Melanie Bender is the founder and CEO of Lore, a new fragrance brand that creates entire worlds in every bottle. Before becoming a leader in the beauty industry, Bender initially thought she’d enter the world of STEM. In college, she studied aerospace engineering and environmental science before becoming an environmental planner in her home state of Hawai’i. But her love for fashion and beauty led her to New York. It was there that she started a career that would make her an expert in every part of the process of brand-building—from PR to product development to marketing. Her natural talent and reputation led her to help grow beauty brands Versed and Merit before she was tapped to serve as the CEO of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode. But she never abandoned what she learned when she studied STEM. She often credits the scientific method as the formula to entrepreneurial success that’s gotten her to where she is today. Now, after more than a decade of building businesses across the beauty industry and leading them to new heights, Melanie’s launched her own with Lore—her fragrance line that debuted at Sephora this year.

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