Adele’s journey toward creating a lifestyle brand and platform has been challenging and exciting. It began early on at a makeup counter in Bloomingdale’s where she sold Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. The Bobbi Brown ethos that “women should look like themselves only fresher and more awake” resonated with Adele. She has retained this concept in all her work. She embraces that which is natural. She tends toward minimalism. Less is more. Natural is beautiful. Simple is best.
From cosmetic beauty, Adele transitioned to the non-surgical aesthetics industry. She spent over five years working in this industry in the “Mecca of All Things Beautiful,” Beverly Hills. She observed and studied what people considered “beautiful.” She wanted to dig deeper into the mystique of beauty and wellness. Not just through a needle or a knife. Adele watched as women botox’d, filled, carved and sculpted. As she climbed the ladder of success in her sales roles, she learned more and more about facial anatomy. She learned first-hand about the latest treatments and science. She wanted to learn as much as she could — understand the science.
Her outgoing, energetic and magnetic personality contributed to her success. Her resume and list of references are more typical of a person twice her age. Adele worked with many kinds of lasers, skin tightening devices, Coolsculpting, and a product for non-surgical face lifts! Even after garnering accolades and awards (Top Sales Representative of the Year), she knew there was another element of beauty into which she wanted to delve. As her sales career rocketed, she simultaneously launched her own business: Floral and Event Design. She loved working with colors, developing themes, reflecting the seasons, and creating magical environments.
The “Life’s Looking Good” brand was being forged. Observers could recognize a “Life’s Looking Good” event or floral design: Elegant in an organic way, connected to nature. Adele has always honored the “bones” … the bones of a home, an event space, and of course, the bones of a person.
The road to success was not smooth. Adele speaks openly about her two divorces and how they changed the course of her life. She’s moved more times than she’d like to remember, while single parenting two children. She looks so cool and flawless it’s hard to tell that she’s had the hard knocks. With her blessing, her 11-year-old son, Jacob, moved across the country to live with his father in Bal Harbor Florida 4 years ago, far from Adele and her then infant daughter, Lyla. He went with her blessing, but she shed an ocean of tears. She reflects on this period as one of her most painful in her life. But, as she is quick to remind herself and her followers: You can get down, but don’t stay down.
The digital space is competitive and demanding. Adele decided not to gloss over the challenges of life from her followers. She didn’t want to hide the strain of juggling parenthood with a professional life either, that isn’t Adele. Her challenges and upsets, her reflections on her life, and on life in general, became a part of her brand. She found that her followers loved her all the more for it. She’s vulnerable. She’s just like us!
Adele shares a lot of her life on Instagram. She shares the rosy and pretty moments and the down and dirty ones too. She connects with her online community. People feel connected to her, to her vacillating moods, to her flops (not that many) and to her successes. They root for her. They write to her. They ask her for advice and they thank her for her giving them inspiration and hope.
Breaking all the rules, Adele has changed her business model many times. Yet, her followers stay with her. Hey, people grow and so do businesses. There’s no shame in re-inventing yourself and starting again. Her followers believe: If Adele can do it, so can I. Growth can be painful, but it’s necessary. Brands and people that pivot, move, and grow, she observes, do better than brands that don’t.
Multiple careers. Multiple husbands. Falling down and getting up. Raising a family and raising herself. Adele’s True North has been the quest for Beauty — beauty from the inside out. Working with what one has and elevating it.
Life, some believe, is about looking good. But, life itself looks good when we’re happy, when we’re at peace, when we feel good about ourselves. Life’s Looking Good is an expression of Adele. She wishes to share that point of view with others and demonstrate that, for them too, “Life’s Looking Good.”
