Business of the Week: Flawless Skincare Founder Turns Layoff Into Life Makeover

When Fayetteville resident Natalia Weatherspoon lost her corporate job in August, she decided it was time to return to a business she had been building, on and off, for more than 15 years.

Today, the 47-year-old licensed esthetician is the founder of Flawless Skincare, a handcrafted skincare and body care company operating out of Launch Fayette in Peachtree City. She makes everything herself, from body butters and sugar scrubs to soaps, bath bombs, body soufflés, and scented candles.

And an unlikely series of events helped her find just the right place to do it.

Finding a Home at Launch Fayette

Weatherspoon had been searching for about a month for a place where she could manufacture her products when she noticed an announcement on her phone about an entrepreneurial event at Launch Fayette.

She happened to be in Peachtree City near Sprouts when she saw it. The facility was just down the street.

She stopped by, met members of the Launch Fayette team, and toured the building, which is located on the former Booth Middle School campus. There, she discovered an unused former school laboratory that could be converted into her own skincare production studio.

“This is exactly what I needed,” Weatherspoon said of her reaction to seeing the space.

Two weeks after arranging to join Launch Fayette, she was laid off from her corporate job.

“I think that was a message for me that this was probably meant for me,” she said.

The former laboratory now serves as her manufacturing studio, and she has created a small retail display at Launch Fayette where customers can purchase her products. She also sells through her website, flawlessskincareco.com.

Launch Fayette has provided more than a place to work. Weatherspoon said the organization’s entrepreneurial advisers, including David Conti and Erin Drez, have connected her with resources to help with production, financial forecasting, and other aspects of running a business.

“They’ve taught me how to look at the business in different ways, how to approach things in different ways to get the best results,” she said.

A Career That Prepared Her for Entrepreneurship

Weatherspoon began making skincare products around 2009 while studying to become an esthetician. She took formulation classes and initially made products as gifts for friends, family members, and coworkers.

She eventually opened a skincare shop in Tennessee, where she initially sold skincare lines manufactured by other companies. As customers became interested in her homemade products, she began producing and selling those as well.

When she moved to Georgia in 2017 for work, she put her skincare business on the back burner. She lived briefly in Newnan before moving to Fayetteville around 2018 or 2019.

Her career took her through several industries, including medical work under dermatologists, manufacturing quality control, sales, marketing, procurement, and data analytics.

She worked for a manufacturing business in Peachtree City, where she gained experience in procurement and analytics, and later worked remotely as a strategic pricing analyst.

Those experiences have become useful as she builds her own business, particularly in understanding manufacturing, pricing, and financial planning.

“Everything built on one another, and I’m able to utilize a lot of the information that I’ve learned along the way,” she said.

Skincare Designed to Work Together

Flawless Skincare offers a line of products made with ingredients including shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and palm oil.

Weatherspoon designs her body care products to be used together, much like a facial skincare routine that includes cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing.

Her product line includes body scrubs, cleansing bars, and thicker moisturizing soufflés, with fragrances designed for both men and women.

Current scents include Rose Noir, a light floral fragrance; Enchantress, a tropical scent; Whisper, a clean, neutral fragrance; Secret Affairs, a masculine fragrance; and Refined Gentleman, an everyday men’s scent.

She also offers an unscented, color-free option for customers who prefer to avoid added fragrances and dyes.

Weatherspoon said Whisper has emerged as her most popular fragrance overall, while Refined Gentleman leads slightly among the men’s scents. Body scrubs and soufflés are her strongest-selling body care products.

Her eight-ounce body butters, scrubs, and soufflés are priced at $26, with four-ounce versions available for $18. Soaps and bath bombs cost $9 each, while candles range from $18 to $35, depending on size and style.

Building a Business One Customer at a Time

Although Weatherspoon has been making skincare products for years, the August relaunch of Flawless Skincare marked her decision to pursue the business full time.

She is handling production, marketing, inventory, and sales herself.

She has begun building relationships with other local businesses, including Salt Spa Haven in Fayetteville, where owner Heidi Delvenne is carrying some of her unscented products.

Weatherspoon is also working with Launch Fayette on a social media strategy, including Facebook and TikTok content that will show customers how her products are made. She hopes to begin posting regularly in early November.

With the holidays approaching, she is developing discovery kits and gift sets, with planned prices ranging from $25 to $35.

Her longer-term goal is to expand Flawless Skincare into wholesale distribution through spas and salons, eventually opening a storefront of her own.

For now, she is concentrating on introducing the brand to local customers and growing production from her studio at Launch Fayette.

“I think it can you know it’s going to get there,” Weatherspoon said. “It may take a little time because I do have to get myself out there, and people have to get familiar with Flawless Skincare, but I’m really optimistic about it.”

Flawless Skincare products are available online at flawlessskincareco.com and through Weatherspoon’s retail display at Launch Fayette in Peachtree City.