Tarte -founder Maureen Kelly says Brand helped her heal after the death of her husband (exclusively)

When Maureen Kelly joins a zoom with humans, her bubbling energy bounces practically from the screen. Her mood cannot be attributed to the Dunkin Donuts Cup which she sometimes sips from – Tarte Cosmetics founder only drinks Decaf.

“It’s a total vibe,” she says. “I also have Decaf Espresso Martinis.”

Kelly launched Tarte in 1999 with a cheek, which she jokes is her “firstborn” before her two teenage sons. The idea created from a childhood memory of mixing watercolor colors with shaving cream to mimic her mother’s “beautiful flush.”

Years later, when she tried to create her dream formula, Kelly was consistently met with rejection. Chemists could not come behind her vision of cruelty -free products and natural ingredients; One even told her about a redness stick was a valuable idea, the “big guys” in cosmetics would already.

Finally, a chemist agreed to take her on. “I was like,” Oh my gosh, you believe in me, “and he was like,” No, I don’t believe in any of it. I think it will fail, but we take a charity case a year and you will be. “I was like” okay. ”

When it was time to sell her products, Kelly was stumbled by her dream department store, Henri Bendel. Her solution? Tell them that she had a competing offer at Bergdorf Goodman, which was not true. The move got her a call back (and eventually a deal) from Bendel, and the rest is history.

The company has introduced a number of cultural -shifting products, such as the best -selling mold concealer, which Kelly originally created as a solution to cover the cystic acne she grew with.

Although they have so many proven products, Kelly is open to experimenting. At the age of 50, she decided to join social media for the first time as a way to get in touch with her customers and audience ideas-one is Tarte’s new Formband blur Concealer stick.

“Our followers said they wanted a stick,” she reminds. “And I was like,” Oh my gosh, can we do this? This is so different. It doesn’t look like a molding band … I was nervous about it, but we did. And it has been crazy and sells out immediately. ”

Tarte has undoubtedly become a giant in cosmetics, but during his early days Kelly met a life -changing tragedy that almost tracked her dream.

In 2001, just two years after launching the brand, Kelly lost her first husband, Mark Ludvigsen, in the attacks on September 11. Ludvigsen, who was 32 years old at that time, worked as a bond salesman on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower. Kelly was 29.

“He called and said he was good and would call back in ten minutes,” Kelly said in an interview in 2003 with People. “I’ve never heard from him again.”

Talk to Page six During the weeks after the devastating event, Kelly maintained a surprisingly positive view. “I feel really happy that I had land for nine years,” she told the outlet at that time.

Now Kelly tells people that she was considering pausing the brand after 9/11, but instead found a bigger purpose in it.

“Every product, every decision, it was not just business, it was deeply personal,” she says. “And it’s still … I needed to continue. And somehow, in the process of creating beauty in the world, I could also bring back some beauty into my own life.”

“There were moments when I really thought,” How can I continue? “” Kelly reminds. “But in the end, Tarte gave me a reason to get out of bed. It became part of my healing – it gave me purpose and structure at a time when everything around me felt like chaos.”

After the tragedy, Kelly found love again. She met and married her now husband Scott and the couple welcomed their two sons. The family is currently sharing their time between New York City and Florida Keys.

Tarte’s review of positivity and gratitude has never watched. A fundamental part of Kelly’s Ethos as a founder has always given back – even when she had nothing to give. In the brand’s previous stages, she would donate products to women in shelters and women who are fighting cancer (even when advisors told her that she could not spare the inventory). As the company became more profitable, she began to donate money and eventually launched her nonprofit organization Heart to TarteAs Kelly says she is the “most proud of.”

Her commitment to lifting women has deep roots. Her mother grew up on a farm in Ireland where “girls were not allowed to play sports or really have any opportunities that boys did.” After moving to the United States in the early 20th century, Kelly met her father and they started her family (Kelly is one of seven siblings).

“Her number one thing was to make sure (the girls) had to play sports and believed in ourselves,” Kelly recalls. “She started us that we could do everything we wanted, whether it is to play field hockey or go for work or start a business.”

Being a brand’s founder means opening yourself and your company for criticism – which Kelly has welcomed with open arms and ears. After controversy about the treatment of bipoc creators during Tarte’s annual influencer -trip in 2023, Kelly took to social media to address his society directly and stated that the company would review its creator program to ensure it is “inclusive and fair.”

“If it’s something I can learn, I definitely want to hear it,” Kelly says now to meet criticism. “And so I try to stay focused on what is most important, which is our relationships with our customers. For me, relationships are all … At the end of the day I just try to lead with kindness and just keep me transparent.”

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Whether she opens up about the difficulties she has experienced or gives back through charity causes, Kelly says that she lets her heart lead.

“I really think that vulnerability is powerful,” she says. “Sharing our stories, especially the hard, messy, deeply human, can also help others to heal. As women, founders and only people moving through life, we have so much. And I have learned that when we allow ourselves to be open, we create room for deeper connection – not only personally, but in how we lead.”

Kelly continues, “I have always believed in authenticity, and when Tarte continues to grow, it feels right to get more from me into the conversation – the real self, the sometimes emotional me. There are so many women out there silent to navigate loss and reconstruction. If my trip can offer a little glimpse of strength or hope, it is not just worth it. “