Vermouth Beauty — a women-owned and operated sustainable lipstick company — was born out of a passion for conscious beauty by founders Jill Jago and Meg Diaz. Together, they set out to liberate individual beauty and make a difference in the world of cosmetics. Their lip crayons are crafted using only the finest natural ingredients, free from toxins, silicones, and synthetic fragrances, and their lip crayons are fully biodegradable and plastic-free.
Meg Diaz, CEO and Chief Product Officer, explains that when she and Jill met, they instantly started talking about the fact that they love beauty products and the boost a great lipstick can offer. Jago and Diaz both felt really frustrated with the endless ways the beauty industry is failing women and the planet.
“Vermouth was born the night we met, inspired by the desire to liberate individual beauty, sustainably,” said Diaz.
Diaz has an eclectic background; she trained as a painter in Italy, researched at the British Library, worked as a business consultant and also worked at a small beauty company—managing their production team and working on product and strategy development.
“I wouldn’t have thought that there was a job that would require the skills of everything I had ever done,” she says, “but my work at Vermouth uses almost every skill I have ever learned.”
Diaz has an eclectic background; she trained as a painter in Italy, researched at the British Library, worked as a business consultant and also worked at a small beauty company—managing their production team and working on product and strategy development.
“I wouldn’t have thought that there was a job that would require the skills of everything I had ever done,” she says, “but my work at Vermouth uses almost every skill I have ever learned.”
She shares that their company stands out since they provide “delightful, nourishing zero-plastic beauty products that encourage women to express their own beauty the way that works for them.” She believes the colors in each flight look great on their own, and the thoughtful curation of colors in each flight (that women can blend together to express the mood they want that day) — is truly a unique strength of their offerings.
The duo strongly believes that beauty doesn’t HAVE to be the way it is — polluting the planet, using harmful ingredients, selling by chipping away at women’s self-esteem and making them feel they need to be “fixed.”
“Women deserve better,” Diaz says. “They deserve products that delight them and are nourishing to their bodies. They deserve brands that respect them.”
Diaz acknowledges that beauty is a crowded and competitive market and that they are very much the underdog. They are counting on word-of-mouth support to help change the industry. She encourages folks who are interested to follow along on their website, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
When it comes to favorite products, she picks BFF as her favorite flight. “We think of our flights as lipstick wardrobes with great standalone colors that can be blended and mixed to achieve a beautiful range,” she explains. “BFF is the lipstick wardrobe that fits me best and is my default go-to.”
On the horizon, they have a collaboration with Prairie Underground coming up for the holidays. Diaz says, “We developed three colors especially for it! Working with female-founded brands that share the belief that you can do business ethically is thrilling. It gives me hope that there’s a real chance not to just change the beauty industry but to change the way work functions.”
They’re also working with a couple of other brands on potential collaborations. “I love collaborating with women who are also forging their own path,” Diaz comments, “who have founded and are running profitable businesses. I think that while donating to a charity might help provide relief from the way the world works, funding diverse and female founders is finding people who are working on making the world work better.”
Learn more about Vermouth Beauty here.
Corinne Whiting is a freelance writer for Seattle Refined. Follow more of her adventures here.