If you’re even semi-active on the Instagram contraption, chances are good you’ve seen an advertisement for a blue bottle of gummy bear vitamins. Typically, said bottles are being peddled by your favorite “influencer” or “Instagram model”. Even the Kardashian klan — arguably Instagram’s Holy Grail of influencers — regularly hawks them on their respective Instagram accounts. So where did these vitamins originate, how did they become so ubiquitous, and do they really work?
SugarBearHair, as the blue bottles are catchily called, is a line of vegetarian hair vitamins said to make your hair stronger, thicker and longer. The brand also claims that “the majority of our customers found their nails and skin quality improved over time while taking SugarBearHair.”
We know some of y’all probably think gummy bear hair vitamins are a ridiculous product idea. But don’t laugh. These little bears rake in very serious dough — they have become one of the most successful Instagram brands in history. And they’ve been ranked as the #1 best-selling vitamin (in their category) on all of Amazon.com. For years! So popular are they that the bears — until recently only sold online — are now available in Ulta Beauty stores nationwide. The success has also spawned a slew of other “hair vitamin” competitors, though SugarBearHair’s products remain far and away the top sellers.
Such is the nature of today’s selfie-obsessed world. Many folks — particularly young ladies — are adamant about maintaining their luscious long locks and will spend almost anything to do so.
So where does all that cash go? The names of SugarBearHair’s owners are not listed on the website. But it doesn’t take more than a couple minutes of Googlin’ to discover that behind the hair vitamin craze is a young woman from Miami known as Nicole Nightly (real name: Nicole Christine Johnson).
30-year-old Miss Nightly is CEO of Besweet Creations LLC, the holding company that owns the SugarBearHair brand. Besweet was first registered back in May 2015 by Miss Nightly and her young man-friend Dan Morris and has since made them millionaires many, many times over.
Before starting the hair vitamin craze, Miss Nightly first attempted to build a career by beauty bloggin’ on the YouTube. When that didn’t pan out, the entrepreneurial lass recognized a moneymaking opportunity in the “detox” craze currently sweeping the nation. She created Skinny Fox Detox, “a 100% organic detoxifying tea program” that gives you increased natural energy, improved skin complexion and a flatter stomach. Per the website, of course.
But the real big bucks — those mega-millions — didn’t come until Miss Nightly created SugarBearHair and began paying Instagram influencers to promote the product to their legions of millennial followers. That strategy proved inordinately lucrative — so lucrative that Miss Nightly can now afford to pay Kylie Jenner (at a rumored cost of $1 million per post) to promote her products on the social contraption.
And these cute little cubs ain’t cheap. One bottle of 60 blue bears will set y’all back $30. A six months’ supply will run you upwards of $150+. For a year? Don’t ask. You can’t afford it.
Do they actually work? The gummies appear to have good consumer reviews. But a few critics have lambasted the innocent bears for (allegedly) being overpriced and have noted that the little guys don’t provide any extra nutrients than can be obtained in a typical grocery store vitamin. And obtained for a fraction of the price, at that. Another investigation found there may actually be harmful ingredients in those cute bodies. Say it ain’t so, Miss Nightly!
But the skepticism clearly has not affected Miss Nightly’s spending abilities. Y’all may recall that we’ve written about her before. Just over a year ago — back in October 2017 — she paid $5,050,000 for an ultra-modern casa above the Sunset Strip.
Now, with a booming business and a rapidly swelling bank account, Miss Nightly (and Mr. Morris) have decided to expand their real estate investments with the $5,100,000 purchase of the property next door.
Yes, kids. Young Miss Nightly has now spent $10,150,000 on a Hollywood Hills compound — all with cash generated from some happy little hair vitamins. In less than four years.
Miss Nightly’s latest acquisition is a soaring architectural home that some may describe as a “spiky collision of A-frames.” Others have been known to call it “weirdly flowerlike in an asymmetrical way.”
In any case, the 3,708-square-foot structure was originally built in 1958 and last sold in late 2017 to high-end real estate agent Brett Oppenheim. Our Mr. Oppenheim paid $3.5 million and swiftly gave the ol’ gurl a thorough remodel before flipping her to Miss Nightly, his next-door neighbor.
At first glance, the property appears to have dual two-car garages. But then you realize that one of the garage “doors” has a gosh-darn tree growing in front of it! So that’s not a door. And if you can accurately count how many triangles are in/on this house, Yolanda will FedEx you a cookie.
The two-story house reserves its party features for the lower level, where there’s a (nearly) triangular pool, a glassy great room surrounded by an obscenely narrow catwalk, and a chicly stark kitchen with name-brand appliances and bar-style seating. Also downstairs is a guest bedroom.
Upstairs are two loft-like bedroom suites. The master has two private balconies, a fireplace and a large bathroom. Plus there are ten-odd skylights that can be opened or covered, depending on Miss Nightly’s light preference.
At night, the house lights up cinema-style, effectively complimenting LA’s gorgeous sunsets and the shimmering city lights. Not to mention those garish billboards down on the Sunset Strip!
And like many homes in the Hollywood Hills — including Miss Nightly’s other house next door — this $5.1 million residence sits hard-up on the street, on a (very) steeply-sloped lot. So there’s essentially no yard or landscaping of which to speak. That could be a good or bad thing, depending on one’s point of view.
So yes, kiddies. Hair vitamins bought young Miss Nightly — and the equally young Mr. Morris — a $10+ million compound in the Hollywood Hills. Do those bears have magic powers? (Maybe Miss Nightly will send Yolanda a free sample bottle as a thank-you for promoting her house. But probably not!)
What can the little blue bear do for you?
Listing agents: Brett & Jason Oppenheim, The Oppenheim Group
Nicole Nightly’s agent: Roger Perry, Rodeo Realty