Caledon resident sees dream come true as Hudson’s Bay begins distributing her cosmetics line

By Rob Paul 

Everyone has a dream growing up, whether it be to become a professional athlete, an actor, an astronaut, or anything in between. But few actually get to see those dream come to fruition.

For Mercedes Gubert, she didn't want to see her dream fall by the wayside, so she worked at it for years and let passion motivate her until she found success and now, she's living her dream.

Nearly 10 years ago, Gubert made the decision that has set her up for success today: she started her own beauty business, Mercedes Lee Beauty. Her business offers luxury makeup, lash extensions, and hair services throughout Caledon and the GTA through in-home, on-site, or in-studio services for her clients.

Her goal was always to help people look and feel their best in their most important moments and from there she's only taken it up notch by notch.

Gubert recently found out that the Hudson's Bay would be picking up her cosmetic line—Artist Approved—and selling it in stores. The born and raised Caledon resident had always dreamed of going into the beauty industry and one day owning her own business, now she's seeing it all payoff in ways she could have only imagined as a starry-eyed kid with a dream.

“I've always been passionate about the beauty industry, and it started from an early age, so my dream was always to start my own beauty brand,” she said. “But first I knew I had to get into the makeup industry somehow so I ended up going to Sheridan (College) for cosmetic techniques and management.”

She didn't wake up one day and have success sitting there for her, she knew she would have to take the reins and so she worked at it and saw an opportunity to start something she thought was lacking in the industry she loved.

“Once I graduated, I actually opened up my own makeup and hair team for weddings and special events,” she said. “From doing all of the weddings and building up my clientele, I felt there was almost a lack of clean beauty products in the industry, so I decided to start up my own brand and cater to customers that want a very quick and easy makeup routine.”

Gubert has been living her dream running her own business, but reaching a milestone like this one made all her hard work justified as she's starting to get the recognition she deserves. 

“It's been great,” she said. “I started eight years ago now and I launched this beauty brand in December of 2018, so it's been pretty exciting because it happened fairly quickly to get it into a huge department story like the Hudson's Bay.”

When she found out that her cosmetic line would be going into a store as highly regarded as the Hudson's Bay, Gubert was at a loss for words as she reflected on everything it took to get to this point in her life.

“It was definitely jaw-dropping, especially because I actually worked in the Hudson's Bay Companies jewellery department when I was going to school in college,” she said. “To now actually have my own brand in the Hudson's Bay is incredible, it's been a crazy journey.”

She thinks what makes her makeup products desirable in a crowded market are that they're essential products that are easy to use while remaining clean and cruelty-free. As for which of her cosmetic products the Hudson's Bay will be selling, just about everything you can imagine.

“I have all different makeups—lipstick, lip glosses, lashes, makeup brushes—as well as skincare products right now,” she said. 

Finding the motivation to work at this wasn't difficult for Gubert because there was never anything else she'd rather be doing.

“It's funny because from a young age I've always had some sort of an entrepreneurial drive,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to work for myself, I wanted to open up my own business, and I've always kind of had that in the back of my mind. So, I always knew that there was something better out there for me than your typical 9 to 5 job and having that passion really helped me to excel in my career.”

If you asked her 10 or 15 years ago if she saw herself having this type of success so soon, it would be hard for her to fathom.

“I thought that I was going to just maybe do this on the side and maybe get into something else—I thought I'd maybe go into interior design,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to do something creative, but I never thought that it was going to get to where it is today.”

It's always nice to stop and smell the roses, but Gubert already has her sights set on the next goal. She doesn't think she'll ever feel finished and that's part of the reason she's made it as far as she has already.  

“My future goal and the goal that I'm really trying to hit eventually—which I think is going to be a difficult one because the beauty industry is so competitive—I would love to get my products into Sephora Canada,” she said. “I don't think I'll ever be finished, there will always be a next thing that I want to do.”

To see Gubert's makeup products from Artist Approved and the hair and makeup work she's done through Mercedes Lee Beauty visit mercedesleebeauty.com or find it on Instagram @mercedesleebeauty.