Hey Everyone!  My name is Iliana and Solaris is my company and baby. I am posting this blog in order for you to get to know me a little better and connect to the founder behind the brand. I hope learning a little more about me helps you understand our brand, my inspiration, and the intent of the products we offer you! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us and how we can help you solve your skin needs! We are always here to help :)

I have an obsession with clean eating. I am very particular with what goes into my body. My grandma (one of the leading ladies in my life) tells me to this day to watch what I eat and to eat clean.  My mom follows through by never ending Tik Tok smoothie or salad recipes. You are what you eat right? Therefore I must be a smoothie lol. j/k. I use both my VITAMIX and Beast blender on a heavy rotation in my house and create all kind of blends with powders to help me feel good and look great in between meals. Im also huge on bone broth, it’s light, filling and so good for you. I am very mindful with everything I cook and view food as fuel for my cells rather than filling up so though taste is important, nutrition will trump taste on my plate.

I have a big sweet tooth but I love chocolate the most. My weakness is chocolate, and though I reserve it as a very rare treat I used to binge when I was younger. Years ago, I ate one of those 1 pound Lindt chocolate bars with the hazelnuts all to myself and before my best friend could ask for a bite the entire thing was gone. To be fair, I was hardcore PMS’ing. When I want chocolate now days, I will be modest and have a few bites.

I never watch tv, I haven’t watched a movie in years and not because I don’t want to but because I don’t have the time. My favorite all time tv show is of course Sex and the City, I’m a die hard New Yorker to the end.

My favorite time is around 5am when everyone is still asleep. I am filled with a lot of gratitude early mornings and it is the most relaxing time out of my day.

I have 2 kids and the best husband in the universe. I have 2 young kids, a baby girl and a baby boy they are our joy and the sunshine in our life. There’s always laughter lots of hugs, kisses, and love in our house around the clock. On the weekends the 4 of us stay in bed late and we are just 4 peas in a pod.

Running a business and being a mom can be very challenging. I started this business on my own with when my daughter was 1. Because I had a child and a job I would usually work until 4am. Now being a mom of 2 my schedule flipped to get an early start I usually wake up at 430am to have some autonomy where I can catch up on emails or go over reports. It’s a heavy lift but I love it.

I have an obsession with reading clinical studies and medical journals. We are blessed to live in a time where all knowledge is google away so if I am curious on any topic I go straight to clinical studies to understand or learn about a topic in depth. To be very well versed in some topics I may have a meeting with the author(s) of these studies to get advice if I am doing research on a product so this passion translates very well to my business. I stand firm by our ‘efficacy driven’ motto.

I cant stand wine. When I think of the taste of wine I cringe. My drink of choice is a good quality mezcal. I don’t do cocktails.

I started my business out of my (tight) NYC apartment with a wild thought one night when I couldn’t sleep. Late one night I had an epiphany, before traditional Chinese medicine modalities were a ‘thing’ I had such great success with it with my skin health, I wanted to produce products based on their principles that are excellent quality. My intent was to produce products for women like me, that were searching for something beyond a topical product.

I am extremely picky with the products my brand represents. I firmly believe in quality over quantity. I would rather present 1 excellent product to our customers than 20 other ‘me too’ replicas. I spend months and sometimes years researching a modality and becoming an expert on the topic to produce a top quality product prior to the launch. As I mentioned, I read a lot of literature and speak to a lot of experts in the field both medical and scientific to know what we are going to provide to the customer, and how it will change their skin health. I take my products serious! Ask me about anything product related and I will know it inside out. The circuit board and how its optimized to how many LED beads are in each line of our HOW TO GLOW mask. I think this is the biggest differentiating factor between our brand and others trying be like us, I am mindful of every detail of the product and each product is purpose driven.

My favorite modality for skin health is LED light and I have been a fan for many, many years. I was introduced to LED light during my undergrad in a physics course called ‘electricity and magnetism’.  We studied energy and wavelengths and my prof mentioned that red LED has been used by navy SEALS to heal wounds in their skin. I found this concept fascinating how something that doesn’t event ouch you physically can literally stimulate your body to regenerate itself.  I use my LED mask almost daily on the red and amber setting.

I am inspired and deeply empowered by the women in my life. To be specific – my best friends, my mom, and both grandmothers. I’m not gonna lie - but I come from a badass line of women who have been my role models and mentors every day of my life.