In 1996, Lejla fled her home country of Bosnia after it was torn apart by the Bosnian War. She arrived in Australia with her family, where she finally found a sense of safety and stability. Four years later, she entered into an exciting career in the beauty industry, where she worked with leading brands in global education, marketing, and product development. 

In 2007, Lejla moved to the United States where she continued working with esteemed brands while offering her intuitive skincare and makeup services to private clients. In these hands-on-skin interactions, she recognized a need for effective, luxurious, and healing skincare products, which led to her founding  KNESKO with her husband, Sean, in 2012.

In honor of International Women’s Month, we’re sharing a Q&A with Lejla to learn more about her life journey and why she’s so passionate about the intersection of beauty and spirituality.

You’re an esthetician and Reiki master, but also a veteran product formulator. What does your process look like? 

Lejla Cas: As an aging woman in my 40s, I really want to use performance actives on my skin, and I also want to give that to you and to the next generation. I am strongly committed to treatment performance—to using cutting-edge, science-backed active ingredients in all our formulations. What I also do, which is very unique, is I give you luxury without all the unnecessary fluff, so you will never see artificial fragrances in my products, artificial dyes, silicones, glycols, and other ingredients that are absolutely not necessary for the absorption. 

What I'm most proud of is that I have listened to my intuition this entire time. In the times of fear, stress, uncertainty, anxiety, being a self-funded brand with limited resources, I had to rely on my gut and my instinct. Those things always lead me to providing high-value, extremely effective skincare treatments.

KNESKO is unique in that it fuses science with spirituality, and it uses real gemstones. Tell us about that.

Lejla Cas: I call this the heart of KNESKO. All KNESKO's formulations are infused with gemstones and minerals to help balance the chakras in the body. Before I started my brand, I used to travel so much working for different companies. I really felt, toward the end of my career, there that I was burned out and I wanted to start a wellness lifestyle brand that promoted self-care—that was all about slowing down.

That is why I strategically launched my wellness skincare company with a collagen mask that is heavy by design, that is designed to “trick you” essentially into slowing down. KNESKO skin is my way of healing. I truly call this my creative expression. All our treatments are also Reiki charged by myself. The beauty is that even if you don’t understand that process, you will still reap those high vibrational rewards.

You’ve said before that the Gold Collection is dear to your heart. Why is that?

Lejla Cas: Gold Collection is very special to me because it was my first ever collection. I remember my humble days of walking into the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Rodeo Drive, so excited to start my company, and they called me back within four days.

When I began, I didn't have a marketing budget, I didn't have investors (I still don't, by the way; we are a fully self-funded company). Therefore, I really relied on my performance, word of mouth, and what people thought. You know, clients telling each other about the Gold Collection. What makes the Gold Collection so special is that it's really how KNESKO began.

Today, Gold—and my other collections—are sold in hundreds of amazing luxury resorts and spas across the globe. Gold is also the collection I chose to expand with KNESKO’s recently launched body care collection.

What is KNESKO’s view on sustainability?

Lejla Cas: I think it's our responsibility to always do better and to use resources at our hand—which we are so lucky that we have—to improve our practices. KNESKO Skin is on a journey of sustainability. I'm not here to greenwash. We have a long, long way to go, but I'm here to tell you that we've already made some amazing changes. For example, KNESKO Skin has partnered with 1% for the planet, where we plant trees for every product that we sell. We also have very sustainable warehouse practices and recently earned the prestigious Positive Luxury Certification—a process that was years in the making.

We use recycled paper whenever possible (we never use virgin paper), and our body collection is in tubes that are 100% derived from sugar cane. We are deeply committed to improving sustainability practices.

What’s some advice you’ve received that’s really resonated with you?

Lejla Cas: The best piece of advice that I have ever received is to just stay in my lane. It can get really busy out there. If I start focusing on everything that everybody else is doing, it can become extremely intimidating, so what I tend to do is just focus on what I'm doing well—and just continue in that direction.

Do you have any mantras or meditations you incorporate into your daily life?

Lejla Cas: One of my personal favorites is a quote that says, “Catch me universe, see where I land.” I have had that one since I was 15 years old, and I still feel that it's true. It can be so exhausting to try to control everything in life that we're doing, where we're going, and it can become so freeing when we just trust. Trust in the universe, higher power—whatever you believe in—but just trust, and there's always a plan, and I love that quote so much, because it just lets me ease into this amazing life.

Do you have any skincare advice you’d like to share with us before we go?

Lejla Cas: The best piece of skincare advice for me is to be consistent. It's not about “special occasion” routines—or investing in a routine that's not manageable. I really want KNESKO customers to pick one to three favorite must-haves that are part of their everyday routine and make a commitment to stick to that for the next 10, 20, 30 years. Do that and you will see the results on your complexion.

KNESKO is a testament to Lejla’s belief that beauty is a balance of science, energy, and self-care. As we celebrate International Women’s Month, her journey serves as a powerful reminder that when passion meets purpose, it can transform not only an industry but also the way we care for ourselves.