#Womentrepreneurs

A passion for chemical engineering and bioenergy carried Dianne Plummer all the way to Sweden. Then, while studying in the Scandinavian country, she encountered difficulty in finding skincare and make-up products.

With sensitive skin and a degree in science, the idea hit her to try her hand at making her own skin-friendly cosmetics. And so, Your True Shade (YTS) beauty line was born.

“I have always had a love for cosmetics, but it was after my inability to find products for my sensitive skin and eczema issues in Sweden that I decided to make my own mineral makeup by using my chemical engineering background. I wanted something that not only didn’t irritate my skin, but also was convenient at the same time.”

Boasting 23 shades of foundations, anti-aging skincare and a wide range of skin bronzers, Plummer not only solved her own skin care issues, but won the Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE) program that allowed the company — just two years old — to break even with make up sales at locations such as Fontana.

My current role as Lecturer in the School of Engineering at the University of Technology Jamaica provides me with the opportunity to nurture young minds. I can focus on my passion – energy, as I lecture modules such as thermodynamics. Additionally, I have developed modules in Biomass and Biofuels for both Utech, Ja, and a training module for Wigton Windfarm. As a STEM professional, I currently supervise final year projects which also focus on renewable energy.

My passion is to bring a sustainable approach to all areas of my life. Whether it is in my career path in the energy sector or with my natural cosmetics brand Your True Shade, I want to incorporate innovation in energy to safeguard the future. I can now say that my childhood interest has evolved into a personal charge to do my part to ensure a sustainable future.

ELIETTE LESUPERBE

(Guadeloupe)

ELIETTE LESUPERBE is a French Stylist and Fashion Designer from Guadeloupe. She has been working in the fashion industry for the past ten years and is among the best in the French Caribbean. She is presently located in Abymes, Guadeloupe. Fashion and design have always been a passion of Eliette, which led her to work in this field. Her passion for the fashion industry became evident by the affirmation of her taste, as well as the observation of the beauty of the world.

Her career path started with a basic training, which led her to Paris in a Fashion school, and the completion of a Master 1 in Guadeloupe.

In her pursuit of perfection, she combines elegance with creativity in her own fashion style. Eliette’s desire to enhance the fashion of both genders has allowed her to put her own footprint in the fashion industry. Her creativity is strongly influenced by African, European and Caribbean origins.

Eliette believes that to do this job, you need to be passionate, rigorous, focused and creative enough to bring out the true beauty in others. Her sources of inspiration are constantly evolving, in order to meet the needs of her clients, as well as the trends that are changing within the fashion industry.

Within the framework of the Guadeloupean Fashion industry, Eliette has been requested to attend several events on the local, national and international level, such as: Hair World, Paris Trade Fair, Style Week Jamaica and The Touch of France which was organized by the French Ambassador of Jamaica, in collaboration with the French Institute of Cooperation with the Caribbean (ICFC).

Over the past decade of her career, Eliette has garnered a vast amount of exposure, having participated in scores of notable fashion events both locally and internationally including: Plitz New York Fashion Week, Black Expo Design in Canada, The Premiere Fashion of Martinique, Fashion Week of Bruxelles; Martinique Fashion Week, Haiti Fashion Week and many more. In 2018 Eliette was Awarded the “Caribbean Style & Culture Award of Excellence”