As a female-founded business, made up of 75% women, celebrating and supporting women is in our DNA. We're excited to spotlight the accomplishments, goals and initiatives of our team for International Women's Day. We asked our founder, Mabel Lee, a few questions about what it’s like to be a female entrepreneur. 

What advice would you give young women today? 

“Being a female founder is really important to me and I hope that I can inspire and encourage young women to explore the world of entrepreneurship because I really didn't have that type of role model growing up. I started Velour when I was only 21 years old, so one piece of advice that I would give is to not let anyone tell you that you're too young or too inexperienced. Just be ready to work really hard to achieve your goals!”  

What’s a defining moment in your career as a female entrepreneur? 

“When I was awarded by EY in 2016 as an Entrepreneurial Winning Woman. It felt amazing to be recognized in an annual competition and executive education program for high-potential entrepreneurs in the US and Canada!”   

What advice would you give your younger self? 

“Don’t be scared to carve your own path. Growing up, I had no role models to look up to and so it was daunting to do what I did, especially at such a young age. But don’t let that stop you. It’s okay to be the odd one out sometimes!”  

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, how do you work towards this at Velour? 

Velour has continued to prioritize sustainability efforts to help build a more sustainable future. In 2021 we transitioned from our acrylic packaging to 100% recyclable packaging and soy-based ink. Moving to this new packaging has removed approximately 13,727kg of unrecycled plastics per year from our oceans and landfills. 

We also made the promise to become 100% Vegan and Cruelty-Free, which we’re proud to say we now are. Using vegan premium quality fibres means that our false lashes are also reusable, up to 30+ times depending on the collection.  

We’re continuing to innovate in lash material and are proud to share that our most sustainable lash collection yet, the Plant Fibre Lash Collection is available now!