Our latest Beauty Boss is Karissa Bodnar, Founder of Thrive Causemetics, a brand devoted to going beyond beauty on the surface by giving back to empower diverse communities. Bodnar, a makeup artist and product developer, launched Thrive in honor of her dear friend Kristy who died from a rare form of cancer at just 24 years old. Kristy’s vivacious and selfless spirit inspired Bodnar to build a brand with purpose. 

Thrive products are made from vegan, cruelty-free formulas that are created without parabens or sulfates. The brand controls every step of the production process, allowing them to confidently ensure customers are getting quality products. For every item purchased, Thrive donates to help others thrive, giving back to a wide range of causes including education, cancer, homelessness, social justice, and more. Since its launch, Thrive has given over $125 million in products and funds to over 500 Giving Partners. 

We chatted with Bodnar to learn more about the inspiration behind the brand, must-try Thrive products, secrets for success, and much more.

Can you share a little about your background and how you got into the beauty industry ? 

I knew I loved the beauty industry since I was a kid. I grew up on a farm in Washington. I loved to be in my mother’s garden and make concoctions and potions in the kitchen! I started out my career as a makeup artist and I was laser focused on the beauty industry. 

When was Thrive Causemetics founded and what’s the meaning behind the name?

When I lost my close friend Kristy to a rare form of cancer at 24 years old, it really shook my world. Kristy was everything that is good in this world: inclusive, selfless, and truly the friend that everyone deserves in life. Kristy dedicated her life to serving others around the world through her work with Tanzanian Children’s Fund and other mission work—that was the catalyst for me to dedicate my own life to purpose and impact. Ultimately, that is why I launched Thrive Causemetics in 2016.  

How does Thrive give back and what causes are you committed to?

Our mission is Bigger Than Beauty, and for every product purchased we donate to help communities thrive. Since inception, we have donated over $125 million in products and funds to over 500 Giving Partners. In 2022 alone we donated more than $25 million in product and funds to our giving partners. 

We donate to many causes, but some of our main pillars are cancer, education, domestic abuse, homelessness & poverty, veterans, racial & social justice, LQBTQ+ causes and under-resourced youth.

In 2021, we launched the Breonna Taylor Endowed Nursing Scholarship at University of Louisville with a cash donation over $100,000, which sent Kaelyn Goatley to nursing school last  year. (We also named an Infinity Waterproof Eyeshadow Stick after Kaelyn). 

Tell us about your products. What makes them special?

We believe changing the world starts with a single ingredient, and that’s why we create vegan, 100% cruelty-free formulas containing proven ingredients without the use of parabens or sulfates.

All of our product’s shades are named after extraordinary people; many of them are people we’ve met through our Bigger Than Beauty™ giving mission (our donations), as well as our customers. Every single person has their own unique, inspirational story to share — in fact, I’ve never met an interesting person with an easy past — and those are the people we call our namesakes. I see Kristy’s spirit in so many of them, like Nalie, after whom we named the Chocolate Brown Shimmer shade of our Infinity Waterproof Eyeliner™, and Gailon, who has a Terracotta Matte shade of Infinity Waterproof Eyeshadow Stick™ named after her. 

Do you have a hero product? What’s your favorite?

Our Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara is by far one of our best-selling products, with over 32,000 top star reviews. People of all ages and all walks of life love this product and it shows.

I love all of our products, but I have a soft spot for the Lip Filler Lip Liner. It instantly plumps and defines the lips, while staying on all day! Trust me, it’s what keeps my lips defined even in the sweatiest workout classes. I actually wore it during my last half marathon, and it didn’t budge!

Is there anything you want people to know about the ingredients in your products? 

We source performance-driven, vegan, natural ingredients backed by the latest in scientific research to give you real, visible results.

Our products never contain:

• Parabens 

• Sulfates 

• Phthalates 

• Mercury Compounds 

• DEA 

• DBP 

• Synthetic + animal-derived fragrance 

• Formaldehyde 

• Microbeads 

• Mineral oil 

• Paraffin wax 

• Animal-derived ingredients 

• Gluten 

• Ethanolamines

Where are your products sold?

We are a proud DTC company, and all products are available on thrivecausemetics.com. My dream is to one day have a retail store at our innovation center in Los Angeles.

What’s next for the brand?

We will continue to grow the Thrive Causemetics brand and have a lot of new launches slated for 2023, including new big news in mascara and eyeliner. I just can’t wait!

We just launched our new brand under our umbrella called Bigger Than Beauty™ Skincare. This 10-product collection offers consumers skin solutions made simple. Fueled by innovative, purposeful, trailblazing technology that blends nourishing naturals and powerful ingredients, Bigger Than Beauty™ Skincare products are formulated to be highly active — not reactive. These conscientious, vegan formulas form effective regimens that address specific skin concerns and universal skincare goals.

Our goal is to continue creating award-winning high-performance clean products that help bring our communities closer together. And we will continue to evolve our Giving Mission into education with more scholarships.

Secret to success?

Success is not about one person or even a company itself. For us, everything is about our community and they are the true secret to our success. Our community has been with us since the beginning — they tell us what products they want to see more of, they nominate other strong, inspiring people to be the shade namesakes of our new makeup launches, they tell us which nonprofits they want to support, and they give us honest reviews about our products. Because of this, we love putting our community front and center whenever we can. We include them in our marketing and social media campaigns, we hold events all over the country, engage with them on our social platforms, and are in constant communication with them.

Biggest beauty secret?

Sunscreen all day, everyday! I put our Filter Effects SPF Primer on the back of my hands each time after I wash my hands. And I never leave my lips bare, I always have some kind of Thrive Causemetics lip treatment on my lips.

Wellness tips?

For me, movement is medicine. I make it a point to workout in the mornings to really help me get in the right mindset for the day. I also love walking and being outside throughout the work day. We’ve started “walking Wednesdays” at our Thrive Causemetics HQ and will often take meetings or interviews on the go. There’s actually science about how walking supports your creativity. Whenever, I face a challenge that feels insurmountable, I put my phone down and take a quick 10 min walk. I return refreshed and energized with new ideas to solve the problem.

Best advice?

Network and build friendships outside of your immediate circle! I love meeting and learning from other entrepreneurs and customers who share the same values and mission as us.

Favorite ways to relax?

I love to come home at the end of a long day to my two rescue dogs Kody and Cooper and building up hype song playlists has become a heartfelt passion I hope my recent playlist motivates you to thrive today!

A University of Michigan graduate, Lizzy Sherman is an award-winning digital content writer/editor. Her work has appeared in publications including Beauty Launchpad, Nailpro, DAYSPA, CNET, Entertainment Tonight, and more. She has been a featured guest speaker at Cal State University Northridge, Digital LA, and The National Association of Audience Marketing Professionals. When she's not writing, Lizzy enjoys yoga and playing guitar. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter: @zillizy, @zillizy16