A Seymour author plans to start a small business by combining two passions: Fantasy novels and makeup.
Candy Crum, 35, has been an author for 11 years, and her “Darkness Rising” collection is fantasy-based.
“One of the books from that series is actually called ‘Darkness Rising,’ and I thought it was a perfect name for a makeup collection using dark colors,” Crum said. “I love fantasy novels and writing them, and I wanted to mix the two if I could. I found a way to do it, and the photo campaign will mirror that, as well.”
In the campaign photos, she said they will all wield some kind of magic, and she plans to be the villain.
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“I’ll be the ‘darkness rising,’ and I always thought it would be fun to be an actress,” Crum said. “The most fun part to play would be something totally opposite from yourself. So I thought this was my chance to do that, and it’ll be super exciting.”
Crum’s makeup line is Ferocious Beauty Cosmetics, and the inspiration for her small business came from many places.
“Writing has had its ups and downs, but in 2017 and 2018, it was going great. I had finally made it,” she said. “Unfortunately, I developed medical issues that caused me a lot of pain daily, and I was unable to have surgery to correct it.”
She said all of her eggs were in a single basket, so to speak, one where she had to do it on her own or it couldn’t be done.
“So I began thinking of starting another business, one where I could work with a team to make things work,” Crum said. “I worked for about 10 months researching and sampling things until I figured out how I could do it all.”
She said her first goal is and always has been to be there for her kids, Brandon Crum and Matthew Crum, her sister, Amanda Combs, and her family.
“I never wanted my sister to suffer through the things I did as an adult, and I definitely never wanted my kids or hers to go through what she and I did as kids,” Crum said. “So my whole life has been about building something for all of us.”
Crum’s second goal is to reach past that and make a difference in the community.
She would like to work with Schneck Medical Center in Seymour in the future on pediatric and breast cancer projects, help underprivileged kids, women’s shelters and Veteran’s Affairs hospitals to get hygiene kits out to those who may be homeless or struggling.
“Once my business is stable, the goal is to donate a portion of every launch toward these things so I’m always helping to make a difference,” Crum said. “In short, what inspired this business the most is my drive for independence, to help my family and to help those around me.”
Ferocious Beauty Cosmetics became a limited liability company in January 2019 but didn’t launch anything until the middle of that year.
To gain knowledge about the cosmetics industry, the first thing Crum did was research everything.
She said she researched licensing and purchased from every indie brand she saw that had products that interested her so she could research its packaging, customer service, shipping times and shipping supplies.
“I researched every manufacturer I could find in my price range, and when I found a few that offered what I wanted, I tested product, customer service, shipping times and made sure they would be a good fit,” she said. “Once I’d chosen my manufacturer, I then went into planning my aesthetic.”
When she opens a plain box with plain packaging material inside and the product is buried in it, Crum said it’s a very different experience than opening a colorful box with a logo, themed tissue paper and designs that obviously took time and effort.
It’s a whole experience and shows they care and give you the most for your money, she said.
“Some people do their own formulations and manufacturing from home. I’d planned to do that myself, but I had no place I personally felt comfortable doing it, especially with kids in the house,” she said. “So I decided to let a lab/manufacturer handle all that just as larger companies do. Formulations are done by chemists at the labs and made in the manufacturing facility.”
They create the product and send it to Crum, and she tests it to make sure it’s the quality she wants, and then sends feedback or places an order.
Crum being the sole owner of Ferocious Beauty Cosmetics has brought a lot of challenges because of funding.
“I’m doing this all out of my own pocket without the ability to secure a business or personal loan,” she said. “I would love to have an investor, but I haven’t actively pursued it really.”
The launch date for the new cosmetic line is set for Dec. 18 with preorders being taken online starting Dec. 4. Anyone who takes part in the preorder will receive the product before Christmas.
“There will be a 15-shade eyeshadow palette that has one row of dark colors, a row of lighter shades and a row of metallics to spice it all up,” Crum said. “There are neutrals, blues, purples and berries. The palette can be used for dark and bold gothic looks, neutral wedding looks, fall looks and artistic looks. There’s no limit to it.”
The Darkness Rising collection also will include four liquid highlighters that will come in icy lavender, light champagne, rose gold champagne and a deep bronze shade.
Also, there will be four bold liquid lipsticks that were chosen for this specific collection. The lipsticks will be a deep purple, a dark brown, a deep berry and black.
Crum also will be restocking the four original shades: Tan nude, mauvy nude, bright red and deep burgundy.
“My goal is to work out of my home office until sales stabilize and I have too much stock to keep in my home,” Crum said. “I hope to obtain an office space here in Seymour, and once I have an office space, it’ll open job opportunities: Customer service, packing and shipping and more.”
Crum’s ultimate goal is to grow out of an office and into a warehouse, where there are many jobs available.
“I plan to do a launch party, but I’m concerned about the current climate with COVID-19,” she said. “To combat that, I’m working on a launch party plan that will be virtual with giveaways and prizes that I can send out to winners.”
Crum plans to create a fundraising page for her small business, describing details of where every penny would go, what she plans to do with the business and how she plans to grow it.
“It will give people information on where they can donate if they choose to,” Crum said. “My goal is to be able to hire one or two people by June. That will be so exciting, and I can’t wait to see it happen.”
When Crum is not busy with her cosmetics or writing books, she enjoys reading, movies, binging television shows, sewing, crocheting and baking.
Her family members, friends and kids have encouraged her from the very beginning with the cosmetic line, and now, her fiancé, Cody Skinner, pushes her all of the time, she said.
“He helps me in so many ways, and my future in-laws have owned successful businesses, as well, and they have been a huge help,” Crum said. “I’m truly grateful for the people I have in my life.”
Being grateful for so many things, Crum also is organizing a Secret Santa toy drive in coordination with Jenna Martinez of The Magic of Books Bookstore, 113 W. Second St., Seymour.
“Basically, anyone who wants to donate can drop off gifts to Jenna. If we can make even one kiddo happy this season, it is all worth it,” Crum said.
Anyone who knows of any kids who might need a little extra this year can drop off their information to Martinez or email Crum at [email protected].
Currently, things are kind of quiet on the Ferocious Beauty Cosmetics Facebook page until Crum gets the product at the end of November.
“At that time, I’ll be posting photos and video swatches of everything so people can get a good look at it,” she said. “Since the preorder goes live in a few short weeks, I plan to have the website up and running Dec. 1.”
Until then, people can learn more about Crum’s cosmetic products on the Facebook group page for Ferocious Beauty Cosmetics, facebook.com/FerociousBeautyCosmetics. There also is information about her books on her Facebook page, facebook.com/candycrumbooks.
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Ferocious Beauty Cosmetics: facebook.com/FerociousBeautyCosmetics
Author Candy Crum: facebook.com/candycrumbooks
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