Meet the Maker: Saint Jane’s Founder Is on a Healing Mission

When it comes to creating a beauty brand, Saint Jane was far from Casey Georgeson’s first rodeo. As the former senior director of marketing and creative at Sephora, she was the person developing brands alongside founders from the ground up—from Marc Jacobs Beauty to Disney. In fact, she’s helped develop over 10 brands and many more seasonal collections.

It turns out that breaking out on your own to launch a CBD skincare brand is a whole different beast, though. “Finding labs who would work with a CBD beauty company and ensuring that our formulas turned out as luxe and effective as I imagined was incredibly difficult,” says Georgeson. But difficulties be damned, Saint Jane was eventually born—a vision of a holistic wellness brand as much as a line of clean CBD products.

“Clean” being the operative word. It fact, it was when she gave birth to one of her daughters who was dramatically under-weight—and a doctor suggested it may have been due to exposure to traditional nail polish and perfumes—that Georgeson decided that “clean beauty was non-negotiable.”

Then, when she heard about CBD and the promising benefits for inflammation in the skin, “it really felt as if lightning was striking,” she says. Thank the skincare Gods she was there when it did.

Miss Grass: How did you discover CBD?

Casey Georgeson: I've always experimented with every product under the sun, layering, blending and mixing. In 2017, when I learned about CBD as an ingredient for skincare, I was intrigued. It’s not often that an ingredient emerges with as much promise as this one. I was reading an article about CBD as “nature’s Xanax meets Advil” and the next day I walked into a San Francisco dispensary and asked for all of the products with CBD for topical use.

I dove deep with budtenders, doctors, scientists, growers, extractors, lawyers, and experts to see if the hype was real. What I found was that CBD has extraordinary benefits for skin and the way it was being marketed wasn't doing its wellness potential justice. I see CBD as more of a vitamin than a controlled substance. It truly is all about inspiring self-care, a ritual that deserves to be elevated.

MG: What’s your experience of using CBD beauty and skincare products on your skin?

CG: The first thing I noticed when experimenting with CBD on my face was how much smoother my skin felt and how much healthier it felt overall. CBD has more vitamins and nutrients than vitamin C and E, so it soothes irritation, brightens and lightens sun spots better than all the hundreds of products I've tried … I have three young daughters, so relaxation isn’t a daily occurrence and my skin can take a toll.

For me, using CBD topically feels like I’ve just had an amazing massage. I feel passionately that between the antioxidants and the detoxifying benefits, CBD is one of the most exciting skincare ingredients of our time.

MG: Was SAINT JANE an idea that had been brewing for a while, or did lightning suddenly strike one day?

CG: When I learned about CBD and the promising benefits for inflammation in the skin, it really felt as if lightning was striking. The most important thing for me with this brand is knowing that it will make a difference for people who use it … With Saint Jane, I knew that if I could help blaze a trail in this new industry and create a company that is fully dedicated to women helping women through wellness, it would be worthwhile. The beauty industry can be pretty cut throat and I wanted to do things differently…to inspire women.

Saint Jane Luxury CBD Beauty Serum, $125

MG: You’ve said wellness and lifestyle should be approached holistically. What’s your philosophy on wellness when it comes to skincare?

CG: We all know our skin is our largest organ and absorbs hormone-disrupting toxins if we’re not careful about what we apply. I believe in clean beauty for many reasons, but most importantly, because when one of my daughters was born dramatically underweight at full term, one doctor’s theory was that it was because I was developing traditional nail polish, perfumes and sprays during my pregnancy with her.

We will never know for sure, but it was enough to solidify my belief that clean beauty is non-negotiable. I believe CBD is a powerful, natural ingredient to add to your skincare routine because it detoxifies pollutants, boosts efficacy for other more traditional skincare ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin E, and hyaluronic acid and can be a beneficial tool against eczema, rosacea and even acne.

MG: What inspired you to release your products in the order that you did?

CG: When I tried the CBD products from the dispensary, they mostly included comedogenic oils that could cause breakouts. So that was mission number one: create a face oil with the benefits of CBD paired with ingredients that reduce inflammation, detoxify and calm the skin without breakouts. If we could make a CBD-infused serum that really worked and smelled and felt amazing, I knew we could do anything with CBD.

Plus, our lipgloss is the first-ever 100 percent clean gloss to be infused with CBD and is a fun alternative to a tincture…The formula is like a lip oil but instead of under your tongue, you put it on your lips where it absorbs quickly.

Saint Jane Luxury Lip Shine, $28

MG: What advice would you share with other women looking to make their mark in the cannabis beauty and skincare space? 

CG: It sounds cliché but work hard and be nice. The beauty industry isn't exactly known for being kind and welcoming, but we have an opportunity to change that. We’re in such an unknown space that if we work together and collaborate, we will get farther, faster as we architect the narrative of CBD for wellness.

MG: The real Saint Jane is known as a healer. What are your hopes and dreams for the future of SAINT JANE?

CG: My hope for Saint Jane is to help infuse moments of wellness into our daily lives and be a part of our own healing routine. If Saint Jane can be a small part of helping us all live better, more empowered lives, we'll consider that a success.