispanic or Latina - I emerged as my true self within the culture. I think people will always try to knock you down when you’re doing something. Travel is so big but there’s so much education in it. I learned a little bit about how people define beauty - I then had partnerships with brands that took me back to Mexico and these countries which has been very eye-opening. You can go back to your own countries and they don’t see you as that. I’m very confident in my Hispanicness, I’ve done the time and have never stayed at the 4 Seasons. You’re basically experiencing a book come to life through your story. 

You enrolled at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth which was focused on scaling minority-owned businesses. What does diversity and inclusion mean for you on a granular level? 

I received that program through a fellowship with Shea Moyster. I think of DE&I as, “you changed my family’s life or my kid’s life or my kid’s kids life.” I worked my little butt off to get opportunities but it’s more about how I inspire and bring other people in front of us. It means creating space at a table - it’s more about really standing for people in your network and they’re working really hard to get to the next level. That’s the hardest thing that we do as women of color, I’m first generation and my connections are limited. I thrive on women who are entrepreneurs doing the best that they can, it’s really all about helping each other. 

Was there a catalyst in your life when you were bitten by the entrepreneurial bug? 

There’s two - I’m a daughter of a very powerful woman, she ended up in corporate America and gave us this lifestyle that was unheard of. I’m middle class and it wasn’t anything crazy, she told me that she got into a really bad car accident and the only reason why we were able to grow up there was because of the accident. I think things like that remind me that we can do it. I have all the privileges in the world to do anything that I want, if my mom was able to do that with nothing, I can at least try to do something in this lifetime. This book is wild - it tells you to live out loud, once you do that, you’re going to see that life is for you and wasn’t made against you. My mom always says that her father was an entrepreneur in Costa Rica and owned all of these construction and brick places but I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, even when I was in high school. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I’m fascinated by the idea that anything is possible in this lifetime. Being an entrepreneur means creating something out of nothing and that’s what I’ve done.

What is the one biggest lesson you learned throughout your career and success?

My uncle is a successful business owner; if there’s no money involved, you’re just playing the role of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, we spend so much time thinking and creating. Two people come together and have an idea about a business and stress so much about the logistics and you need to think about how much money you’re putting into the business and how much you could potentially lose. You have to throw money into the game and be willing to lose. Instead of getting caught up in the things that don’t matter, you need to think about how much you’re willing to put in the game and then you can start getting something out of that. I just took money from my personal life to fund a business venture - start with $500 or $5,000 but keep going until  you have zero money. It’s not until then that you’re not in business anymore, that was my rookie mistake. 

You have a wide reach on social media but with that comes with great responsibility. Do you feel like you carry the burden of setting a good example?

Well, thank you for that beautiful comment about my Instagram! Sometimes, people think if you don’t have 20,000 followers, then you’re a loser which is so not true. I sometimes forget that I do have a brand but I think that the reality is that my clients are always returning clients. Once my clients experience Around the World Beauty, they’re hooked for life. I do feel that there’s a lot of pressure and I wonder if I’m a narcissist but then you can get so deep into and I worry about what others think of me but you know what, you  just have to do you. You’re not in it short-term and not in it to impress anymore and long-term,  it does help. Sometimes, you wake up and don’t really know what you’re doing but you’re doing something, I’m not perfect and I love the fact that if you meet me in person I’m basically the same person as I am on social media. But I don’t know, I do see a social responsibility but it’s who I am as a person. I didn’t post Biden/Harris and BLM videos on my social channels just for the heck of it - it’s who I am as a person. The social responsibility issue is a beast in itself that I still haven’t figured out and I’m constantly reminding myself that I can’t care about what the other person thinks/feels.