Francisco Costa nourishes the body, mind and spirit with his sustainable beauty line, Costa Brazil.
An assortment of Costa Brazil’s most popular beauty products, ranging from creams to oils and more PHOTO COURTESY OF COSTA BRAZIL
Francisco Costa (@costafrancisco) is a man driven by curiosity. After making a name for himself in the fashion world, serving as the women’s creative director of Calvin Klein Collection and receiving the honor of Womenswear Designer of the Year from CFDA in both 2006 and 2008, Costa’s curiosity drove him to search for something new.
“Toward the end of my time at Calvin Klein, I started envisioning a new type of lifestyle brand,” he shares. “One that was both eco-minded and driven by design. I went home [to Brazil] and into the Amazon and became fixated by the power of natural ingredients.”
Firming body cream PHOTO COURTESY OF COSTA BRAZIL
During his time there, he discovered new ingredients that he became transfixed by, such as calming breu and skin-firming kaya—years later, kaya is now an exclusive ingredient of his eco-friendly beauty line, Costa Brazil (livecostabrazil.com).
Sol Sunlight body oil PHOTO COURTESY OF COSTA BRAZIL
“I began to form Costa Brazil with the help of scientists and experts in the field of sustainability and conservation. Even though I approach each season like I am conceptualizing and designing a collection, I soon realized that beauty is very different from fashion,” he notes. “The many series of testing, protocols, regulations—it’s a lot! But it’s also so much more enriching, as I oversee the process from end to end.”
Face Collection facial cleanser PHOTO COURTESY OF COSTA BRAZIL
Since then, he’s returned to the Amazon four times, each time returning with a deeper understanding of the earth and himself. Costa Brazil now offers a full range of luxury beauty products, ranging from perfumes to body oils; body scrubs, creams and oils; candles; facial cleansers, serums and oils; bath salts; and his signature body massage tool. At the core of the brand, each product shares common factors: clean, sustainable and drawing inspiration from nature.
Body scrub PHOTO COURTESY OF COSTA BRAZIL
“We believe that the spirit of beauty is directly connected to the health of the earth,” Costa shares. “Our alignment with Conservation International has been a very important pillar to Costa Brazil in identifying the best practices and sustainable ways to source and support the ecosystem.”
“I find infinite inspiration from nature,” he continues. “I love the imperfections and the beautiful balance and harmony. Good design and art such as the works of Dieter Rams and Piero Manzoni have also been a source of inspiration for me. And of course, beauty. Inner beauty always shines brightest for me.”
Costa Brazil founder and Chief Creative Officer Francisco Costa PORTRAIT BY COLLIER SCHORRR
For those new to the brand, he recommends the following to experience it at its best: “Our bestselling body oil, our new unisex scent Aroma and our detoxifying bath salts. And breu branco—it was the first ingredient I found and it runs through almost every product. I carry the resin with me everywhere I go. When I light them, I’m instantly transported back to the Amazon.”
Through his range of products that center around firming, anti-aging and relaxation, Costa and his team help achieve this concept of inner (and outer) beauty for their users. Beginning with his intuition and learning from his experience within the Amazon and its surrounding magnificence, Costa reinvents the concept of luxury beauty by embracing eco-consciousness and sustainability within each of his launches.
“I like to tell people that I used to dress men and women,” Costa says. “Now, I dress their skin.”
And he does so just as exquisitely, might I add!
Photography by: Photo Courtesy: Costa Brazil
