Sheena Yaitanes: From Chemist to Kosas Cosmetics Founder

SheSez with Linda Grasso

Sheena Yaitanes shares with Linda the story of how she fused her skills as a chemist and her talent as an artist to found the botanical oil-based, clean cosmetics company Kosas. It started with with her simple desire for a lipstick that was non-toxic, came in natural shades and actually felt good on your lips. “It’s not just about the pure and natural ingredients Kosas puts into products, it is about all the toxic stuff we intentionally leave out,” Sheena explains. With that as its guiding principle, and a staunch belief that women wanted a minimalist, no-fuss approach to make-up, she launched with 8 lipstick shades in 2015 (just 8 months after giving birth). Now, three years later, Kosas is turning a profit, has acquired investors and expanded its line to include blush/highligher duos and a tinted face oil, an alternative to traditional foundation. Sheena is an unapologetic trend bucker, an industry innovator and a soft-spoken gal who believes “getting something done is better than getting something perfect."