Inspired by her years as a competitive dancer and the makeup she wore for such events, a South Jersey native and now dancer for the Philadelphia Flyers has launched her own sustainable makeup brand, with its first product slated to hit the market imminently.
Philadelphia-based Aer Cosmetics will launch its mascara in the coming weeks. Unlike traditional options, founder Paige DeAngelo has created a tablet which users activate by mixing it with the brand’s liquid solution inside a reusable, dishwasher-safe tube.
It will launch as a direct-to-consumer product with a goal of cutting down on waste generated from single-use mascara tubes.
An initial starter kit will sell for $35 and include the mascara tube and wand, plus the tablets, the solution and a tool to mix them. The idea is consumers only have to purchase one tube and then buy refill products as necessary.
Pricing on refill products is still being finalized but DeAngelo expects them to sell for about $10 and be available for one-time purchases as well as subscriptions. A single tube’s worth of mascara could last a user up to seven months, depending on usage.
The mascara – which is organic, vegan and cruelty-free – will initially be available in black with a goal of expanding to other colors in the future. DeAngelo also hopes to broaden to other forms of sustainable makeup, “using the same process,” she said, noting that could include foundation, concealer, eyeliner, and eyebrow products.
It is water resistant, something that was important to DeAngelo who initially anticipated Aer Cosmetics would be geared toward athletes like herself who wanted makeup that wouldn’t sweat off. That target has since broadened to a more general consumer population.
DeAngelo chose to start with mascara because it is a widely used product and stood to make a significant impact. A Statista report of 2020 mascara usage in the U.S. found there are more than 106 million users. With consumers buying an average of two tubes a year, more than 200 million mascara tubes – which are difficult to recycle – end up in landfills annually, a report from the U.S. Plastics Pact estimates.
“In terms of making an impact on our environment, I thought that would be the biggest,” DeAngelo said.
The company estimated it has the potential to reduce up to 70% of carbon emitted from mascara tube waste over time.
DeAngelo was inspired to launch Aer Cosmetics while a student at Drexel University, where she was also on the dance team. The idea came after she started reporting for one of the school’s TV shows, which focused in part on weather and sustainability. DeAngelo, who attended Haddon Township High School, initially enrolled at Drexel to study weather science and sustainability, expecting to become a meteorologist.
Through the show, she offered tips to students on incorporating sustainability in affordable everyday ways. That led DeAngelo to her own realization.
“I realized one of the biggest wastes in my life was my makeup,” she said, having been using it regularly since she was a child after starting dance at 2.5 years old. Wanting to find a way to cut down on a perpetual cycle of waste, she looked for brands that offered sustainable alternatives such as makeup in a tablet that would dissolve in a solution.
When she came up empty-handed, DeAngelo decided to make such a mascara herself. Her first formulation, concocted in May 2021, was made from products purchased at a drug store and combined in her campus apartment.
“I spent my last $20 at CVS,” she said, noting her determination to find a solution.
She ultimately took her idea to her academic advisor, who encouraged DeAngelo to apply for Drexel’s entrepreneurship co-op, which includes a scholarship and allows a select number of students to work on their business for six months.
After beginning in the co-op that fall, DeAngelo sought out a formulator to fine tune the product so that it could be made at scale. She worked with Florida-based Freelance Formulations, perfecting the tablet she had originated.
Determining a reusable container was her next step, which she finalized this spring. DeAngelo graduated from Drexel this September and has taken Aer Cosmetics on full time. She continues to work out of Drexel’s Baiada Institute and recently began her rookie season as a dancer for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Manufactured in Florida, orders of Aer Cosmetics will be filled by e-commerce fulfillment company Pietra Studio out of North Carolina and DeAngelo hopes to reach an international market in time.
The business so far has been funded through $71,000 in grants and pitch competition winnings. DeAngelo said she wants to see how the first six months go before considering if she needs additional funding to scale business.
