Posted May 3, 2012

Professed ‘loudmouth’ makes a statement in cosmetics industry

  • Credit: Danielle Nowak

Growing up in Teaneck, N.J., Rachel Furman spent much more time playing basketball — she was a four-year letterwinner — and earning accolades in javelin than she did applying makeup.

After three years on Temple’s track team — while taking notice of the popularity of makeup products on campus — Furman shifted her energy as a senior to launching a cosmetics line aimed at young women like her.

“I’m bright, I’m loud, I’m colorful, I’m extreme,” said Furman, a marketing major graduating from the Fox School of Business. “So I decided to make some colors that me and my friends would want to wear.

What started as a class project for charity transformed into a registered business, NAKIID, with various shades of naturally derived eye shadow, lip gloss and lipsticks branded “LoudMouth.” The product names — Gold Chain, Mimosa Mami — are as provocative as the colors they represent. “These aren’t the colors you wear to a business interview,” she said.

Shortly after launching her startup, Furman answered an MTV casting call for MADE, which helps young people transform their lives, and was selected to participate as she attempts to become a makeup mogul. This semester, in addition to finishing classes and writing a business plan, she has been followed by camera crews as she ramps up production and sales.

In late April, Furman and Sabrina Sagesse, a Fox School junior, were one of only three undergraduate finalist teams in Temple’s Be Your Own Boss Bowl, a university-wide business plan competition.

After graduation, Furman wants to stay involved in the cosmetics industry, both to promote LoudMouth and the meaning behind its tagline: Real, outspoken beauty.

“I want women to feel like they can make a statement,” Furman said. “They can say how they feel, and they can be strong about what it is they want and need in these transition phases of their lives.”