They say that invention is the mother of necessity. Well, I don’t know if blue lipstick is a necessity, but it sure is fun. And Toya Lucas figured out how to create it and market it, along with other colorful products—all on her own.
PGN: So where are you originally from? TL: I was born and raised in the South Passyunk Projects in South Philly. I lived there for the first 17 years of my life and since then have moved all over the city.
PGN: What was the best part of growing up there? TL: It was comforting, everyone seemed like family. We all got along and protected each other. When I exited that situation, it was hard because every place else seemed like chaos.
PGN: Any siblings? TL: Yes, six. My mother and father had two boys and two girls together and then my father had an additional three children.
PGN: What did they do? TL: My mom is a retail manager and my father is currently serving life in prison. He was sent away when I was 12.
PGN: I just signed a petition this morning with a group called prisonprofiteers.org. They’re trying to stop a company called Global Tel*Link that provides phone service to the jails. They apparently give the prisons bribes/commissions to have the exclusive contracts for phone service and then charge outrageous rates. TL: Oh, I’m familiar with that. My brother is also incarcerated and it costs about $17 to talk for 15 minutes. My phone bill just for that is $100 a month.
PGN: A favorite family memory? TL: That would be going to Disney World when I was about 19. I might have been a little old for it but it was the last time I was together with all my siblings. I’m not a big rollercoaster person but I did the one with the log ride. I still have the picture. They are a little younger and had a blast.
PGN: Are you the oldest? TL: Of my mother and father’s children, yes.
PGN: Must have been a lot of responsibility. TL: Yeah, the other kids looked up to me so I had to watch everything I did. But I did still have a rebellious streak.
PGN: What was your most rebellious act? TL: Running away at 15.
PGN: So from South Philadelphia, where did you set out for? TL: [Laughs.] North Philly!
PGN: What was your favorite toy? TL: I enjoy making cookies and cakes so it was probably my Easy Bake Oven. And my mom gave me some makeup at a young age because I always liked playing with that.
PGN: Did she wear a lot? TL: No, my mom wears none.
PGN: So were your siblings the test dummies? TL: My siblings, the neighbors, anybody I could get my hands on.
PGN: What was your favorite class or teacher in school? TL: I went to a trade school, Bok Technical High School, for ninth to 11th grade and studied baking. Mr. Plum was my favorite teacher. I went to Bartram for my senior year.
PGN: Tell me a little bit about one of your siblings. TL: I miss my brother. He’s really funny and we’d do everything together. He was a real hands-on guy and enjoyed fixing everything. I’d sit outside with him as he would fix bikes. We used to be really close until I started doing girl things — like liking boys — which is what I was doing at the time. He’d have a fit and we’d fight like crazy.
PGN: When did you realize you liked girls? TL: Oh man, when I first realized I had feelings for girls, I cried about it! I was so upset, I really didn’t understand it, though my grandmom was gay. So at first everybody said, “Oh, you’re gay because your grandmom’s gay.” It obviously wasn’t the case, I just had the attraction. I tried to fight it but couldn’t.
PGN: Was there an “aha” moment when you realized you were gay, like, “Oh no, I think I’m attracted to Kerry Washington”? TL: [Laughs.] Oh, I’m very much attracted to her! No, it was a slow realization until I got to the point where I said, OK, I’m going to have to go with this.”And started having conversations with girls.
PGN: Who was your first girlfriend? TL: Her name was Keesha. Back then there was a service called the party line and that’s how we met.
PGN: Wait, was that a phone thing where multiple people could talk at once? TL: Yeah. Now it’s all about computer dating but back then if you were a girl interested in girls, or a guy interested in guys, there was a party-line option for that. You’d just talk to different people and if you liked someone, you could continue the conversation.
PGN: That’s hysterical. Don’t know how I missed that trend. So how long have you been in your current relationship? TL: I’ve been with Bernadette for four years.
PGN: And how did you meet? TL: [Laughs.] Online …
PGN: What does she do? TL: She’s an interventional radiology technologist. She’s a sweetheart. She always finds ways to surprise me.
PGN: How did you come out to the family? TL: It was awful! My brother found a sex toy. I was sitting on the living-room floor and, in front of everybody, he walked in and dropped it in my lap and asked, “So, what is this?” At that point, I fessed up.
PGN: Oh my. Moving on, what was your first job? TL: Taco Bell. I worked there for a few years. I don’t recommend eating there. I’ve worked for years in retail management and now I do senior home care.
PGN: How did you start your own cosmetics company? TL: Well, I do a lot of things — I do hair, I do makeup — but I wasn’t seeing what I liked, so I started making lipstick and eye shadow for myself and had colors that no one seemed to be able to find. People would stop me in the street and say, “You’re not leaving until you tell me how I can get that!” That was the spark to go into business for myself.
PGN: How do you make makeup? TL: For the lipstick, I start out with different waxes and oils, different pigments and micas.
PGN: Micas? TL: They’re a kind of dye. They come in different shades and different particle sizes. The ones that are smaller give a satiny appearance while large micas have a sparkle effect. I made really crazy colors, blues and greens, really stand-out colors. I don’t have a background in chemistry so I had to experiment to learn what worked.
PGN: How did you go from making things for yourself to running a business? TL: Actually, I had to learn how to amp it up so it looked professional; I’d just been making things in little pots and it was sloppy. So I learned how to mold and make the products look professional. I did my own marketing by creating a website and networking through social media. The crash, burn and fly method of learning.
PGN: What was your favorite reaction to your products? TL: Well, I travel and hand deliver a lot of products. I try to make it convenient for people because I realize that not everybody can come to me. So I went to this person’s house in South Philly, thinking that they were going to buy one or two pieces and they bought, like, 30 items! It was like, wow! That was a great experience, especially to know that someone loved the product that much.
PGN: Fantastic! What is the hardest part of being an entrepreneur? TL: Just getting the ball rolling. Since I don’t have any background in business, I had to figure out every step on my own. [Smiles.] I think I’ve done pretty good so far.
PGN: Indeed. Back to family, when did you and Bernadette decide to have kids? TL: About a year after we were together. We went through all our options and decided I would be the one to carry them.
PGN: And you have two older kids from before you two met. TL: Yes. My oldest one is Tianna, she’s turning 13 soon. She sings, dances, plays the guitar and piano, she’s into everything. Reminds me of me at that age. My son, Tysheen, is 10 and the only thing he’s really into is science. He loves science, he’s into rocks and minerals. He also loves taking things apart and rebuilding them. My little ones are Johnai who’s 2-and-a-half, and Johnai is all about the makeup. She loves playing in it. She’ll paint herself and her baby sister Jakai, the walls, anything and everything! Jakai is a little lady, she also loves to sing and dance.
PGN: A funny story about the kids? TL: Oh, that would be when Johnai decided to paint her sister all in lipstick. She was in her room and I noticed that it had gotten quiet, but I thought she was just doing her thing with an art project. When I went in the baby was covered in lipstick, all different colors! There were fingerprints on her face, it was all over the crib, but I just had to laugh. It was really funny.
PGN: Speaking of body paint, I notice you have a few tattoos. How many all together? TL: Thirteen.
PGN: Wow. I see one of Marlyn Monroe. TL: Oh yeah, I love her. I also have my children’s names and my partner’s name. And butterflies, I love butterflies.
PGN: Tell me more about your mom. TL: She’s always been really, really quiet. She keeps to herself and is a very hard worker.
PGN: Where did you get your entrepreneurial spirit? TL: I think I got it from both of my parents. My father was a hustler, he taught me how to hustle and get stuff done and as I said, my mother was just a hard worker all her life.
PGN: What was he incarcerated for? TL: Bank robbery.
PGN: That’s serious hustle. TL: He just did whatever he needed to do to survive. It’s all that he knew.
PGN: Was his father a hustler? TL: I don’t know, never met him.
PGN: What was growing up with a father in prison like; I’d imagine it must have been scary when they arrested him. TL: Well, it wasn’t the first time. He’s been incarcerated most of my life, in and out of jails. It wasn’t scary, it was just a shock because this time he was in federal custody, which is a whole different ball game. The hardest part is having to go through the search they do on you when you visit. It’s very thorough and not pleasant. I don’t get up there as much as I should because I don’t like going through that. And he’s actually closer now, because they had him all over the United States before — Kentucky, Virginia, you name it. He’s only about two hours away now.
PGN: So you said your mom was quiet. What was one of the best moments with her? TL: I got my mom to drink some alcohol. She doesn’t drink or smoke or anything, so it was fun getting her to relax a little. I just wanted her to enjoy herself now that all her kids are grown.
PGN: So let’s do some random questions. You obviously like Marlyn Monroe. What’s a favorite scene from a movie? TL: In the movie “Woo” with Jada Pinkett, there’s a scene where she’s in a club with a bunch of drag queens dressed in paper bags.
PGN: Who was your best friend as a kid? TL: She’s still my best friend, probably my only one, Saaliha. We get along really well and she always has my back.
PGN: Would you rather travel to the future or go back in time? TL: Forward to the future.
PGN: If you could go back in time, what event would you go back there for? TL: Probably the time when my grandparents moved. They went from Philadelphia to California. I’d like a moment to say goodbye again.
PGN: Describe a word beginning with the first letter of your name that sums you up? TL: Loving. I’m very loving and nurturing.
PGN: “L”? TL: Ha. My first name is really Latoya, but I don’t like it so I go by Toya.
PGN: My beauty inspiration was … TL: I don’t know, I like Julia Roberts.
PGN: Your main flaw? TL: My weight, and having two kids didn’t help.
PGN: A gift you really wanted as a child? TL: I really wanted a gumball machine and got one. It wasn’t a flimsy toy either; it was a real heavy, sturdy one.
PGN: What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever lied about? TL: My age.
PGN: One thing I found that was interesting is that you have a lot of male clients too and some celebs. Who wears your makeup? TL: Oh, Monica Beverly Hillz from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and Erica Dixon from “Hip Hop Atlanta.” The makeup artist Jacen Boman has been using my products. He does video shoots for Vibe Magazine and Essence.
PGN: What’s your best scar and how did you get it? TL: I have two, one on my ankle and a 3-inch one on my knee. I got it at the front of the Philadelphia Zoo. Someone made a u-turn at the intersection and almost killed me. I was inside the car and it got totaled. Thank God the kids weren’t in the car. That was about six years ago, and it almost ended my life.
PGN: But you lived to make makeup! TL: Yes I did.
To find out more about Toys Cosmetics, visit toyscosmetics.bigcartel.com.
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