One night, Theresa DeAngelis told her father she wanted to start a business.

After studying visual arts at Wagner College, she attended makeup school and then worked at Macy’s in Manhattan for 11 years. She applied for positions in visual arts, but they were cut following the 2008 recession.

DeAngelis loved helping customers. However, Macy’s limits on the amount of time she could spend with customers weren’t conducive to building the long-lasting relationships she wanted.

That night, her late father “backed [her] up 100%,” DeAngelis said. With his support, she opened The Lipstick Box in 2010 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where she was born and raised.

She started by selling makeup, skincare and bodycare but eventually expanded to sell purses and jewelry. The Lipstick Box now also sells hats, scarves, clothes, nail polish, hair accessories and shoes. “We wanted to make it a one-stop-shop,” she said. “You could come in for lipstick, then get earrings, you could get an evening bag, then buy a gift, at different price ranges.”

As DeAngelis approached one of her busiest seasons in spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Makeup use declined as weddings, communions and proms were canceled and mask use increased, she said.

As a ‘nonessential’ business, The Lipstick Box was forced to close from March until July while still paying rent and for unused inventory.

To adapt to these challenges, DeAngelis said she learned to budget differently than in the past due to changing demand. She said she sought to make customers comfortable by asking them to wear masks.

However, the store’s primary edge is rooted in its customer service and hands-on approach, according to DeAngelis. She said customers value that she’s present every day, offering a personalized experience.

Customer service is also important to Luciano Devito, who worked at the store since its beginning. He also helps with merchandising, pricing and social media.

“That little thing that makes the customer’s day, at the end of the day, makes you happy too,” he said.

Rather than competing, DeAngelis said she works with other Bay Ridge boutiques to serve the community. She said she offers different brands and products by checking with other owners about their inventory.

When a Sephora store opened nearby in 2020, brands it wanted exclusively including Too Faced stopped selling to small boutiques, DeAngelis said.

She said she thus seeks smaller makeup lines, testing lesser-known brands and purchasing those that she loves. The Lipstick Box also has its own makeup line.

Makeup isn’t the only unique product. DeAngelis said she supports women-owned, small online businesses that handmake items such as clothes, flip-flops and quilts. There are typically only one or a few of a certain product.

DeAngelis’s search for new items is also a response to the current challenge of shipping delays and out-of-stock products. With the holiday season approaching, new brands help “fill in the gaps,” she said. While business is “up and down,” she said she predicts the holidays will help with sales.

“Theresa’s a phenomenal businesswoman,” Devito said. “She’s dedicated, devotes her whole life to this. Never stale, always fresh. She’s always searching for new ideas, new things to bring here.”

DeAngelis’s goal for the future is to expand and open stores in Staten Island and New Jersey. One of her friends is looking into opening another Lipstick Box in California.

When DeAngelis opened in 2010, she was confident in her makeup and customer service skills but learning how to run a business was the “scariest part,” she said. However, her father, a business owner, acted as her guide and inspiration.

“My father was always a hard worker,” she said. “I respected his passion and I wanted that. I wanted to respect myself in the same way.”