Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet Tina Craig, the Bag Snob blogger and U Beauty founder who turned her passions into a career that’s “fulfilling and lucrative and fun.”
I don’t think many people know this, but I had my first company right out of college. I was buying American licenses of different fashion brands and sub-licensing in Asia. After I got married, I had a baby and realized I really didn’t want to go back to work right away, so I started Bag Snob. That was 17 years ago, and back then blogging was a way to be creative because I love beauty and fashion. It really evolved into influencing and beauty ambassadorships, and then into designing my own lines of handbags, denim and jewelry. But I’ve been skincare-obsessed my whole life, so that was always my first passion.
Spending years as a beauty influencer, editor, and brand ambassador gave me access to the best of the beauty world. It also made me realize that there needed to be a more streamlined, yet effective approach because cosmetic confusion was such a real thing. At one point I had a 15-step skincare day and night routine, leaving me tired and stressed with increasingly irritated skin to the point where my dermatologist told me, “You’ve got to stop whatever you’re doing. You’re using your face as a science project.” I started asking, “Can I just cut out the first seven steps and combine them all into one?” And everyone kept saying no. But I just kept asking because I don’t like being told no. Finally, one night I caught up with a longtime friend’s wife, who was seasoned in the skincare industry, and she said yes. She became my business partner and our Resurfacing Compound replaced seven of my products and became our OG item.
The reason our products are efficacious for all different skin types is because we only give skin what it needs through our SIREN Capsule technology. Our molecules will not release active ingredients all over your face, attacking the healthy cells, they will only burst if in contact with free radicals, which is where the cryptic damage resides. When the free radicals penetrate through the capsule wall, that’s when vitamins release. That’s the difference — your skin tells our products what it needs.
Read GRAZIA USA’s Fall issue featuring cover star Nicola Peltz Beckham:
When we launch a new product, there’s a very real and disciplined internal conversation. We ask, “Is this an additive? Is this just a trend? Are we giving people really something new? Do we really need it?” We would never create anything superfluous or mimic a preexisting formula. Everything is developed in-house within our biochemists, and ideas can come from me, my team, my followers. We’re continually investing in the business, and I think my experience as an influencer has really helped set that bar really high.
I live my life really by intuition, and when an opportunity presents itself and it feels right, I jump in. I don’t hesitate. I’m unafraid and I think that’s a trait that a lot of entrepreneurs share. U Beauty felt right from the beginning.
I wish I could say, “Oh I map out everything. I’m so strategic.” But I’m just as surprised by anyone else by my career path. When I started blogging there wasn’t a map to follow, I had to blaze my own trail, and I think that taught me so much. I’ve always been an oversharer and I post what’s really happening in my life. I think that’s one of the reasons I’m still around. Out of all the bloggers back in 2005, I think only Bryanboy and I are still around, because we are who we are. We really were sharing parts of our lives that we hoped people found interesting and not so orchestrated.
I believe if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. When I’m asked about work-life balance, no other question gives me more anxiety because I love my work and I really don’t feel the need to escape. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with my emails and calls, and I’ll turn off, but I like being connected. If I really want to chill and relax, I love massages. If I have to take a work trip, the minute I land, I get a massage. But it’s not about escaping. I just think, “Why do you want to escape? That’s somebody who hates their job, right?” I love what I do.
I’ve always hoped for a career that’s fulfilling and lucrative and fun, and so I’m so lucky. Every day I’m so grateful. I have so much fun. If there’s just one person left watching, I’ll keep doing this.
— As told to Colleen Kratofil
GRAZIA USA’s 2022 Fall issue will be available for purchase on newsstands nationwide in October. Email [email protected] to subscribe.
