“As a child I would mix baby powder and food colouring to make my own blush. This was me getting into mischief; little did I know that I would go on to become a cosmetic scientist, and now today have my own beauty brand.” — Cosmetic scientist and Tonal Cosmetics founder Christal Alert, in an exclusive sit-down with the Style Observer (SO).

As the offspring of a veritable West Indian household, Christal Alert understood early the importance of pursuing law or medicine!

Since she was good at science, and enjoyed it, there was the unspoken understanding when she enrolled at the University of Toronto (downtown St George campus), on a pre-med track (she graduated with a BSc in Neuroscience, Biology and Physiology), that medicine was her calling.

During the summer of her third year of university, and in the midst of internship at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital in Guyana, however, came the realisation that medicine was no longer in the cards.

Naturally, there had to be a back-up plan! A period of self- reflection ensued in between binge-watching beauty content on YouTube (all the beauty ‘gurus’ like Jackie Aina, Michelle Phan, juicystar07). “I knew professional content creator was not for me (too camera-shy) nor was make-up artist (I take a more everyday approach to make-up, and lack the detailed artistic ability). What I was drawn to was these influencers talking about ingredients, texture, benefits of products,” Alert told Style Observer (SO).

“I also spent a lot of time browsing the shelves of Sephora, playing with products, looking at their pigmentation, analysing the sensorial experience. I lived in Yorkville in downtown Toronto for a while, and there was a Sephora the next street over. Whenever I needed a break from studying, I would head in the store to relax.

“Realising my passion for beauty could be a career path, my research led me to all the various opportunities within the cosmetics field. I was most intrigued by cosmetic science where I could combine my love for beauty with my technical science background. Armed with my research about the industry and career prospects, I told my parents I no longer had an interest in pursuing medicine, and that a career in beauty was a better fit. Fortunately, I have very supportive parents who encourage me to pursue my dreams, and to always strive for excellence in whatever I choose.”

Charting a new course Alert moved to Versailles, France to pursue a Master’s at ISIPCA founded by the famous perfumer Jean-Jacques Guerlain. It is one of the world’s most prestigious perfumery, cosmetics and food aroma schools in the world, with notable alumni like Francis Kurkdjian, and most going on to work at top beauty and perfumery houses (L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Chanel, Shiseido, Firmenich, Givaudan). The second year of her dual degree programme was in Padova, Italy. “I chose my programme not only for the incredible academic programme, but the prospect of living in Europe for two years was hard to pass,” she explained.

Indeed, her dual Master’s in Cosmetic Science and Perfumery and Business and Management specific to the cosmetic and perfumery sector, provided a solid 360° view of the technical and business side to the industry, a foundation that would later be instrumental in building her brand, Tonal Cosmetics.

“At ISIPCA, we were tasked with presenting (either as a group from the same country or individually) about the beauty industry in our country. Other classmates had dense material to filter through, coming from large beauty markets like USA, France, Italy, and India. I represented the Caribbean on my own and struggled to find material to present on. It was disappointing to see how overlooked the Caribbean was as a beauty hub.

“I did learn that Haiti produces the best quality vetiver in the world, and is highly sought-after by the most premium fragrance houses. Unfortunately, Haitian farmers are severely underpaid, making a fraction of what French farmers would. It’s an inequality I made known to my peers, and a lesson that I take with me now as a business founder.

“We make sure that we know where every ingredient we’re using in our product is sourced from, and that workers are paid fairly throughout the entire supply chain.”

Alert’s approach to beauty is, she tells SO, shaped by her mum who reserves the wearing of make-up for special occasions and date nights. “To her,” she continued, “make-up should never mask or transform your features. Instead, it should be elegant, gracefully enhancing what you’ve got. You should still look and feel like yourself.”

Christal has adopted her mum’s less-is-more approach to make-up, opting for fresh polished skin and groomed brows as her go-to. Her definition of beauty? “Beauty is a luxury: a simple and essential luxury. Beauty is deeper than appearance. It’s about well-being, how we feel, how we want to show up in the world and communicate our personality.”

Enter Tonal Cosmetics! The timing is fortuitous and for her a joy to be in the beauty industry at a time where the thinking has evolved to accept that there is no standard.

Launched in Barbados in November 2020 Tonal was born, according to Alert, out of a frustration “that beauty shelves [in Barbados] were filled with imported goods, and that Caribbean products were not on the shelves of the major beauty retailers. After speaking with friends and family about their purchasing habits, I learned that many women would buy their beauty products when they travelled, and upon returning home [they] would realise they do not work with our climate”.

Prior to launching Tonal, Alert knew that she would one day launch her own business. “I come from an entrepreneurial family, growing up seeing my grandmother run her own convenience store, both parents being self-employed, my aunts, uncles and older cousins all having their own businesses. But I knew, to enter the beauty space, a saturated market, I would need to solve a problem. I realised in the Caribbean we have two [sentiments echoed by the many women I spoke with prior to developing the brand]:

“We were not included in the beauty conversation. We were not spoken to directly, and products were not made available to us in the same way as other markets.

“A lot of products, particularly foundations, do not take our climate into consideration. While it works in colder, less humid climates, it melts off in ours, and is unflattering.

“In addition to solving a real need, I knew that any business I started would have to stand for something beyond product,” she further explained. “As a child, my parents would take us to the orphanage in Guyana on Christmas mornings, and throughout the year, to donate toys and school supplies. I grew up seeing my great-grandmother, Mama, donating food, clothes and essential supplies to the St Ann’s Orphanage in Guyana, a practice she continued until she died at 99 years old.

“Being community-oriented and caring for others is what I grew up seeing, so in building a brand, this needed to be a part of that foundation. It reinforces our Beauty for Living positioning, where beauty is meant to complement our lives, through all aspects.

After hearing the devastating news of the volcanic eruption in St Vincent, we pledged to donate 25 per cent of all foundation sales to aid in the ongoing disaster relief efforts. This had a trickle-down effect where other brand founders were inspired to do the same.

“To celebrate International Women’s Day 2022, we launched a limited edition T-shirt where 100 per cent of profits was donated to support The Lady Box Project — a female-led non-profit organisation on a mission to end period poverty in Barbados through education, raising awareness and donating personal-care items and baby supplies to those in need.

“The last element central to building the brand was having an excellent product. My intention is, and will always be, to make high-performing products, made with good-for-you ingredients that earn a place in your make-up bag. I work with the same labs producing for brands that are household names. We’re after superior quality that is produced under the strictest safety guidelines. Ingredients (both natural and synthetic) are vetted, formulas are tested for safety and efficacy following industry standards and FDA protocols.”