When Alisha Anderson first started her makeup company Dioné Cosmetics back in 2012, she could have never imagined it would take her to Hollywood.
Anderson will be a part of the 2024 DPA Luxury Golden Lounge Gifting Suite, which means she will give her products to some of the world’s biggest celebrities at the Golden Globes.
“It’s like literally giving me goosebumps just thinking about it,” says Anderson. “Just the fact that there’s going to be 200 people walking around Beverly Hills with my products next week is insane.”
Anderson’s patented makeup brushes to her foundation products makes Dioné Cosmetics an affordable and professional makeup line that is cruelty-free. And it’s all made by Anderson herself. She has her cosmetics chemist degree and is a professional makeup artist. The names of her products are inspired by her loves in life — the Backstreet Boys and Seinfeld, among other things.
She first got into the field after seeing a makeup video in the early days of YouTube. Since then, she built a following on social media to grow her product.
“The tag line for my company is #LiveLifeBeautifully,” says Anderson. “It stems from my psychology degree because I am a helper at heart. I want people to live a fun and happy and authentic life. I want them to do things that bring them joy and (makeup is) a way to sort of have that conversation.”
Cosmetics from Alisha Anderson’s brand are pictured here.
The Dubois Pelin and Associates group initially contracted Anderson for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) pre-show gifting suite, which didn’t end up happening due to the 2023 Writer’s Guild of America Strike.
“I was kind of bummed out because that was going to be my chance,” Anderson says. “Then at the end of August she sent me another email and said how do you feel about either doing the show before the Grammy’s or before the Golden Globes and I’m like, ‘Can I do both?’”
The Golden Globes are up first, which takes place on Jan. 7, 2024. Anderson admits there are a few faces she is hoping to see and hand her goodie bags too.
“We won’t get to know the guest list until the day before the event,” she says. “So I am secretly hoping for a Kevin Hart photo or Will Smith or something.”
The Saint John entrepreneur’s cosmetics company was picked over hundreds of others across North America. That still hasn’t settled in, she says.
“I am just blown away,” Anderson says. “The internet has made a big world so much smaller and I keep thinking to myself, ‘I don’t know what the odds are that she found my company out of all the companies that are out there.’”
“I can’t even put into words how mind blowing this is.”
MULTIPLE CANADIANS CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE
Anderson won’t be the only Canadian handing out merchandise in Beverly Hills. Indigenous artist Tracey Metallic from Quebec, and the Dartmouth, N.S., based Nova Scotian Cookie Company are others from north of the border taking their talents to L.A.
“They are all thrilled,” Anderson says. “And they all said the same thing, like the fact that we were chosen out of all of these companies to go down and be a part of this event is not only a testament to what we are doing but what we can do.”
Anderson is well aware of the impact the weekend could have in boosting her brand, but she won’t allow herself to put the cart ahead of the horse.
“One post to social media and this could blow out of the water, and I don’t want to put too much stock into it because I am trying to keep myself very, very grounded,” Anderson says. “I don’t know what the possibilities are but I will take any and all that come my way.”
Anderson plans to head back to California at the end of January to do it all over again for the Grammy’s.
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