BeautyTalks with Claudia Mata Gladish, Founder of Vertly

What is the inspiration behind the Vertly brand?

Vertly is a California clean skincare line that combines freshly extracted botanicals with CBD and we make everything fresh weekly in Northern California. We are a true garden-to-bottle brand and we’re a reflection of this area and our lifestyle here as a family.

How did you first think of the idea?

When I moved from New York to Northern California I did a career pivot from fashion and went back to school to study herbalism, and I ended up living in a clean beauty mecca with formulators who work with clean locally sourced products. As I learned more about how plants affect our lives it was a great place to be location wise because it wasn’t a traditional path in beauty. A lot of people outsource their ingredients and have external producers but at Vertly we use ingredients from our community. It is a verry different model. My husband is a yogi nutritionist, wellness consultant and his family has been in the cannabis business for fifteen years. When we were in New York he was using topical CBD products to help relieve workout ailments. When I put together the Vertly brand we wanted to magnify the CBD plant. 

“We feel, what you are putting on your skin should be as fresh is what you put into your body. Your skin is your largest organ, so we really focus on this freshness factor This is our core mission.”

Your botanical products have CBD-infused in them. Do they have anti-inflammatory properties?

Inflammation is the root cause of our problems in terms of our skin and body function. So, we recommend a combination of a topical product and an ingestible. We don’t currently sell ingestible products, so we focus on the topical aspect. The products help with rosacea, acne and eczema flareups. We combine CBD with ingredients like magnesium, arnica flower and Epson Salt that produce calm relaxation of the muscles as well. All things work in conjunction to make the ultimate effect of what you want. It is important to realize that CBD, on its own, is not a magic potion. It is a beneficial plant ingredient when used as a booster along with other products.

What are your hero products at Vertly? 

We started off with our Lip Butter, which is one of the heroes, it is my go-to product and great for people who are entering into topical CBD as an introduction. We also make a great Relief Lotion that we slowly extract arnica flower for this which takes us three weeks to extract. It is a potent oil that we combine with CBD, and you can use it in the Bath Salts which are great for soothing those body parts that are sore. It is great before bed to relax muscles which help you achieve the optimal sleep stage.

”Everything about our brand is slow. Every product takes at least three weeks to make, and everything takes time. I wanted to capture all of that in the brand while still reflecting my time in New York.”

Do you see your brand expanding with different products? 

We have been working for two years on an ingestible CBD product and we partnered with a local herbalist, healer, and chemist. It is a full spectrum ingestible and has other adaptogens in it. We have more body care products in the works for post workout and pre sickness to give you a boost. Everything is on the path to wellness. Knowing where our ingredients are from is super important to us. We have different smaller batches of products made fresh daily in Napa, Petaluma and Sanoma. We are making products every day. So many products in the industry are made years out. We feel, what you are putting on your skin should be as fresh is what you put into your body. Your skin is your largest organ, so we really focus on this freshness factor This is our core mission. 

What are the newest products in the lineup?

We launched face care last year which has a face oil and face mist it’s all I use an easy two-step system are great for hydration and to do deal with issues like redness. We practice what we preach and wanted a simple system that we could easily use. Great health is a combination of so many things. We live a holistic lifestyle, we eat well, exercise, and take care of ourselves afterward.

In terms of your move from New York to Northern California how did it impact the brand?

Leaving New York after over a decade and the energy of New York never leaves you. When I moved to California there is an element of a slower pace and that was the biggest adjustment. I went back to school and became passionate about herbs. My life before was 100% go, or sleep. Coming to California the vibe is very different. Everything about our brand is slow. Every product takes at least three weeks to make, and everything takes time. I wanted to capture all of that in the brand while still reflecting my time in New York.

“We opted not to do plastic and use aluminum and glass instead. We are trying to have a smaller footprint. Since we focus on the earth and plants with our products in only makes sense that our packaging is too. We are conscientiously focusing on that. Packaging is as much a part of the brand as the product is.”

What inspired your gorgeous package design? 

When I started to tinker with the packaging it was when I just moved from New York. The packaging originally was all greys and blacks but then I realized the packaging needs to reflect and reference Northern California. Everywhere we are there is greenery and plants, Northern California is so lush. We worked with a Mexican artist on the idea. She started painting leaves for me and from that point on we developed this feeling of being outdoors. 

Is your packaging recyclable?

We try our hardest and we use all recycled paper. Our Lip Butter tube is made of 100% bio resin and sugar cane. We opted not to do plastic and use aluminum and glass instead. We are trying to have a smaller footprint. Since we focus on the earth and plants with our products in only makes sense that our packaging is too. We are conscientiously focusing on that. Packaging is as much a part of the brand as the product is.