Malibu Designer & Entrepreneur, Estel Day, Gets Real About Her Success + Shares Her Top Products

I am so excited for this exclusive. Meet my favorite boss lady and fashion idol, Estel Day. From Malibu to New York and back, we've crossed paths all over. I'm pretty convinced it has to do with our mutual love for cosmetics, fashion, fitness, food, and entrepreneurship. I look up to Estel so much. She's like the cool older sister I never had. Right now she lives in Malibu and runs two mega businesses - one in the beauty space and the other in the fashion space. She knows how to rock it in every way. All eyes are on her and what she's going to come up with next. Her ambition and creativity is contagious. Best of all, she is seriously one of the nicest people I know. With all her success, she still remains humble, sweet, and driven. I cannot wait for you all to get to know her more in this fabulous new interview only on It's Danielle Marie. I am honored to have the privilege of sharing this very special feature with you all. Enjoy!

It's Danielle Marie (IDM): You are a Malibu girl at heart (just like me!). What is it about Malibu that drives inspiration for your businesses, Mark & Estel and Jafra - or is it something else?

Estel Day (ED): Malibu has always reminded me of my grandmother, Jan Day, who has been my inspiration and hero ever since I was born there! My grandmother founded JAFRA Cosmetics in the 1950’s when she and my grandfather were struggling financially and renting out the one room in their one bedroom apartment just to get by. In the early years of their company, they moved to Malibu and grew their company out of their home there. Because of her, Malibu always inspired and gave me a sense of drive. I ended up founding my fashion brand MARK AND ESTEL out of the same house in Malibu that my grandmother built her company in.

IDM: Tell us some backstory about JAFRA Cosmetics, your relation to the global brand, and your role in the company today.

ED: JAFRA Cosmetics was founded in the 1950’s by my grandparents Jan and Frank Day. They had three main goals: to create high quality cosmetics that were affordable, to make women financially independent by allowing anyone that loved the product to sell the product and earn money, and to help women look and feel their best. By the 1970’s they had made thousands of women financially independent selling millions of dollars worth of JAFRA cosmetics. The brand has continued to grow since, and today JAFRA has over 600,000 people selling the products, who combined, sell in excess of $600million per year. After my grandmother passed away in the late 90’s, I moved to New York and lost touch with many people from the company. In 2011 JAFRA reached out and invited me to appear on stage at their 55th Anniversary celebration. I reconnected with thousands of JAFRA entrepreneurs who knew my grandmother and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me!

Today I sell JAFRA cosmetics and I am a brand ambassador on social media, sharing the heritage and legacy left by my grandparents. However, the most important thing I do is offer the opportunity of selling JAFRA to other women. I help women build their own JAFRA business and help them reap the wonderful rewards of being an entrepreneur. JAFRA has literally created real life rags-to-riches stories for women all over the world. Women selling JAFRA have become millionaires…others support their entire families, send their children to college…the sky is the limit!

Pictured above: Estel Day (right) with Lupe Fernandez (left), one of the top selling Jafra business owners.

IDM: What Jafra cosmetic products would you recommend for women to achieve everyday glam?

ED: JAFRA is famous for its Royal Jelly Skincare Collection which my grandparents invented back in the 50s. It is literally a face-lift in a bottle! There is currently a promotion to save $70 on the entire set of Royal Jelly Skincare if you enroll in auto delivery. I also love all of the makeup, especially the Full Coverage Lipsticks and Mascaras! JAFRA makes the perfect red lipstick called “Red Carpet” ($14 each) and any of the mascaras ($13 - $14 each) will make it possible for you to ditch your fake eyelashes forever! JAFRA has the best cosmetics on the market because they invest mainly in the quality of the product and close to nothing on advertising. It is sold person to person. All the money that would normally be spent on advertising goes straight into the product because it is all word-of-mouth.

Pictured above: Jafra Royal Jelly Skincare Collection.

Everybody selling JAFRA has their own website through JAFRA where their customers can directly purchase the products from them. They can also order JAFRA products directly for their customers on the backend of their website to sell in-person. For anyone wishing to buy JAFRA online, they can visit my personal JAFRA website. Anyone who would like to have their own business selling JAFRA can also email me at estelday@markandestel.com and I will be honored to help you become a successful entrepreneur!

IDM: I love that the Jafra cosmetics company supports giving women the freedom to work at her own pace. Tell us how your grandmother came up with this method of employing Jafra reps and selling Jafra products. It seems we see this business model more and more now throughout other companies. Your grandmother was sure ahead of her time!!!

ED: My grandmother loved the freedom of having her own business and setting her own schedule. She wanted to provide that to other women by enabling them to have their own JAFRA business. None of the people selling JAFRA are employees but are independent contractors with their own JAFRA business. Before my grandparents founded the company, my grandmother had tried joining an independent sales company and they told her that she “wasn’t glamorous enough to sell makeup”. From that point forward she was determined to create the best cosmetic products on the market and never discriminate against anyone from selling JAFRA. She gave everyone the opportunity to sell JAFRA products. She dedicated all of her time to helping women look, feel, and sell their best. If they didn’t know how to use makeup, she would teach them. If they were too shy to sell makeup, she would show them how to build confidence.

My grandmother taught people how to help build each other and earn money doing it. It is that principle that has kept JAFRA continuously becoming more and more popular throughout the years. When you meet women with their own JAFRA businesses, they embrace you with open arms and teach you how to build confidence and your business. It is truly magical! As for the products, they are so easy to sell because they literally sell themselves! Once you try them, you just want more. The prices are unbeatable and the quality is out of this world!

Pictured above: Jan Day (left) giving out awards to JAFRA business owners in the 1960s.

IDM: How about your journey as co-founder of Mark & Estel. How is that all going? I love the rock star vibes. What pieces are your favorites right now?

ED: Building our fashion brand MARK AND ESTEL has truly been another amazing journey. After launching our designer collection on the runway at New York Fashion Week we expanded our product range into home products, jewelry, and just launched our first shoe design which is the incredible Mark and Estel Logo Sneaker! From our home products, the new hand-poured scented candles are some of my absolute favorites right now. The scents are to die for! Get your candles here.

Pictured above: Fashion rock stars from left to right - Estel Day, Laura, Kim, Me, and Mark at MARK & ESTEL Fashion Show during NYFW 2015

Our new sustainable fashion collection REDESIGNED BY MARK AND ESTEL features styles originally designed by brands like Moschino and Ralph Lauren. MARK AND ESTEL redesigns them in a new and exciting way! Shop REDESIGNED BY MARK AND ESTEL.

Pictured above: Behind the Scenes - Model fittings for MARK & ESTEL NYFW 2015

Pictured above: Me at Mercedes Benz NYFW 2015 for MARK & ESTEL

IDM: Have you always known in your heart you wanted to be a designer and entrepreneur? What was it like for you growing up and trying to figure out your passion and purpose? I know you also were in the restaurant business.

ED: I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur because I had the power of example from my grandmother and the thousands of women in JAFRA. To be your own boss and make your own hours, and on top of that, to make money doing what you love is heaven. I was always a visual artist and learned to sew at the age of 8 years old so fashion and beauty were always at the forefront. But I love building businesses in general, and the opportunity of owning my favorite restaurant was something I couldn’t pass up! Currently I am also writing a book about my grandmother Jan Day and her story of founding JAFRA which I can't wait to share with the world.

IDM: Being that you're a mega rockstar, what are the 3 things you cannot leave the house without and why?

ED: JAFRA Red Carpet Lipstick because it is my daily war paint LOL! MARK AND ESTEL clothing because my brand makes everything I love to wear! And my i-phone because with so much going on, I need to be able to connect with everyone at all times!

IDM: How do you juggle your jobs at Mark and Estel and Jafra? What are your time management secrets?

ED: Wake up early, stay up late, do what you love …….and sleep doesn’t seem to matter!

IDM: Tell us what a day in the life of Estel Day is all about. What are some things you do regularly for yourself to stay strong and inspired?

ED: My days are never the same, which is what I love about being an entrepreneur! Every day is a new adventure. But typically it goes like this: I wake up early and check my emails. If there is nothing urgent I exercise or play tennis. Afterwards, because I am in the business of fashion and beauty, I “get ready” which entails a JAFRA Royal Jelly Ritual followed by all my favorite JAFRA makeup. I put on some rad MARK AND ESTEL clothes and I’m good to go! I check in with all the different areas of MARK AND ESTEL and JAFRA… I try to alternate creative days with administrative days because its like using two different sides of the brain. On some days Mark and I work on designing, making music, having photoshoots, dreaming up marketing ideas for both MARK AND ESTEL and JAFRA and so on and so forth.

On alternate days we will have business meetings, production meetings, check in on the administrative areas of our business, etc. Every single day I am constantly on social media, writing emails, connecting with the Mark and Estel Team and my Jafra Family. I am usually working (AKA doing what I love) until 2am just to wake up at 6am and do it all over again! All of my JAFRA friends in Indonesia and Europe are waking up in the morning when its night time here, so sometimes I stay up until 4am just to be able to catch up with them. I have also been working on a book about my grandmother Jan Day and her life during the time when she founded JAFRA which is also something that can keep me up until 4am. As for staying strong and inspired, I really need exercise. If I don’t exercise I go crazy. Exercise is my way to relax. Connecting with people in JAFRA and MARK AND ESTEL daily inspires me. They are both creative businesses with wonderful people who are constantly pushing me to do more, create more, and live more!

Pictured above: Estel Day (right) with Christina Inoui (left) from Jafra Indonesia.

IDM: To close, tell us your favorite quote.

ED: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” - Steve Jobs