About Our Brand

SAPPHO New Paradigm is a womxn-led luxury,  vegan and organic Canadian colour cosmetic line, free of known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.

Our raison d'etre  is to offer luxurious, beautiful, healthy, kind and thoughtful products - truly packaged sustainably for our world.  We are artists at heart and support all things creative .  

When founder JoAnn Fowler became aware of the dangers of certain chemicals in cosmetics she felt a need  to be able to offer her clients/actors a safe, natural makeup alternative . Filming for large productions  meant formulating for performance on camera,  a satin finish, global shade range wear time and payoff.

 

SAPPHO's products are formulated for performance by experts and designed by JoAnn, an Emmy-nominated makeup artist. We offer products which blend impeccably with all skin types. Created with the finest certified organic ingredients, infused with phytonutrients and tested by professional makeup artists, the performance of this line proves that using organic makeup products is truly an upgrade.

We are Clean. Conscious. Vegan.

• No known harmful or hormone disruptive ingredients
• Vegan & Cruelty Free certified by PETA
• Made with low heavy metal ECOCERT® minerals
• Mica suppliers are members of the Responsible Mica Initiative
• All ingredients surpass safe score at 2 and under on the EWG SkinDeep database
• Produced and formulated in Canada, in a zero carbon footprint facility
• Loaded with phytonutrients and antioxidants
• Offer a diverse, global shade range

Our promise is to get greener as we grow. We are developing revolutionary, sustainable cosmetic packaging using lightweight metal, biodegradable plastic and  recyclable glass, with product life cycle in mind. We are a small company but have been working at this for a long time  and only finding now a clear path to sustainability. We will stay the course as we are at present as we manufacture in small batches but we look to a future where we continue to learn and get greener as we grow. 

Sappho New Paradigm has expanded globally in just over 2 years, now available in 55+ retailers in Canada, USA, Europe, Australia and Asia.

 

OUR STORY 

Founded by veteran film and television makeup up artist JoAnn Fowler and developed with experts in the field of green formulation, Sappho New Paradigm was first released as Sappho Cosmetics in 2008. With 20+ years of experience, an Emmy nomination and a Leo Award win under her belt, JoAnn was at the height of her career when some of the talent she worked with on set began requesting products that were paraben-free. As she researched ingredients and unravelled the risks associated with carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, her personal and professional conscience drew her to having a natural alternative in her kit. 

At the time, as Head of the Makeup Department on Showtime's The L Word series, JoAnn had access to all the natural makeup available on the market then, but none of it worked well enough on camera.  It was with the encouragement of the actors on the show that she began formulating her own products and introduced her trailblazing makeup line, Sappho. In fact, most of the first few shades of our bestselling Essential Foundation were named and matched for them. It didn't take long after launching Sappho and seeing it used on production sets that stores started calling, wanting to carry her high performance natural makeup. Eventually, her line took on a life of its own and with a healthy wholesale business and growing web sales, JoAnn quit working in film to dedicate herself to growing her company. With a personal history of cancer among close loved ones, integrity and transparency of ingredients were always important to JoAnn and remain at the core of our brand's ethos to this day.

Fast forward to 2016, when Fowler relaunched her line as Sappho New Paradigm, a new name for a new era: redefined original formulas and a fresh approach to business, embracing womxn-led standards in business practices. Now totally vegan, with more organic content and the addition of phytonutrients and low heavy metal minerals, a number of new products joined the beloved line-up, all beautifully packaged with a luxurious appeal using more and more  sustainable materials.