There are more than 30 million entrepreneurs in the United States, and 25 percent of them are women. Enter Norah Martin, a 13-year-old from Shelby County. She still may be three years from getting her driver’s license, but that hasn’t stopped her from launching her own cosmetics brand, Peach Cosmetics.
For now, lip gloss is the sole product available, but plans are in place to expand the lineup. Martin hand selected each of the 16 rich and glimmering shades available for order, ensuring they all contain vitamin E and are designed for long wear.
“I’m going to have more stuff soon,” she said. “We’re trying to do eyeshadow and [mascara]. But I chose lip gloss to start because I feel that’s something everybody wants, and it can sell quickly.”
What is Martin’s’ impetus for starting a cosmetics company? Her love of animals. For every lip gloss sold, $1 is donated to the Kentucky Humane Society, where she adopted her beloved dog, Bunk.
“I’ve always had a dog or a horse,” she said. “I’ve been riding [horses] since I was like 4.”
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The Shelby County High School freshman introduced her company to the world in February 2025 after months of research. Clearly, the apple does not fall far from the tree, as Martin sought advice and assistance from her mother, Kaitlyn Hubert, another successful woman entrepreneur in the beauty industry.
Hubert is the co-owner of Golden Aesthetic Atelier. Located in Louisville and Lexington, the salon offers facials, fillers, waxing, and lash and brow enhancements among other services. Hubert also owns Pelo Beauty Collective in Louisville and Lexington. Primarily a hair salon, Pelo lists aesthetic skin treatments among its lineup of services. Pelo West is at The Galt House in downtown Louisville.
“I also own haircare lines Tomboy and Urban Wild, so my garage is full of [lip gloss and haircare products],” Hubert said.
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In addition to managing product sales and distribution from their garage, Martin is learning the ropes of what it takes to run a successful business.
“It’s not a lot of my time; it’s not anything that’s annoying, but it definitely does require some time to put in to make it work,” Martin said.
Working under her mother’s guidance, Martin is gaining experience in communication and problem-solving skills—essential tools for any business owner.
“We have different opinions on a lot of stuff,” she said. “So, we have to work together and try to figure out something that we can both agree on.”
The early education apparently is paying off. By using Instagram and email campaigns to increase brand awareness, Martin has seen a steady stream of sales throughout the year. Each lip gloss costs roughly $20 plus shipping. With those sales comes financial literacy, another skill Hubert said her daughter is learning quickly.
“She’s also learned that profit is not 100 percent, and that we have to replenish products, so that’s been fun to learn,” Hubert said. “We have to buy postage supplies, our packaging—all that stuff—and then account for the donations that we make to the Humane Society as well.”
Many spend years in college to master such business acumen, and Martin is already learning the ropes before even graduating high school. Yet, running a business empire is not what she wants to do when she “grows up.”
“Mainly, I want to be an equine vet or a big animal vet,” she said. “I want to go to the University of Kentucky for four years … and then go to Auburn University for vet school.”
But for the near future, Martin says she’ll continue to expand her cosmetics line and save enough money to—what else?—buy a horse.
“Soon, hopefully,” she said.