Meet Aryel Phillips | Pre-Vet Student & Personal Skincare Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aryel Phillips and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aryel, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I believe a successful career cant come without risk. You never know your full potential until you put yourself out there and take risks. I am all for risk within reason whether that’s trying to create a new formula or introducing myself to a new sponsor. Sometimes the product I have in my head doesn’t always come out how I want or I might get told no from a sponsor but all that does is motivate me to keep pushing a trying new things. I think sometimes people think success comes with ease and it does not. I’ve gotten told no multiple times and yes it can hurt sometimes but that 1 yes can be everything you need to launch you in a new direction. Taking risks can elevate you and I would rather live knowing I tried than to live looking back and wishing I did things differently. In my personal life I’m a little more of a dare devil whether that trying aerial trapeze or trying a new food. My family might not try it with me but they support me as they watch from the sideline.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My business SmoothSkinSational is not my primary business. I created the business to help people with their skin and hair care needs but also to help support me through my college career. I attend Tuskegee University where I study animal science. I will be attending veterinary school in the upcoming years and the finances my business brings helps me along the way as veterinary school is very expensive. I always put myself out there to try to help better myself and I’ve always believed in networking as it has lead to a lot of my success. Since high school, I’ve always interned and made sure to do my job correctly so when times of need come I have a wide variety of people who can vouch for my work ethic and character. Sometimes it could be as simple as sending a email or going to the same school but sometimes it is not that easy. I’ve been at internships where I was the only black person and people always were trying to find things to get me in trouble but when you do what you need to do properly, you walk away untouched. God has kept me protected and through this journey our relationship has become much stronger. A few lessons I’ve learned are not to be afraid to make mistakes and not to be afraid to ask questions when you need help. I tend to try to do everything by myself and sometimes i just need a little help and that is perfectly okay. I try to always carry myself with a positive vibe because it allows you to brighten up peoples day without even trying and that is they same way I carry my business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A few of my eatery places I would probably go to would be a sushi spot, chipotle, or our favorite pizza place in Deep Ellum. One of my favorite places to hang out is Deep Ellum because they have a wide variety of restaurants, ice cream places, and nightlife places. On days I choose to have a more relaxing day I would go on a nature trip with my dogs and then come back to the house to watch a movie or have a game night. A few more things I would do would be going skating, going to the mall, doing DIY crafts and recipes, or go to Dave & Busters. Here is the list of places i’ve mentioned: Avocado California Roll & Sushi, Chipotle, Serious Pizza, Chills 360, The Parks Mall at Arlington, Dave & Busters, and Kiest Park

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out my family for always supporting me and pushing me to achieve my goals. If it weren’t for them I would not be where I am now. They were my test models for all of my products before I started selling them because I believe you shouldn’t release a product on the market if you cant vouch for it yourself. Them allowing me to test on them helped me perfect my products and ensure they were safe. Once I officially started business they were the first to post about it on their social media and get their friends the buy products. I will be forever grateful for all they have done for me.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SmoothSkinSational?ref=search_shop_redirect

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smoothskinsational/