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Meet Jessie Valery of TigerLily Lashes in North Phoenix

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessie Valery.

Jessie, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
So I believe my story starts the same as many business owner’s stories. I wanted something to leave to my son when I was gone. I wanted something that nobody could take away from me. I recently celebrated 2 1/2 years clean and this business is my baby. It is called The TigerLily Lashes and I got the name from a nickname that I chose when I was a modified doll. The Modified Dolls are a group of women who are tattooed and do charity work to raise money for different charities every month to break the stereotype behind women with tattoos. It is the first thing I did when I got sober. It was the first thing that I did that meant something, that gave back to a world that I had taken from so selfishly while in active addiction.

I got into the lash business because watching social media it is what is hot right now. It is what has been hot for years prior, looking beautiful, feeling beautiful and wanting to feel good in your skin is something that will never go away. So what better way to give back than to help people gain self-love. As a woman who just turned 40 and has a rocky past I know what it’s like to want to feel good in your skin, I know what it feels like to hate who you are when you look in the mirror.

To me, make-up isn’t just painting your face and looking different; it is therapy; It is art, It is using a blank canvas which is your body, to create something artistic and eccentric and feelings of validation. It is using these beautiful palettes and lashes and colors to bring to the forefront something so beautiful that all of those feelings of inadequacy and self-hatred disappear.

I wanted to build something so powerful that men and women everywhere could step away from the image that has been built in the beauty community today and make them believe that there’s more than one way to be beautiful, there’s more than one way to build yourself up and love who you are. This is more than just a lash business it is like a therapy session from someone who has been there and will walk with you through it if you need someone to hold your hand and help you not to feel alone. That is what I wanted out of Tigerlily Lashes.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, it hasn’t been a smooth road. There have been relapses. There have been crying spells, there is the fear of failure and still, to this day, it is a thought that crosses my mind at least once in 24 hours. But active recovery has taught me that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, fear is not real and failure is needed to find success. There were days that I cried so hard and wanted to give up. There was depression and guilt for my past and what I put my loved ones through during active addiction. There were days that I wanted to go back out thinking that I would never be more than just a junkie, but my program and my sponsor taught me it is OK to feel those feelings but you must move on.

I struggled for a long time to get sober. I started doing meth at the age of 12 after my virginity was taken from me. Two years ago, in August, I lost my son when shortly before that, I picked up a heroin addiction; that was the darkest time of my life and sadly, it was the hardest thing to overcome. Sometimes our demons are stronger than the love we hold for those around us. But if my mom would not have been there to step in I would’ve never had a chance to find myself and the ability to build a strong relationship with him like the one we have now. He is turning 16 on the 13th off April and he recently told me I am his best friend. I never imagined I would hear those words from him after what he has seen but God has a plan, and every struggle we endure should teach us something. We have to remember that our situations do not define us. My dad taught me to look in the mirror every day and tell myself I am worth it, I am wanted, I am loved and that I am enough. You see, the more you say it the more it becomes real.

I know there will be struggles throughout this experience, but I know that with God, everything is possible. For me, without Him, none of this would be real and I will approach every situation and every new day with love in my heart.

Please tell us about your business.
Well, The TigerLily Lashes is a lash business/company. Right now, we have 21 different styles of lashes both dramatic and long as well as short and glam. I wanted to have something for make up artists who specialize in dramatic looks and something for beginners new at wearing lashes, you know something for everybody. If it wasn’t for my mom starting a savings account for me when I first mentioned I wanted to start my own business, I don’t think my company would be as far as it is right now. Although we haven’t even launched yet, the hype about my company is growing at a fast rate. I think what sets me apart from other lash companies is that my PRs chose the names of the styles they liked the most, every one of them got to choose their favorite style and name it themselves; whether it was after them 100% or something that drove them or that they held close to their hearts.

I’m always asking them for their opinions and input when it comes to making decisions about what we should do next with the company. It’s not all about me and making a sale and putting money in my pocket; it’s about those involved in those that are helping me promote. It’s about bringing people together and building relationships, making others feel validated about their talents and then being 100% honest about where I came from. I hope never to forget the journey that brought me to where I am today because without it, I don’t think this company would flourish and I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without my past. I wouldn’t appreciate the success behind where I’m going and I definitely wouldn’t have anything to look forward to if I wasn’t clean and sober today.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I did my very best to cover up my childhood memories. Any of the memories that mean anything to me have something to do with my dad. I am daddy’s little girl and being the youngest I got away with a lot which I guess is why it took so long for me to get clean and sober. But my favorite childhood memory is when my dad would come home from work and he would be laying on the couch watching his John Wayne movies and I would bring my curling iron out and plug it in and my nail polish and makeup and my dad would let me sit on the back of the couch and do his hair and nails. He would let me put makeup on him and pretend he was my movie star or that I was a makeup artist and he was my client. I loved everything beauty from a very young age.

I have a beautiful memory of every year on my birthday my dad would sing to me a Kenny Rogers song called “Lady” and I would cry from the beauty of his voice and the love that I could see in his eyes, all of the girls at my party would cry. He would sit me in the middle of the floor in a chair and looked me dead in the eyes the whole time he was singing. I felt like a princess, I felt like the only person in the world who existed and who mattered. It’s been a while since he sang to me, of course, it had also been a while since I was sober enough to appreciate it. Today he is my best friend, the person I know I can go to with anything and not worry about being judged. Anytime I want to laugh or need to cry, he is there. I will always be daddy’s little girl no matter how old I get. I know staying clean and sober is an every day fight, it is something I will have to work out for the rest of my life but the alternative makes it worth it. I never want to go back to being that zombie that I was during active addiction I never want to not care about those I love the most. If you are struggling reach out there is somebody there who’s been through what you have been through and there’s somebody there that will love you through it. There are many resources available and if you need just one person to let you know you’re worth it I can be that one person. ODAAT (one day at a time) all you have to do is get through 24 hours, that is all that matters is today’s 24 hours you can worry about tomorrow’s when it gets there. Trust me if I can do it you can do it too!!

Pricing:

  • Normal price per lash $14.99
  • PreLaunch sale price $12.99 with code prelaunch
  • PreLaunch price 3 for $30 with code tripleme

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
@skullbabybeauty Ashley Edwards
@makeupbyhaleyyy Haley Dunn

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