The Little Fish who Changed the Tide

Jennifer Harper just needed a place to start. So she did what most people would do: she Googled how to make her own lip gloss.

Simple DIY recipes weren’t in short supply, even back in 2015. A little beeswax, some coconut oil, a splash of pigment from your favorite lipstick. “It’s not that difficult. You could do it in your own home,” says the founder of Cheekbone Beauty.

Now, if only Google had the recipe to compete with global cosmetic conglomerates in a ruthlessly competitive market.

Ten years on, she’s earned her spot on the shelves of small boutique Shops and global retailers like Sephora. Cheekbone Beauty even made an appearance at the Met Gala.

And still: "If I knew what I knew now, I would have never started." But she also sees something the industry veterans can't. "I also see this different side," she says, "perhaps in a way that someone who's been in the industry their whole life couldn't" – like the idea of creating a new segment in the industry focused on Indigenous roots and socially conscious sustainability.

That’s the advantage of being the little fish in a big sea.

Uncharted Waters

Cheekbone Beauty began as a dream. A literal one. Jennifer woke up that January night with a vision of three Indigenous girls covering themselves head-to-toe in colorful lip gloss. She wrote a business plan before the image could fade.

Going the DIY route in the family kitchen was a non-starter. She would need a proper lab to produce a product she was comfortable putting into people’s hands and on their lips.

So her searches turned toward small-batch white-label manufacturers. She found one in Toronto, not far away from her home base in St. Catharines, Ontario. Ordering 12 units at a time was expensive—unsustainably so—but it was the best path forward at the
time.

“I also see this different 
side … perhaps in a way 
that someone who's been 
in the industry their 
whole life couldn't.”

“I had my job, so I had a little bit of money that I could work with,” she says. “It was the only way I could possibly test this idea, because I didn’t have generational wealth.” 

Her first outside funding came in the form of a $500 check, earned through a 12-week Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship program. She used it to register the business name and launch her first Shopify website. 

Cheekbone Beauty had made its debut.

Against the Current

The product Jennifer made in 2016 wasn't the one she wanted to make. The industry standard, after all, wasn't her standard.

“Our mission was to make sure everything is biodegradable within the environment, and that the packaging either becomes reusable, refillable, biodegradable, or compostable,” she says.

After initial traction, she pressed her manufacturer about its ingredients and packaging. The answers came up short. “That was heartbreaking, when I learned I was selling products that I wouldn't have been satisfied with.”

Rather than a roadblock, that became her turning point. She realized, “I need to come up with a lot of money, because I want to build out this brand to be this sustainable version of what could be possible.”

In 2019, she secured her first investment from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners. With $350,000, she hired her first employee and left her full-time job in the food and beverage industry. 

Then she went back to Raven with a bigger ask. “We could make better products if we had our own lab and worked with our own team of scientists,” she said. 

They said yes.

“And then all of the 
celebrities that are 
wearing our product 
and love our products.”

Making Waves

Cheekbone Beauty has since carved its own space in that big sea. One that looks different from anything the conglomerates built.

Today, customers can mail back empty containers. A certified B-Corp, Cheekbone Beauty holds their products to a standard of 98 percent naturally derived ingredients. With their own team of scientists, they create formulations using grape extracts sourced from Niagara winemakers. They turn products they can no longer sell into art. And each year, a dedicated product line funds the Cheekbone Beauty Scholarship Program for Indigenous students.

“And then all of the celebrities that are wearing our product and love our products,” she says, listing Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, and Jonathan van Ness. “Those are moments you never dream of happening.”

The truest measure, though, isn't on the shelves, she says. "I'm so proud when another Indigenous person sends me a picture or a DM, because they just feel seen."

Talk about a little-fish advantage. "If I could do that," she says, "anyone
could."