NICOLE CHAU : INVESTING TIME INTO MY INTUITION & MY BRAND

A REGIMENTED UPBRINGING

I grew up in a traditional Chinese household with two immigrant parents. My parents worked tirelessly to sacrifice every bit of their own life to open up opportunities for my sister and me. My mother worked since she was 16 to support herself through college. She built her company at 29, and ran two companies while raising my sister and me. In turn, we were pushed to succeed, and life was very regimented.

I had my future mapped out at a young age. I wanted to go into medicine and had dreams of becoming a neurologist. In 2011, I graduated from USC with a double major in Neuroscience and Chinese. My interest in Chinese grew as over the summers of my childhood, my mom would always bring my sister and me with her for work. She took us to every city — from larger metropolis' like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, to smaller cultural gems like Xinjiang, Chengdu, and Xi'an. I was and always have been proud of my heritage. I wanted to fully immerse myself in the Chinese language and culture with a major in this area of study. Starting from scratch, I learned how to read, write, and speak in Mandarin as a Cantonese speaker. Chinese characters fascinate me — particularly traditional characters. The language is so intuitive, and the combination of characters so unique from Latin-based languages. So much history is embedded in the language.

After my undergraduate studies, instead of going to medical school, I found myself working in a number of industries, from finance to fashion. Despite working in an industry I loved, something was missing and I felt empty inside.

ON INTUITION & THE BIRTH OF LA LUER

My internal conflict literally “erupted” on my face. I struggled with acne, dry, hypersensitive skin and I couldn’t find a solution that fit into my schedule. With a very science-oriented mind, I was determined to find a solution. I lived and breathed “skin” and the more I talked to women, the more I realized I wasn’t alone. I felt vulnerable walking out of the house without foundation and makeup, and I felt dependent on others like estheticians or facialists to help me maintain good skin. I became obsessed with creating an all-encompassing solution, and I was so obsessed with research and development, I couldn’t possibly see myself doing anything else. I again, decided to switch careers. This time, taking the biggest jump of all.

Not only was I changing industries, but I was going from a stable job with a salary, to depending solely on myself and an idea that had not even materialized. Yet I’ve found the most growth through adversity and discomfort. Adversity has allowed me to step back and reconnect with my natural intuition, fostered creativity I never thought I had, and taught me to be resilient.

“I’ve fostered this intuition by developing a strong sense of self — knowing what I’m capable of, trusting in myself, and having a clear idea of what I want.

I worked tirelessly to develop La Luer’s facial treatment system and when it was finally done, I didn’t need to get validation from others. In my heart, I knew it was going to work, so I just went with my gut and I ran with the idea. Since then, we were invited to launch at the world’s largest technology tradeshow — CES; we secured distribution with global leaders like Selfridges; and we’ve gained recognition amongst industry leaders: we were selected as one of the 12 female entrepreneurs for Sephora’s Accelerate program.