Affera Cosmetics founder Lisa Mascareno

Credit: supplied

Makeup’s own Hollywood North

A local entrepreneur gets in on a cosmetics revolution

Long before actress Alyssa Milano touted the benefits of Sheer Cover in late-night infomercials, mineral makeup was Hollywood’s not-so-closely guarded secret. Many of the A-list celebrities on Hollywood’s endless stream of red carpets were wearing it, instead of the brand-name war paint some of them were being paid millions to endorse during prime-time hours.

While most thinking people give as much credence to infomercials as they do to politicians, mineral makeup has become the new frontier of the beauty industry, thanks also to such populist outlets as the Shopping Channel. It’s a rare instance of the tastes and desires of everyday people having trumped the dictates of the mega-brands. In an effort to catch up, those big players of the beauty industry have quickly assembled their own lines of ‘mineralized’ makeup and launched them, in true multinational style, with multi-million-dollar ad campaigns. (A personal favourite is Penelope Cruz purring “Itth minerahhhhlthhhs” in her trademark Castilian accent for L’Oréal’s Bare Naturale foundation.)

Whatever ‘mainstream’ mineral makeup has or will become, it nonetheless started as a grassroots reaction to the fillers, talcs, oils, parabens and alcohols used in the cosmetics industry. Mineral makeup is non-comedogenic, meaning it doesn’t clog pores and allows the skin to breathe. It’s as popular for what it does contain — namely, titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide (both of which are anti-inflammatories with natural sunscreens) and iron oxideas — as for what it doesn’t. Mineral makeup, unlike more traditional cosmetics, is recommended for people with skin conditions such as rosacia, acne, broken capillaries, and scars, because it won’t irritate skin and can actually have beneficial effects on these conditions. Having the big-time industry giants hawking their own ‘mineralized’ versions tends to muddy the waters a bit, especially when many of their formulations contain a paucity of actual minerals.

At present, mineral makeup is dominated by two players: the aforementioned Sheer Cover, and the number-one North American brand, San Francisco-based Bare Escentuals. Industry veteran Jane Iredale, who sells her line in boutique salons, and iconic 1970s model Lauren Hutton, whose new line is targeted at older women, have found comfortable niche markets of their own.

The newest player in the game is hardly a blip on radar. And yet, Lisa Mascareno is already making waves around Vancouver with Affera Cosmetics.

A beauty consultant with years of experience, the petite, blonde Mascareno began looking for self-employment opportunities and decided to import and package mineral makeup. “I wanted to work with something I knew was up and coming in Canada, and [mineral makeup has] been popular in the States for years,” she says. “But when I did some research and found out I could do it myself, I thought, well, why not? The internet is wonderful for that. I just went online and found out what you needed and how it needed to be done, and began mixing my own colours with just three minerals: titanium dioxide, mica, and iron oxide.”

The name Affera followed soon after, Mascareno remembers. “It’s Arabic for ‘colours of the earth,’ and since I use the colours of minerals from the earth, it just fit.”

Affera Cosmetics, which launched this past June at the not-so-auspicious-sounding Hats Off Day in Burnaby, already offers 69 eye-shadows/eyeliners and 13 foundations (as well as lipsticks and lip-glosses), in more colours and shades than many established brands. “I make everything myself and I can make any colour, so I’ve made it for all skin types, from the lightest to the darkest,” Mascareno explains. “When I create a new colour, it instantly becomes my favourite, until I make the next colour and that one becomes my favourite.”

While Affera’s colour palette is impressive, its greatest selling feature seems to be word-of-mouth. When it became known that an article was being written about Mascareno for The Look, customers sent in glowing testimonials of their experiences with her products. From a 61-year-old rosacia sufferer to women with dry, sensitive skin and excessive freckles, all had nothing but praise for Affera’s 100-per-cent mineral products. So new is her company that Mascareno only recently graduated from “home parties” to selling most of her product at farmers’ markets in Burnaby and West Vancouver. But the loyal customers she has helped over the summer are returning the favour, sending customers her way.

“I would love to be in salons and spas,” Mascareno says, and indeed, just as this article went to press, Davie Street salon Juju announced it would be carrying Affera. Mascareno is awaiting confirmation from a few more spas and from fashion market Portobello West, but she has secured a stall at Lonsdale Quay for the fall. “My dream is to one day have a store in Kitsilano,” she says, a twinkle in her eye, “but rent is so expensive there. So, if anybody out there has a cheap rent they’d like to offer, I’m in!”