Breaking up is Hard to do : We're Not Perfect - Laundry Day! Episode 6

Also could have been titled why we are still sometimes a hot mess!

You know that feeling when you’ve got everything almost perfect, but then you realize a few things are, well…a mess? Welcome to our world. As a small beauty brand that’s proud to be transparent, sustainable, and clean, we thought it was time to share some of our not-so-polished moments. Spoiler alert: this blog is a little self-effacing, but we’re okay with that!

1. Spelling Mishaps:

Yes, I’m a mirror dyslexic, and yes, that’s probably why you’ve seen a few too many typos in our blogs and emails. Apologies for the "teh" instead of "the" or the random extra spaces. It’s a work in progress, but at least you know it’s authentically me! Also you will notice that emails are not all sweet and polite - I write like I am actually talking to you and because I have arthritis - Im pretty to the point. I don't mean to be rude - I just leave out some of the dear... and hope you are... -- I really do you are doing well - I just don't always write it.

2. The Disappearing Foundation Labels:

Who doesn’t love a shiny silver label? Turns out, we do! So much so, we didn’t realize it would disappear as soon as you tried to read it in anything less than direct sunlight. Oops. We’re swapping to white lettering as we sell out because actually being able to read product info is kind of important. And yeah, we didn’t quite think about where the shiny stuff was being mined from either, so…double bad on us.

3. Foundation 2.0—We’re Trying!:

We started out with a second foundation, coconut oil-based and all. It didn’t stick around, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been formulating new ones. We have at least five possible formulations on deck, but getting one launched takes time and, well, cash. Hang tight. The thing is I am grateful none of this has come to fruition because of our knowldege now about PFAS and organic fluorine testing - now we can do things right . It would be great to have another non-alchohol foundation ( as our CC cream is that) but again - we need the backing to do so. All in all - even with the all our drawbacks I am grateful that I do not go to bed knowing I am holding back information that could potentially cause someone harm .

4. Boxes That Don’t Stick (But We Do!):

Sometimes, our boxes come unglued. They were ordered pre-pandemic in large quantities, and we’re not about to toss them just because they aren’t the latest in packaging design. They too have silver lines and lettering and yes we will replace that with white lines and lettering as we run out. Sustainability means using what we have—and honestly, we’d rather spend money on testing .

5. Electroplating, the Mistake from 8 Years Ago:

Eight years ago, electroplated bottles seemed like the coolest thing ever. Now, not so much. Turns out, the bottles not easily recyclable in smaller areas and they create nasty byproducts during production. No more shiny, electroplated packaging for us, thank you very much. But... we had purchased a ....ton ( for 2 foundation lines ) and so we have a ways to go... hang in there!

6. Our Brushes Are Great (Except for the Paint):

Our eco-friendly, non-toxic paint brushes are fabulous—until the paint starts to chip. We’re as frustrated as you are. Got any ideas on how to fix this? We’re all ears!

7. Why We Still Use Labels for our glass jar :

You might wonder why we keep using labels on our concealers and brow pomades. Simple: we’re repurposing what we already have, like extra caps. Caps, by the way, are one of the least recyclable items out there, so we’re avoiding making new ones if we don’t have to.

8. Lip/Cheek formulations:

We were not 100% in love with the formula and switched very early to have less minerals ( ie zinc in particular) to make them more moisturizing . We also lowered the price at the same time as making the decision to change the formulation a bit. We did change it slighlty, and I like it better but we are looking for a vegan beeswax consistency and it is proving somewhat difficult.

9. We Make Mistakes—Like Everyone Else!

We’re not scientists—we’re just trying our best to keep up with the ever-changing world of beauty. Sometimes we stumble, and that’s okay! We genuinely encourage you to do your own research and reach out with any questions or corrections. We’re in this together! Sometimes as well when you look things up they say one thing and weeks later the information has changed, updated and so we will make mistakes. We are not able to test every single batch of foundations yet but we want to and that is our goal - for now because we have tested our foundations a number of times and with various colors etc as well as our CC creams we feel confident

about our complextion line . Our next step is to do another round of

testinng for our concealers as well as testing some new products in the pipe line.

10. The Bottles—Back Again!

Speaking of our products, those pump bottles can be a pain to get the last drops out of. Our pro tip? Give the bottom a gentle smack with your palm or go all DIY with a spatula. Trust us—makeup artists do it all the time- with all lines!

11. Email/Pop Up Glitches: A Dyslexic Nightmare

When our star Klavyio expert took a leave of absence, guess who was left holding the tech fort? Yes, me, the mirror dyslexic! Automating our emails has been a wild ride filled with mishaps. I’ve hired pros to help fix my charming mistakes, but I apologize if you’ve received any nonsensical messages. I’ll fire myself as soon as I can!

12. No More Trial Sizes For Now

We’d love to bring back trial sizes, but our budget says “not today.” We promise we’re working on it!

13. A Personal Toll

Losing my home and life savings has changed me. While I used to be very social now I’m more of a hermit. I am even more outspoken about human rights than ever - having seen first hand what happens when power and money corrupt.

I’ve built SAPPHO with my own hands—literally doing everything from designing the foundation colors to inventory to marketing. The company is still standing and in fact we are inching our way past okay so even though lock down was tougn and put us severelly behind our goals for sales, research and development - we are making by. We incurred debt during lockdown that we did not want to and the loss of a significant client in the States was devestating.

But -

I have a belief as imperfect as I and SAPPHO might be we are truth seekers and will always shine a light on darkness... sometimes we might be missing a battery or two

but... eventually we'll get there and not only will our products be purchased for their performance and safety but also because people want to support transparency - no one wants to get cancer so someone else can buy another yatch.

Reformulation sale.