{"id":87302,"date":"2024-02-27T13:35:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T13:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=87302"},"modified":"2024-02-27T15:24:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T15:24:55","slug":"game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Changers: Wende Zomnir"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Game
Wende Zomnir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the ever-evolving landscape of the beauty industry, where trends come and go like seasons, Wende Zomnir has been a consistent force of innovation and empowerment. Since \u201cbreaking\u201d the world of cosmetics at the age of 27 with Urban Decay<\/a>, Zomnir is now on a mission to redefine the industry, with an eye toward sustainability and wellness, with her latest venture, caliray<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zomnir\u2019s journey as an entrepreneur started in the heart of Chicago, where she worked at a big ad agency. However, the Windy City\u2019s cold climate led her to seek the warmth of California, ultimately sparking her desire to pursue other projects. A chance introduction to Sandy Lerner, cofounder of Cisco Systems, marked the beginning of her groundbreaking career when they launched Urban Decay in 1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cSandy showed me what entrepreneurship was, which I passed on through my career,\u201d Wende reflects. \u201cShe said, \u2018I broke the tech industry and now I want to break the beauty industry.\u2019 Sandy really let me run with it \u2014 I was able to make Urban Decay sing.\u201d Under Lerner\u2019s mentorship, Zomnir learned to challenge the giants of the beauty industry, going up against the likes of Coty and Est\u00e9e Lauder. She created best-selling products like the legendary Naked Palette and All Nighter Setting Sprays for Urban Decay, known as makeup for boys and girls and a true pioneer in the industry. \u201cUrban Decay\u2019s mission was to democratize beauty,\u201d says Zomnir. \u201cIt was really about self-expression.\u201d<\/p>\n

After growing Urban Decay with its \u201cmakeup as empowerment\u201d mantra into a billion-dollar brand that was eventually sold to L\u2019Oreal, Zomnir wasn\u2019t ready to exit the industry. \u201cMission accomplished with Urban Decay so what was the next mission?\u201d says Zomnir. \u201cI had always been really into wellness and Urban Decay was one of the first brands to take parabens out of our products \u2013 it was really important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustainability and wellness became her next frontiers, inspired by her deep connection to the California dream lifestyle, and in 2022, she launched caliray, alongside cofounder Jenna Dover, under Sephora\u2019s Clean + Planet Positive program. Enlisting former L\u2019Or\u00e9al contacts and leveraging her experience in both entrepreneurship and big corporations, Zomnir \u201cenvisioned a brand that embodied California.\u201d True to that vision, caliray is based in a surf shack in Newport Beach and focuses on \u201cclean formulas, dirty minds, and sexy sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zomnir\u2019s aim is to educate people about packaging and make them more conscious consumers. \u201cI was surfing and saw all this garbage and thoughts \u2013 how many Naked Palettes have I created?\u201d she says,. \u201cThere\u2019s a real opportunity to create something at the intersection of beauty and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caliray\u2019s mascara, a tubing formula that provides long wear without damaging lashes, stands as a testament to performance clean beauty. \u201cIt\u2019s a tubing mascara and it\u2019s clean and it gives that long wear but is not waterproof, which is bad for your lashes,\u201d she explains. “It gives volume without damage and long wear without smudging.\u201d She also loves the primer\u2014 \u201cIt blows out the pores and fine lines but also has peptides for skin health\u201d \u2014and the setting spray with transdermal magnesium, great for skin recovery. \u201cIt\u2019s like sprayable skincare,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The brand also collaborated with Thorne to create a beauty supplement, Get Lit Right Now, touted by Zomnir as \u201clike drinking a ring light.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Zomnir, work and life are intertwined, a rhythm she has maintained throughout her career. Being present for her children during key moments was nonnegotiable. While she acknowledges the challenges, she emphasizes the importance of taking time for herself with early morning workouts, tennis, and a variety of sports. She takes advantage of business trips to explore and unwind. \u201cI always take time for myself,\u201d says Zomnir. \u201cOn business trips, I take some extra time to enjoy myself and use work travel to fuel me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, she envisions more collaborations, especially with small brands and expresses excitement about being a new founder again. As Zomnir ventures into a new era of beauty with caliray, her commitment to innovation, empowerment, and sustainability remains unwavering. In a world that is increasingly conscious of its environmental impact, caliray stands as a beacon of clean beauty, setting new standards for the industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42712,"featured_media":87476,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[6939,30,16],"yoast_head":"\ngame-changers-winter-2024-wende-zomnir<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wende Zomnir \u201cbroke\u201d the beauty industry once with Urban Decay and is at it again with a new sustainable brand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Game Changers: Wende Zomnir\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wende Zomnir \u201cbroke\u201d the beauty industry once with Urban Decay and is at it again with a new sustainable brand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-27T15:24:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/Wende-Zomnir-DIGITAL.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/\",\"name\":\"game-changers-winter-2024-wende-zomnir\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-27T13:35:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-27T15:24:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Wende Zomnir \u201cbroke\u201d the beauty industry once with Urban Decay and is at it again with a new sustainable brand\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Game Changers: Wende Zomnir\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Grazia USA\",\"description\":\"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"game-changers-winter-2024-wende-zomnir","description":"Wende Zomnir \u201cbroke\u201d the beauty industry once with Urban Decay and is at it again with a new sustainable brand","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Game Changers: Wende Zomnir","og_description":"Wende Zomnir \u201cbroke\u201d the beauty industry once with Urban Decay and is at it again with a new sustainable brand","og_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/","og_site_name":"Grazia USA","article_modified_time":"2024-02-27T15:24:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/02\/Wende-Zomnir-DIGITAL.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/","name":"game-changers-winter-2024-wende-zomnir","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-02-27T13:35:58+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-27T15:24:55+00:00","description":"Wende Zomnir \u201cbroke\u201d the beauty industry once with Urban Decay and is at it again with a new sustainable brand","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/game-changers-beauty-industry-entrepreneur-wende-zomnir\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Game Changers: Wende Zomnir"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/","name":"Grazia USA","description":"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Grazia USA","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/87302"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}