Melissa Arpino | Stripped Beauty

Age || 21

Company Name || stripped beauty

Job Title || Founder

Years Living In New York || 3

Social Handles || @arepeeno; @strippedbeauty

Company Website || stripped beauty

What did you want to be while growing up?

Growing up, I always wanted to work in entertainment. I’m passionate about music and play a couple instruments/sing, so being a musician was definitely my dream job. I still write music, I’m just focusing on my skincare line right now!

What’s the best piece of advice you were given when you were starting your company?

Just do it. Launching was definitely challenging for me—I wanted everything to be perfect. Two years later, I’m still making tweaks to the formulations and packaging. I always get questions from young business entrepreneurs asking for advice, or being nervous about wanting to start a business and wanting things to be perfect. You just have to get the products or ideas out, see how people react, and make changes accordingly. Everything will fall into place after.

How do you define success?

Success is something that’s difficult to define. For me, success is about growth. Seeing how I’ve grown from the prior month motivates me to keep going and reach my long-term goals. Another way I define success is by the reactions I get from my customers. My goal is to provide high quality, affordable skincare. Nothing makes me feel more successful than getting positive reviews, seeing before and after pics, and connecting with the awesome people who support me.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned since starting out?

You can’t rush the process, success will come with consistency and hard work. It’s all about growth, no matter how slow or quick. Learn, get things done, and enjoy the ride.

What is your go-to motivational quote?

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

What made you interested in starting your company?

I was looking for a cleaner answer to treat my skin and was super inspired by my mother, who is a cosmetic chemist. We started working together and created our first face mask. I was so excited with how it came out, it made me want to start a whole line!

Do you have a personal motto?

Yes, instead of “fake it till you make it,” I like to say, face it until you make it. It’s so important to try and be the best version of yourself. I believe that facing our obstacles allows us to do the work, make mistakes, get back up, and work harder.

Which women inspire you?

All the women in my life! My mother is definitely number one, since she taught me everything I know about cosmetic chemistry. I am also inspired by my sister and all the beauties I get to call my friends. Being surrounded by a strong, supportive, powerful group of women is something that constantly inspires me. I love talking business, sharing tips, and watching other women succeed. There’s room for everyone and growing together feels amazing.

How do you overcome moments of self-doubt?

Whenever I start to doubt myself, I take some time to go back and read product reviews, DM’s, etc. I take time to reflect on where I currently am versus 6 months ago, the love that I am able to share, and all the beautiful people who have joined me on this journey. I have met some of the most amazing souls because of Stripped, and those friendships are what reminds me to keep going.

How do you balance your schedule?

I like to keep everything organized with a planner and a ton of notebooks. Having a morning schedule really helps me stick to what I need to do and set me up to have a productive day. I like to break up all my tasks from most important, least important, and the dates I need to get them done, and then execute from there.

How do you handle situations where you feel overwhelmed?

I like to sit back and re-organize my task lists into smaller lists, which helps me feel less overwhelmed, which is a daily struggle for me. Creating schedules has also helped me by giving me structure and organization to prevent that overwhelming feeling.

What has been the most rewarding thing since starting out?

Seeing before and after pictures. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to help people feel a little more beautiful or confident. I love connecting with people and building friendships from Stripped. Every day is rewarding when working in something that you love.

What advice would you give to other women trying to create their own business or brand?

Every profession is going to be difficult. If this is what you want, trust the process, work hard, and good things will come. Consistency is everything when running a business. When starting out, make sure to schedule two to three hours a day that you can dedicate to working on your brand. Being a small business is hard because it’s all you. There’s no social media team, financial team, or anything for that matter. Don’t be too hard on yourself, but also don’t be scared to push your creativity. I’ve learned a bunch of new skills from having to do everything by myself.

What is your creative process like?

Oh gosh, it’s everywhere. It always starts with an idea in my head, which gets developed for a few days. Then comes the phase when I try to get those thoughts out, which includes a bunch of whiteboards, sketches, and good old pen and paper. I have like five different notebooks with no organization and lot’s of scribbles. I hate working digitally, there’s something about crossing things out and still being able to see them that makes me feel good. Backspacing and deleting everything gives me major anxiety. Feedback and requests from customers is typically what motivates and sparks my creative process, and it is also how I make adjustments to formulations.

What are some of your goals moving forward for your company?

Besides growing to become a larger brand, my number one goal is expansion, I would love to complete our acne-care line, dropping some face cleansers, eye cream, more masks, face cream.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.