Malea Rose X Vie En Rose
Tell us more about Vie En Rose! What inspired you to start it? What separates it from other skincare companies?
I was literally searching for a cure to fix my own skin issues. I’m hypersensitive and my skin needs extra TLC. I was breaking out in these terrible bumps and rashes, and I could not find the source. I had tried every product and my skin was having terrible reactions that makeup couldn’t cover up. It affects your self-esteem and is incredibly uncomfortable. I set out to just cure my own problems, then in true “me” fashion, I just kept going and going, partnered up with one of the best labs in America and started creating products. Formulated for absolute perfection, there’s over 30 botanicals in my mist, my ingredients are unsurpassed and each meticulously handpicked, and international: alpine rose stem cell, Swiss glacier water, CannaroseTM . My products target inflammation, which causes acne, redness, skin irritations, anti-aging, dehydration, collagen boosting skin treats you can work into any preexisting skin regimen.
Can you tell us about some of your favorite Vie En Rose products? What can people expect from your current collections?
Unfair! I love both. I currently have 2 launched - and a full facial line to follow (which I’ve been using for a couple years), candles, bath, etc. to roll out soon. My products are the best things I have ever used. I think the Mile High Ultra-Hydrating Mist is maybe the best product on the market by a landslide. It has changed and reimagined skincare. It’s for travel, on the go glow, like a liquid lotion that doesn’t mess up your makeup or make you greasy. Just hydrated, dewy, filtered looking, and elevates your makeup extending it, also a PH balancing primer from the moment you wash your face in the AM. I made sure it was in glass so that there were no plastic toxins, and found a perfect blend of over 30 fruit, flower, and vegetable extracts and botanicals. My new collections will be fun and of course enticing... because Vie En Rose makes delicious products, but don’t be surprised if we branch out from just skincare soon! Also, our signature candle line is launching soon at vieenrosebeauty.com. Skincare is vieenrose.com. Everything will always be given the most TLC because I always want to remain my #1 customer.
Can you tell us more about some of your previous acting projects? What roles have you played in the past and why were you drawn to play those roles? Which ones were your favorites and why?
I love comedy! Always have. I am the silliest human and love to laugh. I think my favorite experience was working with Stephen Merchant in HBOs Hello Ladies, because I legitimately could not keep a straight face. I was crying laughing every time he would speak. I was hurting to not laugh at a certain point. He’s a genius. I also think my favorite part was a Fox New Media show based off of Vin Diesel’s life, directed by him and Zoe Saldana, and it was one of my 1st roles. I improved my way from being a 1-day player, to being a lead on the show and part of the core cast. It was such a huge achievement for a fresh, green, young actress. I love improv... it’s funny because a lot of what I write is thriller-esq, that must be where my darkness goes. I just truly love to create and have a couple projects I am taking out to pitch soon... stay tuned.
I heard you are partnering with Metta World Peace’s basketball league. Can you tell us more about this organization and what you are doing together?
He is the coolest. He and I were introduced by his 1st financial advisor, who I met at a pop up I did for Vie En rose with other Female Founders. We kept in touch, then when I was ready, I told him I was looking to scale. He basically put me through the karate kid school of business and gave me my MBA this summer, then introduced me to Metta who is building a big venture capital fund and incubator, AMG. We clicked and he loved Vie En Rose and became my 1st official advisor and I became his 1st female beauty/wellness company. We are doing a lot together, but one of our missions, and the beautiful thing about the league he co-founded xvsxsports, fights heavily for equal pay for female athletes. We align there because a huge mission of mine is equal pay in general for women, sometimes even being paid at all. I’ve worked at companies that have blatantly milled me of my creativity and retaliated against me because of my gender. I’ve been treated very unfairly in the entertainment business, and now I want to carve my own path and empower others.
Why is this partnership important to you? What are some other causes that you are passionate about?
Metta has this unique ability to reinvent himself. He isn’t afraid to do the work, to learn, to be humble, because there’s strength in humility. He has big ideas and knows the importance of being goal and strategy oriented, so he isn’t wasting anyone’s time or energy. He and I actually have a lot in common. I too, am in a new world of entrepreneurship, learning as I go sometimes, and redirecting my focus and reinventing the wheel. He has 19 years in the NBA, so I feel silly even comparing, but I love his philanthropic mind and how excited he is to build out this hub under the Vie En Rose name.
I am passionate about so many causes, equal rights, gun laws, the educational system in this country, female oriented rights, animals... I love animals. I am a very outspoken person, but I find people constantly trying to stifle my voice, afraid to hear my truth. Finding your voice is where true power lies.
What is your proudest accomplishment and why?
Building a company from the ground up with no help or capital, only tiny bits of guidance, also while fighting all the extra hurdles of CBD being an ingredient and having to be classified as a “high risk” business. I’m still standing, somehow, and I don’t intend on slowing down anytime soon, except to sleep... It’s my favorite and once I became an entrepreneur, I got a lot less of it. I have had to jump through every extra hurdle for my company, be so innovative and think outside the box in every way possible to get visibility and marketing for my company. I don’t get to play by any of the same rules that other companies/skincare get to have the luxury of using, which I think is an even better testament to how incredible my products are. I have had to jump the extra mile every step of the way, which has been defeating at times, but also built me into a force. I am so proud of Vie En Rose, I was proud the day I shifted my focus from industries, and now I’m proud every day when I see its growth, even though sometimes it can feel like you’re failing, enjoy the victories!
What can we expect to see from you in the new year? Do you have any future projects planned yet?
Oh yes, I do... and where would the fun be if I told you. 2023 is going to be a big year on many fronts. I am on this incredible journey of self-exploration and entrepreneurship, in my creative aspects and my business ventures. I’m excited for this year. I finally have built really strong teams of incredible individuals in most of my ventures. If I’ve learned anything, it is that you can only go so far alone, then eventually to grow and build a vision, you have to have a strong team of support - and that you support back. 2022 was the year of putting my head down and grinding deep in the work, learning s-curves, financial models, business, so many things, writing, pitching. Every step is a building block, and I will be waking up in 2023 an entirely new human than I was a year ago. It’s a scary and exciting time.