Beauty Boss: Kauai-Based Artisanal Skincare Company Leahlani Hand Makes Its Tropical Formulations With Organic, Wild-Crafted, and Local Hawaiian Ingredients
Leah Klasovsky. [Photo credit: Cheyenne Doig]
Our latest Beauty Boss is Leah Klasovsky, Founder of Leahlani—a Hawaii-based artisanal skincare company that makes all of its products in small weekly batches by hand at its Kauai studio. A holistic skincare expert, esthetician, and botanical alchemist, Klasovsky created Leahlani to transform everyday skincare routines into treasured and luxurious self-care rituals.
The botanical sensorial skincare line utilizes healing natural, wild-crafted ingredients including vibrant fruit nectars, blooming botanicals, and tropical beauty oils found in the Hawaiian islands. Its products feature potent organic actives, rich textures, and evocative fragrances for the ultimate sensory experience.
The company’s headquarters are 100 percent solar-powered with energy-efficient hot water on demand, and all of its shipping cartons, packaging materials, skincare bottles, and jars are recyclable in order to minimize Leahlani’s environmental impact and respect Mother Nature.
We chatted with Klasovsky who shared the inspiration behind the brand, secrets for success, best advice, and much more.
Leahlani is a Hawaii-based artisanal skincare company that makes all of its products in small batches by hand.
When was Leahlani founded and what does the name mean?
Leahlani was founded in 2006, the same year I became a licensed esthetician. I began formulating to help heal my own skin, and what started as a personal ritual quickly grew into a deeper calling—to create products that support and uplift others in their skincare journeys.
The name Leahlani combines my first name, Leah, with a word that was lovingly suggested to us in the early days of selling at the Hanalei farmer’s market. Lani is a Hawaiian word that can mean “heaven,” but it also carries deeper meanings—evoking something sacred, beloved, and exalted.
Because my path as an esthetician began here in Hawai‘i, and because this place has given so much to my life and my work, the name felt like a natural reflection of both the personal and sensory roots of the brand.
What inspired the creation of the brand?
Leahlani was born from my own skin journey. As I struggled with cystic acne, I began formulating products for myself—seeking out fresh, nutrient-dense ingredients that truly supported healing. When I became a licensed esthetician, that passion followed me into the treatment room. I wanted more than the sterile, lab-produced products I saw on the shelves—white bottles, no scent, no soul.
I envisioned products that felt alive—rich in texture, vibrant in color, with scents that invited both the client and the esthetician into a deeper experience. When someone is lying on the table with their eyes closed, everything matters: the way a product smells, how it melts into the skin, how it makes them feel.
I wanted every step of the ritual to be sensorial and sacred—while still delivering powerful results. That same philosophy continues to guide every formula we create today.
Leahlani’s Mermaid Mask nourishes and purifies complexions with Hawaiian honey, spirulina, cleansing sea clay, and chlorella.
Do you have a hero product?
The Mermaid Mask is often called the “gateway” to Leahlani—it’s in a league of its own. Made with Hawaiian raw honey, vibrant green spirulina, and a blend of antioxidant-rich botanicals, it’s a treatment unlike any other. Cracking into a fresh jar is a full sensory experience—the surface literally sparkles like the sea. It leaves skin feeling deeply cleansed, nourished, and radiant—like a refreshing dip in the ocean.
Another personal hero is our Aqua A Retinoid Renewal Serum. It delivers all the benefits of a retinoid—smoother texture, brighter tone, refined pores—without the typical irritation. In fact, it’s soothing, even for sensitive skin. With a gentle retinoid, plant stem cells, and vitamin C-rich oils, it’s a powerhouse serum that truly transforms.
What’s your favorite product from your line?
My personal holy grail trio is Citrus + Citrine Toner, Aloha Ambrosia Elixir, and Aqua A Retinoid Serum.
Citrus + Citrine is my morning wake-up call—I mist it on first thing and instantly feel refreshed. It tones, balances, and hydrates my skin better than anything I’ve ever tried. The scent clears the mind and uplifts the spirit—it’s like sunshine in a bottle.
Aloha Ambrosia is my daily moisturizer—it’s lightweight, packed with antioxidant-rich tropical oils, and leaves my skin soft, nourished, and perfectly primed for the day.
And Aqua A is my ride-or-die for visible results. It gives me all the benefits of a retinoid—smoother texture, glow, clarity—without any irritation. It’s soothing, strengthening, and makes such a difference in my skin.
Leahlani’s Aloha Ambrosia Morning Moisture Elixir features antioxidants and vitamins derived from organic mangosteen, goji berry, guava, and passionfruit oils.
Where are your products sold?
Leahlani Skincare is available worldwide through our website. We also partner with a curated selection of spas, boutiques, and retailers across the U.S. and internationally. Every partner is carefully chosen to ensure they reflect our values and create meaningful, informed experiences for their customers.
Future plans for the brand?
There is so much happening behind the scenes right now—more than ever before. I’ve never felt so inspired or driven to bring my ideas to life. We’re expanding our professional offerings for spas and estheticians, creating bespoke treatments for exclusive spas, and continuing to grow our product line in a thoughtful, intentional way.
I’m also co-hosting my first retreat for estheticians this year, which has been a dream in the making. And for the first time in years, I’m mapping out a plan to return to the treatment room—to work side by side with the estheticians on our team and stay deeply connected to the hands-on work that started it all.
The Beauty Oil Discovery Set includes all of Leahlani’s signature moisturizing elixirs and balancing serums.
Who inspires you?
I’m inspired by women who live with grit and grace—who lead with heart, lift each other up, and keep showing up, even when it’s hard. My mom, my sisters, our team, and the estheticians and customers in our community all remind me of the power of quiet strength and mutual support.
I’m drawn to people who choose connection over competition, who stay grounded and kind, and who create beauty without drama. That energy is what I aspire to surround myself with—and pour into everything I create.
Secret to success?
Keep going—and do it scared. Stop waiting for the perfect time, the perfect plan, the perfect version of yourself. I’ve had to pull myself up and rebuild more times than I can count, and the road that led me here wasn’t easy. It broke me open. But it also made me stronger, more grounded, and more confident than I’ve ever felt in my body and in my life.
A lot of people quit—and I don’t blame them. But the magic happens when you don’t. When you keep going despite the fear, the doubt, the setbacks. That’s when you meet the most powerful version of yourself.
How do you like to relax?
Relaxation, for me, lives in the little moments—snuggling with my cats, eating dinner with my husband, writing, or meeting my friends for a glass of wine on the beach at sunset.
Klasovsky is a holistic skincare expert, esthetician, and botanical alchemist who utilizes organic, wild-crafted, and local Hawaiian ingredients in her skincare line. [Photo credit: Cheyenne Doig]
Beauty secrets?
The biggest beauty shift in my life has been moving away from how I look and leaning into how I feel. I’m nearly 44. I have more lines on my face than I did in my 30s. My body continues to change with each decade. But I’ve never felt more at peace in my skin—more grounded, more comfortable, more me.
We’ve been taught to chase beauty as something visual, something to be measured or perfected. But true beauty—the kind that lingers—comes from how we care for ourselves. It lives in our rituals, in the way we rest, move, hydrate, connect, and give ourselves presence.
Aging is a privilege, and I want to feel every year of it in the best way possible. My products are created to support that—to help you reconnect to your senses, soften into yourself, and treat your skin with love. Whether you're applying a mask or misting your face, let it be a moment that makes you feel beautiful from the inside out.
And then there’s kindness—the sweetest kind of beauty. I’ve been calling in people who carry that light with them, who emanate joy and lift others up. That energy is magnetic. It rubs off. It’s a ripple effect. And I think that kind of beauty is the most radiant of all.
Wellness tips?
Rest isn’t something you earn—it’s essential. I wish I had understood that earlier in life. Wellness, to me, is about creating space to care for yourself with softness, intention, and honesty. Say no more often so you can say yes to what truly lights you up.
Take care of your sweet self—starting with how you speak to yourself. Make movement a priority, not to shrink or push, but to return to your body with love. I’ve let go of rigid routines and now choose practices that feel supportive and sustainable—walks, strength training, anything that helps me feel strong and steady.
Life moves in seasons. You will outgrow some of them—and that’s okay. Let them go with gratitude, and meet the next season with curiosity and grace.
Surround yourself with the cheerleaders—the ones who lift you, who reflect your light back to you. And gently release the relationships that dim your spark.
Wellness isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence. It’s about coming back to yourself, again and again, with care.
For more information about Leahlani Skincare, visit their website and follow on Instagram: @leahlaniskincare
[Images courtesy of Leahlani Skincare & Cheyenne Doig]
Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk