About

It was 2008. I had just left my awesome job in Palm Beach, by choice, because I wanted to focus on being a mom. I remember thinking, “Okay. This is it. This is the season of nesting and soft music and folding baby clothes.” The sweet, cozy plan. Probably many women have a similar plan... and a dream, to be supported by a man.

 

And then my husband got laid off. Surprise!

 

If you’ve ever felt panic rise in your chest so fast you could practically hear it, that was me. Saying “I was scared” doesn’t even touch it. I didn’t know what we were going to do, but I did know one thing with absolute clarity: I had to figure something out - for my child’s sake.

 

The problem? I had experience. Lots of it. Years in beauty, working with big brands like Dior, Chanel and YSL, learning how products are launched, what people are looking for, what makes something feel awesome, what makes it actually work. But in real life, experience doesn’t magically turn into a paycheck when you’re visibly pregnant and everyone knows you’ll disappear in two or three months to have a baby. Let’s be real: nobody was lining up to hire me.

 

Then my friend showed up - like friends do, right when you’re spiraling - and she said something so casually it almost offended me. “Why don’t you start your own business?”

 

I literally had the reaction you’d expect: a laugh, a stare, and then the internal monologue of, Wait… what? How? With what money? With what connections? With what last name? 

 

Because in my head, “starting a beauty business” was something you did if you were born into a Chanel-or-Dior-type family. Not if you were in your apartment, pregnant, terrified, and doing mental math on grocery receipts.

 

She didn’t argue with me. She didn’t give me a ten-step plan. She just said, “Watch this show. It’s called The Big Idea. It’s about entrepreneurs.”

 

I said, “Okay.” Mostly to end the conversation, because it sounded… impossible.

 

A few days later, I’m back to pacing in full panic mode, no answers, brain running in circles. I turned on the TV, almost like I needed noise in the room so my thoughts wouldn’t get so loud.

 

And there it was: ‘The Big Idea’ on.

 

To this day, I don’t know if it was an accident or one of those strange, perfectly timed moments you’re meant to have. But I remember sitting down and watching this woman talk about launching her skincare line. Not because she was born into a famous beauty family. Not because she had a trust fund or a celebrity connection. 

Because she wanted to. Because she had passion. Because she decided to try. 

And something in me just… clicked. 

Like, oh. That’s allowed? 

It sounds simple, but that message cracked something open in my brain: maybe “impossible” is just a story we tell ourselves until we take the first step. Maybe the gap between “I can’t” and “I did” is smaller than it looks - it’s just scary to cross.

 

So I took the first step.

 

Then another.

 

Then another.

 

What followed was the most intense research phase of my life, 24/7 learning, reading, studying, planning - while being attached to my newborn like a tiny, adorable, milk-powered assistant. I was building a business with one hand and holding a baby with the other. I joked that I technically had two children at once. But I was the very first business owner in my family line, plus an immigrant, with an accent that I still can’t get rid of.

 

And that’s how Yunasence was born: from a moment of panic, a friend’s nudge (her name was Grace, by the way!!!! Maybe for a reason? And we are still friends 20 years later), a TV show that landed in front of me at exactly the right time, and the realization that you don’t have to be born into something to build it. (The message - don't ignore the sighs.)

 

Sometimes the best stories really do start with a kick in the butt and a light-bulb going on. Mine just happened to come with a pregnancy belly, a newborn, and a very dramatic amount of pacing, and an angel friend.

Over the course of eighteen years and another surprise pregnancy at 43, my skincare products have naturally evolved in sync with my lifestyle and the needs of my customers. While nurturing my young boys, I've carved out space for personal development. I enrolled and graduated from the British Formula Botanica Organic Skincare School, dedicating four years to deepening my expertise and creativity to skincare formulating science. To elevate my knowledge of clean skincare, I sought wisdom from the pinnacle of excellence - the European standards, that are known to be very stringent when it comes to non-toxic beauty. The best lessons are learned from the best, and that's why I chose the finest school to enhance my knowledge.