Pura Gioia - Home of the Original Lip Joy, Body Joy, Facial Joy and Hair Joy products

First Lip Joy collection, at my desk at Altium in Carlsbad, CA November 2010

As you may remember, Pura Gioia's first little seed was planted in 2009 and has been growing and thriving ever since. Our very first product was Lip Joy, natural nourishing lip treatment. I remember making small batches of different formulas in different scents and bringing them to the office I worked at. I would share them with my co-workers to see how they liked them... some of them were honestly waxy and gritty, but nobody ever told me that! So, I decided then and there, that if I didn't absolutely LOVE the products myself FIRST, they would not become part of Pura Gioia's product line. 
I finally found a formula that I loved and made my first sale to my next door neighbor lady. I remember when she said she wanted to buy one, I gasped because I was so used to giving them away. So in November, 2010 I made my first Lip Joy sale! Then my other neighbors wanted to buy them, and the girls (and guys) at the office! I recorded every sale in my little receipt book wanting to establish a legitimate business from the beginning. I began to get requests from my Facebook friends to buy them so I created a Facebook Page just for Pura Gioia Cosmetics. Soon after Lip Joy, (in December 2010), my Body Joy and Facial Joy lines were added and the girls at work kept me very busy creating new favorites for them, like Strawberry Cake Batter, SeaSpray and Caramel Bliss...which became best sellers very quickly! A special shout out and  heartfelt thank you to all my Altium friends: Injy, Carolina, Kim, Dawna, Scott, Jeffrey, Michele, Avi, Ben, April, Christine, Jennifer, Leah, Lisa and Jonathan for being my first customers and supporting me through the early years....(and to Jonathan for being my "tech support").
Speaking of tech support, I owe gratitude and a very special thank you to my sweet friend in Texas, Steven Short. Steven was there to help me in from the very beginning of Pura Gioia. I emailed him the name and concept and it was Steven that created the very first logos for me. He set me up with a website and email account. Poor Steven! I was constantly asking for his help the first few years and he was ALWAYS available to help me whenever I needed him - whether it was a simple question or a phone/web training. He even created a special tool for me to use to make it easier for me to add products to the website. Thanks to Steven, I was able to automate my sales process making it easier for customers across the country to order. 
With a LOT of help from my friends.....Pura Gioia was off and running in 2010!

First Pura Gioia Logo, thank you Steven!

First Lip Joy, Body Joy and Facial Joy Products December 2010

My Pura Gioia Story ~ How I got into the business of Handcrafting Natural, Artisan Cosmetics

Who isn't interested in beauty, smelling good and having softer skin? I have always been a big fan of those things and I am a VERY loyal fan when I find beauty products I love. I am NOT very happy when my favorite cosmetics disappear off the shelves and even off the internet because they have been discontinued. I'm sure you get my drift - probably feel the exact same way, and are probably wondering why I am telling you this.....


Pura Gioia Enterprises was conceived in 2009, because Rachel Perry Cosmetics went out of business and I accidentally bought a knock off of her Lemon Cleansing Cream on Amazon. I actually bought 4 of them because the price was so good (duh, now I know why!).The box looked identical but when I opened the Box - the jar was white instead of yellow. The cream was white instead of yellow. The smell was not as lemony, and also had a distinct petroleum odor to it - like motor oil. Of course I used it anyway.


The next morning when I looked in the mirror I was horrified! My left eye looked like a zombie eye in a horror movie...Major broken blood vessels. It was so disgusting that I could not look at myself so I put on my sunglasses, which I ended up wearing for the next 2 weeks. Let me tell you, it is very humiliating to wear sunglasses inside the building when meeting your new landlord or your new boss when starting a new job. 


Rachel Perry was one of the first "natural" cosmetics companies to gain popularity back in the 70's and I always loved her philosophy of combining color therapy with aromatherapy and using natural ingredients. When I discovered that she had been forced out of business I was devastated. Her suntan cream was my first favorite, and it was actually discontinued on me about 20 years ago. I recall reading somewhere that she had started her company in her kitchen - so, I decided to try and reproduce her products. If she could do it - then so could I! Lisa Price found success the same way with her now famous, well loved company, Carol's Daughter!


I have been studying cosmetology, herbs, organic gardening, aromatherapy, natural remedies and such for too many years to count - and this was my opportunity to get busy. My first project was an herbal medicine making kit that I ordered. Voila! I could do it! Next stop my favorite lip balms, hydrating lotions, shower & bath gel, body wash, body butter, foaming exfoliating scrubs ......


I made sure to have all my cosmetic bases formulated by professional chemists, so I can absolutely ensure my products are of the highest quality and (very important), safe! I am very fussy about the ingredients used in the Pura Gioia product line. We use the highest quality plant/botanical extracts, exotic butters, oils, sugars & salts, etc. No Parabens or Sodium Sulfates are ever used....If you are interested in learning more - watch for the next article about the importance of using pure, gentle ingredients in our beauty products.


No animal testing ever! In fact, when a new product is formulated it is tested on real people and believe me, their feedback is beyond priceless! If the answer is not "LOVED", it will never make it to the shelves. A few of the most popular fragrances were custom created to reproduce a customers discontinued favorites!! 


Our products are absolutely wonderful - or, you won't find them here! I still have not been able to reproduce my beloved Rachel Perry favorites yet....only so much time in a day!


Your comments or feedback are invited, welcomed and , well.....beyond priceless!!


Thank you!


Vicki Butler-Hagen


www.PuraGioia.NET