Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Mikulic.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sara. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve heard that a lot of entrepreneurs are doing market research pretty much their whole lives; they just don’t know it yet. They’re absorbed by an interest that will grow into the idea behind their business. For me, it was my skin! I wasn’t into beauty stuff when I was little—I never emptied out my mom’s vanity to explore her makeup or face routine—but when I got to about ten or eleven, I started to struggle with acne, so I had to learn about taking care of my skin.
This was in the late 90s and mid-2000s, which was a dark time for skin care! I was thoroughly miserable, despite prescription benzoyl peroxide that bleached everything it touched, toners so astringent they smelled like bathroom cleaners, and, yes, that apricot scrub. Not surprisingly, things didn’t get better for a long time, and there was virtually nowhere to turn for help; I went through a lot of experimentation and research to get things manageable right before I went off to college.
I had graduated to picking up pretty jars of moisturizer at Sephora and Whole Foods by the time I met my partner, but with a year or two of college-level chemistry and statistics under my belt, I was starting to get suspicious of some of the packaging claims and prices. I was just beginning to understand what ingredients worked for me (a few) and what didn’t work for me (a lot more) when I went to meet his parents at the winery his dad owns and operates in the Ohio River Valley.
At the time, I was learning about all the benefits of antioxidant ingredients for skin care, among them grapes. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that the seeds, stems, and skins of the grapes—where the antioxidant-rich grape extract comes from—are waste products to vintners! Since the grape extract was the highlight of a lot of ingredient labels I’d seen, but pretty far down on the list in terms of quantity, I wondered if it was possible to make a moisturizer with a ton of grape extract. It seemed natural to put it first.
But college was happening; I changed my major, I worked in some other fields, we moved to Dallas, and though I didn’t forget about my idea, it drifted to the back burner. Meanwhile, I got smarter about my skin, discovering a litany of popular ingredients that aggravated acne and irritation for me: essential oils, silicones, fragrances, sulfates, and more.
When I found a laboratory that specialized in formulating with grape extract, it almost felt like the product was meant to be! With the help of some gifted cosmetic chemists at the lab, I spent the next year designing, developing and testing the product that would become Wildlight’s Antioxidant Moisturizing Cream.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’d be surprised to hear that anyone’s had a smooth road to achieving their goals! When I was younger, I fully expected to go to college and get a “good” job—whatever that meant. But I did a lot of growing up, realized that a desk job wouldn’t have made me happy, went in search of something else, found that freelancing didn’t satisfy me as much as I thought it would, and finally discovered that the project I’d been pushing aside for years was the one that called to me most.
I had the idea, the expertise, and the opportunity, but for a very long time, I lacked the courage. These days, knowing that our very first product is already head and shoulders above its competition gives me the confidence to keep working to grow Wildlight.
Right after designing the formula of my dreams, the most difficult thing for me to nail down was our branding! The beauty and skin care industry is a crowded field, so standing out is key, and I wanted to convey our approach to skincare and my own design sensibilities, which feel underserved by a market drowning in white, pastels, and the infamous millennial pink. It wouldn’t be us—so it wouldn’t have been any good for us to imitate that style. I came up with the dog on the mountain to illustrate independence and going your own way, even if it looks a little lonely. I am so delighted that our customers have connected so much with the packaging! It’s been both attention-grabbing and a core part of our brand.
Of course, I did have a great model for the artwork: my dog, Cheese! She pops up on our Instagram sometimes, and she’s gotten pretty good at posing when her mind’s not on other things.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Wildlight – what should we know?
Wildlight makes products for people with sensitive skin who need to be careful with the ingredients that they use but don’t want to shell out for high-end or natural products that are only special because of what they exclude. We believe that safe skin care is the bare minimum, not a marketing point of differentiation.
I’m really proud of our ingredients. Our packaging is eye-catching, and honestly, who doesn’t want a moisturizer with a cute dog on it? But I encourage our customers, current and future, to compare us to anything else on their shelf. The ingredients tell the tale, and so does my face: if you told me two years ago that I’d choose a picture of myself with no foundation or concealer for a PR photo, I would have laughed! But I’ve never been happier with my skin than I have been using our moisturizer.
Finally, I think our attitude towards self-care is special. In a market space where it feels like the path of least resistance to sell “skin care is self-care,” I didn’t want Wildlight to reduce the original concept, introduced by Audre Lorde in one of her essays, to a catchphrase. For us, this takes two forms.
Caring for yourself is important, but many of the ways we do that—exercise, meditation, eating right, even sleeping—have been co-opted by businesses that care more about whether or not you buy their self-care tools than if you get any benefit from the process. Sometimes face masks, outdoor yoga, or bubble baths are self-care, but sometimes it’s also just watching your favorite show, taking a nap, or socializing with people who make you happy. We encourage our customers and our wider social audience to care for themselves in ways that truly work for them, even if it’s not always Instagram-ready, and even if it’s not our product!
Second, we’ve embraced the saying that community care is self-care. Taking time for yourself is a moment to recover from the world, not an invitation to retreat from it forever. Once we feel ready, it’s important to go back to the work of improving our communities. To honor that goal, Wildlight donates 5% of every purchase to one of several nonprofit groups, which our customers can choose at checkout. We’re currently working with RAICES, CASA National, ProPublica, and EESI (the Environmental and Energy Study Institute), but we are always open to suggestions from customers! These donations happen whether we make ten thousand sales or just one; it’s a core part of who we are as a company.
Of course, if corporate giving doesn’t align with your values, you’re also free to opt out instead.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Right now, Wildlight is mostly just me! (Cheese is a wonderful mascot, but she’s not very much help around the office.) That’s not to say we haven’t had any help along the way. Starting a business is a huge undertaking, and I’m very grateful for the support of my family and my partner, who have been understanding and supportive through stressful days, sleepless nights, and the whole lengthy development process.
We’ve also been fortunate to have local vendors for every part of our manufacturing process. Many shoppers probably imagine manufacturing as an obscure, meandering process that mostly takes place overseas and out of sight, but we’ve been able to visit every single vendor before signing off on our purchases. That’s permitted us to be really involved in every step of designing our products and to build personal relationships with the people with whom we’ve done business.
And, of course, no list of shared credit for any company would be complete without a thank you for our customers! Without you, we’re just an idea. It makes my day every time I hear a great review or see someone connect with us. I started Wildlight to help people improve their skin and to build a better world; there’s nothing better than seeing those things happen for real.
Pricing:
- The Antioxidant Moisturizing Cream by Wildlight – $39.00/5.2 oz, 150ml
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.shopwildlight.com
- Email: hello@shopwildlight.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gowildlight/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gowildlight/
Image Credit:
All photos by Sara Mikulic for Wildlight LLC.
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