Community Highlights: Meet Anastasia Sibanova of Stas Uncensored

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anastasia Sibanova.

Hi Anastasia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today. 
Hello! My name is Anastasia (Stas for short), I have been running my business Stas Uncensored since July of 2020. My whole life, ever since I was little, I always loved playing ‘store owner’ with my family, selling them items I found around the house. My parents always told me I’d be a business owner one day. That was true! My story goes back to when COVID first developed and caused a lot of in-office employees to be sent home. I was one of those employees. Being home more allowed me to re-align with my passions and goals, and I realized I enjoyed my 9-5, but wanted more out of my life. I have always dabbled in the idea of being a business owner, I was just never quite sure what I wanted to pour my energy into. That is when I discovered my love for self-care and self-care items. Now, the problem was, most store-bought items such as lotions and sugar scrubs have 50+ ingredients that would irritate my skin and leave an unpleasant film. I decided to make my own products! I started with bath bombs and quickly transitioned to expanding my line into body butters, sugar scrubs, body oils, and more. My goal is always to provide my customers a luxurious self-care experience, without them having to sacrifice their health. My products are made with raw, wholesome ingredients, and I avoid fillers and preservatives in all of my products. All of my full-sized products come in glass jars, and I carefully hand-craft products in small batches. I always experiment with new products and new scents to always bring fresh concepts to my clients. May of 2020, my business took off, fulfilling lots of Mother’s Day orders for friends and family. In July of 2020, I decided to make it official and file for an LLC. Now, 3 years later, I have my products in several stores, and run my business e-commerce, selling across multiple platforms such as Shopify, TikTok Shop, Instagram, and more. My favorite is getting out in the community for pop-up events, vendor shows, and even private events such as sugar scrub-making classes. I have fine-tuned my sales style and my ability to juggle multiple departments as a one-woman show. I am very excited to see where my business will be 5, 10 years from now. For now, I am enjoying the ride, and loving my entrepreneurial journey! 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not! I feel any small business owner will tell you that we are our own biggest critics. It took me a long time to understand the importance of branding and standing out. The skincare market is saturated, there were many moments of defeat, and ‘Is this worth it,’ conversations I had to have with myself. What helped me gain the confidence to keep going is my family and friends, clients, and loyal customers that have been here since, literally, day 1! Another challenge is finances. It is easy to grow a business if you have lots of money to invest into it. However, if you are not blessed to do so, it is a challenge as taking on owning a business is an expense. Think shipping costs, costs to create an LLC, accountant fees, fees to have my website running, domain fees, supply fees, it truly is a never-ending list. However, I believe the more I pour into my business, the more I will get out. I also had to educate myself on so many things instead of paying someone to do it. There are some things you must outsource, but YouTube became my best friend early on in the process. Everything from ‘how to pipe body butter into jars,’ ‘how to price my products,’ ‘how to code my website’ were my frequent searches. There were moments of defeat but having a strong support system such as my family, friends, and boyfriend, gave me the confidence to keep going. 3 years of trial and error, and I know there will be many more. However, I would not be where I am today if I did not go through those challenges. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Hello! I believe what your readers should know is I bring a fresh, luxurious spin to skincare. I am out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to new products, new collaborations, new scents, and more. I am never truly satisfied and always want to bring new and exciting product options to my clients. I specialize in hand-crafted skincare that uses transparent, wholesome ingredients. For example, we do not purchase a body butter base and add scents/colors; we make our own! This is made using ingredients such as raw cocoa butter, shea butter, beeswax, and more. This allows us to control and limit the amount of ingredients we are putting into our products. I am most certainly known for my body butters; that is truly my ‘bread and butter.’ I have mastered the technique, which took years. I now pipe beautiful body butter into glass jars so that you can experience a luxurious experience right from home. Some of my body butters are swirls of colors which is beautiful to see and apply. I am most proud about the community I have built. Like-minded individuals who see tons of ingredients in store-bought lotion and want a cleaner alternative that is still effective. I am blessed with hundreds of 5-star reviews, raving about the quality of our products and how amazing they make their skin feel. I even offer shower fizzies for a shower aromatherapy experience. When it comes to scents, my products range from unscented to sweet to fresh and everything in between. I want my line to have something for everyone, no matter what your personal preference or self-care routine is. 

What does success mean to you?
I define success as making a difference. If I have one person come to me and say, “This is the best product I have ever used, you got yourself a lifelong customer,” that’s it for me. I see that as a win, and all I can ask for is I changed someone’s life by offering them self-care solutions that let them show up as their best, most authentic selves. One day, I would love to open up my own store. That is a goal for myself long-term, and I will see that as a huge success story as well. For now, I celebrate the small wins, and continue to build my community by 1 client at a time! My goal right now is to truly get in front of as many people as I can. Thankfully, TikTok shop has helped me skyrocket my business and gained me over 3K followers as well as over 45K likes on my videos. I have, in turn, gained a good amount of clients. That is success to me as well, but of course, all is followed by staying true to changing people’s lives through my products and business! 

Pricing:

• Whipped body butters come in 2 sizes: 8 Oz (value size) and 2 Oz (travel size). 8 Oz is $28, 2 Oz is $9
• Sugar Scrubs are $15
• Shower Fizzies are $7.50 each and can be used for multiple showers!
• I also offer bundle & save options on my website, where you can bundle a full-sized scrub and body butter for $38!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stasuncensored.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stasuncensoredllc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StasUncensoredLLC/
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stasuncensoredllc?lang=en

Image Credits
Mackenzie Taylor Photography