Industry Voices With Anna D'Amore of Truvi Beauty

This edition of Industry Voices features the voice of Anna D'Amore. Anna is the owner and founder of Truvi Beauty. Truvi Beauty is skincare that is dye/colour free and does not use artificial fragrances. Their products are not tested on animals and have been formulated to help with helping many skin situations. Anna is a professionally-trained brow guru, skincare specialist, master makeup artist, medical aesthetician & product formulator.  We asked Anna to share her story and voice her industry opinions. ​

1. What inspired you to get into the cosmetics industry? 
The admiration of the beauty industry began at a very young age. It started with makeup brushes in my hand and the feeling of magic when unleashing confidence and pure joy from my transformative work. This was all because of the creativity produced through makeup! Yet, I knew more was missing. I needed to dig deeper to have a hold of the industry full circle. It was with full attentiveness (and lots of questions) with a colleague that I was working with side by side backstage during a large Fashion show in Toronto, Ontario. She was an aesthetician & makeup artist. Her care for the skin and advice peaked an interest in me in the cosmetic industry even more than ever. It then progressed to aesthetics for me and how unbelievable it was to continue to help in the transformation of one of our most beautiful organs, our skin! Pure joy from day one of my career, which now has me formulating & creating to strengthen the Truvi Beauty Brand. 

2.What kind of impact do you want to have on the industry? 
My goal for Truvi Beauty is to impact as many people as we can. We want to help individuals build confidence. We want to promote inclusivity for all skin situations and to educate that beauty has a purpose. It is more than skin deep. You can strengthen one's confidence, through wellness and that someone can feel great in the skin they were born in. Truvi Beauty means true to life. We need to embrace that being true to what our skin situation is today. With a little help from a good skin routine, we can make a change for tomorrow. Be kind to your skin, it will thank you.

3. What is the most difficult aspect of running a business in Canada? Any advice to cosmetic startups? 
I believe it's worldwide that we experience negativity no matter what industry one is in. This challenge is everywhere. I feel very blessed to be producing in a country that has access to amazing raw material-facilities/labs to create a dream into reality. Health Canada's guidelines lookout for the well-being of our communities and the end-users. The guidelines also benefit the manufacturers. As things evolve in the industry, these guidelines too must be adjusted and be implemented. This can be costly. My advice is to continually learn, do your due diligence and research and more research!
4. What is your opinion on sustainability in the cosmetic industry?
This is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the industry right now. Companies are trying to reduce and head to zero waste. Some companies have shown us already! To be ethical and eco-friendly, try to be cruelty-free, vegan, non-toxic, free of palm oil, and have packaging that is thoughtful to our environment. Try to produce cosmetic products that have a very low impact/harm to the environment from the start to finish. More work needs to be done on the part of sourcing the raw materials and packaging that can sustain the product safe for use. Nature has done the work for us, we need to go back to that as much as we can.

5. How important are ingredients in cosmetic products? Do you keep up to date with innovations in raw materials? 

Yes, ingredients are crucial. They are the backbone of the industry of cosmetics. We have to look at the where and how. Where does it come from, and how is it prepared for us to use in our brands. Together with the cosmetic scientist and labs, we need to ensure our formulations are safe and effective. Keeping up-to-date on the research is a constant priority.
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6. What is one thing that you could change in the cosmetics industry?
To ensure that NO animal testing is done in all parts of our world, #crueltyfree and #noanimaltesting. We also need to strengthen the confidence in as many people as we can, to have them feel comfortable that companies are not adding ingredients that would cause one any harm.- ie lead and other toxic ingredients. Can you imagine how great it would be to never worry about toxicity in our products!