In 2012, Melissa Butler began her lipstick brand, The Lip Bar, as a response to the industry’s tendency to treat darker skin tones as an afterthought. Unimpressed with what was available on the market, she began creating products from scratch at home. Since then, she’s launched every little thing from liquid matte lipsticks to tinted moisturizers. 

“I used to think we could only make lip products due to the name,” Butler tells ESSENCE. “I used to be limiting myself. Meanwhile, I had customers practically begging me to expand.” Now, the products will be present in over 1,000 stores across the US. And speaking of growth, The Lip Bar, as of today, is opening their newly expanded flagship location in Butler’s hometown, Detroit. 

“I’m excited to expand our space in my hometown of Detroit because I owe every little thing to this city,” she says. “There are only a few beauty destinations in the town and to construct something beautiful in the center of it’s a dream come true,” Butler adds. Nearly 3x the dimensions of their original store, the new-and-improved brick and mortar offers a beauty bar for makeup and brow services. Clients are sure to need to admire their end in the flagship’s huge, pill-shaped vanity mirrors.

Her favorite a part of all of it? “I like making people feel good,” she says. “I’m just excited that we’re still here,” she continues. After 12 years in the sweetness business, Butler is just as excited now as when she first began. In other words, proceed to expect latest innovations from the brand. Specifically, as Butler says, “be looking out for brand spanking new lippies and a number of face products, too!”