Raising a Blue Beauty Innovation: A Capstone Story with Seneca College

The beauty industry has a massive water problem.

Each year, it produces over 120 billion units of plastic packaging, much of it made with non-recyclable materials that linger in our environment—especially our oceans. But the damage goes deeper than packaging. What’s inside the formulas we use every day often ends up in our waterways too, with little regard for their impact on marine ecosystems.

Sustainable innovation in beauty is still rare. And yet, if we’re serious about reimagining the way we move through the world, we need to rethink not just the packaging, but the products themselves—starting with ingredients that are safe for our skin, our bodies, and the water that carries our waste away.

That’s where Seneca College comes in.

I first connected with Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) at Collision last year, where I shared our early work developing a seaweed-based biomaterial. At the time, we weren’t expecting to have a formula ready to infuse into the material—until OCI introduced me to the incredible team at Seneca College’s Cosmetic Science Program.

This became the start of something much bigger.

As someone who is mostly self-taught and deeply values mentorship, I’ve always believed in creating opportunities for emerging professionals. I know what it’s like to hustle, to chase your curiosity into rooms you didn’t think you belonged in—until someone gave you a shot. So when I had the chance to collaborate with Seneca students on their capstone project, it felt like the perfect alignment of purpose, timing, and potential.

Over several months, a multidisciplinary team of Seneca students brought this vision to life—covering formulation, marketing, regulatory and compliance, and project management. By April, we had something real. A prototype. A partnership. A product to integrate back into our material being developed in the lab.

And that’s what we’re here to build: a values- and purpose-driven company. One that invests in people as much as product, and whose mission is to create the next wave of engaged, eco-conscious consumers and businesses—people who understand that beauty and sustainability can go hand in hand, without compromise.

At the heart of our work is a belief in biophilia—the innate human tendency to seek connection with nature. We believe that by rekindling our emotional relationship with the natural world, we can transform how we consume, care, and create. Our seaweed-based biomaterial is more than a technical solution; it’s an invitation to remember that we are bodies of water too.

Throughout the process, the students brought their own values, perspectives, and hopes for the future of beauty into the lab. Their reflections became guiding lights for the work we were doing together:

Some saw water not just as a resource, but a teacher:

Others reflected on the role of form and function in beauty:

And one team member posed a critical question that reflects the cultural responsibility we carry forward:

These are the kinds of questions and commitments we need in beauty—and in business. Because sustainability isn't just science; it's values in action. It’s biophilia expressed through every choice we make.

Behind it all was the woman who first said to me, “This is your baby. I’ll help you raise it.” That woman is now my co-founder, Allegra DeAngelo. We met one year ago—during a chaotic time when I had just received a cease and desist letter, our new R&D had just begun, and I was running multiple events for Ocean Week Canada. And still, something clicked.

Our collaboration is rooted in shared values: a culture of sustainability, curiosity, and reverence for the natural world. Together, we’re building a future where blue beauty doesn’t just look good—it does good.

This project wasn’t just about developing a formula. It was about raising a new kind of product—and a new kind of partnership—with the next generation of scientists, innovators, and changemakers.

Thank you, Seneca College, for believing in this vision and helping us bring it to life.