We’re here because we want to change the culture of beauty.

Big business brainwashes people for profit, a practice that has created a multi-billion dollar market, aka the beauty industry. The problem is that these corporate dictators decide what’s beautiful and what isn’t, and their “beauty standards” are not actually accessible to the vast majority of us. But rather than question the standards, we go to ridiculous lengths, including life-threatening surgery, to achieve them. We’ll suffer incredible indignities and spend fortunes because we have been taught that our success in life depends on how closely one corresponds to the physical “ideal.” It’s grotesque, really, and it’s no coincidence that people have never felt worse about themselves. Beauty, in fact, is a fundamental part of the human experience that has much more to do with biology and connection to others than it does with looking a certain way.

What we are doing here at Marie Veronique is nothing less than setting a new standard for the beauty industry.

Anything we can do to change this ridiculous state of affairs is worth doing, and in our part of the world, skin care, we can do quite a bit. We can start by focusing on what really matters – skin health and vitality instead of impossible perfection. We do our bit by giving people products that don’t deteriorate skin integrity (like most products do) but actually improve its ability to function optimally on its own, thus improving appearance. Furthermore, we make a point to educate our customers on how the skin works so that they can better understand how to give it what it needs. Most of us learned our beauty regimes from our mothers or grandmothers, and boy do we know a LOT more than we did decades ago.

We also do our bit by raising the bar for the entire industry to be more thoughtful about what kinds of products they offer. This starts with making efficacy and safety the top priorities – after all, products that are “clean” are useless if they don’t actually work. It’s incumbent upon all of us to be asking questions like, “Does the world really need this product?” and “Will this make skin healthier? Or is it just a shiny new object to get people to buy?”

Healthy skin is a wonderful thing to gaze upon. At a certain age it can – and should! – bear signs of a life well-lived in order to be truly beautiful. Call a wrinkle a laughline and it changes everything.

True to our Berkeley hippie roots, we seek to conserve resources.

In an industry that is notoriously wasteful and environmentally taxing, Marie Veronique is unique for our mindful approach to doing business. We make a conscious effort to do right by the people, communities, and environment that we interact with and operate within.

We apply this principle to operations as well. For example, when we choose ingredients, we consider their environmental footprint, and when we create packaging, we seek out the lowest impact materials available. Just as we are continuously optimizing our products to be more effective, we are also continuously optimizing our operations to be more responsible.

Our commitment to helping our customers achieve skin health is what makes us special.

Being truly fascinated by – and dedicated to – the evolving science of skin health sets us apart from other skincare companies. The words “customer care” really mean something to us. We show that care by making the most effective and safest products to be found anywhere, updating formulations when better science becomes available, and by taking the time to educate our customers on how to achieve and maintain their healthiest skin.

Our integrity is everything.

We’re the same company whether anyone is looking or not. We approach everything we do – and everyone we interact with – with our higher purpose in mind: creating a new kind of skincare company that is driven by values.

Our philosophy is that making products that truly work is the best form of marketing. Unlike the vast majority of the beauty industry, we invest in education, product innovation, and R+D instead of extensive marketing and advertising campaigns.

We operate with a growth mindset. 

The beauty industry is highly competitive, not to mention cutthroat. It’s Wall Street with a prettier face. We believe that the best way to compete is by being the best – and that requires innovation that drives change. However, innovation can be a double-edged sword, and companies that lose sight of the bigger picture in favor of expanding the bottom line are all too common. Our competitive edge comes from the fact that we rely on scientific research to show us solutions that we use judiciously for the betterment of people, not profit.

We are all learning as we go, and we are mindful that mistakes come with the territory. What matters most is that we hold ourselves and each other accountable when things don’t go as planned. Mistakes can be a springboard that gives us space to engage and welcome the feedback we need to fuel our growth.

Every one of us plays a critical role in the company’s success. 

There is this thing called synergy, where the total is worth more than the sum of its parts, that comes into play when you have a great team. As individuals we are terrific, but put us all together and we are able to achieve something greater than what any one of us could manage on his or her own. Together we can accomplish marvels.