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Melissa Butler right after the State of the City address in southwest Detroit.
Native Detroiter Melissa Butler got a shout out Tuesday night from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan during his State the City address for her entrepreneurial spirit.
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 three 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 that she got a $75,000 loan from Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, which helped her fill orders for Target stores.
Butler, 31, runs a pop-up shop on Agnes Street in Detroit's West Village neighborhood and has a California manufacturer mass producing her product.
Deadline Detroit caught up with her after Duggan's speech at Western International High School in southwest Detroit.
