the truth serum

Before starting Kari Gran in 2011, we both had successful careers as real estate brokers in the Seattle area. We met “in the business” and quickly fell in to a friend/mentor/comrade type deal, and have been learning and growing together ever since. And while we now spend our days turning the beauty world on its head, there are a few lessons learned back from our real estate days that still reign supreme 1. Problem Solve Creatively. In real estate, it was often hard to predict the final income with so many factors going on, and no transaction ever following a...

We’ve shared our “How the Kari Gran Business Came to Be” story before. The short version: Kari and Lisa meet in real estate, where they are both kicking butt. Kari and Lisa start getting older and reflecting on life. Recession hits. Burn out looms. The two friends go to a holiday lunch to lament and drink prosecco. Lisa gives Kari a necklace. Kari gives Lisa some fabulous all natural skin care products she’s been formulating herself at home…and the rest is history. And while we’ve talked lots and lots about Kari Gran as a company, where we’ve been, how we...

Everywhere you look, new products are constantly popping up claiming to be the next age-defying miracle (Eliminate fine lines and wrinkles! Look 10 years younger! Bid your sun spots adieu!). How can they make such claims, and how do the products even work? Well, to tell you the truth, the claims are rubbish. Yep, this is me as the founder of a skin care product line telling you not to trust a word. The truth is no one product is going to turn your skin back to 1995. Skin care takes a holistic approach – eating right, getting sleep, managing...

What’s it like to run a business with your best friend? We get this question all the time – and while we each have our respective BFFs – we are as close as friendships come and think of each other as a pseudo-sister. Yes, we can rattle each other’s last nerves here and there, but when it’s time to bust out those victory dances, the celebration is so much sweeter when you’ve accomplished it with a fantastic friend (and we keep lots of champagne around here for just such occasions). If you’ve ever thought about partnering up with your go-to-gal,...

Our skin care products are our pride and joy. However, where there is product, there must be packaging. We knew our skin care products would have to be housed in something as fabulous and environmentally conscious as the product itself. Here enters our MIRON Glass bottles; a special 100% recyclable dark violet glass that blocks the complete spectrum of visible light (aside from non-threatening color violet), which would otherwise decay the product and make it “go bad.” How do others get away without this fancy packaging? Preservatives. With preservatives, the product can sit on the shelf for eons regardless of...

We (Kari and Lisa) are often asked how our business came to be. Take one part real estate, two parts health scare, a heaping dose friendship, combine with a beauty landscape seriously lacking in attractive all natural products, and there you have the recipe base for our beginning! Before joining forces as business partners in the beauty industry, we developed a bond as close friends and pseudo-sisters during our nearly 20-year ride as Seattle real estate mavens. It was fast. It was furious. It was rewarding. Business boomed…and then the economy tanked. By the end of the rough patch, and...