Beauty boost

A makeover of Evio cosmetics emphasizes its changemaking ethos

BEAUTY BRANDS HAVE a long history of using their collections and campaigns to support important causes (the Estée Lauder Companies’ breast cancer initiative, for example, has raised more than US$99million to support global research, education and medical services since 1992). Carrying that legacy forward is Evio Beauty Group CEO and founder Brandi Leifso. In October, Leifso will relaunch her skincare collection while doubling down on its mission to create a kinder world. “We’re in a moment of time where people care and where we have the tools to make change,” she says.

Leifso’s journey to the beauty C-suite is nothing short of extraordinary. In 2012, at the age of 21 and living in a Vancouver women’s shelter after experiences domestic violence, she founded her company. “My story is not abnormal,” she says. “My outcome is abnormal.” According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, more than 6,000 women and children sleep in shelters on any given night because it isn’t safe to be at home.

That personal experience forms the backbone of Leifso’s perspective as a community leader and entrepreneur. Earlier this year, she launched a lip serum as part of Evio’s Did I Make Myself Clear advocacy, which calls for the reallocation of funds from domestic violence police units to community organizations, such as the shelter she found herself in nearly a decade ago. “The solution is already there: filter money into the organizations that do have the resources, the empathy and the understanding of the complexity of how domestic violence works so that we can take that burden off the police,” she says.

Evio’s upcoming revamp will bring back some of the brand’s favourite products including its Rejuvenating Mask & Moisturizer and Oil Serum while adding a new jelly cleanser and a probiotic exfoliator. Leifso is also taking a step in a more sustainable direction by doing away with excess packaging when possible. It’s another example of her belief in leading by example. “I feel really optimistic about where the future is going,” she says. – CAITLIN AGNEW

For more information, visit eviobeauty.com.