Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Harcourt.
Hi Mary, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve been a licensed beauty professional since I was 18, Throughout that time, I worked in many different salons and explored different areas of the beauty industry. Eventually, I opened a lash spa in Hermosa Beach, California, and poured everything I had into it. Over time, we became one of the highest-rated salons in the area, with a loyal clientele, an incredible team, and a fully booked schedule every day with a waiting list. I absolutely loved what we had built.
One challenge I constantly faced, though, was lighting in the treatment room. And once you have employees working alongside you, every flaw becomes magnified because everyone works differently and has different needs. We bought nearly every light on the market, trying to find something that actually felt designed for beauty professionals. Everything felt borrowed from other industries. We tried filming, sewing, photography, and content creation lights, but none illuminated the client evenly from side to side without shadows. Nothing felt truly made for us.
In September 2019, I started prototyping a light simply because I wanted better lighting for our salon. By January 2020, I had already created the third prototype. The girls on my team would fight over who got to work in the rooms with my lights. Clients constantly commented on it, saying things like, “This is such a cool light. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” I would tell them, “Thank you, I actually created it myself.” Almost every time, they would ask why I wasn’t selling them. I had no intention of starting another business. I was happy. I loved my clients, my salon, our team, and the life I had created.
Then March 2020 happened.
Like so many salon owners, we were suddenly shut down as a “personal care establishment.” I remember going into the salon one last time to clean up, finalize payroll, and close everything down temporarily. Before leaving, I looked into one of the treatment rooms. The overhead lights were off, and only my prototype light was glowing in the room. I remember thinking to myself, “I’ve always said if I ever had the time, I would turn this into a real company. But when would I ever have the time?” And in that moment, I realized, “I think I was just gifted the time.”
That completely changed the direction of my life.
I shifted all my energy into building what would become CosmoGlo. By June 2020, I had a manufacturing contract in place. By the fall of 2020, we shipped our very first lights. I filed patents, learned everything I could about manufacturing and protecting intellectual property, and threw myself into building the brand from the ground up.
Almost immediately, the response was overwhelming. Social media posts featuring the light began to go viral. We sold out of our first production batch before it even shipped. Then the second batch sold out. Then the third. Once they started shipping and being shared on social media, we were the newest things on the market, and it spread like wildfire. Beauty professionals everywhere were asking what this light was and how they could get one. The comments started flooding in from artists saying things like, “I’ve been lashing for 10 years, and I’ve never used a light this good.”
Meanwhile, when salons reopened in 2021, I found myself trying to manage both the salon and CosmoGlo. Eventually, I realized it simply wasn’t sustainable. I had to make a choice. So I sold the salon and committed fully to growing CosmoGlo into a global brand.
Today, CosmoGlo ships to over 80 countries worldwide. We’ve expanded beyond the lash industry into esthetics, tattooing, permanent makeup, nails, and other beauty industries. We continue to develop products focused on helping professionals work more comfortably, see better, achieve more precise results, and ultimately have an easier and healthier workday.
One thing I’m especially proud of is that we still manufacture in the USA, out of Texas, and have actively defended and protected our patents along the way.
It’s been an unexpected journey, but one I’m incredibly grateful for. It still feels like we’re just getting started, and I truly believe the future looks very bright for us. Pun intented 🙂
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think any new company or product has a smooth road. If it were easy, everyone would do it. We experienced huge success right out of the gate, but behind the scenes, we had absolutely no understanding of manufacturing, scaling, logistics, or how to run an e-commerce business. My background was providing beauty services in a spa environment, not building a product company.
Our first launch was honestly chaotic. We shipped almost two months later than promised because we were learning everything in real time. When the lights finally arrived and started shipping out, I didn’t even keep one for myself because I wanted every waiting customer to receive theirs first. Then we discovered the instruction sheet was completely backward. Customers couldn’t figure out how to assemble them, and I didn’t even have one in front of me to demonstrate with. Getting one overnighted to me meant another customer would not receive their light after waiting.
I remember sitting on the floor of my salon late at night, filming little tutorial videos, trying to help people put their lights together. I learned some massive lessons from that experience: always get your own product first, always double-check your instructions before launch, and always make yourself available to help customers when something goes wrong.
There were other growing pains, too. Some customers thought their lights weren’t functioning correctly, so we rushed replacement units out as quickly as possible, only to later realize many of the “issues” could have been solved with a quick conversation or walkthrough. But that’s entrepreneurship. You don’t know what you don’t know until you’re living it in real time.
At the time, it felt devastating. I remember feeling like a complete failure when customers couldn’t assemble the lights after waiting months to receive them. I was sitting on my salon floor crying my eyes out, embarrassed and convinced I had let everyone down.
But now, looking back, I see that moment very differently.
What we accomplished was actually incredible. I created an entirely new category of lighting for beauty professionals. We changed an industry and helped establish a new standard for treatment room lighting. Every company that grows has painful moments as it figures things out, and those moments don’t mean you failed. They mean you’re learning.
Ironically, the problems we face today are far bigger than those early struggles. Looking back now, I would gladly trade some of our current scaling challenges for those tiny beginner problems again.
I think a lot of people are afraid to start because they’re afraid of failing. The funny thing is, when I started CosmoGlo, I was so excited about the idea that failure barely crossed my mind until I was suddenly face down in it. But now, years later, I don’t even view those moments as failures anymore. They were simply part of learning the ropes and becoming the company we are today.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One of the things I’m most proud of is that I created an entirely new category of products that truly did not exist before. Before CosmoGlo, beauty professionals were borrowing lighting solutions from completely unrelated industries. There wasn’t a lighting company that deeply understood treatment room work from the perspective of the actual artist performing the service.
Of course, with innovation comes copycats and knockoffs, and I’ve had to learn how to navigate that. Early on, I realized I could spend all day chasing people down and trying to take down every imitation product, or I could focus that energy on continuing to grow and innovate. What gives me peace is knowing that we are the innovators. Everyone else is reacting to what we created. They can copy what already exists, but they can’t create the next move before we do.
Many knockoff companies don’t truly understand why our product works so well. They just see an opportunity to profit from a similar design. Their goal is often to make products as cheaply as possible using lightweight materials, smaller packaging, and shortcuts that maximize profit margins. That has never been our approach.
Our lights are intentionally built differently. They are solid, durable, and thoughtfully engineered. Yes, they require assembly. Yes, they are heavier than many alternatives. But when someone uses a CosmoGlo light in their treatment room, it feels like it was made specifically for them, because it was. I understand our customers on a very personal level because I was the customer first. I sat in the same treatment rooms. I struggled with the same frustrations. I created the product I wished existed for myself and my team. We swam upstream and made a product differently from most people, and that is what sets us apart.
We don’t take shortcuts, and I think customers can feel that difference immediately. We focus on quality, performance, and creating products that genuinely improve the workday for beauty professionals. I’m proud that we’ve stood behind both our company and our products, allowing the quality to speak for itself.
I don’t believe we became the leader in treatment room lighting simply because we were first. I believe we became the leader because we created the best experience for professionals who use it every single day.
What excites me most is that I still feel like we’re only scratching the surface. I have so many ideas for innovation across multiple industries. At the end of the day, innovators create the future. The others need me to keep them afloat.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
As a woman founder who bootstrapped her way to what we have now, I always like to give a note of encouragement. If I can do this, so can everyone else. We all have such beautiful ideas, and if we pursue them, we can change the world, and there is so much power in that!
Pricing:
- CosmoGlo Original $449
- CosmoGlo XL $499
Contact Info:
- Website: https://CosmoGlo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecosmoglolight/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCosmoGlo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cosmoglolight
