Hobbyist Builds Beauty 'Empire'

Lisa Price filed for bankruptcy at the tender age of 28 years old. Over a decade later, Price reportedly makes more than $2 million annually—all because she chose to follow her heart.
Price is the creator of Carol’s Daughter, a body and hair care line that has well-known loyal fans and investors such as Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Price said blending fragrances was just a hobby until 1993, when her mother, the late Carol Hutson, encouraged her to sell her goods at local flea markets and craft fairs. Word of mouth spread quickly about her unique fragrances and customers soon came knocking on her door. After years of continuing to sell products from the comfort of her home, she opened a Brooklyn-based store in 1999.

Carol’s Daughter, which follows the mantra “beauty by nature,” boasts catching fragrant blends and products with rich concentration compared to beauty products in local malls. Price said her products consist of higher percentages of cocoa and shea, as well as fats instead of water, providing more moisture. She also said the key lies in the scent.

“We are very particular about the fragrance,” she said.

“Everything starts with the fragrance, it needs to be intense.”

These distinct blends and products range from Almond Cookie Body Butter to Mimosa Hair Honey, with the names often defining the content or initial thought when first smelled. The scent “SweetHoneyDipChocolateBrownSugah” came from a day of experimenting in her kitchen five years ago, while grooving to the poetic flows of D’Angelo and Jill Scott.

“I didn’t want to have products that everyone had, that’s why I started blending for myself. It’s hard to make something that is just one scent,” she  said. For example, green tea-scented items also have a dash of honey suckle, apple, and honey dew.

Carol’s Daughter, which continues to thrive by mail orders, online services and the Brooklyn location, also opened a flagship store in Harlem last October. Earlier this year, products became available through more than 25 Sephora locations, as well as the popular beauty emporium’s website.

In August, the Howard University Bookstore even welcomed Carol’s Daughter to the shelves. Price said she hopes her products bring some comfort to students far away from home.

“Being broke, not eating home-cooked meals…but having your favorite shampoo or moisturizer is a great way to bring some of those comforts. That smell will remind them of something their grandmother baked, like a piece of home in your dorm. I hope that it can get some people through exams and stress and love affairs-- and keeping these memories,” Price said.

Donna Morris-Powell, operations manager of the HUB said there has been an excellent response to the first shipment of Carol’s Daughter products. Also, Powell said the success story of a young black woman serves as an example to students seeking their own business endeavors.

“She makes students aware that they can achieve whatever they want and be successful at whatever they want. As women, we often have the stigma against us, we are a double minority, but we have a chance in this world.”

Powell added that the bookstore would continue to keep Carol’s Daughter in stock and unveil a full display on the second floor before Homecoming.

Along with the title of entrepreneur, Price is also an author, penning a book about her life experiences in 2004, titled “Success Never Smelled So Sweet: How I Followed My Nose and Found My Passion.” 

Price described the memoir as a combined self-help, business and aromatherapy guidebook. “It’s telling the story of how things in your life guide you to where you should be.”