About BVSB
Bella Vida Santa Barbara: Embrace a Beautiful Life
Mission: Our mission is to inspire and transform the world by helping people discover the beauty within themselves and their lives, empowering them to share that radiance with the world and truly live a 'beautiful life.'
Bella Vida Santa Barbara is a Sustainable Luxury Skincare brand inspired by California’s vibrant natural beauty, especially the ocean that graces our shores. As a clean, sustainable, and Leaping Bunny Certified Cruelty-Free company, we’re committed to delivering products that not only enhance the skin but also support a lifestyle of wellness, self-care, and environmental respect. Loving yourself is the highest form of self-care, and we hope to help you truly love your own personal beauty!
Founded in 2019 by Erin Schmidt, Bella Vida Santa Barbara emerged from humble beginnings in a Santa Barbara bungalow kitchen. Erin’s journey began with a personal struggle: years of cystic acne and the unique challenges of her sensitive, fair skin as a natural redhead. With a daughter on the Autism spectrum and after losing her mother to cancer, Erin was driven to seek cleaner, safer products for her family and herself. Her experience with traditional skincare treatments left her longing for alternatives that were gentle on the skin, the body, and the planet.
Bella Vida Santa Barbara reflects Erin’s dedication to creating an elegant, botanical-based skincare line that marries efficacy with ethical integrity. We formulate, manufacture in small batches and package our products by hand right here in California. We prioritize formulas that are predominantly vegan and certified clean by Think Dirty and the Good Face Project, maintaining high standards for natural ingredients and a minimal environmental footprint.
Partnering in mid 2024 with CMO David Hill, successful black serial entrepreneur and media mogul of VYRE media, BVSB is expanding and growing in the US and internationally.
Our commitment extends to sustainable practices: we source ingredients from other environmentally conscious suppliers, many are organic, Mass Balance certified, run on wind or solar energy, donate back to non-profits, advocate for reduced waste, offer refill options, and are striving to become zero waste. We believe in the responsibility of beauty brands to lead the way in reducing ocean pollution and preserving our planet’s resources. At Bella Vida Santa Barbara, we take pride in fostering a clean, cruelty-free, and environmentally conscious approach to luxury skincare, where beautiful skin is just the beginning of a beautiful life.
ABOUT ERIN SCHMIDT, our Founder and Organic Skincare Formulator:
When Erin was in her 20's and 30's, she suffered from cystic acne. After having a child with moderate Autism and years of pain and discomfort, and countless medical treatments that harmed her skin and animals, Erin sought alternative modes of healing and, with the help of licensed Estheticians and her skincare formulation training, she began educating herself on natural skincare remedies and founded Bella Vida Santa Barbara.
"I often get asked why I wanted to form a skincare company. As a serial entrepreneur, I had formed a few fashion e-commerce sites, yet my struggles with my skin and having a daughter with Autism with sensitivities, led me to develop a deep desire to help others find better alternatives to what was on the market.
In 2018, I decided I wanted to create a clean, luxury skincare brand that I felt was missing from the market place as many luxury brands were (and still do) using harsh chemicals and were far from sustainable and most are not cruelty-free. My journey began as a teenager into my thirties with my personal struggle with cystic acne and the unique challenges of my sensitive, fair skin as a natural redhead. I have had a few skin cancer scares where I have had several spots removed that thankfully were benign, but I have to see a dermatologist every 3 months as some looked precancerous. All of these issues lead me to want to create a clean, effective and luxurious line for myself and my customers.
All the years of traditional skincare and harsh treatments that simply didn't work and wasted lots of money, left me longing for alternatives that were gentle on the skin, the body, and the planet. After having a daughter on the Autism spectrum and after losing her mother to cancer, I was determined to seek cleaner, safer products for her family and herself. Bella Vida Santa Barbara emerged from humble beginnings in my small Santa Barbara bungalow kitchen.
Bella Vida Santa Barbara reflects my dedication to creating an elegant, botanical-based skincare line that marries efficacy with ethical integrity. We formulate and manufacture in small batches and package our products by hand right here in California. We prioritize formulas that are vegan and several are certified clean by Think Dirty and the Good Face Project, maintaining high standards for natural and sustainable ingredients and a minimal environmental footprint.
Partnering in mid 2024 with CMO David Hill, successful black serial entrepreneur and media mogul of VYRE media, BVSB is expanding and growing in the US and internationally.
Our commitment extends to sustainable practices as well: we advocate for reduced waste and are striving to become nearly plastic-free. We believe in the responsibility of beauty brands to lead the way in reducing ocean pollution and preserving our planet’s resources. At Bella Vida Santa Barbara, we take pride in fostering a clean, cruelty-free, and environmentally conscious approach to luxury skincare, where beautiful skin is just the beginning of a beautiful life.
Most of all- we want to be a company you love and are proud to support!"
About our Founder:
Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and worked with children with disabilities for over 25 years
Mother of a girl with Moderate Autism
Award-Winning Organic Skincare Formulator
Member of the Los Angeles Tribune Elite Podcast Network
Featured in Foundr Magazine and Podcasts in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Featured in interviews in: Foundr Magazine, Los Angeles Tribune, LA Fashion Magazine, Think Dirty's Female Founders to Watch for Women's Day in 2020, Bella Vida Magazine, Canvas Rebel, WTVOX, Dieline Magazine and more
Erin Schmidt, Founder & CEO
- Certified Woman-Owned Small Business
CMO: David Hill, BIPOC CEO of VYRE and CDN
CFO: Brady D. Schmidt, Jr.
Our Offices:
WESTLAKE VILLAGE:
4607 Lakeview Canyon rd. #246
Westlake Village, CA 91361
Manufacturing facility:
1543 Covington Ave.
Westlake Village, CA 91361
Find your perfect product
Use our Skin Quiz
We recommend:
Luxe Anti-Aging Rituals
Made to target signs of aging with potent, high performance botanical ingredients that are clean, safe and very effective. Rejuvenate skin gently and without painful injections.
We recommend:
Dry Skin Rituals for Soft, Glowing Skin
Our skincare is made to soften and lock in moisture with non-pore clogging ingredients that will not only moisturize, but give your skin a beautiful glow.
We recommend:
Acne Prone Skin Soothers
Our founder, Erin, suffered from cystic acne for many years. She has crafted our line to be effective and safe for acne, helping to soothe irritation, redness and reduce acne breakouts while keeping skin soft and hydrated.
We recommend:
Skin Balancing Rituals
Oily skin can often be a sign that your skin is out of balance or you are actually stripping too much sebum from your skin with harsh products or washing too often. Skin needs a balance of certain levels of acids, and we have crafted these products to soothe and balance skin while keeping it hydrated and soft.
Sustainability & Effectiveness
We started creating the products we wanted to see in the world and we did this with an uncompromising approach to sustainability. Sustainably sourced, produced with Solar and Wind Energy in the USA, and packaged with Glass and Recycled papers. We also offer Zero Waste-Refills on our bestsellers.
Humble beginnings
Our story begins in an apartment kitchen in Santa Barbara, California in 2019 overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Certified Organic Skincare Formulator, Erin Schmidt, who suffered for many years with cystic acne, had a passion to help others. She set out to create the most Sustainable Luxury Skincare brand out there with a small inheritance from her father who died tragically two months before launch.
