Esthetician creates first Haitian-owned brow makeup line
Quarantine did not hold this Haitian-American esthetician back from developing the brand of her dreams.
You never know where your dreams can take you — even in the midst of a global pandemic.
In 2020, Coronavirus took the world and turned it upside down. People were dying at record-breaking numbers while others stayed inside to protect themselves as much as possible. In a year full of turmoil, political unrest, protesting and a rapidly spreading virus, it’s hard to believe that good could come from 2020 — but, it did. Through our time inside, the pandemic birthed a surge of voices, creatives, businesses, and new ideas that might not have happened in B.C. (before Covid).
One of those great ideas came the birth of the beauty brand, Genèse Belle.
While inside, licensed esthetician and New York native, Rodgie Joseph, was at her home in Lawrenceville, Georgia breathing life into an idea that she dreamed of since her time in NYC. Rodgie seized her opportunity in 2020 to make it happen. However, little did she know — her dream would become the first (to knowledge) Haitian-American-owned eyebrow-focused makeup line.
“I came up with the name from my little sister. Her name is Genesis. Genèse means Genesis in French and Belle means beautiful in French and altogether means the beginning of beauty pretty much,” said the brand owner.
Genèse Belle is the reflection of Rodgie’s journey to becoming a resident of the skincare and beauty world that all started as a teenager.
In high school, the product that Rodgie and most students of color knew as the holy grail of skincare was ProActive. You remember ProActive right? In the early 2010s, you would usually see a long infomercial on TV or a few commercials on MTV with a celebrity endorsement. However, while America’s teens were running to the stores and mall kiosks to buy the product, Rodgie wanted more.
She was dumbfounded by the lack of diversity in skincare products and began on a path to gaining knowledge about skin and the various ingredients within some of the products we put on our faces.
After high school and a year enrolled at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Rodgie realized that her passions were not tied to the traditional lawyer, doctor or nurse that many Haitian parents and families desire for their kids but the beauty industry that she grew to love.
“After that one year, I worked as an intern for The Damn Salon. At the time they were on a show called, Cutting in the ATL. I was working there while they were filming. One of the girls that I met, she saw my passion for skin and she was like ‘you should be an esthetician. I could see that for you.’
Rodgie decided that going back home to New York City was the best way to start her new journey as an esthetician. She graduated from school and went to work at the European Wax Center. Not feeling complete at her job, serendipitously, Rodgie bumped into Matt while walking around Whole Foods and complimented him on his eyebrows. After striking up a conversation, Rodgie mentioned to Matt that she was an esthetician and he revealed that he worked at a brow and hair removal brand — and they were hiring. One thing led to another and Rodgie became an esthetician at Spruce and Bond in Soho.
A job that would open her mind to starting her own business.
While at her new job, Rodgie noticed that the brand sold skincare and eyebrow products from local brands — something that was appealing to Rodgie.
“I was like, wait, I didn’t know people do this.” I didn’t know people have their own brand of products and ingrown hair serums and exfoliators. So, that was in 2016. I started doing my research on products, product labeling and marketing but I never had the chance to dive into it [starting a business] while I was in New York. Then, when I became pregnant, my motivation grew.”
Genèse Belle is now a fully operating online store and a one-stop-shop for your eyebrows. The brand curates brow care products such as pencils, pomades, and gels for women of color ranging in the hues of mocha, dark coffee, medium to dark brown and black. You have an option of pencil or pomades to fill your eyebrows, an angled brush to guide you along the way and a clear brow gel to seal and keep the product intact.
It’s no secret. Starting a business from the ground up takes hard work and dedication. In Rodgie’s case, she was developing a brand with very few names to look up to as a source of inspiration. So, she looked to the best; Philadelphia eyebrow artist, Nicck Townsend and Celebrity Eyebrow Specialist, Joey Healy (whom she personally met) and developed a marketing and branding plan that worked best for her.
For Rodgie it was all about quality over quantity. And her work does not go unnoticed.
Saurel Quettan, President of the Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce, personally thanks Rodgie for launching her brand.
“The Georgia Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce and myself specifically are driven by a singular mission, to see Haiti as a developed nation in our lifetime; and it does play out that way because of entrepreneurs and not just entrepreneurs in Haiti but, also in Georgia. Given their attachment to their motherland, they will choose to invest in Haiti when they have the capacity to do that. So, to us, entrepreneurship is what we’re looking to as the vehicle to create a developed nation out of Haiti.”
Rodgie is the esthetician to watch in the Greater Atlanta area (Gwinnett County) and for the young Caribbean that are interested in becoming an esthetician, Rodgie’s advice, be open, honest and transparent — especially with your parents.
“One thing about Caribbean parents, they are hard working at the end of the day. Yeah, they want the typical nurse, lawyer and doctor but, what I realized with my parents, once I put my foot down and showed them my plan and they saw me going for it and working hard, they began to believe in me. They saw that what they wanted for me wasn’t what I wanted. The work shows for itself. I would definitely say to be open and transparent with your parents. Keep it real.”
Genèse Belle can be found at Salon VII in Lawrenceville, Georgia and online at genesebelle.com.
“I’m coming up with a whole bunch of different formulas for brow gel, skincare, ingrowns. Wherever there is hair and needs to be tailored, that’s my goal. Hair on our heads is important in our community but, you need to take care of hair everywhere. So, that’s what you can expect from Genese Bell.”
