Ep 192 | Sasha Plavsic

Written By Yasmin Nouri

ILIA Beauty Founder on Making Bold Moves, Listening to Your Intuition & Stepping Into Your Power

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Sasha Plavsic is the founder of Ilia Beauty, a natural skin-centric makeup and skincare brand that paved the way for the “clean-beauty” space as we know it today. 

Throughout her life, Sasha noticed that some of her beauty products irritated her skin. Her mother, who was also dealing with her own health challenges, encouraged Sasha to look into the ingredients behind her favorite makeup, leading her to notice a real gap in the industry for efficacious makeup that supports healthy skin. This motivated Sasha to build a beauty brand from the ground up out of her parent’s garage, bootstrapping the venture herself, and starting with a flagship lip balm based around a natural and safe yet effective formula.

Ilia has now expanded to many different product lines and has award-winning skincare products, mascara, lipsticks, and more. The company has seen incredible growth and success, and last year, was sold to Famille C, the private investment fund of the Courtin-Clarins family (the owners of international cosmetics company Clarins).

In our episode together, Sasha shares how she went from dreaming of becoming an architect to diving into graphic design, even dropping out of college, crossing borders, and finally discovering her true path. Along the way, Sasha reveals her greatest mistake: not listening to her inner voice earlier on. She candidly shares her 'aha' moment in her 30s – the catalyst that pushed her to leave behind her old life, get out of a long term relationship, travel, and create the space for freedom that she always wanted. Throughout the conversation, Sasha opens up about her bold choices, whether it's declining incredible job offers or making the unconventional move back home to live with her parents.

Sasha shares how she got Ilia off the ground with no background in makeup and the importance of sharing ideas to bring them to life, especially in the very early days. She also talks about how she started the business with very little money, the exact steps she took to take Ilia to the next level and the importance of listening to her gut and not growing too fast, and so much more.

Show Notes:

  • Why you should start your business, life is too short. [03:30]

  • Sasha's dream of becoming an architect and college decisions. [09:01]

  • Studying psychology, multimedia, 9/11 impact, and life reflections. [13:26]

  • Parents' reaction to Sasha's education and exploration.[16:36]

  • Eyewear retailer job and exposure to various business aspects. [20:00]

  • Ending a relationship, leaving town, and traveling the world. [23:03]

  • Honoring life's biggest value, freedom.[25:51]

  • Working at Urban Decay and discovering the beauty world.[27:35]

  • Supporting mother's health, and starting Ilia. [30:29]

  • Sasha's side hustles and entrepreneurial ideas. [32:37]

  • Exploring makeup brands, early Ilia Beauty process. [35:45]

  • Working at Saje, self-funding, and dad's support/advice.[40:03]

  • How Sasha launched the first product with very little money. [43:10]

  • Managing and overcoming big transitions in her life: Getting married, getting pregnant, and losing her dad to cancer. [47:02]

  • Turning down Sephora and potential business partnership. [54:12]

  • Sasha’s advice seeking help in areas beyond your expertise.[58:03]

  • Being present with her kids, valuing her own time, and setting boundaries in life. [01:00:52]

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