From Survival to Radiance: Building GLO Formation and Breaking Cycles

By Cindy Nguyen

I stood in front of the mirror before a client meeting, looking at my blotchy, creased makeup, and felt invisible. I was in my forties, working in medical sales in a predominantly white corporate environment where I constantly had to prove myself as a minority woman. I was rushing—again—because between work, kids, and everything else, there was never enough time. That's when I knew: something had to change.

But my journey to launching GLO Formation in May 2024 started long before that mirror moment. It started when I became a teen mom at fifteen years old.

I won't pretend it was easy. I faced judgment from family, from society, from people who saw a teenage mother and assumed they knew my story. But what they didn't see was my determination. I became the first person in my family to graduate college. I built a seventeen-year career in medical sales, navigating discrimination and fighting to be seen in rooms where I was often the only Asian face.

In 2016, I decided to pursue my dream of entering the beauty industry. But life had other plans. My father was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney carcinoma cancer, and I became his primary caregiver. For eleven months, I was at every appointment, translating medical jargon, delivering devastating news with a smile, encouraging him to keep fighting even as the data told us he was losing. When he passed in 2017, I didn't just lose my father—I lost my biggest support.

I had to put my dreams on hold again. But this time, something was different. I realized I couldn't keep pouring from an empty cup. I sought therapy, did EMDR to process childhood trauma and domestic violence I had survived but never healed from. I faced the wounds I'd been carrying since I was a little girl—wounds that had shaped how I saw myself, how I showed up in the world, how I believed I deserved to be treated.

Healing wasn't linear, but it was transformative. And in that healing, my vision for GLO Formation crystallized. This wasn't just about creating another beauty product. It was about giving women back their time and confidence.

GLO Formation's multi-use glow oil is a primer, moisturizer, and radiance booster infused with vitamins A, C, and E. It cuts your routine in half so you can show up feeling beautiful and confident—because you deserve that, no matter how busy life gets.

But GLO Formation represents something deeper for me. It's about proving that your past doesn't define your worth. That being a teen mom, a survivor of trauma, a woman who's been told to dim her light—none of that disqualifies you from building something extraordinary.

Today, I volunteer with organizations supporting survivors of human trafficking, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. These causes hold my heart because I know what it means to need someone to believe you're not damaged goods. My vision is to grow GLO Formation not just as a business, but as a platform to hire survivors and give them the second chances they deserve. Everyone deserves to know their value.

I spent years being told I couldn't compete with big brands, that I should just sell someone else's products. I pushed through the self-doubt, the paralysis, the voices that said I wasn't enough. And now, customers are buying, reordering, and sharing how GLO Formation makes them feel—confident, radiant, seen.

At forty-nine, I'm finally building the legacy I always dreamed of. Not just a beauty brand, but a movement. For every woman who's been told to shrink, to stay quiet, to dim her light—I'm here to say: You deserve to glow. Your story matters. Your dreams are valid.

This is just the beginning.

Connect With Cindy

www.gloformation.com

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