Serial beauty entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid builds brands for a living. Here’s how she shops for others

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What goes into building a modern beauty business? Ask Sharmadean Reid, the British mogul with at least four under her belt. In 2009, Reid opened WAH Nails, a trail-blazing London salon that catapulted nail art into the mainstream. She went on to create Beautystack, a platform for beauty professionals to promote their work and take client bookings, which then evolved into The Stack World — a network designed to connect high-achieving women through its members’ app, coworking space and live events. In 2015, her contribution to the beauty industry was recognized as she received an MBE (the third-highest level of the Order of the British Empire, awarded to those who have made a substantial impact in their field).

Reid started buying beauty magazines aged 10, and remembers drugstore makeup being a “conduit” between her world in Wolverhampton, the English city she was born and raised, and the bright lights of the UK capital, which she later moved to for university. Something as small as a pot of pink blush could create that feeling, she said, that “this is the cool thing they’re wearing in London.” Beauty is built on that kind of connectivity. “Humans have always loved to adorn each other, to mark each other,” Reid said, over a video call. “I really care about that anthropological aspect.”

Her latest endeavour, a wellness label called 39BC, sells fine fragrance shower oils inspired by the ancient rituals of Egyptian and Roman bathhouses.

The compulsion to build emotional connections with her customers is what drives Reid as an entrepreneur. “I love creating experiences for people,” she said, adding that the “collective experience” in beauty, which can strengthen social bonds and provide a sense of belonging, is what has always interested her most. It’s also part of what makes her a natural gift giver. Reid wants everything she does to “have a sense of occasion,” whether it be buying a thoughtful present or ordering a take-out meal — for her, a cherished skill.