My lightbulb moment: Beauty innovator Kayleigh Graham

My lightbulb moment: Beauty innovator Kayleigh Graham, reveals the inspiration behind her stylish beauty tools business

  • Kayleigh Graham, 31, who lives in Brighton, started Lily England five years ago
  • She revealed her inspiration came from spotting trends in the fashion industry
  • Lily England now has an annual revenue of more than £1.8 million

Kayleigh Graham, 31, started Lily England five years ago after seeing a gap in the market for stylish beauty tools. Her business now has an annual revenue of more than £1.8 million. She lives in Brighton with her husband, who works in the firm, and their one-year-old daughter.

Only one person in my family had ever been to university. I dreamed of studying fashion, but at 19 my portfolio was rejected by the universities I applied to.

So I got an intern job for a PR firm, then became a social media manager for Selfridges, working on campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Victoria Beckham. Later, I worked on beauty campaigns with models Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss.

Kayleigh Graham, 31, (pictured) who lives in Brighton, revealed the inspiration behind her business Lily England 

But I wanted to build my own business. I was fascinated by how the High Street ticked the fashion trends, but no one was applying them to beauty brands. In shops, you’d be offered a black hairbrush or a make-up brush with cheap bristles. They weren’t lovely objects.

At the same time, Instagram was picking up and everyone was taking selfies. I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have products for your dressing table that people wanted to show off?

I did online courses on how to sell in the digital sphere. Then I researched hairbrushes and found the top complaint about detanglers was they didn’t have a handle.

Next, I contacted factories online in China, asked them to send me samples of brushes and chose the features I liked best.

Vegan: lilyengland.com

Vegan: lilyengland.com

In 2015, I put in my first order for a detangling brush with a handle. I had £5,000 in savings and ordered 500, storing them in my flat.

They sold out, so I reinvested the profits and launched vegan make-up brushes, followed by a range of easy-grip hairbrushes.

Soon, bloggers and YouTubers started using our products, make-up artists used them on The X Factor and Love Island stars — and sales spiked. My husband and I created an office in the spare room.

These days, we have hired six staff, but life is still busy: now I have my daughter, I work during nap-time and reply to emails at night.

Today, the Lily England portfolio has more than 30 products. People treat them as much-loved accessories. I’ve always loved classic old-school glamour, so I’ve made it my business!

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