CHICA Boss: Victoria Flores Wants to Make You Feel Beautiful, Inside and Out

Courtesy Victoria Flores

As part of People CHICA's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, each week we'll be spotlighting Latinas who've founded their own visionary companies without compromising their beliefs — CHICA Bosses. This week, we talk to Victoria Flores, co-founder of Lux Beauty Club.

Victoria Flores knows that success involves taking big leaps of faith. After working on Wall Street as a finance expert, Flores co-founded her own business, Lux Beauty Club, in 2017, partnering with registered nurse Leslie Namad. But soon, the challenges of their new venture — at that point focused on natural hair extensions — led the partners to start using CBD oil. "Because we were so stressed out and our hair was falling out, we started taking CBD to sleep, to destress," Flores tells People CHICA. "That's how our aha moment came! We thought, 'We have a huge costumer base with our beauty and cosmetic products, why don't we just pivot into this?'"

That's when they started to formulate their own CBD products. CBD, a compound of the cannabis plant, is short for cannabidiol, and because it doesn't contain THC — the compound that causes users to feel high — it doesn't have the same psychoactive effects that marijuana does. Still, debunking myths about cannabis and hemp-derived products has been part of the process for Flores.

"It's interesting because people ask me, 'Is this miracle mask going to get me high?' I tell them, I promise you it's not. I wish it did!" Flores jokes. "All of our products are THC-free. We use CBD that doesn't have any THC elements in it. The hurdle for people is that you have to explain to them that it's clean, that you use quality ingredients. As long as you have great products, great transparency, and great messaging, it will resonate with people."

Making products that can improve people's lives — from relieving tension and pain to making someone sleep better or feel beautiful — is what keeps her going, Flores says. "It's really interesting that a lot of Latinos that I talk to don't know what it is or what it does, and once you break it down for them they try it and they are customers for life. We have such a broad range of customers, from college kids to grandmas, to my abuelita who loves our [pain-relief] roller."

Courtesy of Victoria Flores

Her inspiration comes largely from her wise grandmother, her hardworking mom, and her five-year-old daughter, Alejandra. "I come from a very humble background," says Flores, who was raised by a single mom. "My ultimate goal was always to take care of [my family]. I knew I was going to work on Wall Street and work in finance because I knew those were the best-paying jobs, and after seeing my mom struggle so much, I didn't want that for her or for me."

Courtesy of Victoria Flores

Quality control has been a big factor in her brand's success. "We test everything on ourselves. We are the guinea pigs. We are perfectionists. We test out all of our lotions, our masks," Flores says. Her advice to other Latinas who want to become their own bosses? "If you want work-life balance, don't start a business!" she jokes. "You are constantly going because new orders are coming in. You are doing your own public relations, but you have to set time aside for yourself to really turn off. It's hard, but you have to do it for your family and your sanity."