Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria De La O.
Hi Victoria, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello and thank you for having me! Im 26 years old and a native Tejana. Currently I’m a mother of two, soon to be three! My journey began after I had my son in 2020. I started out creating Marine Graduation Shirts after I had the joyous experience watching my little brother becoming a Marine. In mid-2021, I had my daughter and moved my little family to Southern California and that’s where my true and utter love for the beauty industry blossomed. By January 2022, I had the amazing opportunity to formally open my store, Tejana Originals. Being in SoCal, there were events happening every weekend on just about every block. It was something I knew I needed to be a part of. I was fortunate enough to meet and start my vending with two extremely remarkable hosts, 714Popups & FridayNightMunchies. It was through these two hosts that I fell in love with being a vendor. Unfortunately, my time in Cali came to an abrupt end when my family was struck with tragedy and moved back to Texas.
Coming back to Texas didn’t ever stop me from pushing forward but actually encouraged me to go harder for what I loved in the place I was born and raised. I was able to meet amazing hosts, vendors and blessed enough to attend over two dozen events and counting. This has easily become a passion of mine and brought me accomplishments I didn’t know were so attainable such as, surpassing 1,000 online sales in less than one year, vending at the Dallas Cowboys Headquarters twice, and granted the opportunity to vend at the Carne Asada Fest this upcoming spring. Getting to this point was a rocky road but one I would do all over again if I had to. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This road has definitely not been smooth. I will say God has not stopped testing my blind faith in His plan for me. At the beginning of my vending journey, my stepson was in a horrible accident which resulted in my family having to spend every penny to our name to move us and our belongings, literally overnight, back to Texas. We struggled getting back on our feet to be able to maintain our family, bills, supply costs, vending opportunities and at times it led to me contemplating is this was truly what I was supposed to be doing for myself and family.
Just like every other small business out there, having to balance family time and work time can be a very common struggle. My kids and partner definitely exercise patience when it comes to balancing one with the other.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My brand, Tejana Originals, is a brand that focuses around inclusive beauty. I personally grew up with a single mother of three who did her absolute best in providing a happy home. We were lower income and unable to fully enjoy extra things. For me, an only daughter, that was makeup.
When I opened my store, I knew one of my main goals was creating a space that was accepting to lower-income women, families, and anyone at all who loves beauty. I specialize in affordable and accessible cosmetics.
I would like to think I’m known for having such a wide variety of products, from eyeliners to lip glosses to hand-poured candles and cute accessories all affordable and under $30.
I’m the most proud of being a financially accepting beauty store. This isn’t Ulta or Sephora, but the quality of our products are at the same par at a fraction of the price.
I want the world to know that here at Tejana Originals, we care more that you get what you want more than we care about turning a profit. The people are our focus. Without the people, we wouldn’t be here.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory is easily going into my mom’s closet, grabbing her high heels, putting them on, proceeding to raid her makeup bag and dousing myself in everything she owned, then walking around the house feeling as pretty and confident as she always looked. Even when my brothers told me otherwise, lol.
Pricing:
- Eyeshadow palettes are always $20.
- All face palettes are $15.
- We have hand-poured wax melts for $5.
- The most expensive products are our hoodies. Those are $30.
- The cheapest products are lip products. They’re $3.
Contact Info:
- Website: TejanaOriginals.Etsy.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/TejanaOriginals
- Facebook: Facebook.com/TejanaOriginals
Image Credits
Andy Nguyen
