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A Beautiful Team

A friendship that blossomed during childhood and deepened at SUNY Oneonta is now the driving creative force behind successful beauty brand Grande Cosmetics

By SUNY Oneonta

July 30^th, 2021

Best friends, co-workers and SUNY Oneonta alumni Chelsea Merola and Lisa Trombetta are the picture-perfect team.

Merola, Class of 2015, is creative director for beauty brand Grande Cosmetics, while Trombetta, Class of 2016, is the brand's marketing director. Together, they design and create content that advertises the brand’s products and tells the success stories of its customers.

But their bond extends well beyond the workplace.

Chelsea Merola, left, and Lisa Trombetta, right, eat pizza together at 3 years old (left) and again at an Oneonta pizzeria while students at SUNY Oneonta

Outside of the office, the women vacation together, work out together, and live 30 seconds from one another.

Lisa Trombetta and Chelsea Merola pose together on the beach during a vacation.

Chelsea Merola, left, and Lisa Trombetta, right, pose together while on a ski trip.

Chelsea Merola and Lisa Trombetta pose with their arms around each other during a trip to San Francisco.

“We have Oneonta to thank for all of this,” Trombetta said. “We have been friends since we were 5 but really became inseparable after deciding to room together on campus. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for our time at the college and the way our friendship grew there.”

Lisa Trombetta, bottom, gives Chelsea Merola a lift on her back.

Lisa Trombetta, front, teaches a Zumba class in the Alumni Field House while attending SUNY Oneonta.

Lisa Trombetta, right, poses during a photoshoot taken by Chelsea Merola for a class project.

Lisa Trombetta, left, and Chelsea Merola, right, pose together at the Martin-Mullin Art Gallery on campus, where Chelsea's artwork was on display.

While at SUNY Oneonta, Merola, who was a computer art major, took several photography classes and would often ask Trombetta, a criminal justice and communication studies major, to be her model for any projects that required photoshoots. Trombetta was always on board to help out, and the two began to develop a rhythm and flow working together in this way.

Inside the classroom and out, the two young women threw themselves into their respective interests and hobbies. Merola played Ultimate Frisbee, and her artwork was featured in the on-campus Martin-Mullin Art Gallery, even winning awards. Trombetta taught Zumba at the Alumni Field House twice a week and during special events. Merola was inspired by art classes with faculty members Sven Anderson and Kathy Spitzhoff, gaining “a solid foundation for visual design and real-world skills.” At the same time, Trombetta was serving as a teaching assistant for Dr. Arthur Dauria and discovering that she was particularly passionate about interpersonal communication.

Going Grande

Lisa Trombetta models a Grande Cosmetics lip product during a photoshoot.

A promotional shot for Grande Cosmetics of colorful lip products.

A closeup promotional shot of Grande Cosmetics mascara being applied

After graduating, Merola applied for her first job, which was with Grande Cosmetics, a then-small, grassroots beauty brand based in Valhalla, NY. The company specializes in enhancement serums for lashes, brows and hair, with a focus on helping people embrace and enhance their natural beauty. Merola was hired right away as the graphic designer.

“Since then, it’s really exploded and now our products are available at every major retailer from Macy’s to Sephora to Ulta,” Merola said. “I was hired as the graphic designer but the owner wanted to involve us in all aspects. Most companies outsource their creative to outside agencies, but we really wanted to build that in-house so our work was authentic. Because of that, I’ve learned SO much about many different parts of the company. It’s been a wild ride.”

When Trombetta graduated six months later, she began submitting her resume and heard from Merola that Grande was looking for a marketing assistant with a focus on expanding the company’s social media. After interviewing, she was offered the position and, since then, has worked her way up through the ranks to marketing director. Since then, Grande Cosmetics' follower count has grown to nearly 230,000 on Instagram.

Grande Cosmetics' Instagram page is shown.

“Every day is different,” Trombetta explained. “That’s the exciting thing about the marketing industry, especially in beauty. There are always new ways to market, so I’m continuously learning and collaborating with our team to stay ahead of trends. I find myself constantly using the communication skills I learned at Oneonta to lead our internal team and speak to our customers in a way that resonates with them.”

With Trombetta’s knowledge of social media and communication skills and Merola’s art design and eye for graphics, the two work together to conceptualize beautiful and effective campaigns and sell Grande’s products. A recent campaign of theirs tracked the journeys of four women who used a lash serum product over the course of three months. At the end, the women in the campaign expressed enhanced confidence, and the campaign helped the company zero in on its purpose and refine its mission.

Lisa Trombetta, left, and Chelsea Merola, right, model Grande Cosmetics products together.

Lisa Trombetta, left, and Chelsea Merola, right, pose together on the "pink carpet" at an Ipsy event

In their roles with Grande Cosmetics, Trombetta and Merola often find themselves reliving their college photoshoot days.

“We still have that same dynamic,” Trombetta said. “I’ve modeled for Chelsea many times for Grande campaigns, especially in the beginning. We would plan these shoots, and it was very much like the Oneonta days.”

Chelsea Merola, left, and Lisa Trombetta, second from left, help out during a promotional photoshoot for Grande Cosmetics.

"Follow What You Love"

Looking back on their time at college, both women said they are happy they followed their interests and focused their energy on finding a way to turn those passions into careers.

“I started as a biology major in order to become a dentist because I felt like that was what I should do to be able to make a living for myself,” Merola recalled. “But I started seeing friends doing these creative majors, and I switched because I loved art. That was the best thing I ever did. Don’t listen to people who tell you that you can’t make money being an artist. It’s simply not true. Everything in our world today is content-driven, and someone needs to make that content! You have to follow what you love.”

Trombetta’s younger brother now attends SUNY Oneonta.

“Oneonta was home,” she said. “Everyone was so nice and welcoming always, and there was always a warm fuzzy feeling. I feel it even when I go back with my brother, and that is a true testament to the school. It’s not just one thing that creates that – it’s the whole environment where you feel comfortable and encouraged to try new things. I know both Chelsea and I are so grateful for that.”