Hey all,

My name is Elena Kazas and I am the co-founder of Calithea Skincare. I want to share more with
you about Calithea products and the ingredients we use, my skincare journey, different skincare
secrets, and tips and talk more about what we stand for and our mission. For this first blog post, I
want to talk about how I got my passion for skincare.

From a young age, I was always fascinated by the health and beauty industry. As a little girl, I spent
a lot of time with my Yiayia (grandmother) and would have sleepovers at her house often. My YiaYia
was from Kalamata, Greece, and moved to the U.S. to marry my Papou (grandfather). She grew up
knowing how to utilize the natural resources around her as much as possible, whether it be for
food, health, and in this case skincare. She was born in a city that is notoriously known for its
olive oil, so she used it for everything, including her skin and hair. When moving to the U.S. she
brought all her natural home remedies with her and eventually began to share them with me. She
always taught me the importance of taking care of myself inside and out. Yiayia would let me roam
through her jewelry and clothes while explaining to me how to properly present myself on the
outside. The first skincare lesson I got was with a plain bar of soap because she didn’t believe in all
those fancy face washes, for her; the simpler the better. After cleansing, she taught me how to
moisturize with face lotion, and to seal it all in with a few drops of olive oil. Kalamata Olive oil was
a staple in her household. I watched her use it in different ways on its own and mixed it with other
things to create her own magical concoctions. She used it to cook, clean, moisturize her skin, and
as a hair treatment. As she would guide me in different routines there was one thing that was
consistent with all of them, which was the lesson she would teach to me. She always would preach
the importance of embracing the beauty I was given. Yiayia would tell me how I should cultivate my
natural beauty by taking care of it and appreciating it. She said I should never be jealous of others
and always cherish the beauty I was given. “Jealousy”Please select a valid form was one of the ugliest traits one could hold,
she would say, and that I should never feel the need to compare myself to others because we are
all beautiful in our own unique ways.

Taking this message and all her routines, I started figuring out my own skincare routine. I was
always engulfed in watching videos and reading articles about new products and ingredients. I tried
out so many different products. My bathroom drawers were filled with brands and bottles. I was
constantly cycling through different products because I could never find a routine that continued
to work on my skin and satisfy my long-term skincare goal of having healthy skin. After years of
wasted time and money trying to find my perfect combination of products, I went back to my roots
in what my Yiayia taught me.

I picked up a handcrafted soap bar from Greece made out of 100%
pure olive oil.  After a few weeks, I noticed my skin was brighter, smoother, clearer, and more
radiant. I started looking up the benefits of olive oil on the skin and was so surprised by the power
a simple natural ingredient can have on the skin. I was opened up to the world of natural skincare
and was very intrigued by how nature’s natural gifts could heal our skin. Between my deep passion
for skincare and my Baba’s (Dad) business mentality, we came up with the idea to create a natural
skincare line. We wanted all of the products to be made and manufactured in Greece and to be
olive oil-based because of our Greek heritage, and olive oil skincare was what my YiaYia taught me.
From that, we created Calithea Goddess Skin and Body Care. With our products, I hope to
spread the same message my YiaYia taught me when helping me create a skin and body care
routine. When customers build their Calithea routine, I want them to feel confident in their
natural self just as we are confident in the effectiveness of our natural line. We want our products
to evoke the feeling of empowerment in our customers to embrace their naturalness. Calithea is
designed for everyone and anyone who wants to feel confident about themselves and embrace
their inner natural beauty and strength without comparing themselves to others.
For me, skincare was an interest that stemmed from a young age thanks to my YiaYia teaching me
how to take care of my health and body. It turned into my passion, and I was fortunate enough to
turn my passion into a business that I get to wake up to and enjoy every day.