Connections! in SW Florida - Featuring Mallory Marshall with Boring to Bombshell Nails

Good morning, Southwest Florida, and even those that are further away but tuning in today. My name is Renee Hahn, and I'm here with you talking about connections in Southwest Florida. So the connections in Southwest Florida really started for me once COVID hit, and I realized that the way people interact with their current and future customers was going to be different, at least for a period of time. And so using some of the tools that I, you know, that I've acquired in my real estate profession, I thought it would be a great way to be able to showcase some of those local businesses so that you guys, Mallory, stay top of mind while we work through this unprecedented time. So with that, I'm privileged today to have Mallory Marshall here with me. And I'm going to ask Mallory to start just sharing a little bit about yourself, Mallory, with our viewers, whether they're on live or they're part of the replay group later on today. So Mallory, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

All right. Well, good morning, everybody. So my name is Mallory. I am a busy mom of 4. I have a baby who is 18— excuse me, 23 months. I have a little boy who will be 5 in a couple of months. I have a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old. So needless to say, my plate and my heart is full. COVID has changed the way that we've had to operate on a daily basis. I usually have 2 in school, so having everybody at home has made it so much more crazy, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Um, I have been married to my husband for 9 years, and we have been in Southwest Florida for 3. Um, we just recently, like 6 weeks ago, moved— craziness— um, into our new home that we purchased in Cape Coral. And I'm just— I'm super blessed and so, so grateful for all the opportunities that time I have been given.

So it does sound like a full plate. Yes, yes, there were some young ages, and I know with homeschooling, I'm, I'm kind of lucky on this ride because my youngest are 12 and 13 and they're kind of self-directed. So when I talk to my friends who are in your shoes with children your age, it's— you've got a lot going on. You became a teacher overnight, didn't you?

I did. It's like overnight, um, homeschool household now. Like, thankfully the older girls are pretty self-sufficient. I've just got to guide them and get them to school. Like, it's time, ladies, it's time.

So, well, that's why God made you with so many talents so you could flex from your various roles.

Yes.

Well, thank you so much. I consider it an honor to have you here with us today. And the business you're here to talk about, and I love this name, Boring to Bombshell. So I have to start before we dive into the questions about the business. How did you come up with Boring to Bombshell and what was your inspiration for starting up your business?

Oh my goodness. So I, 18 months ago, I, I, I, I dove feet first into this business. You know, you think about the names of businesses and I looked and I researched and I was trying to come up with like an M word, like Marvelous Nails with Mallory. And it just, it didn't seem like any of the M adjectives really fit me and my personality. And I was like, bombshell. I like the word bombshell. And I was like, you know what? Boring to Bombshell. Like, that totally fits the way that the polish makes your life go. It's like it's a bombshell in life and it completely changes so many aspects of life. And it just— I loved the name and that's what we stuck with.

Well, I can tell you, Mallory, every day when I've gone through at the end of my interviews, when I go through the lineup, I get to the name of your business and I smile every time. So it's definitely catchy. So, Mallory, tell us a little bit. We've kind of— the cat's out of the box. We've talked about the fact that it has to do with nails, but tell us a little bit about your business and the relationship you have with Color Street and fill us in on some of that information, if you would.

Perfect. So I am honored to be partnered with Color Street. We are less than 3 years old, so a brand new baby company. And some of you may or may not have heard of us, but y'all, I'm about to blow your mind. Are you ready? We have dry nail polish. Craziness. Who needs the change from that old-fashioned liquid polish that you have to sit there and wait for it to dry? No, no, not anymore. They last 10 to 14 days. It's 100% polish. So when you're ready to remove it, real simple, regular polish remover. And they are amazing in the fact that they can even go over salon nails. So like dipped acrylic and gel, they can go right over top of it. I have some clients that prefer the strength of those salon nails and have been able to just slide those bad boys— not slide, um, set those bad boys right over top of, um, their nails and also fill, um, to extend their fill. Like, amazing. Um, we have glitter.

Solid. That would have come handy during COVID when people haven't been able to get their hair done, as you can see. Yeah, you know, I've heard a lot of complaints about nail overgrowth, so if they had Color Street and boring to bombshell nails in their life, they wouldn't have noticed that big gap that was growing over COVID, right?

It sounds like— yep. So we have— I've had so many people who, um, were kind of not, not really open to the idea before COVID um, and now that they have tried this polish, like, they're like, no, not going back to the salon, not at all, um, for the price 2, like, we run a special every day, buy 3 get 1 free on the glitter solids and designs. And the French manicures, you can still get your Frenches, and these are BOGO, buy 1 get 1 free. Like, who doesn't love free? So the, the price of between $11 and $14, and you get 2 manicures and at least 1 pedicure, um, like, blows the salon prices. Out of the water.

So I love it. I want to talk for a minute, if you don't mind sharing, Mallory. You said 18 months ago you started this. How did you come into contact with Color Street and decide to become a local business entrepreneur selling Color Street?

So I have not worked for the past— going on, it would have been 7 years. I'm staying at home with the kiddos was my job. A girlfriend of mine was having an online party and y'all, it took a sample. I didn't even try a full set, just that little sample, and I was completely sold. I was going through the start of postpartum depression. Having 4 kiddos, like, life was crazy and Having a brand new baby, it was hard. It was hard to get out. It was hard to make new friends. And I was just blah. It could not have come at a more perfect time. I needed me. I needed something for me. I was being mom and wife and it was draining. Insert Color Street and entrepreneurship. And y'all, my life has changed completely. Like, I tear up when I talk about the change from postpartum depression to a confident, empowered— like, I'm just— I just— I feel so, so different. And it's because of nail polish. And that just— it is crazy to me. Like, nail polish changes lives. Like, What? Like, mind-blowing.

I love it. It's so clear, your passion. And you're right, sometimes, you know, you find your, your place in the professional life simply by coming into contact with some Oh, there you are. I told you, on these cloudy days, Mallory, it's just, you have to be patient. So sorry for the interruption here. I'm even moving to a different part. We had, when it stormed the other day, we had a little bit of this and then the next day it was fine. So my apologies. But what I was starting to say is sometimes You find your passion in the most unexpected places. And so this is obviously the opportunity. I'm not sure if you heard the end of that, Mallory.

I did not catch it. You said—

I heard that opportunities are found and then Yeah, I was just saying, opportunities when you can be an entrepreneur and, and really all that comes with the reward of being an entrepreneur, and then have it be about a product that you're so passionate about, is just the recipe for success. So I will share, and, and I'm sure there are many stories. I had, I had heard of Color Street, it's probably been maybe 2 years ago. Never heard of it. And my best friend from Michigan came to visit us in Florida. And one afternoon she pulled these things out of her thing. She's like, you want to do your nails? And I'm watching. And she's like taking things out and overlaying them. I'm like, what is that? She said, it's nail polish. I said, no way. Anyways, long story short, I'm just gonna leave you with one. And I love one and I was nervous to try it. So one of the— I want you to talk a little bit intimidated about when I watched someone else do it. I was intimidated about, you know, was I gonna have it up over my finger? Was it going to be wrapped around the sides? I found it very, very easy. But would you talk a little bit about the product and maybe how it comes and what people do with it?

Okay, yes ma'am. Okay, so how it comes, let me show you. This is— so this is one of our glitters. This is Tokyo Lights. And in a full pack, you're gonna get 16 nail strips, and these strips are double-sided, and there's 8 different sizes. So this is one of our solids, and then this is another reason why Color Street is just so, so incredible and dear to my heart. So this one is one of our foundation strips. This was our February foundation. And what the company does is throughout the year, usually every month, if not every other month, but right now we're on pause for new launches, but this is heart awareness. So $2 from every set purchased up to $100,000 is donated to a set. There was American Heart Foundation and Women's Heart Causes. So our foundation strip from last month was— it's called Unstoppable and it is for developmental disabilities. So there's so many amazingness coming out of this company, but there's 8 different sizes in these strips or in these packs. And y'all, let me— I'm going to show you how easy it really, really is. So you're going to get a prep pad in the pack, and all you're going to do is you're going to clean your nails. And this just gets the, um, the oils off of your nails. I'm just cleaning it. I'll let it dry just a bit. And this right here, this is two of our strips. This is called Feeling Marvelous. And so many cute catchy names come with all of our strips. I'm gonna— I know that this one is going to fit this nail. It's, it's 100% polish but goes on like a sticker.

And as a reminder, there's more, there's more sizes than you have fingers, so if one doesn't fit, there's there's other options. So find the closest one.

Find the closest one that fits your finger. So I peeled it off of the backing. I'm gonna peel this little tab off, and I'm— as you see, y'all, I've had these on for 7 days. Today marks 7 days, and my tips are a little bit worn, but all I can— I can either just leave them and change them in a couple of days, or you could take pair of nail clippers and clip the tips off and you've got a perfect mani. So I've got a little bit of a gap. I'm legit just going to stick this on, put it up to my cuticle, press. I use my thumb. There is a file in each pack that you can use a file, but I'm just going to use my thumb. And y'all, it's that, that easy. So I definitely recommend using your, your less dominant hand first, just because it's the beginning and you are going to have more patience in the very beginning. But as you use the sets more and more, it gets easier. So I'm going to take this other side of that same exact strip. So this is how you can get 2 manis and a pedi out of each one. I'm using that other side on my other hand. So one strip, 2 fingers, 10 minutes, and y'all will have—

look at that.

Now that's a great Could you hear me, Mallory?

I could not.

I heard, that's a great.

Oh, I was saying that's a great idea because my girlfriend was showing me she cuts them in half and then keeps half of them for later, but I like your idea of being able to use it right there. I hadn't thought about that.

So yes, ma'am, it is amazing because it dries—

it's, it's already dry, so it sets right away, correct?

Yep, so they are 95% dry. I'm the top layer and the— or in the color layer are completely dry. The base coat is 95% dry. So the only thing that I have to do is avoid water or lotion for 30 minutes and then they are good to go.

So we're in the pool 30 minutes later.

Correct. Correct. Or back to washing dishes or a bath or, you know, the craziness. But you could go to bed right now. And not have sheet marks. Um, and that's typically what I do is do it right before bedtime in the evenings. Um, I have a glass of wine, my favorite reality TV show on the couch, just hanging out by myself putting my nails on.

Well, and we've been talking about fingernails, but they fit on toes too because I've done it.

Yes. So we do have, um, pedicure-specific sets. Um, they're a little bit more wear. So this is an example of our pedicures, and they last like 6 to 8 weeks on your toes, so even longer. But they all will go on your fingers or your toes. So like, I, I've put these on my hands as well. So the versatility, um, is just— it's amazing. Yeah.

And I've even had, when I've picked one that's a little bit bigger, I just use my nail down the side and it just sort of cuts right off. So it's— again, it looks really difficult when I was watching her do it because she looked like a pro, but after, you know, it took about one application, and even my first one didn't look horrible, but, you know, it took after one, then I, I could really kind of shape it around that too. But you're right, it's, it's super, super easy. How many— you know, I know Sparkle is big because I've seen the online store, so If you like sparkle, there's plenty of that, but you also have the prime, just colors, standard colors. How many different options, and I know they change it at different times, but about how many selections do you have at any given time?

Hi. So right now we have, I think it's like 120 selections on the website. With COVID and with the social distancing guidelines, right now the ordering process has kind of changed. Stylists are ordering and then getting the sets to customers. Um, so when you go to my website that you see down below, you're going to see tons of out of stock, but friends, I have 6 orders coming this week and this is just part of my inventory, um, that I carry in stock. So, um, so many choices and I'm super, super Like, I love helping people choose their sets. So if you tell me that you like— let's say you like pinks and blues, like I can show you examples of what these colors look like on the nails because, you know, when you see them, you see them in the catalog, like, yes, they're pretty, they're beautiful. But seeing them on an actual nail is incredible. It's just, it's like, oh, I didn't realize that that looked like that. I like that. Yeah.

So true. And I know it's not necessarily the ideal time to be talking about things like birthday parties, but Mallory, things will eventually return to normal. And I could see this even being, you know, parents purchasing a group of these and maybe having them available at a little girl's birthday party. You know, getting to put those on, of course, with parental approval depending on the age. But I mean, you talk about ease, you don't have to worry about— I've had birthday parties where we've done nails and then I'm like, oh my gosh, don't touch that, you know, as you have a group of girls running around your house and you're like, no, not the couch. This is— as soon as they're up from their seat, they're dry. You know, so I think this could even be a great option for birthday parties or even adult parties, right? You have a book club, a wine club. Mallory, do you do things like that where, again, once things allow us to get back in contact with one another, do you ever do in-person parties or is everything online? Tell us a little bit about that.

So it is the availability to, to do things is like Crazy. We can do online, we can do— I've been doing some Zoom parties where you and your girlfriends get together via Zoom, grab your glass of wine, and let's talk about nails and put some nails on. I have done in-person parties. My little girls absolutely love these. So they also come in petite sizes. And these are not necessarily just for kiddos. They are made for smaller nail beds. So as with any polish, we are just like with the other ones, we cannot particularly say, hey, these are for kids due to FDA guidelines. But as a mama, my girls wear them, they love them. And doing a birthday party would be awesome to just go and do the manicure, manicures, because they literally, they're dry. The sitting there and waiting for them to dry. Little kids. No, even, even big kids, even us women. Like, I saw a quote that the only time a woman or a man is helpless is when they're waiting for their nails to dry. And y'all, these, like, don't— you don't have to go about your life being helpless anymore when it comes to— like, you can put it on and then go back to whatever you're doing. So I love doing in-person parties because I love to connect with people. I'm having to stay at home for the past 8 weeks has been a little difficult because I like social interaction and I love to meet new people and to just chat. I love coffee too, and not being able to go to coffee with friends is killing it. Killer. But yes, that is something that I would definitely love to chat about more if you are interested in doing, whether it be an in-home party or let's, let's do a birthday party.

Well, I love the Zoom idea too for those that, you know, aren't ready to be in closer contact with others. That's a great option too. So great creativity. Well, Mallory, I can tell you having used them a number of times and I actually I think I have 4 in my bathroom drawer. They do last. In fact, you know they last because they, as Mallory said, they do come off with regular nail polish remover, but you have to work a little bit at it. It's not that chintzy nail polish that with one swipe of the nail polish remover it comes off, and that's only a testament to how durable it is. And we know down in Southwest Florida where we love our sandals, your toenails are gonna grow out before you lose your nail polish because it's that good. So I've— I, everyone I've interviewed, I can't always say that I've used their service or product, but in this case, I am familiar with Color Street and, you know, and I do think it's a really cool product. Probably your only limitation, but that's true of any nail polish in any brand, is, you know, that one color you love, they may not have exactly, but they probably have an alternative that's close to it. So, well, Mallory, let me take a pause for a minute. I want to showcase some of the lineup that we have coming down, and then I'm going to come back to you for a wrap-up. So after today's discussion with Mallory, the next 4 I've got, next to tomorrow, I've got Potty, P-A-W-T-Y, Potty Express. I've got Clear the Clutter rounding out the week with Tiffany. Next week we've got Walter Salazar, pest control, And then I've got Make Sense Tile and Grout. So we've got a great lineup. I would share, if you know of a business or you have a business, um, that you think would be good to showcase on these Connections in Southwest Florida, please send them my way, renee@yourenaplesexpert.com. There is no cost for this. It's simply the investment of time to be able to talk about your business. So again, this is my way of trying to give back through my time and resources to be able to highlight businesses like Mallory because at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that the entrepreneurs in our communities and the businesses that they're running are the fiber that keeps our community together. Yes, we occasionally need Home Depot. I get it. But we also need the small businesses and we need them to be able to thrive and be successful despite COVID. So this is a great opportunity again to showcase, to be able to share that you were showcased. So Mallory, I appreciate you being able to do, do this and make time today. Why don't we do this, Mallory? You've talked about the product, um, we've gotten to know you. I'm going to give you just open air time to share anything in closing that you would like to share that we didn't already talk about, or maybe to re-hit a point that you wanted to drive home. So Mallory, What would you like to share with the audience as we wrap up today's discussion?

Well, Renee, I wanna thank you as well for giving us the opportunity to connect with Southwest Florida and beyond. It has been an honor to be able to do this with you. To all of you that are watching, if you want to try it before you buy it, please feel free to send me a text. My email is boring2bombshellnails@gmail.com. If you are ready to dive in and place an order, just place the word order dot and then boring2bombshellnails.com. I cannot express the, the feelings of being put together and just so confident. I'm so much more confident when my nails are done. Regardless of whether you can get out of your house or if you are staying put, these, I promise you, will put a smile on your face. When you are looking down and you see the gorgeousness happening on your fingers, you can't help but smile.

Well, and what a great solution, as I was saying, with COVID You know, I, my hair is driving me insane. I'm not gonna cut my hair at home. But Color Street would be a great option to be able to do that at home while salons are closed or indefinitely. So I love the, the opportunity that you allow beauty to be brought into the home so those that aren't able to venture out yet can still feel good about how they're looking. So, Mallory, I appreciate you again. I appreciate you sharing your passion and your energy, um, and I, and I wish you continued success as we, as we finish out 2020. Um, you know, it can only go up from here, right? It's been a challenging couple of months. I wish you great prosperity and success in your business. And again, if anybody has an interest, um, you know, a couple of things I would say is maybe you don't like your nails done, but they'd make a great gift. They'd be great in a gift basket. You could, you know, order a couple of of, of, um, colors and put them in a gift basket for someone. Um, you could contact Mallory about hosting a Color Street party either online or in person. You can buy them for yourself. So this is a great opportunity, um, in, in a relatively small investment to make just to feel good about yourself.

And again, it is— so these ones I have, I don't have any current ones print it off, but I do do gift certificates as well. So maybe you think that the polish would be a great gift, but you're just not sure about choosing a color. Um, we can do a gift certificate, um, whether it be a paper gift certificate or, um, an electronic one.

So fantastic. Thank you, Mallory. Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed day. We'll tune in again with you next time with Potty Express next. So, Mallory, thank you so much. And audience, Facebook, thank you and have a wonderful rest of the week.