YouSaid · the spoken record

Maureen Kelly

lines on the record: 115
first: 2023-01-23
most recent: 2023-01-23
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“So I was like, well, I can't. I'm not going to leave. I've got a week because he's going to come through the door any minute. He's just going to come through the door. He's like, He didn't come through the door. So I then drove to a lot of the hospitals in the city, and that was horrible because I thought, well, maybe he'll be at a hospital. And that was so sad because there were all the nurses and the doctors waiting outside front like tons of them with wheelchairs. It was just like a ghost town. You could just drive in New York because, you know, no one was on the street. A mile thick. But they were just like waiting for people to come, you know, but there was nobody to help. So, yeah.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But then, like, somewhere in the back of my brain, I felt like, no, he's going to be okay. He's fine Yeah, he got out. Like, I don't know how I could have thought he got out, but I felt like he got out. So I like waited for him to come running through the door. And some of his rugby playing investment banking friends did come to my door. Like their clothes were tattered and covered in ashes and like bleeding, wanting to know if Mark had made it out and had run like the like 50 or 60 or blocks home like they did. Their shirts were torn off. I mean, it was horrific. He didn't. And I was like, well, I got to wait here because, you know, all the phone lines were knocked out. You couldn't get a signal, like nothing”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes. Yeah. So I was like, okay, are you sure everything's okay? And he was like, yeah, I'm completely fine. I got to go. They're telling us to go back to our desks. I was like, all right, I love you. And he's like, I love you too. And then that was the last time I spoke to him. I flipped on the TV. And I was like, okay, well, he said he's fine, but let me just see what's going on here. So I flipped on the TV. I don't know, like maybe I can't remember now. I just blacked out a lot of that time, to be honest, five or ten minutes later, I watched as a plane crashed into that tower. And I just remember, you know, like just collapsing to my knees and really watching as... He was killed as the second tower fell. But then, you know, I just mean, I just was destroyed, obviously.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so Yeah, my world came to a halt for sure on that day. You know, Mark called me in the morning and I didn't know anything was happening, but he called me and said, like, hey, Mo, I just want you to know everything's fine. And I said, wait, what do you mean? What's going on? And he said, you know, a plane hit the first tower. But I'm okay. And they're just, you know, I could hear them talking over the loudspeaker. And he said, they're telling us to go back to our desks. And Mark had been there for the first trade center incident.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was me, and then I had a couple of interns actually. One of which is one of whom is still with me. She's my head of creative. Yes, I still have some of the women that have been with me all these years, which is pretty incredible.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, not really. You know, I never started it to grow it, to sell it. And I feel like it was a very different time then. And I just started it because it was a passion of mine and I loved it.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I started to get offer calls from like Sephora and QBC. And I just said, absolutely not. I can't, you know, we're not ready yet for that. I felt like, you know, I didn't want to overpromise and under deliver because I just feel like once you burn a bridge, you don't get a second chance.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. And then the phone line started ringing. I mean, I had to put fake names on the phone lines like I'd have my friends and family say like, hi, this is, you know, Jen from Operations, blah, blah, blah, like makeup phone lines. So it seemed like we were an actual company. And then they just sort of ringing as these, it started to like hit the magazines.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, once it ran in L and once it ran in vogue, all of the magazines were calling saying, you know, I want to like see your products, like, you know, come in, tell me about it. And so then I would like to take the baseball hat off, get dressed up, and go in through the front door.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, definitely. And then, you know, I was like, okay, I've got to like keep getting press. I couldn't, we had no budget, so I couldn't afford $15 messengers. So I put on a baseball hat and I would drop the press packages myself to, you know, in New York City to like the Conte Nass building or like the Hearst buildings. Those are the ones that had all of the big magazines because, you know, I just wanted to get in all those magazines because how it was the influencers of the day. But I would be like, oh my gosh, I hope, you know, I don't hope I don't see any editors like, oh my goodness, like these women that I saw at the Bendles breakfast. Meanwhile, these women would never have recognized me from like a hole in the wall. I would be going in for the backside of the building, right? But then I'm getting appointments with at these.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Deep and cheerful. I didn't, you know. And I kept the bottle under the counter, knowing that, of course, they would be expecting Bouflicot or something like that. And my sisters and I pulled like potential customers off Fifth Avenue off the street just telling these women that we were serving Tartinis and doing touch-ups after work. Of course they were going to pop in. And if they're getting a drink and getting a touch-up, why not? And it was really kind of like girl of marketing, you know, before I even knew what that was.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, well, I mean, you know, I didn't know what to expect, so I got my brothers and sisters to help me. I bought my brother a purple tie, and I had a bartend. I brought in like $8 champagne and put like sweet tarts in a glass, and I called them tartinis. And so we were doing.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I had the products ready to go. And then we had our first event at Bendel's and we had our counter, we had our first event. It was exciting.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That was it. Once I got in these magazines, guy, we catapulted. I mean, of course, the beauty buyer at Bendel said, okay, you've got a counter, that's it. And you can have an event next month. And I was like, what do you mean an event? Like, what does that entail? Oh my gosh. But she did say you have to make. X amount of dollars a month to be able to stay in Bendles. It wasn't just like you're in.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, these editors were kind of looking at that and they were looking at the fabric packaging, which they also photographed. And it had double-ended eyeliners. And they said like, wow, like this is all brand new and really different. And I think that's the thing that saved me because I hadn't worked at Lauder. I hadn't worked at L'Oreal or Longcombe. I didn't go into this feeling like, wow, well, this cells and that cell, so I have to do that, right? I didn't launch with a mascara. And a mascara is typically a brand's number one selling product. I didn't have that for five years. And definitely guy people told me you're a bad business person. You have to have a mascara to throw one out there, even if it's not like something that you love, love, love. And I said, why would I do that? Like if I don't find one that's different from everything on the market and formulated without the bad stuff, I'm just not going to do it.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's exactly right, and it's gel. And it's gel, okay? So you just like dab it on and then you blend it with your fingers and you go, which is really cool.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Totally. And it looked like that because it looked like a jar, like this jar of the cranberry sauce, like that gross, like you get from the can. It's dark, but it comes out really pretty and natural and it just gives you this beautiful flush.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I was like, I'm worrying Kelly. And this is Tarte. And she's like, okay, so you're not a celebrity makeup artist and you're not an heiress. You're a nobody. I was like, okay, enough with everybody telling me I'm a nobody. Of course I didn't say that to her, but I was like, great, you're right. But this is amazing and it's so different. And here's why. And she was like, okay, well, I'm going to shoot it, come to my office in two days. And I was like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. You know, trying to play it cool. And then, you know, five minutes later, the beauty editor from L magazine came up and was like, what is this and who are you? I love it. It's really different. She picked up the cheekstain. Tell me about it. And she's like, I want to shoot it next week. I want it in my next issue.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And so I was there at my counter, and all of these beauty editors were fabulous. They all had champagne in their hands. Gorgeous walking around with their champagne, looking at the different products. And I can remember the beauty editor from Vogue, Sarah Brown, came up to me and said, What is this and who are you?”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But not really the look of tart cosmetics. Oh, no, no. And assumed, what was I thinking of skirtsuit? Yeah. I mean, I was so not cool at all.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“allure all of the big guys and they were everything back then right they made you or broke you And so I went out, I went to Ann Taylor, and I got myself a suit, which, let's be honest, I was getting a suit for this, was the complete wrong thing, but I didn't know. I tuck the tags in the back because I knew I was going to have to return it.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Nope, no. And so my fate hung in the balance with this press breakfast. This is where I was really nervous because I knew this was it.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Weren't you nervous? I was really nervous. I was super, super nervous. I went in. I met her. I showed her the products. And she said, I love it. I think it's really different. Wow. But we have a press breakfast next week and all the editors are coming. I'll give you a tiny booth in the corner. If the editors respond to it, I'll give you a counter. But if they don't, then sorry no. I was like, oh my gosh.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. And so I went in, I showed her my product because I knew if I could just get it in front of her, she would see that it was different. I had all of this special fabric packaging and I had my cheekstain, right guy.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I was going to go out of business before I started. Full panic, full panic has now kicked in and I called and left a message for the Bendles buyer saying, this is my final message. You know, I just had to leave you one more because I grew up shopping in Bendles with my mom, which is completely not true. And I kind of felt bad leaving this white lie. You know, there's the Catholic guilt. But I just wanted to leave you one last message because it was my favorite store shopping growing up with my mom. We're about to sign tomorrow with Bertdorf Goodman.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So that was just never going to happen. I've learned that since then. Yes, I kept leaving voicemails. And I was getting more and more desperate.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For sure, yeah. So I just started calling and leaving messages. And I was so excited in the beginning guy. I said, you know, I have this brand heart. It's amazing. It's high performance naturals. It's different than anything you've ever tried. And, you know, I left my first message for each of them. And then, you know, they didn't call me back. But that was okay. You know, it's just a message. So then I was like, okay, well, I'll wait. You know, it's like, how long is not long enough? And how looked desperate. And so then I called a couple days later, left another message, you know, and I would call and then hang up because I would be hoping that I'd be able to catch one of them. You know, what you realize is these merchandisers and buyers never pick up their phones ever.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, yeah. For sure. I was thinking, you know, I was in New York, so I thought like I'm going to try and get it into Bendel's or Barney's or burgjars, like the three B's in my mind.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He was. I mean, he was like, this is so crazy, but you know, he was such a good guy. He was definitely supportive of it. And, you know, you can't be half pregnant. I was already like too far down the path. So then I felt like, ooh, I'm legit. I have a company here. But I also realized, okay, I have to be able to sell it somewhere.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, and you can't move. I mean, it's boxes everywhere. I mean, I remember my friend came over. She was pregnant. She had to turn sideways to like get to the bathroom.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Outside of it fabric. So, like our lights camera lashes mascara to this day has the fabric around the outside of it. And no one had done that.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, I got the packaging from a packaging company that I found and talked them into doing this amazing lavender fabric packaging no one in the industry had ever done it. We were the first ever. I look back, I wish I patented that, but I was not business. Fabric.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It wasn't really a thing. Big thing, yeah. But, you know, you were asking me about my first product and my cheek stain was, you know, was definitely it. And, you know, when I was asking him to put in all of these like ingredients, they definitely thought it was crazy.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, exactly. Well, no, actually, I had Tarte Cosmetics.com. This is how not savvy I was as a business person back then. T-A-R-T Was taken by a guy like Scott Tardy, his name was. And many years later, he sold it to me, which is very, very kind of him. But I didn't launch the website for actually for years. If you think back then, I feel like comes like.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, my mom went on tar.com, and you can imagine what was on there. It was not good. She screamed, I think. And then I was told eventually that I would never be able to launch in France and England, specifically because of the name. And luckily we're a top brand in both now. But yeah, you know, I just didn't think of it that way.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I had a different name. It was called Plume. And then I second-guessed myself and I switched a tart, which, you know, tart is like, is a tree. It's like something yummy. And I just felt like I wanted this line to be like a healthy treat for your skin. I will say, it became a little problematic later on.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, he was a super talented celebrity makeup artist, and he had so many projects as a makeup artist, you know, in the beginning, I really doubted, you know, because I was a makeup artist, I doubted myself, as you know, we all do all along. I felt like I needed a makeup artist to help me, you know, create this line. But in the end, you know, we kind of had a different vision of approaches for like beauty. Like I wanted it to cater to everyday women and not high profile clientele. So like ultimately it made sense that, you know, he become a silent partner after”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Absolutely. I was like, okay, this isn't soft enough. It's not silky enough. You know, just I love this color. I don't love that color. So yeah, just giving them lots of feedback is just a non-makeup artist regular girl”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Literally pans of eyeshadow and pans of blush. And then I got the packaging separately. And then I had pizza and wine parties because I couldn't afford the lab to, you know, press the tins, the makeup in the actual packaging. And so my friends and my family like basically did it till their fingers had blisters on it.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It wasn't crazy expensive because he knew that I didn't have a lot of money. That was the other thing. So either you're a celebrity or you're like an heiress making a makeup line. And so he knew I didn't have a ton of money. And so It wasn't crazy expensive. The other thing is I couldn't afford to have them usually, you know, now when we have makeup made, they put it in the package, they pack it out, they put it in the box, everything. Like, I wasn't having them do any of that.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He did for big brands, actually. So, you know, they're very established, and so they could take a risk on like a small little thing like me. I was like a pet project, you know?”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. And they laughed at me. They laughed at me because they said, listen, if customers wanted that, the big guys would have done it. Lauder or L'Oreal would have done it. Customers don't care about parabins being in products because remember, this only parabens only came out of things like a handful of years ago. Customers don't care about cruelty-free. This is 1999, right? So, you know, no thanks. But I did find one chemist who thought I was crazy, but he was like, I don't agree with you, but, you know, we kind of take on one charity case like, you know, every year or so. And you know what? I'll do it for you. And I was like,”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I just said, I'm starting a company, a makeup company that is formulated without parabens, and I wanted to be cruelty free. I wanted to be infused with, you know, all of these good for you ingredients and keep out the bad stuff.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, at that point, I just said I am starting a company because then I feel like you have to commit to those people. Of course, like behind the scenes in my apartment. I was like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? This is a crazy idea. But with the labs, I would say, you know, to the receptionist, I'm Maureen Kelly. I left a message for your head chemist, you know. I haven't heard back. So, you know, I was in the area at another meeting. And so I figured I would pop by, you know, just kind of. Smoking and joking a little bit, I guess. And so, yeah, eventually, and most of them were like, most of them were like, um, they're not available for meeting. But, you know, a couple of them came out. I had meetings with them and I shared my vision.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh yeah, for sure, yeah. Florida, New Jersey, New York, you know, Italy, of course, like all over the world, but absolutely there are in New York, New York.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“They make the cosmetics. And I just started calling these labs. And no one was calling me back because I was a nobody. Remember, there was no social media back then, no Facebook, no TikTok, no Instagram. And so then what did I do? I just got in my car and I drove across towards Washington Bridge and I started going to the suppliers, the labs and sitting in the waiting room.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“While I opened the yellow pages to find suppliers, and I just started making calls, call after call. And guess what? Nobody called me back. These are companies.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I mean, everything was formulated with all the bad stuff. And so I was like, I don't know. I just, I wasn't a business person. And I'd never created like a business plan in my life or had never done an Excel spreadsheet. But, you know, I had this like vision board that I was like slowly and surely creating of like all of these like cutouts and tearouts from like magazines and things like that. And I just wanted to create this like makeup line of like makeup that was like filled without the bad stuff like the parabins or petrolatum or Make it cruelty free because you know my mom grew up in Ireland on a farm, and so we had rabbits and dogs and snakes and all the things. I couldn't imagine like testing on animals. I wanted it to be mostly vegan. And then, you know, filled with like lots of good for you ingredients. But that was really hard.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I did. And I felt like, you know, when I go to the makeup counter and I'd get my makeup done in New York, I would look great like so many of us do, but I'd get home and I'd be really frustrated because I'd flip over the box and it would be filled with synthetic like ingredients I could literally not even pronounce because remember this is 1999, right?”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly, and then I put vanilla in to make it taste good. And my friends would love it, you know, and it was never anything like, oh, I'm going to start a business doing this, but it was just something that I You know, that I always loved and I always did, and it's funny, my best friend said, you know, that was in my PhD program at Columbia. She said, I remember you, Maureen. She said, I remember having like a stila eyeshadow palette and you like prying the eyeshadow pan from the paper compact and her saying like, what are you doing? And me saying like, I just want to see how this is made. And she was like, wait, we have neuroscience to do. Like, stop it, like, stop flinging around. You know, so it was just always something I was like really interested in.”
2023-01-23 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tarte Cosmetics: Maureen Kelly · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT