Brand: Gressa Skin

As you know, we carefully curate the products that we introduce on Florissana. The skincare line our founder, Jana, swears by is Gressa Skin. They also make amazing make-up with so much skincare benefits.

It's important to us that the products we sell are healthy, sustainable and ethical. We want products that actually work and that are versatile, so you don't need to fill your bathroom with a million jars you hardly use. Gressa's skincare and make-up products do just that.

At the intersection of minimalism and skincare is the cosmetics company Gressa Skin. A minimalist skincare company rooted in both cosmetic science and traditional herbalism, Gressa Skin is the brand for women looking for truly effective and seriously simple skincare. With an extensive collection that includes both Gressa Skin care products to treat many of women’s most pressing skincare concerns, to Gressa Skin makeup covering color cosmetics for the face, eyes, and lips, the Gressa Skin company is one of the best in the luxury green beauty community.

Gressa was born out of the desire to create something very special and worthy of a woman’s delicate skin.

The passion came from a family history of traditional herbalism, a scientific background and a desire for simple, fine and extraordinary lifestyle rituals to replace the modern habits of over-consumer. The founder, Svetlana Sanchez, was born and raised in the Far East of Russia. Traditional medicine wasn't considered an 'alternative'. Turning to herbs to care for health and skin. After studying biochemistry and pre-med, she created her own "mini-lab".

The Gressa collection is filled with worldly ritual-inspired apothecary items as well as glamour-ful color skincare cosmetics. As the world takes notice, they invite you to take the leap into the world of divine textures, luxurious olfactory endeavors and truly, the best skin of your life.

Gressa is a fusion of science, love and art all bottled up in a beautiful violet glass bottle. And it really is just that: years of formal education, tradition of ancient medicine, and a heart and soul poured into it creating the beauty behind each formula. 

The Gressa concept is to transcend green beauty. They wanted to take the stigma and stereotypes out of the word ‘green’ and create a product to represent what every woman deserves: an efficacious line that is couture yet remains uncompromising of purity. The Gressa brand is a brand that celebrates glamour and sex appeal and still remains free of silicones, preservatives, and anything that is harmful for your health.

Health	The products are free of silicones, preservatives, and anything that could potentially harm your health or skin. In the words of the founder: "I believe health comes from the organic whole foods that we eat. I feel the same about our skin. Our chic eco-skincare does just that, provides nutritious and luxurious skinfood. I invite you to turn the simplest, most essential daily need of skincare into a ritual. Feel good about what goes in your skin." Learn more about their key ingredients here.
Sustainability	Gressa Skin believes it's important to take the planet into consideration and encourages people not to over-consume. Their uncomplicated, minimal line encourages to buy good products that are often suited for all skin types. The make-up line is made up out of only the essentials and each product can be used for multiple things (which you can read in our "Minimalist Tips" on individual product pages). All products are hand-made in the U.S. and have violet glass packaging. The make-up products are also incredibly pigmented, especially the liquid items like cheek products and foundation, which will make the products last a very long time. Besides beauty products, Svetlana also encourages people to buy foods that are in season.
Ethics	Gressa Skin speaks out about the mistreatment of animals by companies like L'Oréal on social media. The products themselves are handmade in the U.S. in small batches using mostly wild-crafted, raw and organic ingredients. All products are cruelty-free and the ones we offer at Florissana are vegan.

I, Jana, have always struggled with finding the right products as my skin is dry/combination, sensitive and easily irritated. This was especially a problem pre-green beauty. Stress affects my skin a lot, and has in the past resulted in having my entire face covered with tiny red pimples. Even though I never had a problem with acne before. I've managed to keep my stress levels somewhat in check lately, but was still having break-outs regularly. Using Gressa Skin products has drastically improved that. Especially the foundation and purifying oil seem to have wonderful benefits for my skin.

It's a common misconception that using oils makes your skin oilier. The truth is that oils will help your skin balance out, whether you have dry or oily skin. All of Gressa's products are oil-based, they never leave you feeling greasy or heavy. Your skin will feel balanced and hydrated.

One of my personal favourite make-up items that I use almost every day is the highlighter. You can see it in the picture above. I also use it on my eyes on minimal make-up days to add a little something, without actually having to put on eyeshadow.