ILIA Founder Sasha Plavsic Talks Conscious Beauty and the Lip Balm That Inspired Her Brand

What were you doing before launching ILIA Beauty??

I graduated from the London College of Printing. Then I did my fair share of typography and rebranding for brands in Europe and New York. I made my way to Orange County, California where I worked as a branding executive in the fashion and beauty space. 

What factors led you to leave your job and start your own beauty brand?

I had just left a relationship, I turned 30 and quite frankly I was lost. A lot of women freak out at 30 — I was one of those women. I wanted to go home where I felt safe. So I decided to turn down a full-time position and went back to my roots in Vancouver, Canada.

During my brief sabbatical, my mom really influenced me. She said, Hey, you should really start paying attention to what you’re putting on your skin. My response at the time was Please leave me alone. I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions. But then she encouraged me to read the ingredient list on my favorite lip balm. I was shocked to discover many of the ingredients were not what I considered to be safe. So I challenged myself to see if I could create a more conscious and clean version that could rival some of the conventional greats on the market. That’s how ILIA was born. We  launched with a hybrid balm-meets-lipstick, our Tinted Lip Conditioner, that has buildable and wearable shades

As ILIA has grown, what principles have remained at its core? 

At ILIA, our first core value is transparency. I like to pair that transparency with authenticity. Today those two words are really speaking to our customers. I believe upholding these values have contributed to much of our success.

The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 has become very popular this year. What went into developing this product?  

We LOVE skin! And we believe in classic tried and true skin-care ingredients that work. With Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 I was looking to combine three products (makeup,  skin care and SPF) into one. I find many people, including myself, are limited on time in the morning. The purpose of the product was to help save time as well as protect and revive the skin. The product is chemical sunscreen-, silicone- and fragrance-free and comes in a varied shade range — it wasn’t easy to achieve! 

What's been the biggest challenge for you?

The biggest challenge has been having doubt. It comes and goes depending on what’s happening personally or professionally. The more I work to overcome this, the easier things flow within myself, my gut and the brand.

COVID-19 has thrown a huge curveball to a lot of businesses. How has ILIA reacted to the pandemic?

ILIA’s approach is to keep skin looking like skin. And that’s what people are after right now, especially when on daily Zoom calls. I think there’s also something really beautiful about the way people are connecting online. Our team has done a great job of incorporating that into our recent campaigns.

Fill in the blanks:

My three desert island products are… our new Balmy Gloss with ultra-hydrating and plumping actives, our best-selling Limitless Mascara and then the Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40, which gives me my makeup plus skin care plus SPF all in one.

To me, beauty means… being comfortable in your own skin.

What keeps me motivated is… the curiosity to push the bar further in this category and do wasn’t hasn’t been done before.

A beauty trend I regret trying is… thin eyebrows. I still have a thin eyebrow hangover from the Kate Moss-era in the ‘90s.