After more than 25 years in the entertainment biz—including a stint as makeup artist for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders—beauty and lifestyle expert Sylvia Russell founded her cosmetics line, PUCKERD, in August 2017 in St. Petersburg.

"After years of selling cosmetics in my own salons, it has always been a dream of mine to create and build a business focused solely on cosmetics, while educating and motivating  women," Russell says. "I finally decided to take a leap of faith and do it."  That, combined with her passion for celebrating the beauty of every woman and empowering women of color, led to PUCKERD, which includes 20-plus products including lipsticks, lip glosses, lip liners and lip kits. Prices range from $12-$21, and can be found at puckerd.com. Here, Sylvia tells us more.... 

Tell us what inspired you to launch your own beauty line.

After taking a hiatus from owning a salon, I wanted to do something that let me create a life on my terms, with more time for family and friends and doing things that mean more. I wanted to inspire women like myself to see themselves as the author and creator the kind of lives they want to live.  I didn't want a mundane life full of day-in and day-out activities that don't feed the spirit. 

What are you most proud of when you look at the collection?

I'm most proud of the fact that I actually have the name printed on the product and actually have something tangible in hand—seeing the products and understanding that it all started with a quick phone call from my best friend and an idea. Reminds me that anything is possible. 

Who is the PUCKERD client?

The Puckerd client is the modern day Marilyn Monroe, fierce in spirit , subtle in her approach and forever beautiful no matter her age. She takes pride in herself and enjoys wearing bold lip colors that push the limits. Lipstick is her new power suit. No longer is it all about the clothes; today it’s all about the lips.  

Tell us the differences between Liquid Mattes, Mattetastic Metals and your glosses.

Our liquid matte lipsticks are so fabulous. They are a creamy, bold lip color that comes in a tube and are applied with a brush. They glides on soft and creamy. Once on, the lipstick dries down to a matte finish with no shine. The best part is that once it dries, it stays put. No reapplying needed. It smells great and feels good on the lips.

Mattetastic Metals are our new addition. They are a high-definition hybrid of the liquid mattes. Like the liquid mattes, they dry down and stay put all day, but they have an extra added punch of special metallic additives that give them a chrome look. It’s a bold look for that extra something. The color shines, but not like a traditional gloss or lipstick. They also glide on super creamy, and leave the lips feeling covered in goodness.

Hydra Gloss is such a special product. It's our fan favorite and is filled with so much that is good for the lips. ​It helps minimize appearance of pesky lines and wrinkles, and brown algae stimulates collagen while golden seaweed helps to reduce DNA damage produced by UV lights. It’s not too sticky, and some of the colors actually stain the lips so it cuts down on having to reapply throughout the day—one of the best features!

Lastly, what’s next for Sylvia Russell?

Right now, I am open to everything that is on the horizon. I'm looking forward to showing other women that it’s okay to dream big and build empires of their own. I want to be an example of what can happen when trials come to take you down—you have a choice: stay down or rise and conquer. I decided to conquer the world one lip color at a time.