The Katonah-Lewisboro Times 12.09.21

VOL. 4 NO. 20 Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021

South Salem’s Indie Lee is a clean beauty entrepreneur

BY JESSICA JAFET ed products while educating consum- plans for the company—whose motto
CONTRIBUTING WRITER ers about the importance of what goes
on the body—not just what goes in it. is “grounded in nature, supported
With an inspiring mission, plenty
of passion, and a lot of hard work, In- “In 2008, people were not think- through science and inspired by life”—
die Lee and her team have grown her ing about clean skincare; they were
namesake company, a natural-ingredi- talking about clean eating,” said Lee, include continued global distribution
ent brand of skincare products, into a a former accountant who is originally
thriving label over the past decade. from Long Island. In 2009, she started of the brand as well as the introduction
“researching everything about creating
“ ey say it takes 10 years to be an products, mixing them in [her] house of more cosmetics (with a skincare- rst
overnight success,” said Indie Lee, and began selling them locally.”
president and CEO of the company. focus), Lee said.
Founded on the principles of transpar- With the help of local friends Re-
ency and sustainability, the line was becca Gordon and Dayna Kaplan, Items range in price from $16 to
created to ll a void in the market for founding members of the company, In-
clean, toxin-free, eco-friendly skincare die Lee & Co. was born, and has con- $135, with a company philosophy that
products that are made with the nest tinued to expand its reach far beyond
ingredients and are rigorously tested South Salem. aims to educate and support consum-
for e cacy.
Working with chemists and formu- ers in their e orts to incorporate more
Laws surrounding cosmetic ingre- lators, the unique products are ethi-
dients have not substantially changed cally tested and manufactured in the natural and safe products into their sk-
since 1938, Lee explained, and in USA and in France. ey are sold in
starting the company, she “wanted to 23 countries, on multiple online retail incare routines.
empower people to make healthier sites, and can be found in stores like
choices.” Her motivation came from Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, An- To that end, Lee is personally in-
a very personal experience: Lee was thropologie, Sephora, and more. What
diagnosed in 2008 with a brain tumor you will not see on the ingredient list: volved and interactive with custom-
that doctors thought could have been parabens, mineral oil, sulfate-based de-
connected to environmental toxins, in- tergents, synthetic fragrance, anything ers—whether it is holding a facials
cluding from what she put on her skin. petroleum-based, phthalates, phenoxy-
ethanol, formaldehyde, among other masterclass over Zoom, interviewing
e mother of two was given six suspect chemicals.
months to live, but against the odds, guests on her podcast, or appearing live
survived after successful surgery. Once Top selling products include Indie
recovered, she felt driven to form a Lee “Brightening Cleanser,” “CoQ- on Instagram, she continues the con-
company that o ers carefully formulat- 10 Toner,” and a just-launched lip tint
that has become a coveted item. Future versation about clean beauty and living

one’s healthiest life.

Outside investment in the com-

pany came in 2017 and Lee described

watching the growth of Indie Lee &

Co. as “the most surreal journey” she

has ever been on.

“I guess in my wildest dreams, I

thought it would happen, but I don’t

know that I knew for sure—you take a

leap of faith—but I knew that I wanted

to create change,”Lee said.“What is so

beautiful is that the local community

here and internationally, have come to-

gether to support my brand and it’s just PHOTO COURTESY OF INDIE LEE
Indie Lee with some of her products
unbelievable.”

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17 Santa comes to Katonah
pg 12

PAGE 2 THE KATONAH LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021

K ATONAH

Santa Claus is
coming to...
Houlihan Lawrence!

Stop by our brokerage office during the Winter Stroll
on Friday night December 10th for

holiday cookies and a visit with Santa.
Bring your phones!

Cookies will be served throughout the event, but
Santa will visit our office
from just 6:00PM - 7:30PM.

See you Friday night!

K ATONAH BROKER AGE OFFICE I K ATONAH AVENUE I K ATONAH, NY I ..