It's 1999, three years after Wende Zomnir ('89) launched her cutting-edge makeup brand Urban Decay, and 18 years before the dawning of a movement known as #MeToo. She's speaking at a conference in Salt Lake City packed with women from around the world who make their living as part of the action sports industry.

Zomnir surveys the dining room, sees eight, maybe 10, hands.

"How many of you think you should be paid the same as your male counterparts for doing the same job?"

This time, every hand goes up.

"Congratulations," Zomnir says. "You're all feminists."

That early speech, delivered long before Urban Decay emerged as the second-largest makeup brand in the U.S., was just one small stand in a series of battles the cosmetics CEO has been fighting her whole life -- a campaign that centers on recognizing the worth of every woman and eschews the idea that such messages must be delivered politely. Finally, she says, society is catching up.

"Something's changed," says Zomnir, who earned her B.A. in journalism. "Before, it was always painful. It was, 'Do you really want to say it that way?' or 'Oh, I don't know, that message is really strong.' People would always want to pull you back from making your girl-power statement."

Urban Decay was born from a desire to redefine girl power, and more specifically, its place in the beauty industry. Founded by Zomnir and Sandy Lerner in 1996, the Newport Beach, California-based brand was in large part a response to a male-dominated corporate beauty culture.

"We were women who wanted to shake up the world," says Zomnir, who adds that the limited palettes available at the time -- mainly pink, beige and red -- inspired her to build a company focused on creating quality cosmetics in bright colors. "We definitely had a message to deliver about bad-ass women and about beauty itself."

That message is all about self-expression and inclusivity. A turning point in her life, Zomnir says, was at 16, when her parish priest told her she was "hiding behind a mask of makeup."

"I was like, 'I'm not hiding at all, I'm telling you something about myself,'" she says. "The idea that you're hiding something with makeup always felt wrong. The idea that only people with certain hair and skin colors are beautiful always felt wrong. A beauty company should be about celebrating women, not tearing them down."

In January, Zomnir won WWD Beauty Inc.'s first-ever Impact Award in recognition of her commitment to redefining beauty and her continued mission to empower women on a larger scale. Zomnir has taken her fight abroad with The Ultraviolet Edge, Urban Decay's global initiative to empower women that supports seven different nonprofits around the world. The organizations provide education, microloans, support for domestic abuse victims and other assistance.

To raise money for the nonprofits, Urban Decay creates a product sold for $18 to $20 and donates the entire purchase price. This year, it's a lipstick that boasts a name close to Zomnir's heart: "Outspoken."

"You know, we came up with that name before the #MeToo movement hit," she says. "It just feels like it was meant to be."