A phased roadmap for transitioning from urban design & architecture into the fashion-beauty world — culminating in owning your own product & makeup company.
Founder & Creative Director of her own beauty company — designing the products, the packaging, the stores, and the brand world. Every phase above is intentional preparation for this moment.
A researched, referenced guide to the specific portfolio work, certifications, events, communities, and habits that align with this career direction — sourced from current industry resources.
Visit a favorite beauty brand's store, analyze the collection assortment in-store, compare it to their current campaign, and build a documented redesign report. Do this for brands like Westman Atelier, Aesop, or Byredo.
Source: Glam ObserverCreate a speculative product line — the object, the label, the unboxing experience. Her spatial design training makes her unusually equipped to think about objects in 3D. Include in the portfolio as a concept deck.
An award-winning online organic cosmetic science school offering formulation courses. Even a foundational course gives the vocabulary and knowledge to speak credibly about products she'll one day create.
Cosmetic Executive Women is a nonprofit organization of 9,000+ professionals in beauty. Members access live and virtual networking, panels, industry-defining award programs, trend analyses, and exclusive research.
The leading B2B beauty trade show in the Americas and the single most important networking opportunity in the US for all sectors of the global beauty industry. Where brands, suppliers, founders, manufacturers, and buyers all converge.
A pro-focused beauty event that attracts innovative indie brands, celebrity makeup artists, educators, and influencers in a more intimate setting. Held at Metropolitan Pavilion, NYC (spring) and Chicago (fall).
The top expo for cosmetic ingredients and formulation — where chemists and product developers converge. Critical for anyone planning to design their own products one day.
BoF Careers lists visual merchandising and brand design jobs from internships to VP level across fashion, luxury, and beauty — and is a hub for industry events and contacts.
businessoffashion.com/careersBased on a full-time 9–5 workweek, this is a general framework for how to use weekends intentionally. The goal is consistency over intensity — two focused hours on Saturday and Sunday, done every week, adds up to over 200 hours a year of purposeful career-building.
The core principle: Weekdays are for the current job and passive habits (reading industry news on a commute, following brands, listening to podcasts). Weekends are for active building — creating portfolio work, taking courses, networking, and developing the brand concept. Even 2 focused hours each day is enough when done consistently. This template is a starting point — it should be adjusted once her specific schedule is clearer.
Weekday micro-habits (15–20 min, no pressure): Read one WWD or Glossy article over morning coffee · Follow 3–5 beauty brand accounts and study their visual language · Save packaging or store design inspiration to a reference folder · Listen to a beauty business podcast during a commute or lunch walk. These require no dedicated time block — they just shift what she's already consuming.
The core creative block. Work on one active portfolio project — a speculative brand redesign, a packaging concept, a store layout sketch, or a brand concept deck. Treat it like a client deliverable.
One Formula Botanica lesson, a FIT/Parsons certificate module, or a deep-read of one long-form industry article (Business of Fashion, Beauty Independent). One focused topic per week.
Protect this. Burnout is the enemy of long-term consistency. If inspiration strikes, note it — don't force it.
If energy allows: post one piece of content — a store design observation, a mood board, a portfolio preview. No pressure, but even one post a week builds an audience over time.
One focused LinkedIn action: connect with a VM professional, comment thoughtfully on a beauty brand director's post, or message someone whose work she admires. Quality over quantity — one genuine connection beats ten cold requests.
Work on the long-game side project: the future brand. Name exploration, packaging research, hero product brainstorm, private label manufacturer notes from Cosmoprof research. Even 30 minutes a week compounds into a full business plan within a year.
Sunday afternoons are protected. This is the wind-down before the work week. Rest is part of the strategy.
A quick honest check-in: What did I create this week? What did I learn? What's one thing to carry into next weekend? Keep a simple running document — it becomes a record of progress that's motivating to look back on.
The most important thing: This schedule will need to be adjusted once we know her specific commitments — social life, family, rest needs, and energy patterns all matter. The framework above is intentionally light. Two hours of focused weekend work, done every single week without fail, is worth more than a perfect 10-hour Saturday that only happens once a month. Consistency is the strategy.