Is there anything more impressive than a woman who balances being a great mother, is passionate about her career and sticks to a skincare regime that makes her feel and look her best? Meet Katerina Yoffe-Larden, founder of Hey Honey – a line of natural beauty products that are guaranteed to fit your lifestyle, NOT the other way around.
Born on the foundation that skincare doesn’t have to be arduous to be effective, Katerina launched Hey Honey in 2014 along with her husband and business partner, Nisso Larden, with a mission to deliver a skincare line that believes healthy, glowing skin can be achieved through simplicity – which allows the ingredients to adjust to ever-changing skin conditions caused by extreme weather, stress, travel and mostly, everyday life!
Hey Honey is a line of clean, active beauty products developed with the best dermatologists in the industry and two founding ingredients: honey and propolis extracts. Together, the combination can balance problematic skin, decongest pores as well as soothe and heal the skin. Crafted from the potent, myriad benefits of honey and propolis, each of Hey Honey’s products – from their gentle facial cleansers to their rich body moisturizers – work with all skin types, regardless of age or the need to stick to a one skin regimen.
We spoke to founder Katerina on how she does it all and still manages to be a best seller and HIGHLY reviewed on Ulta and Amazon. Read on for more:
What is Hey Honey?
Katerina Yoffe-Larden (KYL): Hey Honey, is a real-life skincare and wellness brand. Our products are infused with Honey and Bee Propolis, a combination that gives skin fast results with long lasting effects.
What does clean beauty mean to you?
KYL: It seems that many people still confuse clean and natural. Clean means that your skin will love it for many years because of its harmless ingredients, but that doesn’t always mean it’s natural.
To me, clean beauty means that the ingredients will work together instead of against each other, or worse, against your skin. It means that the ingredients are mindfully sourced with consideration for people, animals and the planet alike. The result of this mindfulness is ingredients and formulas that are non-toxic to skin.
Explain what Real Life. Real Skin Care means to you?
KYL: My favorite question! My real life does not allow me 30 minutes in the morning for long regimes and endless skin rituals. Between making breakfast and school lunches, then racing to school and starting my workday in the office… well, what can I say, life is not Instagram.
In my real life, I finish my makeup at stoplights, struggle to leave the office with enough time to get my evening tasks done, and use both hands and 2 phones to get everything done. I look and feel okay at times and then miserable an hour later. My skin, just like me, changes. It’s not just dry or oily, often, I can be dry/oily with acne, and have rosacea at the same time. I start the day with one skin condition (relaxed) and end it with another (stressed). This is real life, but it’s also what keeps me going.
My real life is hectic and EVER-CHANGING, just like my skin, but I can’t let my skincare slow me down. That’s why I will use the same product I love as I go through these changes. My skincare will adjust to my lifestyle and allow me to get out the door faster and will give me the benefit of instant results so I can feel that I’ve accomplished at least one thing every day. Just like in Real Life.
You are a working mom who started your company with your husband – how do you handle stress?
KYL: This is our second company together. We complete each other at work and at home, support each other and share the good and the bad. My kids are also very involved in Hey Honey. I will not lie, it can get hectic and it is challenging.
I keep my sanity by first, putting things into perspective.
Second, I spend quality with friends and family over the weekend while doing as little work as possible. Exercise has also been an especially good form of stress relief and I always make time for romantic date nights. I learn from every step I take to make my life better. But most importantly, I accept that this is my life and I do what I can to get the most out of it.
Overall – back to perspective – I have a busy, hectic, insane but very fortunate life.
Can you explain how honey and propolis work and are incorporated in your products?
KYL: The reason I love these ingredients so much and chose them to lead the Hey Honey Line as its backbone is that they both have so many great natural properties, benefits and uses. Honey is a natural moisturizer, antibacterial and preservative. It is full of antioxidants (which slow aging), rich in minerals and so much more.
The Bee Propolis, known as nature’s antibiotic before antibiotics were even known to mankind, balances, heals and soothes skin. Some of the most valuable properties of Propolis are that it accelerates cell growth rate and decongests pores. Propolis also fights and protects against bacteria and functions as a great anti-inflammatory agent.
As if all of those properties weren’t enough, we “covered“ these two supercharged ingredients with other great ingredients to maximize the effectiveness of our products. By doing so, we can benefit from ALL of their properties. With our unique technology, the products will “pull” the right benefits to treat the skin according to your skin’s need on any given day so you can stick to the same products throughout real life’s changes.
Who do you look up to in your industry which helped you take the leap into being your own CEO/founder?
KYL: I’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember, so deciding to continue and start a new company was just natural. We look at everyone and no one, it’s very important to be aware of trends yet not to be confused and keep your original quote and real truth.
How to balance your work and personal life balance?
KYL: Cooking! My real passion and meditation technique is cooking! The whole thing starting from sourcing the right, fresh special ingredients through to the actual cooking – most of the time with one of my kids – gives me a great peace of mind where I can not only relax, but also think reasonably about life and work.
It took me many years to be able to balance. I’ve now learned small tricks like canceling email notifications from my phone so that I can always have dinner together as a family and find time for friends.
What are 3 tips for women who may be starting their own company?
KYL:
- TRUST your gut feeling!!!
- Be ready. It’s mostly good, but it’s sometimes hard. Be ready for what life throws at you – the good and the bad.
- Learn every day from everyone.
What is next for you?
KYL: The “NOW” to keep on creating and innovating every day.
For more on Hey Honey and founder Katerina Yoffe-Larden, visit heyhoney.com. Follow along on their Instagram at @HeyHoney!
Photo credit: c/o Hey Honey