Porsha Davis’s Aviation-Themed Cosmetics Line in Atlanta International Airport Takes Off

Porsha Davis’ products — including lip liner, clear lip gloss, and waterproof matte lipstick — are designed with women of color in mind. (Provided)
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By Ameera Steward | For The Birmingham Times

Porsha Davis, a Montgomery, Alabama, native, has made history at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport with Fly Fanci Cosmetics, the first aviation-themed cosmetics line to be sold at the airport.

Her products—including lip liner, clear lip gloss, and waterproof matte lipstick—are designed with women of color in mind.

“It’s a blessing. I’m so blessed. … It doesn’t even feel real,” said Davis, an Alabama State University (ASU) grad. “My brand is all about helping women elevate and seeing them [step into their best selves] the ‘Fanci’ way.”

Davis said she’s long wanted her own cosmetics line but didn’t know what about a theme, name, and timeline. When she became a flight attendant, it all just clicked, she said.

After her grandmother passed away in 2018, Davis decided to leave her hometown of Montgomery and move to New York, which was not only a big shift for her but also a time of growth and an opportunity to do something different. She thought that traveling for work would be interesting and give her exactly what she needed. That came in the form of becoming a flight attendant.

She applied online and had to participate in multiple rounds of interviews—over the phone, via video, and in person. The entire process took approximately two months before she was hired. She had a four- to six-week training program, then it was time to hit the air.

Davis is currently based in Dallas, Texas, but she lives in Atlanta, Georgia, meaning she has to “commute to Dallas to clock in for work, which is a pretty common setup for flight attendants,” she said.

Porsha Davis launched her business with lip glosses and worked her way into lipsticks. (Provided)

“Different Outlook on Life”

Being a flight attendant and traveling to different cities gave Davis “a different outlook on life,” she said.

“I actually enjoy my job,” she added, “As a flight attendant, you always have to look polished. … We all know the stereotype of a flight attendant is always makeup done, hair done, … glam. So that’s when Fly Fanci Cosmetics started,” with the Fly Collection launching on August 19, 2019.

The process of creating her cosmetics line was tedious because Davis doesn’t mix and make the products herself, she said. That work is done by vendors.

“I really had to go back and forth with the vendors for about a year,” she explained. “I knew I wanted my product to be waterproof, [and I needed] to build a product that I would wear, … a good quality product.”

Davis launched her business with lip glosses and worked her way into lipsticks. The Fly Collection includes brightly colored, highly pigmented, waterproof, nontransferable lip wear.

“I love a red lip, … and when you Google flight attendants, that’s the number one thing they wear — a red lip,” she said. “When you see a woman in red, you automatically think high class or confident.”

As a result, Davis’s first lipstick was a matte red lipstick named “First Class.”

“I have lip glosses and lipsticks with names like ‘Airplane Mode,’ a magenta-colored matte lipstick, [and] ‘Jazzy Runway,’ a bright pink matte lipstick — names [that make you] automatically think of travel or in flight,” said the mother of a 9-month old.

Offer She Couldn’t Refuse

In 2022, a friend, Jasmine Carr, reached out to Davis with an opportunity she could not refuse. Carr’s mother was a consulting agent for minority-owned businesses within the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and wanted Fly Fanci Cosmetics to be part of its initiative to bring more Black businesses to the airport.

“Carr and her mother reached out to me, which lets me know my brand really [stands] out and I really have something to offer,” Davis said.

“It’s different … having your product sold inside of an airport, where people have to have a boarding pass and have to travel, versus a being in a location where people can really go into [the store].”

Davis plans to increase her brand awareness to help with foot traffic as well as sales by investing more in marketing, including hiring someone for promotions. She plans to look into vending machines to make her products more accessible, in addition to networking and passing out flyers.

Additionally, she has plans to launch a membership program for supporters called Fanci Lounge.

Oh, and Davis is a travel agent, too. She became one three years ago because, she said, “I’m all for people going to their dream destination, getting out of their city and just traveling. I feel like I’m their resource.”

Porsha Davis graduated from Carver in 2007 and made her way to ASU, where she studied rehabilitation services. (Provided)

Becoming “Fanci”

Davis, 35, attended Carver Senior High School in her hometown.

“I had an amazing childhood in Montogomery,” she said, adding that she was raised by her grandmother, who is her biggest inspiration in life.

“[My grandmother] instilled in me the values of hard work, entrepreneurship, and independence—everything that has shaped me into who I am today,” Davis said. “I was surrounded by love and support.”

In addition to losing her grandmother in 2018, Davis lost her only sibling, her younger sister Jasmine, in 2019. Losing them has been “incredibly tough,” Davis said.

“But through it all I carry the lessons my grandmother taught me. … I know she would be so proud to see me running my own business and living out the dreams she always encouraged me to chase,” she added.

Davis graduated from Carver in 2007 and made her way to ASU, where she studied rehabilitation services. During her sophomore year, she “wanted to dig deeper into my creative era,” she said.

“[In high school], I didn’t wear makeup. … Once I got into college, I felt more free and started experimenting, … trying different looks on myself. My classmates always gave me compliments.”

Eventually, those compliments transformed into requests for Davis to do makeup for her classmates — “And I made a career out of it,” she said.

That was the beginning of Fanci Faces, where Davis essentially became a makeup artist for her classmates and those in the surrounding area. The name “Fanci” was originally given to her in her hometown, but it became a solidified nickname in college.

“I just got that name because I like to dress up with my heels on,” she said. “I used to be one of those freshmen and sophomores walking around campus with heels and living in the moment. … I was under Elite Models [a modeling group at the university].

“I felt like when I came to college I was able to just be free and … just do me. When I was going to [Elite Models] practice and we did our fashion shows, I got the name ‘Fanci.’ I honestly can’t remember who even called me that, but when [they] did, it stuck … and I just ran with it.”

Davis graduated from ASU in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services. And the rest is history.

“I’m going to mentor women who want to take their brands to the next level,” she said. “[Those who] want to get into beauty, [those who] want to start their own brands but don’t know where to start. … I want to give other women the motivation to just move forward [with their businesses].”

Fly Fanci Cosmetics can be found at Be Relax Spa, located in Terminal B and at Gate B22 at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Davis encourages those who are traveling to stop by and get a sense of what it really means to “Fly Fanci.”

Follow @FlyFanci on all social media platforms or visit flyfancicosmetics.com.

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