Beauty, Botanicals and the Entrepreneurial Spirit

I’ve always been inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit. I must get it from my great grandmother, an extraordinary woman (and personal inspiration) who came to California as a mail-order bride from Italy where she became a mother of 7 and made a living growing grapes with my great-grandfather. She believed in achieving more, so she went to the bank, took out a $10,000 loan and started our family heritage in the wine business. She became one of our country's first female entrepreneurs seeding well-known wine brands Franzia and Gallo.

Growing up with such a deep family history in winemaking ignited my passion for botanicals and cultivation. I joined the industry myself (I developed Cupcake Vineyards and many others), and it was that journey that eventually led me to start Saint Jane. Infusing all of this knowledge of botanical ingredients and the power they hold, and channeling female empowerment from my great grandmother’s story. 

So where does beauty come into the mix? I’d always had a passion for cosmetics and had my eyes set on Sephora, the leader of innovation. I interviewed in 2007 and became Sephora’s 1st unpaid MBA intern. (I was paid in makeup, which was fine with me!) I learned the business, I soaked up every moment, I dove in head first. This eventually led to my role in Creative Marketing for Kendo. It was an incredible opportunity to build Sephora exclusives like Marc Jacobs, Disney, and Elizabeth and James. 

When I created Saint Jane, I wanted it to feel like a beautiful marriage between my two biggest passions, beauty and botanicals. The journey has led me here, to building Saint Jane and crafting botanical and nutrient-rich formulas that transform the skin. 

Seeing this brand in Sephora stores and on sephora.com is a dream come true. I got my start there 13 years ago and it's surreal to see my own brand on it’s shelves. They took a chance on me then, and now they are taking a chance on Saint Jane. I couldn’t be more grateful. 

Every day I go to work and channel the fierce courage of my great grandmother. I think about all she accomplished when it wasn’t normal as a woman to pursue entrepreneurship. She had the guts to take the risk. I’d like to think that some of that spirit is in Saint Jane, inspiring women to be powerful, transformative, and to change the world.