Ana Allen Leads the Beauty Live Shopping Revolution
On most days, you will find Ana Allen in front of a ring light, brushes in hand, preparing to share her latest beauty discoveries with an audience eager for her expertise. What follows is a flurry of livestreaming, strategy meetings with brand founders, and time carved out for exercise—her way of staying balanced in a world that never stops moving. It is a rhythm she has honed over decades in the industry, and now, in 2025, it has culminated in the launch of Approved to Shop.
Her newest venture is a curated live shopping platform that blends storytelling, education, and commerce, designed to help beauty, health, and wellness brands shine, connect, and convert long after the broadcast ends. Supported by Canadian media icon
Dawn Chubai, Ana is positioning herself at the forefront of a movement transforming how consumers discover and experience beauty. “Live shopping brings my journey full circle,” she says. “It connects me directly with audiences again, inspiring confidence and showing women that beauty is more than surface-deep. It is about presence, power, and stepping into your story.”
That belief has guided Ana for the past twenty-five years, ever since she arrived in Canada from Europe in 2000. As a teenager in a new country, she searched for confidence and connection. She discovered both in beauty, which quickly became her universal language. By high school, she was already doing makeup for friends and grads, recognizing how even small transformations could empower women to feel more fully themselves.
By the late 2000s, Ana had completed professional training and gained experience in film and television makeup, which gave her a strong technical foundation. She soon transitioned to retail, building expertise at the counters of Chanel, Dior, and Clarins. These roles taught her not only the artistry of luxury beauty but also the impact of one-on-one connection.
In 2013, Ana founded AnaVBeauty, a pioneering beauty school that empowered women through education. The response was overwhelming: more than 1,000 classes sold out in the first week. Teaching those sessions gave Ana an epiphany: she was not only meant to teach beauty, she was meant to create it. That realization launched her into brand building.
Over the next decade, she co-created Evelina Beauty, launched Ambari—a clinically active CBD skincare brand she successfully placed in Nordstrom before exiting.
More recently, Ana has guided Skincare Junkie to placements with Nordstrom and Ipsy, supported innovation for Arnasi, built connections for Pennelli Faro, and continued to consult independently through her firm. She is now working closely with Kayura on its market entry, shaping launch strategy through influencer campaigns, press outreach, and live shopping integration.
Her influence has also extended globally. Since 2021, Ana has represented MakeUp in Los Angeles and New York, spearheading Beauty Tank, a Shark Tank–style competition for indie founders. She has produced curated activations at cultural hotspots such as Coachella and LA Holiday, elevating brands like Magic Molecule, Kinship, and Lash Therapy with PR, influencer, and experiential strategies.
Now, with Approved to Shop, she is uniting every lesson from her twenty-five-year journey into one platform. It is not just about selling products—it is about creating a space where women feel empowered, where founders find their voice, and where beauty once again becomes the language of confidence and connection.