Story & Lesson Highlights with Chelsea Villela of Tucson

Chelsea Villela shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Chelsea, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
I love this question because immediately I want to scream integrity. All three are very important to success but if integrity doesn’t come first, the other two will fall flat. Intelligence without integrity can be manipulative and energy without integrity can be reckless. I think when you lead with integrity, intelligence becomes wisdom and energy becomes purpose.
The integrity I try to prioritize in my life, I hope spills into my business. I have always tried to be transparent in my business by backing my formulas with solid science and educating my customers on how the ingredients I use in my products will improve their skin.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am the formulator and founder of Økologi Botanik, a skin care and body care line that bridges my love for botanical ingredients with my background in molecular and cellular biology and biochemistry. By day, I work in cancer diagnostics research and by evenings and weekends I pour my heart into formulating and creating plant based products. My day-work demands a bit of perfectionism. That doesn’t mean that you have to be perfect at what you do, in fact, something a bit synonymous with science is failure – you get it wrong a lot until you get it right. It also requires a lot of data and research and review so that plays a part in how I formulate my products as well.

Being a formulator however takes a lot of creativity and imagination as well. I grew up in the mountains in California and I loved to spend time exploring in the woods. I try to tell stories with my products. My Bee Love line, for example started out with “the day in the life of a bee”. What plants does the bee visit? What scents does it pass on the way back to the hive? So when the formula was finished, so was the story.

For me, the skincare that I create isn’t about fads and trends but has to stand the test of time. Although I do stay up to date with innovations in skincare in the beauty industry, I also like to stay connected to what is tried and true and delivers results.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
I would definitely have to say my dad. He was an extremely hard worker at home and at his job. I grew up before the internet and even cable TV so my brothers and I had chores. We grew up with goats and chickens and geese and five acres of land that we had to take care of. If we were bored, which we never admitted to, dad said that meant that we needed to pull weeds! So I always kept myself busy.

Dad was also an artist. Even though he passed away almost 20 years ago, he is still known and talked about for the things he created. He had a seasonal job so during the winters he was always creating and was extremely talented. Before having a family he was a professional musician. He loved and encouraged me to develop my artistic interests ever since I was a child. I think if he could see what I’ve created with Økologi Botanik today, he would be very proud.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
When it comes to my business and career, impostor syndrome has been the biggest thing that has held me back. Even with years now of working in science and being a formulator, sometimes that little voice pops up that questions whether I belong in certain spaces. Do I really know what I’m doing? To counter that, I have worked hard on getting my credentials. Graduating from college, getting my degree in molecular and cellular biology, getting my diploma in Organic Skin Care Formulation, those things shut that annoying little voice up.
I also care deeply about what I do. When I get exhausted (which happens from time to time), my customers and their feedback about what my products have done for them keep me going. I think: oh yea! These are amazing, life changing products! Good job Chelsea!
Tying that fear back to integrity however keeps me humble. I am nothing more and nothing less than my actions everyday. I work hard, I love what I do, and I think that shines through in my brand.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
There are two lies that I can think of off the top of my head. One is that the skin care industry is saturated. I’ve talked about this a lot before but when you have an Indy Beauty Brand, based on creativity and personal knowledge and esthetic, there is always room. We don’t tell people to stop making music because there are too many songs or stop painting because we have too much art already. I really encourage anyone who has the drive to create and make skin care products to do it. For me, it has been so satisfying.
The other lie is that plant based skin care isn’t as effective as synthetic. Plant derived ingredients have been used for millenia because they work. A single botanical can have thousands of biochemical processes that heal and repair skin compared to one synthetic active. And you can often find studies proving the efficacy of botanicals when you do your research. So using beautiful botanicals and pairing them with gentle actives that blend the best of science and nature can truly benefit the skin.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I would hope that people would say that I lived with integrity and generosity. I try to share my resources with others, especially those I love. I hope they would see that I love people and in my work strove to make the lives of others better if not more beautiful. One of my favorite quotes is from Elsie de Wolfe that says “I’m going to make everything around me beautiful – that will be my life.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.okologibotanik.com
• Instagram: @okologibotanik
• Other: Tiktok: @chelseavillela