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Michelle Lauren of Essex Girl Beauty Named Influential Woman in Business 2026 for Female Entrepreneurship in Cosmetology

Michelle Lauren, founder of Essex Girl Beauty, has been recognised as Influential Woman in Business 2026 – Female Entrepreneur in Cosmetology, Global, celebrating an entrepreneurial journey shaped by psychology, creativity, instinct, resilience and an enduring commitment to authenticity.

Essex Girl Beauty is a multi-award-winning beauty brand built around a passion for nails, self-expression and individuality. Offering nail care, gel polishes, gels and nail art products for home and salon use, the Essex-based business reflects Michelle’s belief that beauty should give people the freedom and confidence to express who they are.

Michelle’s entrepreneurial story began in 2013 while working on a mental health ward and studying psychology. A £300 tax return became an unlikely starting point when, drawing on her sales experience, she considered whether she could use the money to create a margin. With The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) growing in popularity and the Essex connection to hair and beauty becoming increasingly prominent, she recognised an opportunity.

 

Her understanding of branding had begun years earlier when One2One transitioned to T-Mobile and Michelle attended a week-long branding course. It taught her the importance of giving people products they genuinely want and creating a strong, recognisable identity. By 2016, she had registered her trademark and laid the foundations for Essex Girl Beauty.

For Michelle, one principle has remained at the heart of the journey:

“Authenticity is the foundation of everything I do. There’s nothing worse than trying to sell something you don’t truly believe in – passion and genuine connection are essential.”

Highly visual and instinctive, Michelle trusts her eye and intuition when making creative decisions. That trust in her own judgement has also been shaped by difficult lessons.

During a period of rapid growth, the business expanded beyond her spare room and Michelle began looking at premises ten times larger than her existing space. While focused on expansion, distributors began selling directly to consumers and undercutting retailers. Although her instinct had been to scale more cautiously, she followed external advice instead. The experience reinforced one of her most important business lessons: a founder’s instincts are often rooted in a deeper understanding of their business than anyone else’s.

Resilience has been equally important. One defining milestone was securing placement for Essex Girl Beauty in BHS stores, where Michelle’s products appeared alongside established household brands. Sales assistants regularly contacted her requesting additional stock and reported that customers were recognising and choosing Essex Girl Beauty over established competitors – demonstrating that the brand could achieve genuine consumer recognition in a highly competitive retail environment.

“The feedback from staff saying, ‘We’re selling your gel polish over other brands,’ was a moment I’ll never forget. It was the first real test of Essex Girl Beauty’s potential.”

Michelle advises other women entering entrepreneurship to surround themselves with positive people, develop strong networks and remain connected to the bigger picture. She believes passion must come before money and that genuine human connection remains fundamental to building a successful brand.

Creativity remains central to her work. Michelle enjoys discovering and sourcing products, testing ideas and experimenting with colour, texture and nail art. Negotiation is another skill she genuinely enjoys, having learned it from her father at an early age. Sunday visits to markets and boot sales became practical lessons, with her father encouraging her to negotiate products down to the lowest possible price. Those experiences built confidence in an area many people find difficult and developed skills she has carried throughout her career.

Her entrepreneurial interests extend beyond nails. During lockdown, Michelle began exploring a supplement designed to support hair follicles, pigmentation and keratin. After testing the product with volunteers and identifying opportunities for improvement, she began developing her own formulation.

Her interest in hair ageing subsequently led her to professors at ARU Cambridge, who recognised potential in her ideas and encouraged further exploration. After attending an ARISE event, Michelle secured a £5,000 research voucher to work with the university on a literature review, providing an initial scientific assessment of her hypotheses.

The experience inspired Michelle to begin studying for a Biomedical Science degree. Despite having no previous formal background in biology, positive feedback from academics about her ability to understand complex scientific concepts strengthened her confidence in pursuing research-led innovation and bridging her industry experience with scientific understanding.

The project is now being developed separately through Michelle Lauren – Innovation, with Michelle progressing towards laboratory testing of her hypothesis. Her wider achievements have included being featured in the Daily Mirror and receiving an award at the House of Lords.

Looking ahead, Michelle wants to build Essex Girl Beauty around nails and establish nail art as a more distinct segment within the beauty industry before expanding further into hair and beauty. At the heart of her product-development vision is the belief that healthy nails should never be compromised for beautiful ones. She wants to develop nail varnish and gel systems that combine durability and long wear with protection for the natural nail plate, aiming to minimise the damage, discomfort and sensitivity often associated with traditional nail enhancements.

She is also seeking the right investor with beauty-sector experience, networks and knowledge to help take Essex Girl Beauty and its ideas to the next stage.

Michelle’s determination is strongly connected to her family. Her late grandfather, who was forced to leave Poland as a child and experienced the devastation of war, became a powerful example of perseverance. Even later in life, when painful leg ulcers made walking difficult, he continued walking to the shop to preserve his independence. His example taught Michelle that courage can sometimes simply mean continuing to take the next step.

Family memories are woven into Essex Girl Beauty itself. In its early days, Michelle’s brother built product-listing pages from his kitchen, and they watched proudly as the strength of their imagery and branding helped listings outperform competitors. Michelle also embraces being underestimated because of the Essex Girl name, which for her represents boldness, confidence and creativity.

Her latest recognition follows her Cosmetic Brand of the Year award. Being named Influential Woman in Business – Female Entrepreneur 2026 (Cosmetology) has given Michelle further motivation to think bigger, pursue her ideas confidently and continue developing brands and innovations capable of making a meaningful impact.

Michelle credits many people rather than one individual with mentoring and influencing her journey. When she began exporting internationally, UK Trade & Investment and UK Export Finance connected her with experienced contacts and opportunities, with some of those relationships continuing today.

Richard Branson and the growth of Virgin also demonstrated to Michelle the power of branding and imagination. Today, she also regularly engages with content from Jordan Peterson and Gary Vaynerchuk. She particularly connects with Peterson’s discussions around responsibility and meaningful living, while Vaynerchuk’s emphasis on self-awareness, kindness and finding fulfilment through entrepreneurship resonates with her own approach to business and personal development.

Early sales roles also taught Michelle to know her value, trust her knowledge and never feel diminished simply because someone with greater authority enters the room.

From psychology and a £300 starting point to building Essex Girl Beauty and pursuing research-led innovation, Michelle’s journey continues to be driven by curiosity, creativity and resilience. Her latest recognition marks another chapter as she grows the brand, develops Michelle Lauren – Innovation and explores what comes next.

Contact

Phone: 07397 387662

Email: info@essexgirlbeauty.co.uk

Website: essexgirlbeauty.co.uk