LANEY CROWELL OF SAIE
Laney Crowell is the founder and visionary behind Saie Beauty, the clean cosmetics brand redefining modern makeup through transparency, sustainability, and thoughtful innovation. After building her career in editorial and digital beauty, Laney set out to create the brand she felt the industry was missing — one driven by integrity, performance, and a deep respect for both people and the planet. Under her leadership, Saie has evolved from a passion-fueled idea into one of today’s most influential clean beauty companies, celebrated for its skin-loving formulas and its commitment to doing better at every step. Grounded in her belief that beauty should enhance your life with intention and authenticity, Laney continues to shape Saie as a brand that empowers individuals to feel good, look good, and make choices that align with their values.
1. Saie focuses a lot on community, especially when developing products. What is your process when receiving product feedback and incorporating it into your future product launches?
The Saie community has been and will always be a formidable part of how the brand continues to evolve. We track every comment, each request, and have ways to communicate directly with our Saie community, whether that’s through our private Instagram channel, our Substack, or now TYB, where our longtime Clean Beauty Crew migrated from Facebook and continues to be deeply engaged. Saie’s namesake comes from our community, “saying” what they wanted in their ideal makeup brand, and we’ve never forgotten that commitment.
2. There is undoubtedly a lot that goes into launching a product. What does your process of making an idea come to life look like? From initial ideas to final product and branding?
Each product launch begins with the Saie community: making sure the new product is top of their list. From there, we work closely with our labs to develop formulas powered by high-performing, naturally derived ingredients that don’t just look good on the skin, but actually improve it over time. We go through countless rounds of testing and refinement—texture, shade range, wear, sensitivity—until the formula does exactly what we set out to do.
3. You worked in the beauty industry before founding Saie. How did your work in the industry prepare you for the jump to entrepreneurship? What need did you see that was not being met?
Estée Lauder was my education in beauty; I always say that I got my MBA there. I helped build their early social platforms, which taught me the power of community, content, and influencers long before it became the norm in our industry. That experience showed me how meaningful it is when a brand truly listens and engages.
When I left Estée Lauder, I started my blog. I didn’t plan on creating a brand, but spending time within the beauty community made the gap clear: people wanted clean, high-performing makeup that felt modern and cool, and was great for their skin. Once I saw that need, the leap into entrepreneurship and ultimately creating Saie felt natural.
4. Obviously, Saie Super Glowy gel became really popular after its initial launch. How did you and the team navigate that momentum and turn it into long-term growth for the brand?
We knew that we had something special when we first launched Glowy Super Gel. It’s a multi-purpose illuminator that’s a match for any skin tone, and perfect for an all-over, lit-from-within natural radiance. We’ve seen that it was loved by cool girls everywhere (i.e., Jenna Lyons, Alix Earle), and wanted to bring even more shades to our community, whether it’s the perfect rosé tint of Roseglow or the limited-edition-turned-permanent shade, Warmglow.
5. “Clean” has various meanings in the beauty industry. How do you define it, and what specific challenges have you faced in creating products that are both clean and functional?
We prioritize safe, potent ingredients derived from nature and support them with the best that science has to offer for clean products. We innovate with the latest eco-friendly packaging and shipping technology, and we rigorously maintain certifications Saie has worked to achieve, emphasizing our commitment to clean. The challenge early on was finding labs and partners who could think this way with us, who understood that efficacy and ingredient integrity have to coexist. Once we did, we’ve been able to release clean products that we’re all very proud of.
6. What were the unexpected difficulties/roadblocks along your journey, and how did you navigate them?
Fundraising. I had never fundraised before, and women are severely underrepresented in venture capitalist meetings. Because only 4% of VC dollars go to women, my biggest obstacle was having to go to bat for my brand and securing those investments, even when the statistics told me otherwise. Making the case for this market gap, often to a room full of men, was a challenge. But when I’m passionate about something, and specifically when that something is the need for clean beauty and the importance of business integrity, I can talk about it in my sleep. I just had to readjust my mindset and push aside the imposter syndrome.
7. What steps would you recommend a current college student interested in getting involved in the beauty industry take as an undergraduate?
Do what you love, and the rest will come. Also, it’s ok not to know the answer to everything. I’ve surrounded myself with people who are smarter than me, but share the same passion, drive, and values; together we’ve built something changing the beauty industry for the better.
8. You recently launched the Saie Climate Initiative in 2024. What challenges and successes have you experienced in developing this initiative, and how do you see it evolving in the future?
Since the start, I dreamed of starting a climate campaign like the Saie Climate Initiative. Saie has committed to being net zero by eliminating and offsetting emissions across the brands supply chain by 2039; engaged in a partnership with rePurpose Global to recover 5M pounds of plastic over three-years across four countries, five coastlines; and established an all-women board of experts to support, guide and drive this mission, as women and children are the most impacted by climate change.
It’s been so inspiring to see our team rise to the moment. Everyone has stretched beyond their usual roles, diving into emission scopes, sustainable operations, and true carbon reduction. Their willingness to learn and adapt has made this initiative possible. I really do have the best team.
We want to continue raising the bar for the beauty industry. There’s power in numbers, and we’re showing brands the path forward
Quick Takes
What is your favorite Saie product?
Glowy Super Gel. My forever first step.
In a sentence, describe your journey in founding Saie
Learning as I go.
What is your favorite thing about being a founder?
Being able to have a hand in every part of the business.
What would you do if you weren’t the founder of Saie?
Something in the wellness/digital space! Before Saie, I started a blog called The Moment, and it quickly became my passion project. Through that blog, I got to interview inspiring founders, and had conversations all about wellness, beauty, skincare, nutrition – all encapsulating things I really cared about.