Gabriel De Santino was always inspired by and drawn to coastal life. After working several years in a spa and attending aesthetic school, in 1992 he launched Gabriel Cosmetics, all-natural, vegan, gluten-free, and cruelty-free skincare products made with seaweed as its hero ingredient. In the following years, he diversified his portfolio of launched, Clean Kids and Zuzu Luxe, all under one umbrella: Gabriel Cosmetics. Read on more to find out about Gabriel and his beauty empire:
Can you tell us a bit more about Gabriel Cosmetics and what inspired you to start it?
I started my brand with full transparency and relied heavily on educating consumers through in-store demos. These core principles were the catalyst in developing clean, mistake-proof, and results-driven beauty products, which have paved the way for the natural beauty industry for the past 25 years. Without compromising aesthetics, functionality, or accessibility, Gabriel products offer consumers earth-conscious and ethical options for their beauty needs. All products are made from 100% natural ingredients with no synthetic chemicals or animal by-products. I was an esthetician and had many clients who were sensitive to chemicals and hadn’t been using anything on their skin because of it. I went searching for a chemical-free skincare line to use and after months of researching ingredients and exploring different companies, I realized that the skincare and makeup industry was extremely lacking in products that were truly natural and chemical-free. It was important to me that I have products my clients could use so I decided to create my own skincare line.
Picture Courtesy: Gabriel Cosmetics
What differentiates your products from various other organic, vegan, and cruelty-free beauty brands?
What truly sets Gabriel Cosmetics apart from the rest, aside from the top-notch product performance, is our commitment to creating products that are made in the USA and uphold our green, healthy-living standards with strict certifications – GCI is both Leaping Bunny and Gluten-Free certified.
Other than Gabriel Cosmetics, you also have two other brands under your belt, Zuzu Luxe and Clean Kids Naturally. Why did you feel it was necessary to diversify your product range and brand portfolio?
Customers were asking for more color options, I did not want to add too much to Gabriel as the line is the Secret to Mistake Proof Beauty thus Zuzu Luxe was created. By ‘glamorizing green’ with a variety of product offerings and on-trend color palettes, Zuzu Luxe fulfills the eco chic beauty standard, while challenging the mainstream movement. When my first niece was born I knew I had to create clean products for her to use, knowing as much as I did about ingredients I could not let her bathe in chemicals. It’s been a fun journey, we recently added two new products to this line and my niece has two kiddos that use the line.
Your products are sold at over 4000 retailers including various online e-commerce retailers such as Target.com and Walmart.com. What are some upcoming plans for Gabriel Cosmetics that we can look forward to?
We are repackaging Zuzu Luxe and our skincare line, look out for new items in both collections! Gabriel Natural Beauty Lounge is adding skincare services and looking to add another location on the west coast. I want to make my products easily available to everyone as I think it is important consumers have access to natural, chemical-free beauty products that work.
It is amazing how Gabriel has diversified his portfolio of products. Don’t forget to check out his brand here: https://gabrielcosmeticsinc.com/
