Alumni Alum’s Company Creates Cosmetics for Women on the Go Stories You May Like Is This Alum’s Clothing Firm Thriving? Ewe Betcha! With Her Name Restored, Alum Can Again Say ‘Yes’ to the Dresses Alum’s Firm Sells Garments Long Seen as an Oxymoron: Comfy Bras Wander Beauty is just one of the ventures that Divya Gugnani ’98 has launched; her latest is the fragrance brand 5 SENS By Melissa Newcomb Entrepreneur Divya Gugnani ’98 was sitting on the NYC subway a decade ago, applying her under-eye concealer, when she saw that other women nearby were also touching up their appearance. Soon, she started noticing it everywhere—from coworkers quickly styling their hair in the office to fellow gym-goers doing skincare routines in the locker room after a workout. “Women are time-starved,” she says. “But there was no cosmetics brand speaking to women like that.” Her aim: to create a new kind of makeup line, “so everybody could be gorgeous on the go.” Gugnani launched Wander Beauty in 2015 with a former Victoria’s Secret model she’d met at a party a year prior, when the two bonded over how time-consuming it was to apply makeup artfully. Gugnani aimed to create a new kind of makeup line, “so everybody could be gorgeous on the go.” In developing the brand, Gugnani surveyed 100 women aged 18–72 about the “pain points” in their beauty routines—and found similar frustrations to her own. “You need multitasking essentials—things that you’re going to reach for every day,” says Gugnani, a former venture capitalist and investment banker who majored in policy analysis in Human Ecology and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard. That philosophy led to the creation of such products as the On-the-Glow Blush and Illuminator, a double-sided stick that can be used on the cheeks, lips, eyes, and body. Available in five shades including Strawberry Fields (a neutral rose hue) and Coral Rose (warm tangerine pink), it landed on Allure’s 2018 Best of Beauty list. Other bestsellers include the Lipsetter Dual Lipstick and Liner; the Dualist Matte and Illuminating Concealer; and—one of Gugnani’s personal favorites—Baggage Claim Eye Masks, also on an Allure Best of Beauty list as well as a Harper’s Bazaar Anti-Aging Award winner. Stories You May Like Is This Alum’s Clothing Firm Thriving? Ewe Betcha! With Her Name Restored, Alum Can Again Say ‘Yes’ to the Dresses In February 2025, Wander was acquired by Nameless CPG, a consumer goods company that holds several wellness brands; Gugnani will remain its CEO. With her parents at Commencement. And Wander is just one of several businesses Gugnani has launched over the course of her entrepreneurial career. Other ventures have included the online media company Behind the Burner and a shopping service, Send the Trend, that was acquired by QVC. (Her varied résumé also includes publishing a book, Sexy Women Eat: Secrets to Eating What You Want and Still Looking Fabulous, and even appearing in a 2010 American Express commercial for a small-business credit card.) In 2022, Gugnani founded her latest company: 5 SENS, a fragrance brand sold exclusively at Sephora and online. It presents a novel twist on perfume, aiming to offer a sensory experience that embodies the wearer’s mood. Each of its products is named after a “vibe” rather than a traditional scent. Life of the Party is a fruity floral that “makes you feel like you can dance on tables and walk into a room like you own it,” Gugnani says, while In Too Deep—with notes of vanilla, sugar, and sandalwood—is meant to evoke comfort and self-care. “I got bitten by the entrepreneurial bug,” Gugnani says. “I’m constantly seeing the white space in markets. It’s the most exciting time, and where I thrive.” (All images provided.) Published March 18, 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Chime In Genealogy Research Helped Me Find My Cornellian Cousins Cornelliana It’s a Storm, It’s a Blizzard, It’s … a Big Red Snowpocalypse! Cornelliana Anchors Aweigh: Big Red Names Graced WWII-Era Hulls