Originally hailing from China, Mabel Lee, founder of Velour, felt underrepresented in the beauty space when she first launched the brand. “Growing up I didn’t have any Asian female entrepreneurs to look up to, especially in the beauty industry. While it was exciting to discover and carve out my own journey, it was also very scary being an anomaly in the industry — female, Asian, and very young.” Mabel stated in an interview with Fashion Magazine.
In addition to carving out her own path, she carved out a unique position in the false lash category. Easy-to-apply, natural-looking lashes designed for all eye shapes and sizes. It was critical to Velour that the lash styles developed looked beautiful on monolid eyes.
“It is very exciting to see many more Asian American founders in the beauty industry now than there were ten years ago when I started. I think this will be a huge motivation for the younger generation. Now it’s like the norm to start your own business and become an entrepreneur which is so exciting to see and I hope this empowers the younger generation in ways that I did not have growing up.”
Velour will be celebrating AAPI-founded brands throughout May, starting with the Bestsellers AAPI Collective Box – available at Mohala Eyewear!
100% of the profits from the sale of every box sold will be donated to AAPI Women Lead, a movement that aims to strengthen the progressive political and social platforms of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the U.S. through the leadership of API women, girls, and gender-expansive communities.
“We wanted to celebrate and show solidarity across the community of AAPI founders,” said Ashley Mariko Meilan Johnson founder of Mohala Eyewear who is of Japanese, Chinese and white descent. “We know that as a group we can make a larger impact and really work towards changing culture to be more inclusive and have more representation in business and media.”
Here are some of our favourite AAPI-founded brands, also included in the box:
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/gq9pm4h3fol3/eCmyy5plXo7Oe9L7T1l3Y/17b02532db9c1af9deab098bb688b789/Blog_AAPI_Apothekary.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=95&fm=webp&bg=transparent)
Apothékary
Meet the founder, Shizu Okusa, who has set out to help others regain their holistic health by delivering natural herbal remedies that get to the root cause of health issues.
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/gq9pm4h3fol3/3y9cgLIIuJKno7sSpYqZMG/f0ade699a58ce4f737814303ca5c222c/Blog_AAPI_MohalaEyewear.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=95&fm=webp&bg=transparent)
Mohala Eyewear
Meet the founder, Ashley Mariko Meilan Johnson, who was inspired to create an inclusive eyewear brand for women to feel seen, heard, and confident in their eyewear.
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/gq9pm4h3fol3/2Jo3rrexoOroD9yzA7wvns/7035467576c1ddabe6a4874cc944a160/Blog_AAPI_GirlfriendCollective.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=95&fm=webp&bg=transparent)
Girlfriend Collective
Meet the founders, Ellie and Quang Dinh, who believe good things come to those who don’t waste – aka ethical manufacturing, recycled materials, being transparent, and doing what’s best for the planet.
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/gq9pm4h3fol3/1anUAD32jjUyS8JnPIHgxX/541cd8e487d3c8fac05c89a61e0257ea/Blog_AAPI_KraveBeauty.JPG?w=800&h=600&q=95&fm=webp&bg=transparent)
Krave Beauty
Krave Beauty founder, skincare aficionado and Youtube OG Liah Yoo started the brand in 2017 to combat the exhaustion of searching for miracle products.
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/gq9pm4h3fol3/4fZSo9z9yf0BzSmWwmiWlg/34af53a9e4f680104a532f193f85aaa9/Blog_AAPI_CocoKind.jpg?w=800&h=600&q=95&fm=webp&bg=transparent)
Coco Kind
Meet Priscilla Tsai, the Founder and CEO of Cocokind. Cocokind is an organic skincare line that is centered around superfoods.
We’re also partnering with 10 other AAPI-founded brands on a Giveaway worth $2,500! Enter from May 7th here.
Sources:
https://fashionmagazine.com/beauty-grooming/mabel-lee-interview/
