Karla Coppel | Founder of Karemi Cosmetics
Karla Coppel
Q: Walk us through your story!
A: When I began Karemi Cosmetics, I wanted to create a brand that promotes safe, healthy beauty products for women on the go. I am always keeping busy, and I wanted to create a line of products that will be versatile for active lifestyles. I also wanted to create a product that helps women embrace their natural beauty without feeling like they need to put on a ton of makeup to look classy and sophisticated.
Our health, our society, values have inspired me to created this brand promoting safety for within beauty needs of today’s woman. I always been in love with makeup so with that being said I have try all kinds of products from all brands, until one day I woke up with a huge swollen lip, not knowing it was from a lipstick I had recently bought. So I decided to do a lot of research and while doing this I uncovered a Dark Pandora Box behind the Beauty world, so many harsh chemicals in products out there that are actually extremely dangerous to our health in the short and long term wear. I must say that I was very concern knowing that we, most of the times don’t even know what’s in our beauty products, so throughout prayer and a lot of research, finally came up with the right formulas to create such amazing products, and high-end cosmetics brand, that is top quality in its ingredients and affordable to everyone.
I always want to do everything I can to help those most in need in my community. My company helps support those who are most vulnerable, including children in abusive situations or living in poverty. We make all our products in the U.S. to ensure we do as much as possible to support the local economy. I am a person of great faith and I always recognize God in my achievements, it is through abiding faith and His grace that I am able to accomplish anything I decide to do, also the amazing husband that I have Luis Coppel, who is very supportive and always helping me and going out of his way to learn new things in order to help me with the business without his love and support, there are many things including this business I know I wouldn’t have been able to do. Me being a single mom for 8yrs before I met my husband, migrated from Tijuana BC MX and needless to say I’ve struggled a lot trying to better my opportunities in the workforce for a better quality of life for me and my son who was little at the time, I must say there was a time when I felt so lonely, without any family here in the US, that I shelter in alcohol, hitting rock bottom, losing everything I worked so hard for. And that is when I came to God, humbling and knowing that I was not gonna be able to do it anymore on my own, and then I met Luis now my husband. The husband I asked God to give me! We have been through a lot of hardship in every area of ours lives, but we have been able to overcome with God's love, being perseverant, not giving up fighting for what we believe in, and of course hard work and determination! If we can do it so can YOU…..
"My ultimate goal is to see many women succeed in this world, creating more consciousness towards well-being, mental, physical, and spiritual health for the greater good of our society and our environment. Encouraging, and helping them on how to build this better life starting with something as simple as makeup." - Karla Founder of Karemi Cosmetics
Q: What has been the most rewarding phase of your career?
A: Well what I love most about the business is that I am able to help, and inspire women to self-care and self-love, I make sure that the experience they have when they purchase a product from Karemi Cosmetics it is superb, offering each individual the attention they deserve. I am always available for any questions, comments, or concerns giving personal customer service, and always go the extra mile. My abiding faith, perseverance, determination, and focus. No, it is definitely not easy whoever tells you they have a secret formula for quick success is lying it is not easy and requires much work, endurance, and true commitment to continue. So that is definitely very rewarding to know that all of your hard work pays off.
Q: What do you do for inspiration? Do you ever hit creative roadblocks and how do you overcome them?
A: Well like I said before abiding faith, prayer for comfort and wisdom, with a constant reminder that there is a greater purpose behind it all. I believe I’ve learned many lessons so far, like developing patience, and learning how to go at my own pace, overcoming fears, and of course, believing in myself more. Always maintaining humble to learn more from others also. I want people to know that with God by your side yes you can do whatever it is you put your mind to, even though is not easy God gives you the strength and wisdom to continue. In Karemi Cosmetics It’s a mission about love. We love God, and we demonstrate our love and live out our faith by extending care to others. Because “A Virtuous Woman is hard to find. Live to be the Exception!”
"Read labels, investigate what the ingredients are if they are toxic or not, I know it's hard to say with all this technical vocabulary on cosmetic labels. But nowadays there is so much info on what is toxic and what is not. If someone claims to sell a product from a certain brand, in particular, make sure that they are listed as a distributor on their website, Popular brands will usually say or have information on who their distributors are, and what retailers carried their products or if none as well. There is so much corruption when it comes to cosmetics, such as fake logos on the boxes, if a product claims to be certified within any organization or regulated within safety standards, make sure you check to see if these are accurate. You can always google it. Never buy second-hand cosmetics, Or from people you don’t know, there are so many clones made in illegal labs that contain highly, and extremely dangerous chemicals, that can be very harmful to your skin and health." - Karla founder of Karemi Cosmetics
Q: Who has been the most inspirational person in your life and at what stage?
A: At this point in my life I've learned that we can all learn from everyone, but rely on God since he is the only one that never fails. We are all unique with different talents, virtues, and gifts so we should all get the best of everyone learning how to use our own strengths and weaknesses to become our own inspiration.
Q: What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a career similar to yours?
A: Take it slow, Rome wasn't built in one day, we have to be patient, persistent, and very focused. Doesn't matter what you do always takes time and discipline, just never give up keep trying, and as long as you love what you do have a passion and love for the people, then you are already successful.
Q: What are your top self care routines? A: Prayer, Disconnecting from everything, Reading, and quality time with loved ones.
Q: What is the most challenging part about what you do?
A: For me it has been the marketing, exposure, money, also in branding getting people to try out products since it is a new brand, then we have to built trust from zero. So that is challenging, also being a Full time mom of 2 well time management has been very challenging.
"Our motto is “A Virtuous Woman is hard to find. Live to be the Exception!” In today's society I feel there is a need for women to be reminded of their worth, each day that goes by, we see more and more women losing their femininity, Yes women are becoming stronger but a what cost? Perhaps, some women instead of embracing their womanhood they are becoming more manly and competing against men. Women are definitely equal to men as far as worth and value, to Gods eyes, however, we were made different with different roles and these roles are extremely important if we want to preserve families, continue to reproduce each other, in order to succeed and rise up, we all have virtuous God-given talents that we must develop and learn how to use working as a team together with a man, not against them." - Karla- Founder of Karemi Cosmetics