With Trending Lip Care Treatments and Retail, Advanced Clinical Formulations, and Innovative Educational Programs, Vermillion is Revolutionizing the Dental and Beauty Communities around the world!
Caitlin Nicke is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Vermillion Cosmetics. Being a Self-made Entrepreneur, Caitlin has earned notoriety through public speaking about her journey of struggles and success whilst building and creating a business. Caitlin set out her mission to enhance the dental and lip care experience, both aesthetically and emotionally. So here is Caitlin’s Story behind her Smile:

“It is often your deepest pains that will empower you to your highest self...”
This has been a quote that has followed me since youth into adulthood, and it’s now tattooed on my back for the rest of my life. A detrimental childhood filled with turmoil, abuse and instability, was a challenge I faced at the young age of two.
Poverty. Drugs. Pain. I was the only adult in a home filled with seven people. I stepped up to the plate as mother, caregiver, and most importantly protector to my four very young siblings; innocent and naïve to the atmosphere they had been succumb too. My mother lived in and out of institutions for years and my stepfather lived off drugs and using his power against people to be abusive in the darkest way a monster could be.
I thought I found my escape at just 12 years old. I left barefoot, because I just wanted my life to be “normal.”
Normal? What does that word even mean?
By definition , according to Oxford Dictionary: it means, “conforming to a standard; usual, typical, expected. I would soon learn my life would never be normal, but it would take a long time for me to accept that.
Starting my next chapter of life, I was terrified yet optimistic of the unknown.
New Family, New School, New Home. I was screaming with excitement to have this new beginning. The smile on my face began to fade as my biological father I had not seen since birth, explained to me, he has a new life now, and I cannot come home with him, but don’t worry I will still have a home….somewhere.
……New Family, New School. New Home…Again. Grateful, and still very appreciative I welcomed my new home. My coping mechanism through life was Perfection, to an extreme degree. To put on a facade of optimal positivity, no matter how much the pain, hurt, and disappointment was building up inside of me. This was a bonus for my academics, but not for health and relationships.
My life became a dark hole inside my head, getting farther and farther away from the light. Instead of spiraling down a path of no return, I decided to begin my journey of using my internal fortitude from my past to find my passions that give me the strength and desire towards my aspirations and truest potential.
Many times, in our lives we fall into holes and it’s hard to see the light, but we need to climb onto hope, and get out of the hole of despair. We need to plant a seed of goals. Fill in the hole with the lessons you have learned, and water the seed with your energy and optimism. At first, you will still only see muddy water. Don’t question when that growth will begin. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, it takes dedication, persistence, and resilience to your surroundings.
Throughout many times in my life, I have been alone. But when I chose to seek guidance and coaching is when I excelled to my greatest. All great leaders have mentors and guides to help them navigate along the way. At different times in my life, these people have changed but I will be forever in their debt for their help. I have two exceptional people both teaching me vastly different lessons.
Dr. Kourakin, my business partner and mentor, has given me the understanding that hard working women, and men, may not be glorified during their reign, but the legacy they build will continue on forever. My abuela, my grandmother, greatly influenced my life and the decisions I made, and continue to make, professionally. I always admired her passion for success and bettering her life and those around her. She taught me a true legacy is not only built from loving her work but doing it with a loving heart. I am proud to idolize her as my inspiration and continue to look to her for motivation.
Beautifying a brand is not as simple as enhancing the beauty within a smile. As I created and crafted Vermillion Cosmetics, I learned this lesson.
Hello Everyone, my name is Caitlin Nicke, Chief Operating Officer of Vermillion Cosmetics... also known as the woman in charge by my 2 kids at home. You might wonder why I did not introduce myself in the beginning, the significance being my past is just that, the past. And today I introduce you to whom I am now, and who I am evolving into each and every day. I began developing Vermillion Cosmetics in 2016 with the help of my partner, Dr. Kourakin in Atlantic City, NJ. As we entertained the idea of breaking into the cosmetology industry, we had many ideas at the forefront of our brand: who we were, where we worked and why, and how we could impact the world in the most organic way.
Breaking into the dental industry with a cosmetic-oriented product was a rigorous, yet promising challenge to endure. My first major lesson in building Vermillion Cosmetics was the importance of the people standing next to you both personally and professionally. The impact of all these people, young and old, co-workers or family members, is intense. As Vermillion Cosmetics came into fruition, I felt fortunate to have the support of my husband, grandmother, and most of all, my sweet children. I wanted to be a role model for them. Becoming a “boss babe” is not only about working hard and performing well in the office, it’s also striving to be the best version of yourself. I began to understand that my influence was not just on my business, but multiple lives within my circle.
In my collegiate years, I began forging my path to become a doctor who focused on fixing children’s hearts. I wanted to be part of creating dreams, lives and smiles, but as I began to focus on my purpose and passions, I challenged myself. I quickly came to realize that although I wanted to create dreams, I was chasing a career that did not serve my passions. I finished out my pre-med collegiate experience and began to take on the dermatology and dentistry world before exuberantly accepting the role of “female entrepreneur”.
When I look back at my journey, I feel as if it was wrapped up into three weeks that flew by faster than a motorcycle on the freeway. I am filled with gratitude and desire for more. I am certain this feeling is not lost on any of you bosses out there.
The beauty of building a brand does not solely come from the minds of co-workers or the designs crafted by the team. The beauty develops in the mutual understanding of a brand’s longevity. I co-own a start-up business with less than 20 employees, my brand is different than a corporation’s. I own that fact. That fact is part of my brand’s legacy. My employees and I are working hard for a vision, but also each other’s children, future homes, food on the table and bills. I care about my employees’ lives within the walls of our office and wherever the world takes them after. We have experienced turnover, hiring, unfortunate firing, and just about everything in between. I cried when my first employee quit, danced in celebration when we created a new product, but most of all, I never stopped caring about what my brand does for myself and others. That is why we build businesses. Because we care about people, their lives and how we as individuals, bosses and industries, impact every high and low this world experiences. Our brand’s live on longer than we do. Maybe our brands are fully operational when we’re gone, maybe they’re not, but what lives on is the legacy of how our brand made people feel.
Remember that word, “Normal”? ---conforming to a standard, usual…typical…expected.
Now, I have learned and LOVE that I am not “normal”. I will never conform to a standard, because I am a creator.
I will never be usual, are any of us who seek great success?
I will never be typical, but if my husband were here, he would say my coffee and food orders are always typical of me.
I will never be expected, because I am always preparing for the unexpected, and busy Creating…My Legacy.