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

Hi Jazmin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started Pretty Well Beauty which began as a personal need to see clean beauty and wellness retail experiences improved upon while fostering a truly authentic diverse and inclusive selection of brands. I mapped out exactly what I wanted to build which was a 360 hybrid approach that included services. After crunching the numbers, I realized that I didn’t have the resources to begin that way so I scaled back and decided to launch as an e-commerce shopping brand. I had no idea how to build a website but I had an idea of which brands I wanted to start with and began reaching out to potential web designers and developers to help me build a beautiful website. This was late 2018 when I began this process. What started out as just an instagram account where I shared content about clean beauty and the brands I believed in, is now a fully omni channel shopping destination with an Ecommerce site, an app and a physical store inside the oculus near the WTC in lower Manhattan.

What should our readers know about your business?
My goal with Pretty Well Beauty wasn’t to reinvent the wheel but to improve upon an on-going problem. My mission is to clean up the noise and democratize clean beauty and wellness. I have a keen ability to be able to discover the next big clean beauty brand ( I launched Shaz & Kiks as well as Mango People) long before any other retailer had even heard of them. I am a proud 2 time recipient of the beauty innovator award by Refinery 29 and have had the honor of being a key speaker on topics including entrepreneurship, and beauty at companies including Amazon, Yelp, Twitter, Samsung and The Well. Starting a business takes a lot of courage, resiliency, and a thick skin and I think my upbringing prepared me to be able to roll with the punches that being a business owner throws at you constantly. I’ve learned the importance of being malleable and flexible in the ways I approach problems and being open to trying out of the box solutions. You have to be crafty and creative to build something with limited resources. This isn’t something one learns in business school.

I want the world to know that clean beauty isn’t a trend or a fad, in fact it’s the oldest form of self care and personal hygiene. These practices have existed for thousands of years but now that its become mainstream, its become a mammoth of overwhelm and confusion for the average (and not so average) shopper. I’m here to streamline and simplify the process which is why you’ll never see hundreds of brands at PWB. My goal is to narrow in on and focus only of the brands who are really getting it right across multiple touch points. We make zero compromises when it comes to how we curate our store. You deserve only best in a one stop shop where you can buy all your beauty, personal care and wellness essentials at prices that wont break your budget.

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?
If my BFF was visiting, (who lived in NYC for 20 years before) but now lives in LA and hasn’t been here since 2016 I would take her to a mixture of some of our old faithful spots like Pastis, or Balthazar. I would love to take her to Gospël at night for an immersive dinner that turns into the best party in NYC and dance all night. We would also likely just walk around the city and stop by her old neighborhood so she can see what all is new and how much has changed since she left. I think we might also have to wind down somewhere for a foot massage at one of the spots on West 8th street.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people who have been influential in helping me which include my best friend Tene for all of her encouragement and shopping, my friend and unofficial advisor Mark Fleming who will drop whoever he’s doing to help me solve a problem, Anita Durst who helped me secure my store location, and all my super loyal customers who keep showing up and shopping at PWB. It truly takes a village and a community to build something successful. I’m humbled and grateful each time one of them comes and tells me about how I’ve positively impacted their life because of something I recommended for them.

Website: prettywellbeauty.com

Instagram: @prettywellbeauty

Image Credits
Lori Cannava, Romer Pedron

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.