In this exclusive CanadianSME Small Business Magazine interview, Lauren Mezzaluna, Co‑Founder and Director of Brand Marketing, and Emily David, Co‑Founder and Director of Product at Sona Cosmetics, share how their Canadian, women‑owned brand is redefining accessibility and inclusivity in beauty. Blending data‑driven community insight with expert formulation, the duo have built Sona around one clear mission—making high‑performance, cruelty‑free makeup accessible without compromise. From trend‑driven innovation to consumer co‑creation through Sona World™, their approach shows how transparency, affordability, and purpose can power the next generation of beauty entrepreneurship.
Lauren Mezzaluna is Co-Founder and Director of Brand Marketing at Sona Cosmetics, a Canadian, women-owned beauty brand making high-performance makeup accessible to all. A community-led marketer, Lauren has spent a decade building brands across beauty and retail. At Sona she leads brand strategy, creator partnerships, and Sona World™ – the brand’s community engine that turns real-time feedback into product decisions.
Emily David is Co-Founder and Director of Product at Sona Cosmetics. A veteran product developer, Emily leads formulation and shade development, bringing lab-tested, cruelty-free, vegan formulas to market at loveable price points.
Sona Cosmetics champions accessibility and inclusivity in the beauty industry—what inspired the vision for a brand that makes high-quality cosmetics available to all, and how has that mission driven each aspect of your business?
We kept seeing a gap: incredible formulas were either priced out of reach or impossible to find outside major urban centres. Sona was our answer – Makeup without the markup – rooted in Canadian values of safety, inclusivity, and quality. That mission shows up everywhere: we brief labs to hit performance first, then engineer cost; we keep packaging smart and recyclable where possible; and we build with our community in Sona World™ so the products, shades, and content reflect real people. If a product doesn’t perform, it doesn’t ship – and if the price doesn’t feel fair, we rework it until it does.
Balancing product innovation with affordability is no small feat. How do you approach the challenge of creating premium, trend-driven makeup formulas while maintaining accessible price points, and can you share a specific example from your September launch lineup?
We start with ingredients that deliver (think hyaluronic acid, peptides, squalane), design efficient componentry, and leverage tight supply-chain partnerships so savings flow to the consumer. We also launch in focused “drops” so we can buy smarter and avoid excess.
Example: our Tinted Lip Treatment ($12) delivers hydration and color payoff with hyaluronic acid – premium performance, everyday price. The Peel-Off Lip Stain ($9) answers the long-wear, transfer-proof trend without the dryness. Formula, component, fill, and freight are all tuned to keep quality high and cost low.
Community feedback is vital in beauty. How do you listen to and incorporate consumer insights into product development and brand strategy, and what recent feedback has shaped your current offerings or marketing approach?
Sona World™ is our listening post: Instagram polls, DMs, product sampling, shade voting, and post-purchase surveys. We also co-create with creators who pressure-test wear, undertones, and applicators.
Recently, our community asked for deeper contour shades and a mauve-leaning blush that reads natural in daylight. We accelerated the development of medium and deep contour wands and introduced Petal Mauve to our blush lineup. We also refined our sponge-tip applicator after creators requested cleaner, quicker placement for on-the-go.
As a Canadian-born, women-owned brand now stocked by retailers such as Dollarama and Giant Tiger, what lessons or surprises have you encountered in bringing Sona Cosmetics to market—and what advice would you offer other women entrepreneurs starting out?
Big lessons: (1) Unit economics first – every cent matters when you’re democratizing price; (2) Channel clarity – edit assortments so each retailer has a clear role; (3) Story travels – buyers and consumers lean into brands with a point of view and receipts (testing, claims, community love).
Surprises: national interest came earlier than expected, and bilingual packaging/timing adds real complexity – plan ahead.
Advice: build with your community, not at them; ship small, learn fast; protect cash flow; and ask for help – mentors and peer founders have been invaluable.
Finally, what message or words of encouragement would you like to share with fellow small and medium-sized beauty business owners who aspire to create positive change and inspire self-expression through their work?
Your edge isn’t unlimited budget – it’s focus and closeness to your customer. Anchor to a mission you can measure, be transparent about the journey, and celebrate small wins (they compound). Prioritize product performance, fair pricing, and community care; the rest – press, distribution, momentum – follows faster than you think. Beauty can be a force for confidence and belonging – keep going, and build the brand you wish existed.
