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Being an indie beauty brand founder can likely be summed up by a number of unexpected experiences, but it's possible that none of those can really compare to running into the wife of the former vice president at your store. That's exactly what happened to Melissa Butler, founder and CEO of The Lip Bar [3], when Jill Biden paid a visit to her brand's flagship store in Detroit last week. In a post shared to Instagram today, Butler explained that the former Second Lady came in, staying for longer than expected to chat with Butler and to learn more about The Lip Bar and its products.
"@drbiden and her super cute granddaughter came to @thelipbardetroit and what I thought would be a quick photo opp became a whole makeup session," Butler wrote on Instagram. "They were trying on products, asking thoughtful questions and bought a bunch of stuff."
The story behind Dr. Biden's visit is a great one, not just because it's touching to see her showing support for a Black-owned beauty brand [4], but also because, as Butler explained, her visit was a full-circle moment highlighted by one of the brand's products.
"Maybe 5 years ago, we created a nude gloss called First Lady as a tribute to @michelleobama — so it's crazy to now have who I hope to be our next First Lady in my store buying that very product," she wrote. "I love these full circle moments."
We'd love it if this experience inspired Butler to create a follow-up product to First Lady [5] ($14) in Dr. Biden's honour, but for now, you can shop the gloss on The Lip Bar's official website.