ILIA founder Sasha Plavsic sought out to create a brand with clean ingredients, thoughtful packaging, and pragmatic design. And in May 2011, ILIA launched in a boutique in Vancouver, Canada. “It took eight years to reach $10 million in sales. Since 2019, we have grown more than 10 times in gross revenue.”

Sasha’s beliefs are simple: skin should look like skin, and radiance should come naturally. “With transparency as our guide and color as our vehicle, we challenge the conventions of clean beauty to create something radically new through safe, potent formulas that protect and revive skin,” she explains.

Many of ILIA products have become consumer favorites, building traction for the brand. “The Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 ($48) is the first 3-in-1 mineral-based sunscreen that blends makeup and skin care, with newly patented SPF technology available in 30 shades,” says Sasha. In addition to garnering several awards, it is often the number-one weekly selling foundation at Sephora.

“The same is true of our Limitless Lash Mascara ($28), dubbed the first clean mascara that actually works. But most importantly, our point of difference relates to inclusivity that expands beyond skin tone and targets our ideal customer: the millennial and her Mom,” she says. “This approach and broad target demographic give the brand a unique positioning that has the ability to attract a much wider audience.”

ILIA now generates more than $100 million in annual sales, according to sources, and is sold in all Sephora doors in the U.S. and Canada, as well as at Credo Beauty, indie boutiques, and direct-to-consumer via iliabeauty.com. The brand has a global presence in several countries, too.  Growth has been supported through Series A funding by Silas Capital in 2018 with a $3 million raise. That was followed by Series B funding a year later by Sandbridge and Silas Capital with a raise of $10 million.

Sasha Plavsic is one of CEW’s 2021 Female Founders, an annual awards program spotlighting beauty disruptors. This year’s Honorees were selected based on their impact in bringing clean beauty options to market.  Join the industry on October 13 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for a virtual event sponsored by The Sage Group to honor Sarah and Christine and six other clean beauty stars, and how they continue to innovate the category. Click here to learn more and register.