Q & A with Lisa Brill:

1. City of Residence: San Clemente, California

2. Place of Birth: Juneau, Wisconsin

3. In under five sentences, define your business: We’re small-batch-from-scratch formulators and purveyors of fine, plant-based face, body, and hair products. We use only high-performing plant actives and phytonutrients, are cruelty-free, and avoid anything synthetic, artificial or harmful to our environment, us, or our hormones. We use what we formulate, love what we do, and we’re honored to be able to share our curated treatments.

4. What social or environmental impact is your business making? We focus on being clean and efficient in every aspect of the business. We use tree-free labels and use glass vessels wherever possible. We keep our carbon footprint small and don’t warehouse large volumes of hazardous materials. Our half-box was developed and introduced to reduce materials, ink, and waste, and we use recycled paper and packaging. We’ve received a sustainability award for these efforts. We’re part of the EWG Verified® program, a member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics®, we’re a Certified Green Business with Green America®, and we use renewable energy powered web hosting.

5. What is the best part about the work you’re doing? Why? The people are the best part, our customers! We’re proud of our customer service and the relationships we establish with many of our customers. Skincare is personal and intimate, and we’re sensitive to that. We love to connect, educate, and help guide those that want to take cleaner steps at home with the daily routines. Also knowing that what we’re formulating and using isn’t toxic or harmful to us or the consumer, well, that’s pretty special and makes us feel great about what we’re doing. We always say that every drop matters ~ and it really does.

6. Out of all the products you produce, which is your favorite? Why? I love all of my “Qēt kids” dearly, but I would have to say the Lavish Serum Salve. We’ve won 11 national awards to date, and this is one of them. It’s a multi-purpose salve meant to protect the complexion and add nourishment, it also allows healing to happen with upset skin, is a wonderful weekly mask, is good for hands, feet, knees, elbow, even lips, and can add nourishment to hair ends. We love keeping things clean and simple, and this one is the treatment we’d want to be stranded on an island with if we had the choice.

7. What book(s) are you currently reading? “Train Your Head and Your Body Will Follow” by Sandy Joy Weston, who is a friend of mine. We like to say that to feel great and really be healthy is not only about the food that we eat, or the ingredients that we use on our body, but it’s also how and the way we think… our body listens to what our minds think. Her book is a great resource to help get our thoughts in the right, healthy place.

8. Quote you (try to) live by? Rather than a quote, we have three words in our CA Skin Studio, and now we have them embossed on wrap bracelets as well. The three words are Beautiful / Natural / Confident. Beautiful = we know that to be beautiful is simply to feel beautiful. Natural = We’re all different, we’re all unique, and being ourselves, being natural, feels healthy and feeds the mind and body with what it authentically needs. Confident = Confidence is the first thing that walks into the room. When we see these three words or put on that bracelet it’s like an empowering move. It doesn’t matter what our skin is doing, if there is a wardrobe malfunction, or if it’s a bad hair day. Own it and believe in yourself. The confidence will ring true and it will ring loudly.

9. Using one word, how would you describe yourself? Optimistic!

10. What is one random fact that most people don’t know about you? I am an animal lover ~ for real! Since my husband and I have been together and since our kids were born, over the past 27 years we’ve had a collection of animals to love on… we’ve had two English Bulldogs, an umbrella cockatoo, a variety of horses, a French Mastiff, a Boston Terrier, a German Shorthair Pointer, several barn cats, bearded dragons, tadpoles (and then frogs!), toads, an assortment of guinea pigs, rabbits, a chinchilla, fish, and now we have a rescue dog and a Frenchie. There’s never too much love to give or receive to all living things.