La Bella Figura Turns One And Interviews Themselves!

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The Amalfi Coast

 Who are you?

La Bella Figura, a little natural and organic skincare brand that wants to bring "The Beautiful Life" to beauty lovers everywhere!

Where do you live?

We are based in Chicago, although our hearts are always someplace else. Mostly in Paris, Barcelona, or somewhere on the Amalfi coast.

What is your occupation?

We formulate, create and hand blend natural skincare products from certified organic or wild crafted ingredients. We bring beauty to the world and safe cosmetics to folks that trust us.

What is your astrological sign?


We are a power combo. A Leo and An Aquarian!

What do you do for fun and recreation?

We travel, write, cook, dance, meet our friends and laugh well into the night.

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why?

There is so much that we still need to see. There is not a place on this earth that we wouldn't see! We travel because it reminds us of Huckleberry Finn, being a seven year old, diving into our imaginations, and it connects us with our humanity.

What do you enjoy most about your life?

We enjoy loving the people closest to us every day. We hold them tight and just love! Right now we are also enjoying some of the success from our hard work and being recognized by retailers, customers, editors, and beauty writers as responsible and truthful. When we receive a phone call or an email from a customer that tells us our products has changed their skin, well it makes us cheer with joy. We love to hear it. We also love being innovative with ingredients and educating people about chemical free beauty. How some women covet the latest Stella McCartney dress or Rag and Bone jeans we covet the latest fruit or vegetable oil making news in the science journals. Don't get us started about organic essential oils because we have been amazed by the variety in the plant world and wish to try them all!

What made you try organic products?

We were tired of the greenwashing, the chemicals, toxins and lies that are constant in the beauty world. Growing up, all we ever heard was that oil for your skin is the worst culprit and leading cause of acne and irritating skin issues. Meanwhile, the beautiful women of Morocco, Italy, France, and Spain have always used a variety of oils in their skincare routine with astonishing results! The old myth that oils are hazardous and are to be avoided is absurd since no cream or moisturizer can be made without oil. It's an emulsion of water and oil! We just didn't want mineral oil to be our moisturizer so we looked towards nature and like the beauty queen she is, we found our answers. There is no going back once you go clean and organic.

If we "shadowed" you for an entire day, what beauty horror would we find out about you?

Yikes! We are both guilty of being so busy running La Bella Figura that we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. We're getting better though because we both made a recent committment to make exercise a part of our work routine daily. It's so easy to wake up and have emails, phone calls, and meetings to attend and skip a workout, but in the end we've realized we are happier when we can squeeze in some yoga or a cardio outdoors.

What are your favorite beauty products, something you could not be on a desert island without?

We are huge fans of two of our own products. Karen would go nuts if she didn't have her Decouverte Under Eye Repair Serum! Right now if I lost my bottle of Barbary Fig Renewal Serum I wouldn't be a happy camper either. It's getting my skin gorgeous for Spring.


Other than that I love my John Masters Organics Bare shampoo and I'm loving Raw Elements USA natural sunscreen made with some great ingredients that make my skin feel soft and not tacky.

What will you be doing this weekend?

It's St. Patrick's Day in Chicago this weekend and it'll be in the 70's! We'll be out and about for sure. We have a tradition here in Chicago where we turn the river green and have a parade and celebrate in a big way. Pretty sure green beer will be on the menu too. Don't ask what the city uses to turn the river green!

Sum up a motto that best describes you:

We do what we do not because it's always easy, but because we think it's right.

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Karen

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Victoria

La Bella has our first "Bello", Il Bello of the week, Brian Guadagno!

This week we have our first "Bello!"  Brian Guadagno, a real life hero and lifeguard who spends his time on the beach and creating organic sunscreen to not only protect our skin, but the ocean as well.  Raw Elements USA is the name of his company and if you read the ingredient list you'll be rushing to get yourself some of this organic goodness, made with organic sunflower oil, green tea, cocoa and mango butter to name a few!

Brian in action!

La Bella Figura: Who are you?

       
Brian Guadagno: Brian Guadagno, 17 year professional ocean lifeguard and I try to be the best person I can.
LBF: Where do you live?

       
BG: I split time between Southern California, Rhode Island in the summer.

LBF: What is your occupation?

       
BG: President and Founder of Raw Elements USA, Chemical Free Sunscreen, #1 rated by The Environmental Working Group for safety and efficacy.

LBF: What is your astrological sign?

       
BG: Cancer

LBF: What do you do for fun and recreation?

BG: I love to fish, music, shoot photography, anything and everything at the beach and on the ocean, spend time with my family and friends.

LBF: If you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why?

BG: Either the plains of Africa to capture it with my lens or somewhere with the perfect wave alone..

LBF: What do you enjoy most about your life?

BG: I enjoy being blessed with the most amazing family and so many great friends. I also enjoy having had the opportunity to have saved lives in the ocean along side some of the most dedicated and trustworthy friends in the world.  Knowing that they will always be there by your side, no matter how bad it gets, is a pretty amazing feeling.

LBF: What made you try organic products?

BG: I think initially it was my discovery of all the chemicals that make up traditional sunscreens. I felt pretty foolish that as a lifeguard, I had been using these products for so long and never thought to look into what was in them, how it would effect me or the environment. That was an eye opener for me and it changed my approach to everything that I use from food, to cosmetics and so on. .

LBF: If we "shadowed" you for an entire day, what beauty horror would we
find out about you?

BG: I think it would probably be that I have a terrible habit of biting my nails. I've tried to shake it before, guess the hand modeling thing is out!

LBF: What are your favorite beauty products, something you could not be on a desert island without?

BG: I would have to say organic cocoa butter and organic coconut oil, can't beat that! Oh, and considering we are speaking about the desert, Raw Elements ECO STICK SPF 30+ for sure!


LBF: What will you be doing this weekend?

BG: This weekend I am definitely taking my dog, Doc, for a hike, long over due!

LBF: Sum up a motto that best describes you:

BG: Hmmm... I've always tried to follow, 'Intent, Delivery, Follow-Through'.   

organic awesomeness!

The guy in the video is not Brian, but his company spokesperson, Garrett McNamara who rode a 90 foot wave a few weeks ago to my jaw dropping awe!  Pretty cool, huh?!  We have great admiration for Brian for creating such a wonderful, natural product that EVERYONE needs, to protect their skin.  The fact that it is biodegradable and doesn't hurt the ocean or its wildlife makes it an added bonus. This guy knows how to live his life and we hope he gets to take his dream trip so we can see through his eyes!