[Edited for length and clarity]
Jenna Levine was always drawn towards making homemade facial products since childhood from edible ingredients in her mother’s kitchen. Though she followed many paths in her twenties, Jenna eventually found her way back to her roots and the study of Permaculture and Native Plant Botany & Herbal Medicine (she holds certificates in both!).
Today, thirty-five year old Jenna Levine is the founder of LINNÉ Botanicals — a plant based skin care line, which is formulated by Jenna herself with so much knowledge, passion, and love. Part consumer product and part lifestyle brand, Jenna champions education and building a skin care line that is gentle on our bodies and our planet.
Who were you at twenty?
At twenty I was a total free spirit, an adventurer, a spontaneous, up for anything kind of girl. After living abroad, I moved to NYC to study architecture at Columbia. I began with a summer intensive studying urban design, and specifically urban farming and food systems. I loved the intense study, but ultimately realized that architecture was not my scale nor speed. I liked working fast and with creative freedom and so returned to work as a stylist, preparing floral arrangements for fashion photoshoots and preparing food for culinary publications. I had the most amazing group of friends and when I wasn’t working we were gathering and taking on the town. I lived hand to mouth and had few concerns and no long term plan.
After about two incredibly full years I was craving a more close to nature existence and moved out West with my then partner to work at Scribe Winery. My romantic relationship had its flaws but I was so comforted by my life nature that I shook off the heaviness. I could have happily stayed but my boyfriend took a job in the city so we moved to San Francisco. There I resumed work as a food stylist and helped a new friend grow her landscaping business and also began interning with a design ecology studio, working on green landscaping and architecture solutions. The work made me think perhaps it was landscape architecture that I should study, but ultimately I realized that it was the plants themselves that were calling me. Meanwhile I was cooking a ton, growing culinary and medicinal plants, baking sourdough bread, and fermenting everything in sight. My interest in ecological design and homesteading led me to the study of permaculture, a design philosophy that mimics natural ecosystems to create high design, sustainable and symbiotic gardens. I had the fortune to study at The Regenerative Design institute where I conducted back to back certifications in Permaculture and Native Plant Botany & Herbal Medicine, all while living on a beautiful farm in Bolinas, California. In the study of botany and medicine I finally felt I had found my calling. My house was quickly overtaken with medicinal potions and I returned to actively making skincare - something I started doing when I was only ten years old. I began working for the luxury skincare brands True Botanicals and Marie Veronique (they were then one brand). It was then that my sister started developing severe cystic acne. She was on a course of accutane and her skin was tender, dry and sensitive. As a response, I developed LINNÉ’s first product, the BALANCE face oil.
Soon after, my then partner and I moved back to NYC. After 4.5 years of codependency (and him planning to ask for my hand in marriage) we split - we had grown apart and I no longer had the energy to be happy enough for the both of us. He had drained my spirit. To follow I had a major episode of saturn returns. I was single again, living alone in NYC, and putting together a new business venture. Everything felt exciting and unpredictable, a feeling that was a bit unnerving. But I pushed on. I remember holding myself some nights as I fell asleep, comforting myself that this feeling of being alone wasn’t loneliness but a welcome solitude - an opportunity to inwardly connect and listen to myself.
How have you evolved since?
In the last year of my twenties, I let myself live fully for myself, unapologetically. It was in this time of self-discovery and self-love that I prepared myself to both launch LINNÉ and find my true love, who is now my husband.
In short my twenties were a long and winding road of discovery, education and creativity with plenty of ups and downs. Rather than set a course, I let myself be open to possibilities, and without agenda, collected the experiences that would ultimately help me start my business and find a nurturing and limitlessly loving partner, who supports me wholeheartedly and inspires me to be my best self.
On launching LINNÉ Botanicals
We launched in April 2016 with the annual W Magazine “Next Best Thing” feature. It was an honor to be the one and only beauty feature among so many impressive designers and artists.
Our line focuses on native plant and edible ingredients. We also focus on freshness and each of our products have a very visible batch number and best by date. We are also focused on environmental stewardship and are working towards becoming carbon neutral. From a branding standpoint we really focus on full transparency and we champion education. You’ll find in depth plant information on all our ingredients on instagram and we are available to educate and support every member of our community.
On the science behind LINNÉ (that will absolutely blow your mind, might I add)
We use mainly organic or wild-harvested, raw, cold-pressed or steam extracted whole plant medicine - basically the most pure and unadulterated skin-food. Our formulas also contain some ingredients produced with more sophisticated technology. One such ingredient is our carrot cell extract. Using an enzymatic process, the outer membranes that connect one cell to another are dissolved leaving individual cells intact. These cells are suspended in our RENEW serum. The nutrients within are fully contained and intact until the moment they come in contact with our skin. Enzymes on our skin are able to dissolve that final outer membrane layer, thus releasing vital plant nutrients, such as carotenoids directly into the skin. These carotenoids protect the skin from UV light exposure, and improve tone, brightness and firmness. Pretty neat, right?!
On empowering women through transparency and education
We love women and want to protect their health and the health of future generations. We empower women [and all consumers] by making products that help them feel confident and calm without threatening their health or that of the planet. We also champion education and transparency. One of our brand goals is to share unbiased information on the ingredients we use. We want women to feel informed of their choices and that is empowering.
On building a building a brand
I love all the different skills that running a business has required me to learn. Most of all I love learning and collaborating with others. As per challenges, I work so hard but there are certainly limits to my bandwidth. If we had more people and more capital that would certainly help. We have grown organically as of today, but it may be time soon to raise capital so to extend our reach and bring on more amazing team members.
What advice would you give to yourself at twenty?
Be kind to yourself. Be honest with yourself. Don’t force a thing. There is no right or wrong way.
What would you say to a twenty-something year old about finding her place in the world?
To young women I say, trust yourself. Explore your options, learn as much as you can, and seek mentorship from people you truly admire. It’s a journey and the hustle is real! Behind all achievements is a lot of hard work, but if you love what you do it will all feel worthwhile. Find that awesome intersection between what challenges you, what inspires you and what you're naturally good at. When it comes to love, you deserve happiness without compromise.
Learn more about Jenna & LINNÉ Botanicals here