Empowered by BTC
How did Empowered by BTC begin? Honestly it was in 2015. That is when my divorce journey started. My husband of 25 years blindsided me when he asked for a divorce. The depression engulfed me had a very strong hold. My daily activity for a while was to get out of bed to let the dogs out for a while. The man I had spent 34 years with, my high school sweetheart, tore my world apart.
Enter my new supervisor at work, MAJ Ebony Carter. I work for the Louisiana National Guard as a Soldier and Family Readiness Specialist. As I was on my way home from Camp Beauregard one day, MAJ Carter called to check on me. I ended up pulling over and crying my eyes out during our phone call. Her advice: Go get you some Red Lipstick!
I wondered about this task, but I did it as soon as I got to town. That lipstick sat in my bathroom where I looked at it for days, but never used it. I had never worn red before. It was really red too. After a few months, she called back and asked how I was. Still crying about my situation, she told me to wear the Red Lipstick! I didn’t understand her instructions, and went out and got a color I was more comfortable with. I wasn’t quite there, and the next call she told me to toss that color and get another. The more we spoke, the more shades I purchased. Little did I know then, that Ebony was having me do my self care. Come on ladies, you can’t just wear red lipstick. You have to put on your whole face and fix your hair! It got me up and moving when I didn’t want to.
The Transformation
As I was buying all this lipstick, I began to realize that the right shade will speak to my soul. I started to step up my makeup game for work. Then I went out with friends. The more I focused on me, I began to feel more myself. My weight was coming back and I had more and more energy.
Then one night, I went out with friends to hear a band play in town and I wore the newest Red Lipstick! I also had a pair of red pumps that went nicely with that shade. I danced and danced. We had SO much fun that night. Thinking back, that red lipstick was my Super Cape. Spending time looking in the mirror allowed me to heal and realize how beautiful I was. My transformation was not overnight. It took months of encouragement from others and many lipstick shades.
Fast forward to 2022. As I am celebrating being awarded the very 1st Cover Girl of AMAZING Magazine, I ask LTC Ebony Carter if I can show her my good news. She was instantly excited and guessed that I had started my own lipstick line. I thought about that and dismissed it for the current news of my magazine cover. Through this time, I was reading chapter 4 (Auto-Suggestion) of “Think and Grow Rich” daily with a group of friends as a 30 day challenge. After the challenge was over, I continued reading on my own.
The Vision Realized – Empowered by BTC
That is when it happened! LTC Carter’s words came crashing back to me 2 weeks later as I read this paragraph:
This exact thing happened. Lipstick just flashed into my mind. As I sat there in shock, I read it again. Again, I thought Lipstick…. LIPSTICK!! Could I really do that? Was it possible? I read the paragraph again – it said to treat it with respect and act upon it as soon as possible. My Friday night was spent on the laptop, as was my Saturday and Sunday. If the several emails I sent off, only one was viable. A representative called me first thing Monday morning seeing my vision and wanted to be my personal sales rep.
My samples came in the following week and my secret testers approved of the samples that were given. THUS: Empowered by BTC was born. My vision for this brand is to Empower women and encourage them to step out of their comfort zone. We each have a story, and I want to celebrate each and every one.
Each item will be named after a woman in my life that has influenced me. I am honored to have so many in my life that have molded me into the person I am today. More of my story can be found on my website HERE. The individuals each color is named after will have a blog post linked to that color. I hope to launch new shades about every 3 to 4 months. Eventually, I will create a form for others to submit stories of women in their lives and I will choose 10 to 20 names each launch to honor the people in your life. Empowered by BTC is a brand to encourage women. Stay tuned for more on that.
For now, Please enjoy the lip glosses I have chosen. Maybe in the next few launches I will move into Lip Stick. There are so many colors that it was just too overwhelming. I am in unknown territory, but jumped in with both feet.
See you soon!!!