Drew spoke with AOL about her beauty line, Flower Beauty and the challenges and rewards of working with her brand.

Drew Barrymore, the award-winning actress, producer, director, author and founder of Flower cosmetics is a force to be reckoned with. Having conquered the film and television industry, the star decided to try her hand in the beauty industry in 2012. Since then, Flower products have rocketed to success, named in Allure’s Best of Beauty Awards and Redbook’s Most Valuable Products. We sat down with her at the Financo CEO Forum on Monday evening to talk all things beauty.

The collection, which is sold exclusively at Walmart, is custom-formulated with the same ingredients used in higher end, luxury makeup. Rather than pay for advertising, all marketing dollars are put into the formula, Barrymore said, which makes the line significantly more affordable and available to a larger demographic of women.

“I’ve always been about an all-ages party, and I really think that goes for economics as well,” the reigning beauty queen said when we sat down with her. “Women deserve to get the same quality makeup at a mass retailer that they do at a department store, and we as a company figured out a way to do that, so that’s our brand promise. And it is really challenging, but it feels really right,” she said.

Instead of paying for print advertisements and commercials, the beauty brand’s sole promotion comes from Barrymore herself and real people who actually love Flower products.

“I have the luxury and ability and privilege of getting to do lots of magazines…which really helps,” the actress said. “And, you know, you can go on shows, but really the social thing for me I find most challenging.”

Social media plays an enormous role in Flower’s marketing strategy. While many companies will buy product endorsements from bloggers and vloggers, Barrymore’s philosophy rests on authentic promotion. “In the social world,” she said, “Authenticity is the name of the game.”

Despite Barrymore’s obvious success as a female leader in the beauty industry, she’s way too modest. “The beauty industry is just like my ego,” she laughed. “It will not allow me to think I’m a leader in anything. It makes me feel like I’ve got to get up every day and work really hard.”

The business is certainly humbling, “but I’m okay with that,” she said. “I like humble pie a lot — I eat it all the time anyway so it’s good. It’s a good business for me.”

The actress and businesswoman’s attitude is inspiring, and has clearly proven rewarding. After a phenomenal year in 2015, the brand has a lot in store for 2016. One of the many new products rolling out in the coming months is a revolutionary lip cream. “It’s like a new innovation in matte,” Barrymore said of the cream, which she was wearing when we chatted. “It’s actually a creamy matte and it is so pigmented and has such amazing staying power that doesn’t fray into the cracks of your lips.”

She was actually wearing two Flower products when we spoke — the foundation and lip cream — and she couldn’t have looked more natural or flawless. There’s no doubt that when it comes to Drew Barrymore, nothing is off limits. A total powerhouse, she possesses business savvy, genuine enthusiasm for her work and a vested interest in bringing great products to as many women as possible. It’s safe to say that here at AOL, we’re big fans of Drew.

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