We were lucky to catch up with Evelyn Sprigg recently and have shared our conversation below.
Evelyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I was burnt out. From a long, draining career in big marketing agencies. From not listening to my gut, my heart, my body for too long. I left the agency world and I had everything — and nothing — in front of me. So I thought about my plan and then I thought about my “unplan.” The unplan won. Say yes to new things, new opportunities, things you don’t usually say yes to. Don’t direct the future, find your future.
I took that yes to different places — I met and made new friends and loved ones, I became certified in yoga, but most importantly I said yes to a lady in a bar that I met by chance when I did something I never used to do. I arrived early for my plans, alone, sat down next to her and chatted.
Turns out, I wasn’t tired of skincare or beauty. That was and always is my passion. I wasn’t tired of learning, doing, achieving, growing. I was worn out by the grind. Lots of work, no results. Watered down (figurately and literally) products by huge market dominating brands. Negative energy.
So this lovely lady — Brook Dougherty — led to a road of yesses. To being co-founders to bring the amazing products she had begun to formulate to market. To forging our own path, being our own ‘unplanners’ with big plans for the future.
Each step in that journey was a risk. And each yes has led me somewhere new. Somewhere exiting. Sometimes somewhere scary. But all of it has been the most worth it ride ever.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
About JustUs Skincare
Justus skincare is a small-batch, high-performance skincare line inspired by climate-proof ancient plant actives+neobotanicals.
We create bold blends made from earth’s most resilient ingredients. Our formulations strike that perfect balance of modern and ancient ingredients from around the globe.
At JustUs, art+science unite in bold, sumptuous brews for your most taxing skin concerns, allowing you to see (and feel) true changes in wrinkles, fine lines, lost elasticity, dark spots, redness, dryness, and irritation.
Impact of the Environment on your Skin
The environment we live in can have a significant impact on the health, quality and appearance of your skin. It affects how much moisture the skin retains, how much oil is produced and also how easily it becomes irritated or damaged. Humidity can lead to clogged pores, breakouts, overall greasiness and make you feel sticky and oily. Dry climates can lead to dehydrated skin, flakiness and itchiness. Exposure to sun, pollution and free radicals can lead to uneven tone, skin spots, and premature aging. And harsh temperatures can exacerbate issues, like enlarged pores, blemishes, or dry cracked skin.
Our skincare line is built with these challenges in mind, to help you address your most taxing skin issues.
About our ingredient approach
JustUs Skincare starts with ancient botanical ingredients harvested from the Earth’s harshest climates. These we pair with plant actives that have been developed through scientific innovation.
Our avid experimentation challenges the conventions of traditional skincare. Our results are powerful blends that help your skin thrive in any environment.
About the Founders
Brook Dougherty
Brook is the author of the memoir, Nothing To Write Home About, and a longtime supporter of domestic violence victims.
Brook blends her background in skincare, marketing and the charitable community as gracefully as she blends the unique formulations.
In the evenings she can be found playing tennis with her favorite (four-legged) partner, JustUs lab assistant Winnie!
Evelyn Sprigg
Evelyn, a veteran of the NYC advertising and PR industry, has long identified as a skincare junkie.
Her passion for finding the best skincare solutions for friends and family started at a young age and continued into her professional career with some of the biggest beauty brands.
An avid traveler/hiker, when she is home you can mostly find Evelyn painting or fending off her dogs during her daily yoga routine.
Find us on IG, FB and TikTok at @justusskincare or online at www.justusskincare.com
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Perfection isn’t how you win. Many of us were taught growing up to do everything perfectly. It must be a job well, or perfectly, done. But if you spend all of your time perfecting something, you are often facing quickly diminishing returns. Often 80% is good enough. Sometimes 50% is good enough to achieve the objective you set. And yes, sometimes 100% is needed. What I learned at first was, always perfect. Always 100%. What I had to learn is that sometimes 50% reaches 100% of what you need. So evaluate, learn to let go, learn to keep moving and you will have far greater leaps ahead and also more time to focus on what really matters.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
It’s always interesting for a small business and especially a start up. You need to make smart choices. Tough choices. In our case, one example is that first and foremost we needed to put the absolute best, most interesting and effective ingredients into the products. If the products dont work, no one will buy again. You wont have a scaleable business. But to do that, we had to be much more “lean” on our approach to bottling and labeling. We knew that the labels on the outside did not always reflect the amazing quality inside. But at that time we had a choice to make — be one of those beauty brands that spends all its money on packaging and very little on ingredients. Or do what you do well and get better in the rest as you can. We took the latter approach and over time we have been able to grow and invest into the labeling so everything “matches.” But at our core we still will always prioritize the quality of the ingredients over everything else. We would get feedback sometimes early on about improving the boxes, the labels, but honestly when people used the products and saw changes in their face, that was literally not a consideration in their mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://justusskincare.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justusskincare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justusskincare/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/justus-skincare/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhttnuEoftE1ZMYrqdTdVw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@justusskincare https://www.pinterest.com/JustUsSkincare/
Image Credits
Karee Maxson ]Evelyn Sprigg