My name is: Vicki Levine.
I’m known for being: Co-founder and CEO of Symbiome.
I'm talking about: Minimalist skincare with maximalist results. Symbiome’s hero product, The One Restorative Cream, and recent launch, The Answer Reparative Serum.
You can find it at: symbiome.com, ONDA Beauty in Tribeca and Sag Harbor, and Neighborhood Goods in Austin and Dallas.
Before I created this line, I was: I’m a recovering engineer, banker and investor, who spent several years investing in early stage companies. My past life fueled my love for data and science, so I jumped at the chance to build a new beauty brand with health and technology at its core.
What inspired me to launch was: Skincare is a very crowded space, but, after meeting my co-founder, Larry Weiss, and understanding the potential of our scientific research, I was inspired to apply these groundbreaking discoveries to a consumer brand.
We’ve all been programmed to always seek the next best thing. Whether it’s a new ingredient, formulation or procedure, we’re always looking to find a way to make our skin brighter, clearer, younger—you name it. The question really is: What does our skin actually need? Symbiome products deliver only what our skin needs to be truly healthy.
How it works is: Each Symbiome product is formulated with fewer than 10 clean, organic, traceable and sustainable ingredients. At the foundation of our company is our R&D arm. We have a deep bench of in-house microbiologists and microbiome experts, as well as a scientific advisory board that consists of some of the most notable academic researchers and experts in the space. From our research, we know our skin microbiome used to make its own nutrients, but, over time (as we’ve moved away from nature), we’ve not only lost some of these microbes, but also their ability to create the beneficial biomolecule that are crucial to skin health (and health in general). Symbiome’s products work to return those nutrients naturally through supercharged fermented and postbiotic ingredients. That said, it’s all about the power of microbes. We sometimes miss the beauty in what we can’t see with the naked eye.
What makes it special is: We created and patented our Postbiomic™ fermentation and BioIntact™ emulsion processes, which deliver potent and optimized bioavailable nutrients and enzymes to support skin barrier function and hydrate the skin for healthy, beautiful skin (also in the most energy-efficient and sustainable way).
One thing you can’t miss is: The Answer—our regenerative conditioned stem cell media serum with only six ingredients (including water). The name says it all.
My favorite secret detail is: While the Answer was designed as a daily regenerative serum that helps protect against the signs of aging, it also happens to be amazing post cosmetic procedures (we don’t necessarily always talk about openly).
For me, “clean” or “conscious" beauty means: Minimal and simple. As we continue to embrace and advance technology, we sometimes overlook the fact that the past holds the answers to many of our questions. The past was simple and yet health was more prevalent. We say, “Derived from the past. Designed for the future.” We are embracing the power of the natural world and reconnecting to it in a way that lets us unlock its potential for the future.
One ritual you can practice with this line is: Purging your bathroom vanity and simplifying your routine by asking, “Why do I need this product?” Understanding the functional benefits of a product helps you create a minimal regimen of only the skincare you need for health and resilience.
It can help you live your process because: Living our lives with less allows us to be more sustainable. The pandemic showed us the effect our modern lives have had on our well-being and the environment. There was less consumption, less traffic and much less environmental impact. Can we take some of that with us as we re-enter a new stage of our lives? Simplicity can bring us balance and harmony with the world around us—Symbiosis! (And the inspiration for our brand.)