My name is Lanae Rhoads. I am the founder and owner of Mix Cosmetiques. I have been making skin care since 2005 and makeup since 2012. I started teaching others how to make their own skin care and makeup right away because I was so passionate about it that I wanted others to learn how important it is to use and support sustainable and truly natural skincare.

 I know that most people have one story of how they got started or how they were inspired, but I have two. Let me tell you about them...

 The first part starts with frustration. Perhaps the same frustration you feel. I couldn't find the right eye shadow color. Ten thousand shades and none were right for me. How is that possible? I tend to be that person who thinks if I can't find the right thing I will just make it myself. This isn't as far fetched as it seems. I had been making my own body care products for years. When I looked at the ingredients in eyeshadow I realized they were the same pigments I used to color my soap. Well, if I already had the ingredients nothing is stopping me from trying it for myself. So I did! And I made the right color! The formula was terrible. It was sticky and didn't blend, then it crept into my crease halfway through the day, but I had begun. And from there it was simply a question of playing with the formulas and bringing my friends into the process. There is nothing more fun than playing makeup with your friends. I don't care if you are 8 or 80 playing with makeup and having your friends around is fun! That is what led me to the party and kit idea. A group can get together to play with makeup, explore colors and give opinions (cause who doesn't want to do that) all in a fun and relaxed setting.

 What keeps me going in this endeavor is a different story altogether. In January of 2015 I was at a conference in Florida. There I met a woman who owns a cosmetics store....In Uganda. As we were talking she found out that I make cosmetics. This was a match made in heaven. We talked for hours and came up with a plan. I would come over to Uganda to teach her and a group of women she gathered how to make soap. That they could then begin to sell and start their own micro businesses. After that I would teach them to make more complicated products, and their businesses would be able to expand. This was such an exciting opportunity with so much potential I couldn't believe it had fallen straight into my lap. What's even more exciting is that Prossy (that's her name) runs an orphanage as well as the cosmetics shop. The cosmetics shop is in fact how she supports the orphanage, so everything she sells goes to support 20-40 orphans at a time. The more she can cut the overhead at her cosmetics shop the more she can make to support the orphanage. This is something I want to be a part of! Since that day 10% of everything Mix Cosmetiques sells (whether through product, classes or parties) goes to teaching women in Uganda how to make cosmetics and start their own businesses. That 10% pays for startup supplies, research into where we can source materials and for my teaching trips to Uganda. As much as we can we try to source the materials and supplies in Uganda so they can support their own economy while they build their businesses.

 The BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS goal at some point in the future is that they will start their own plantations to source their own ingredients. And they will possibly even become a sustainable source of palm oil for the USA because palm is such an important product in the cosmetics industry and is really hard to source sustainably right now.

 I love teaching people how to use each of these ingredients and what they are for. I also feel it is important to choose ingredients that are beneficial for your skin as well as sustainable for our earth.

 Our goal is to provide you with a fun experience full of new cosmetic products that you will use for the lifetime benefit of your skin. We are vegetarian friendly as well as offering many vegan options.