Detroit native Melissa Butler, who got a shoutout last year during Mayor Mike Duggan's State of the City address, celebrates the grand opening of her flagship store, The Lip Bar, on Saturday in Parker's Alley, a retail section behind the Shinola Hotel downtown, Micah Walker of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Butler founded The Lip Bar in 2012. The cosmetics brand offers vegan and cruelty-free lipsticks and lip glosses.
In 2015, she got national attention on ABC's "Shark Tank," where the celebrity investors turned her down.
A Cass Tech High School graduate, she ended up as a banker on Wall Street in 2008.
After a couple years into that job, she created a company, The Lip Bar, and started making lipstick with natural ingredients in her kitchen. Nearly four years ago, she returned home to continue pursuing her business.
"Our Lipstick is made of a unique blend of natural ingredients and then loaded with pigment to give you kick-ass colors," her website says. "Each lipstick is enriched with shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil and vitamin E for maximum moisture."
Duggan mentioned during his speech last year at Western International High School that she got a $75,000 loan from Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, which helped her fill orders for Target stores.
Butler, 32, runs a pop-up shop on Agnes Street in Detroit's West Village neighborhood and has a California manufacturer mass producing her product, she told Deadline Detroit last year.
A store preview will be held from 5 p.m-7 p.m. on Friday, and guests will be able to receive goodie bags. The grand opening will be held from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday and it will feature discounts and giveaways, the Freep reports.
Last year, after the State of the City address, she spoke to Deadline Detroit.