The Makeup is the Message: NB’s Dioné Cosmetics
SAINT JOHN– In 2009, Alisha Anderson was feeling a little lost.
Like most young people, she decided to browse the Internet for answers.
“It was really one of those things that just came out of nowhere. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was at this particular moment of my life,” Anderson says.
“I was on YouTube one day, trying to figure out my path and get away from the world and I stumbled across this video that said ‘How to Make Your Mark in the Cosmetic World.'”
The video featured the typical stuff, such as moving to L.A. and doing makeup for celebrities. That wasn’t really an option for Anderson.
Then about 10 minutes in there was option two: start your own makeup company.
“The idea really intrigued me, and I remember texting my boyfriend right away saying ‘I want to start my own makeup company,'” says Anderson “He was like ‘Ok, let’s do this!'”
That’s how Dioné Cosmetics got its start.
Over the next few years, Anderson talked to different cosmetic manufacturers world-wide. She didn’t just want her products to be high-end, they also had to be ethical. Also around this time, Anderson started going to school to get her official makeup license.
“I was trying to figure out what my stake in the cosmetic world was going to be,” she says. “I’m a professional makeup artist, I’m an animal lover, and I’m cheap,” she says.
“I decided I wanted my makeup line to be professional quality, cruelty free and affordable.”
Anderson soon found a manufacturer that fit the bill.
“I always tell people, it’s really nice to look pretty and take care of yourself everyday. Self-care is very important, but at the end of the day it’s also very important to be a good person in general and take care of each other. If we just started taking care of each other, it would be a much better place.”
Anderson had help from the Saint John Community Loan Fund’s program for enterprising women. From there, she went on to their accelerator program where she was given a business coach. After that, Enterprise Saint John helped her get her brand outside of New Brunswick with the seed loan, which allowed her to take her products to massive cosmetic shows in cities like Vancouver and Toronto.
Though expanding outside the province is obviously important, Anderson said there’s a benefit to keeping the business based here at home.
“Keeping it in New Brunswick and especially Saint John has really helped because I’ve been able to find people who actually want to help me, and not so much use me,” she says.
“I always say if I had tried to start this in Toronto, not only would I be amongst a ton of competitors. I’d have a bunch of sharks in the water trying to take me down. I feel like Saint John is a really nurturing area where they actually want to see you succeed, because your success if their success.”
When it comes to getting your hands on Dioné products, Anderson says she decided to go with a direct sales network, kind of like Avon.
It wasn’t a model she was planning to use, but as Dioné began to grow, Anderson became crazy busy. With help from her business coach, she was able to create a system that met the company’s needs.
“I chose that model because it’s scalable and it keeps my costs down quite a bit so I can continue to deliver the affordability of my products to people,” Anderson says.
“Having paid employees, I could do the same thing, but this gives them the sense of their own business. They have their own business when they sign up to Dioné cosmetics. This is their business and they can make it as big or as small as they want. I really like the power of that.”
Right now Anderson has 34 “Godesses”, most of them are in New Brunswick. She also has two in British Columbia, one in Alberta and one in P.E.I.
This year, Anderson wants to grow to have Goddesses in every province.
“That would be fantastic in my mind, because the people who are in the provinces that have any Goddesses that are starting off, they’re essentially doing what I did several years ago,” she says. “It’s really exciting to see what could possibly happen.”
Every year Anderson hosts the “You Are Magnificent” fundraiser which helps the Saint John Sexual Assault Response Team. Last year they raised $2,100. This year she hopes to raise around $5,000.
“I just want to continue growing,” Anderson says.
“I have this hashtag I use, #DioneDomination. I want to take over the world. I want to show people that you can totally follow your dreams and do something good for people.”