They really try not to, but twin sisters and beauty entrepreneurs, Feven and Helena Yohannes, can’t help but finish each other’s sentences.
“I’d just moved into my new apartment in downtown Los Angeles, so I was breaking down boxes by the dumpster and had left my cell phone inside,” says Helena, the younger-by-15-minutes twin.
“Helena and I have always wanted to be on the list,” Feven adds.
In 1985, when Feven and Helena were four, the family arrived in the States—via a green card lottery, with sponsorship from Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester—and made upstate, New York, their home.
“We’ve always loved makeup,” Helena says, “and when we were growing up, it was our way to forge connections.
With the launch of 2·4·1 Cosmetics in July of 2019, Feven and Helena have found a way to share their favorite things with the masses.
“Our mom says, “You’re a small business with a mighty heart,” Feven notes, “and that’s really who we are!”
What prompted you to embark on this entrepreneurial journey in the beauty industry?
Helena: The individuals who settle on choices about our regular way of life decisions—including the cosmetics we wear—don’t seem as though us.
For more than two years, Feven and I were continually pitching to speculators.
In the wake of being dismissed, we chose to take our own cash to make a brand that we didn’t find on the planet.
We chipped away at the thought for a very long time prior to dispatching on the grounds that we truly needed to comprehend, and meet individuals in, the business.
To put it plainly, we bet on ourselves!
Your company name is rather clever, too!
Feven: Growing up as twins, individuals would analyze us and pose inquiries like, Who’s the savvy twin, who’s the pretty twin… or would you say you are two-for-one?
There’s no markdown on your self-esteem.
We trust it’s significant for ladies to realize that they can grasp all features of themselves and their different qualities.
They don’t need to pick either; they can be two-for-one.
That was the thought behind the name.
2020 has been challenging, to say the least. Are there any holiday heroes you’ll be honoring this year?
Helena: Our mother and father are our legends, consistently.
Also, we converse with them consistently, as well.
They brought up four youngsters—including our siblings Thomas and Nate—while learning another dialect and procuring advanced education.
We had an unparalleled view of their excursion from battle to win and they’ve shown us to such an extent.
There’s a photograph of my father holding up outside of the evacuee camp in Sudan that Feven and I keep on our telephones, similarly as a token of how far we’ve come.
