Lisa Rinna Gives Some Serious ‘Lip’ Discussing Her New Rinna Beauty Brand

Her memorable lips and larger-than-life personality have been known for years, but today, longtime actress and reality star Lisa Rinna is continuing to enhance her prominent businesswoman status with the recent release of her Rinna Beauty brand.

“This was always a dream of mine and a passion,” Lisa tells me at Forbes. “I had my lips done when I was 24 years old. I always call myself ‘the lip pioneer’ which is so silly and fun and stupid and funny. Why can’t I make money off of this? Why can’t I build a brand?” Lisa goes on to discuss the long journey it took to get to this point in her latest business pursuits, saying that she kept meeting people to do business with, but for several years, the deals would just not work out.

When another promising deal had fallen through, that allowed Lisa the serendipitous opening for Rinna Beauty to become the brand it is today. Lisa acknowledges that the early Covid-19 pandemic months allowed her to really craft her business right. “It takes a lot of time to create a brand and obviously we were doing it right before Covid hit,” Lisa continues. “We just kept doing. We just kept going. I know what I love in a lipgloss, in a lipstick and a liner. I’m very specific. So I think that being in Covid, going through all of that, making sure I got exactly what I wanted in my brand because again, I’ve worked with so many makeup artists and people over the years. I know what I like and I know what works.”

With Lisa’s lips arguably her most recognizable attribute throughout her years in front of the camera, she recalls what initially motivated her to receive some added lift to her facial features. “My lips have had their own career. Who knows why I wanted to have big lips? I know why! Because I saw the movie Beaches with my girlfriend and we saw Barbara Hershey and she had these gorgeous lips. I’ve always been obsessed with lips, I don’t know why. Because my lips have had their own career, it just seems like the normal path to take to create a lipstick line. It seems like a no brainer to me. We’re coming out with a whole line of lip plumpers and lip enhancers, of course we are, because that’s how it all started.”

Remaining in the public eye consistently for the last few decades, Lisa has noticed her approach and mindset towards her business dealings as something that continues to evolve. When speaking about her decisions today, Lisa says, “It evolves as time goes on, as hopefully I evolve as time goes on. I think it’s just really important to listen and watch. I take a lot in, visually, in my life. I’m watching my daughters, I’m watching all sorts of art and music and movies and television and everything that my career has been about for 30 years. You just have to stay open, I think, and continue to be your authentic self and as you age and as you grow, you just have to stay true to that.”

Speaking of business, one of the longest projects of her career so far has been her many years as “Billie Reed” on the NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives. Lisa first joined the show in 1992 and with a wide span of on-and-off years through 2018, she has remained a leading presence on the popular soap. When asked if she would ever return again to the fictional town of Salem, Lisa says, “You know, who knows?! I never say never to anything. I love that character. I love ‘Billie Reed.’ If it presented itself and felt right at the time, why not?!”

Lisa expanded her fanbase even further since joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during its fifth season in 2014. With season 11 currently airing new episodes, Lisa has been able to discuss her Rinna Beauty brand on the hit show in a way that is all her own. “I just do it. There’s no special formula other than speak truthfully, be authentic and just share it. So luckily, I’ve been able to do that with this platform. They’ve allowed me to do that this season. And it’s about having fun, too. I think that gets lost in translation when people are having a business conversation or talking about how do we do this. How about just have fun? How about express it organically and authentically and the rest will do the work that needs to be done?”

Now at the age of 57, Lisa seems to have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. “I love this stage of my life and I never thought I would. You don’t think you’re going to love this stage because like when we were kids, someone who was 57 was old, they were old, honey. I try to just embrace every day, I try to live in the moment, I try to have fun. I really learned in my life at this stage and at this age is life is short. You only got so much time on this planet, so why not enjoy yourself? Why not feel good about yourself? Why not do things to support that, no matter what age you are?”

When Lisa first began her career, social media was non-existent. So now, with the importance and often demand of social media today, Lisa has chosen to take a firm hold of her own voice when sharing and interacting on those platforms. “Social media is double-edged sword,” Lisa shares. “There is a lot of positive to it and there’s negative to it and I think we’ve all experienced both sides of it. For me, I find it a really wonderful way for me to express myself. Nobody does it for me. I do my own social media. I express myself however I want to and I love the freedom of that. Yes, it’s always changing and evolving, but so am I. So, I see the importance of it, I see the value of it, but I also see that it can be a very dangerous playground, so to speak. I see all of that, I’m aware of all that. At then at the end of the day, I think of a quote that my husband [Harry Hamlin] always says to me, ‘What other people think of you is none of your business.’ It’s pretty darn smart.”

Even with Lisa’s time and efforts dedicated to promoting her Rinna Beauty brand at the moment, she has her eyes (and lips) set on conquering another industry next. “Yes, there is one that I am going to tap into that I’ve been itching to tap into and that is alcohol! I’m going to come out with a wine and I’m really excited about that because I think that’s a really fascinating world and it’s brand appropriate for me (laughs). We’re hoping if all goes well, to launch next May. We’re coming out with Rinna Rosé first, FYI!”