How My Mother Shaped Matte Equation
By Matthew Celestial
I didn’t realize it at first, but Matte Equation was always a love letter. Not just to myself, or to anyone feeling burnt out by the world, but to someone who’s carried me through all of it: my mother.
There’s something magnificent about mothers. The kind who show up even when they’re exhausted. Who love you fiercely but challenge you. Who give you the space to figure it out, and still keep the door open when you do. My mother is that kind of person.
She became a chemist because she wanted a stable job. That’s what she told me. But I always knew it was more than that. My grandmother had studied chemical engineering, and when my mom picked chemistry, I think she was trying to do what women in our family have always done: survive, provide, protect. My mother chose strength as a default, even when she didn’t have the luxury of ease.
By the time she was 30, she had lost both of her parents. She was raising three children, navigating night shifts, and figuring out life in a new country. I’m 30 now, and I can’t begin to imagine what that kind of weight feels like. I call my parents when I feel like the world is crashing in. She didn’t have anyone to call. She just... kept going.
There’s one story that always stays with me. My grandmother was dying of leukemia. My mom had just started a new job and was working the night shift. One night, I wet the bed. My grandmother called my mother in tears from home and said, "Who’s going to take care of your kids when I’m gone?"
My mother could have broken in that moment. Instead, she stayed calm. She told her, "It’s okay. We’re going to figure it out."
That’s who my mother is. Someone who doesn’t pretend things are easy. But someone who believes in moving forward with grace, grit, and groundedness. She always told me: life doesn’t owe you anything, but you still have to keep going.
When I started dreaming about Matte Equation, I was a teenager obsessed with fragrance. I had won a U of T award for writing a research paper on pheromones. I was curious about how scent affects memory, emotion, connection. My mother didn’t shower me with praise back then. She asked hard questions. She challenged my logic. She wanted to know if I was thinking clearly. But deep down, she was preparing me for a world that wouldn’t always be kind.
She told me, gently but firmly: if you’re going to do something, do it with integrity. Learn your craft. Stand by your ideas. Expect the world to push back, but don’t fold when it does.
And I didn’t fold—not really. I faltered, yes. I dropped out of science at U of T because I didn’t feel strong enough back then. I pivoted to storytelling and media. But I never stopped being obsessed with science. Years later, with new perspective, I returned to school to study neuroscience and biochemistry. Now, I understand what my mother was trying to teach me all along: you can start again, and again, and again. And you’ll still be becoming. Just don't burn out throughout the process.
That’s what Matte Equation is to me. A brand that began in burnout. A product line that grew out of exhaustion and recovery. And under all of it: a quiet tribute to the woman who showed me what it means to keep going and come back to yourself.
My mother has seen me fall apart and rebuild myself. She doesn’t question my choices as much these days. She just leaves the door open. And sometimes, that’s all I need.
This is my quiet confession: every time I formulate a product, every time I write a campaign, every time I remind someone to take care of themselves, it is my way of saying thank you.
Thank you for carrying me. Sometimes, I'm just too heavy and yet, I feel supported so unconditionally. Thank you for teaching me to stay. Holding onto a vision is incredibly challenging. And it's so easy to take things personally. Thank you for reminding me: we’ll figure it out.
Matte Equation is a wellness brand. It is a business. It is a science project. But more than anything, it is a love letter. To my mother. And to the version of myself that needed her most.
Because most, if not all, mothers are superheroes. Even when they're just trying their best to survive.
** Did you know the Quantum Mud Mask is mom-approved? You might want to get one for yourself!