Tryra Banks has already coined the term smize, teaching contestants on “America’s Next Top Model” how to smile with their eyes (get it?). While the word has yet to officially make it into the dictionary (with the rise of selfie culture it’s sure to be there soon), Banks has already moved onto making her next mark on the American vernacular. The supermodel recently released a new line of cosmetics, TYRA Beauty, and while the products seem top-notch, it’s her business plan and language use that really stands out.
“Without makeup, I would have never been a supermodel. I don’t wake up with naturally sculpted cheekbones — I paint them on.” Banks admits on her new e-commerce website Tyra.com. “I believe makeup is the great beauty equalizer. With groundbreaking beauty technology and innovative formulas, I’m giving you the power to transform what you’ve got … into what you want.” This belief doesn’t just apply to Banks’ outlook on makeup. She has also created a community element along with her company. Beautytainers are independent contractors that will sell the TYRA line. Just like the Avon ladies before them, Banks hopes to build a community of entrepreneurs and empower the individuals involved in the business to become the CEO of their own lives through what she calls CEOYou Selling, aka Be Your Own Boss.
Photo tyrabanks/Instagram
Beautytainers, based off the word “Beautytainment,” which is where ”beauty and entertainment collide,” will sell products by throwing fierce parties at their homes and online” and they’ll also be able to create personalized websites to help with “rackin’ up them bank signs!” Banks also collaborated with Motown artist STORi to create an anthem celebrating badass beauty. The song, called BOOTYful (another example of the supermodel’s word mash-up skills), will celebrate “werkin’ every hallway like a runway” and “beauty from the OUTside in — one juicy, fit, dimpled, skinny, fat ass at a time.”
Two years ago, Banks graduated from Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program and with the reveal of TYRA beauty, her motivation for attending has finally come to light. The company is a 100 percent self-funded start-up that has been in the making for many years. “My dream is to create a legacy brand that gives everyone access to become an entrepreneur,” she says on her website. “I’m a business, man. And you can be, too!”
