Maia Mitreva – Founder of Handmaids Cosmetic

Maia Mitreva is the Founder of “Handmaids Cosmetic” based in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The idea for her all natural skincare business came to life in 2014 and she has been working on it ever since.

Small batch beauty

Like many natural skincare businesses, Maia started out small. Although she says she is “not fast growing”, there is something of more value that her brand offers and that is uniqueness.

Her business focuses on small batch production and high quality ingredients to preserve freshness and nutrition. Small beauty brands are able to offer this level of care and attention as they operate on a tighter scale, where every product is made with love.

Less is More

Maia is interested in the “less is more” approach and it is this angle to skincare that got her into the beauty business.

Like many Female Founders in Beauty, Maia’s journey started when looking at skincare products through the lens of treating her own skincare issues.

Formula Botanica

Maia say “after successfully treating a rash I had on my body I started going deeper into this subject only to discover the endless support and knowledge I afterwards gained from Formula Botanica”.

Formula Botanica is one of the world’s leading accredited online Organic Cosmetic Science Schools. Their online courses teach people how to formulate organic cosmetics and they have a growing alumni of Female Founders in Beauty that have successfully launched beauty brands through the support of their courses and network.

Magic

Not all things come in large packages and Handmaid’s Cosmetics retains a “small and cosy” culture and position that Maia says is “ magical and worth it”.

It is this magic that draws many people towards indie beauty, as they are brands that feel authentic, caring and have offer a unique sparkle.

Wild Harvested and Produced by Hand

Maia continues to produce everything “by hand and in person”, and they still make everything in small batches using primarily organic and wild-harvested ingredients.

Handmaids Cosmetics seeks to help make people “believe that less is more”. They “target people who are conscious about the natural and organic options” but are not quite clear on what to search for and how to make a difference between true value and pure marketing.

Export Ahead

In terms of the next steps for her business, Maia is looking towards options for export with a view to start exporting her products into Europe.

The biggest challenges she currently faces she says is “bureaucracy and lack of control”.

Advice to others

Her advice to other Female Founder in beauty is “plan wisely, add extra time and miraculously stay motivated and positive”

She says she is “in a constant search for valuable people. I love to meet new people, share ideas but not only in words but in action too. I believe the biggest clue is whether someone is just giving you an advice or actually helping you apply it”.