Founder Spotlight With Angela Ubias, Common Heir
Angela Ubias is the Co-Founder of Common Heir, a luxury skincare brand dedicated to creating sustainable, high-performance products that make a positive impact on both the planet and the people who use them. Common Heir is committed to reimagining beauty traditions, offering innovative solutions that prioritize the environment, effective formulations, and a luxurious experience.
During our interview, we had the opportunity to connect with Angela and learn the origin story behind Common Heir. Angela also shared how she prioritizes inclusivity in her business, her creative process when working on a new product, and her journey in the beauty industry.
Let’s jump right in!
What was the inspiration behind Common Heir and how did you get started?
I’ve been in the beauty industry my entire career, right out of undergrad. After college, I went into buying for both fashion and beauty. I worked at a couple of high-end boutiques in Austin, which is where I'm from. After a few years, I started looking for something new and found an opening on Craigslist, of all places (because it was still an acceptable way to search for jobs). The company hiring was a beauty lab that had only been in business for a handful of years. I was hired, and in that role, I worked with 50-60 beauty brands. One of them was Native Deodorant whose COO ended up introducing me to my Co-Founder, Cary Lin.
At that time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay in Beauty, but I met Carrie in person and we had a meeting of the minds. She won me over, and we decided to start Common Heir in February 2020. I gave six weeks’ notice to the lab, moved to Los Angeles, and started working full-time on Common Heir by May.
Photo Credit: Common Heir
Common Heir, at its inception, was heavily rooted in a desire to make luxury beauty sustainable and fresh. I was desperate to lead with innovation and be really disruptive, but in the chicest way possible. Very early on, when I was just starting to work nights and weekends on the brand and getting to know my co-founder, I realized we had an opportunity to address so much more than sustainability. We had a chance to reimagine luxury beauty. I could design products with melanin-rich skin in mind, I could reflect the diversity I had in my personal life in our campaigns--I knew we were onto something so special and impactful for so many of us.
What does your creative process look like when working on a new product?
My creative process may be a little different than most because I’m a career product developer. For us, it always starts with formula first, packaging, and art direction after. With formula, I want to make only the hits, and I’ve built our assortment with a lot of intention. We want formulas to play well with one another, work with customers' existing skincare and feel like the epitome of luxury. It’s a tall order but one I’m happy to deliver.
Packaging design and creative direction for shoots are also some of the most fun parts of a new product!
We love a modern twist on nostalgia; we want our products to stand out from all the minimalist brands on shelves. At the end of the day, this is beauty, and we want it to feel playful and luxe, and indulgent.
Photo Credit: Common Heir
What is one challenge you have faced as the Founder of Common Heir and how did you navigate it?
This might be a boring answer, but my biggest challenge is being gentle with myself. We’re all our own worst critics, and if you’re someone like me who derives a lot of fulfillment from work—when you embark on an entrepreneurial journey, WOW.
It’s so easy to feel like you’re not doing enough, but I promise that you are. I’m learning every day how to celebrate the wins and live in the moment.
These building years will be behind us in a flash!
What is your long-term vision for Common Heir?
Long-term, I want us to be a household name and be synonymous with both luxury AND sustainability. I’d love to see us in every door that matters, spreading our mission and bringing joy and gorgeous skin to all. I want Common Heir to be a modern legacy.
If you could give one piece of advice to future LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, what would it be?
Take up space! If you’re LGBTQ+, it can be tough, especially when leading a mission-forward brand or organization, but I promise you that visibility is so, so important, especially now.
There are people like me, far wiser and more successful even, who want to open doors that were shut to us and uplift our community. I say this all the time, but so many people, especially in beauty, want to mentor and just generally help in any way that we can.
Also, don’t be your own barrier to creating something you want or moving in the world the way you want to. If you're in a marginalized group, if you're LGBTQ+ and/or BIPOC, whatever it is, there are so many people that really want to help because we've been there and had to fight and claw to get to where we are today. It starts with one person. One LGBTQ+ leader willing to share time, space, knowledge, and advice goes a long way.
What LGBTQ+ owned brands are your go-to's and why?
There are so many, but I’ll rattle off a few!
Fragrance: I’m loving Moodeaux right now. Not only is the entire vibe of the brand iconic, I love that the fragrances are clean and that it’s black-owned. The scents are so delicious and elevated!
Photo Credit: Moodeaux
Food: Omsom is so fun and delicious! Adore their branding and the way they’ve built community, such a fan.
Jewels: This is for my bougie vintage/fine jewelry lovers. The Moonstoned is one of my favorite online destinations for gorgeous finds and you can tell how much love Elizabeth (Founder) puts into curating her collections.
What I love about all of these brands and businesses is how authentic they are when speaking to their respective identities as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Can you tell us about one of your core values and how you’ve incorporated that into your brand?
We have so many pillars, as we call them but I’ll focus on inclusivity so I can do it justice. For us this isn’t about virtue signaling diversity in campaigns the way larger brands do. For us it’s designing products with deeper skin tones in mind. As a small brand we’ve conducted some of the first and most inclusive clinical trials in the market for our active ingredients to ensure safety and performance for all. We also seek out diversity in vendors, contractors, and within our own team as we build it out—it’s something I’m the most proud of!
How do you take care of yourself, especially during this moment in history (a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being passed and increased violence against our community?
It’s not easy for us out in the world right now—add in intersectional identity factors like being a person of color and it can feel heavy nearly every day when ALL sides of your identity are under constant attack.
I’m a huge advocate for regular therapy; I find my weekly sessions keep me grounded. Good, old-fashioned talking with friends who are safe spaces also goes such a long way for me. Over the last year, I’ve also given myself permission to take a break from news cycles for a few days at a time or longer if I need it, which has been such a game-changer for my mental and emotional health. If it feels like it’s too much, it’s okay to take a step back and give yourself time to feel. Be angry, be sad, be frustrated, cry— do what you need to because you’re human, and you deserve to be gentle with yourself even if the world around you isn’t.
Who is your favorite LGBTQ+ celebrity and why?
Okay, this is immediately devolving into celebrity crush territory for me because Janelle Monaé immediately came to mind. Beyond talent, Janelle is just incredibly articulate and authentic. The self-love and acceptance, and confidence are just so admirable and infectious. I’m a massive fan and love this specific black, queer, unapologetic movement that’s happening.
Can you share one fun, unusual, or interesting fact about yourself?
I am a Scorpio, so I’ll never divulge all my secrets but a nerdy fact about me—growing up in Texas, I was one of the top clarinet players by competition standard in the state throughout junior high and some of high school before I quit because I didn’t want to do marching band. I also know archery by proxy of being a camp counselor for a bit, which always surprises people!
Check out Common Heir’s profile here.
