To mark the launch of their first collaborative collection, beauty visionary Gabriella Elio, founder of Sweed Beauty, and digital muse Elisa Maino come together for a candid, heartfelt conversation. Blending Gabriella’s minimalist, performance-driven philosophy with Elisa’s expressive and personal approach to beauty, the two creatives open up about their shared values, early beauty inspirations, and what it truly means to feel confident in your own skin.
As they unveil their new venture with Sweed Beauty’s new lip combo by Elisa, they reflect on identity, vision, and the quiet power of rituals—both personal and professional—that have shaped their journey.
What’s your first beauty memory?
E: My first memory is my grandma, in the bathroom at her house, doing my makeup. I’ve always loved lipsticks, and I remember she adored a specific shade of red, but she used to tell me, “You can’t go out with this red.” So, she bought me a red lip balm, and from then on, our ritual before going out always included me putting on the balm and her putting on the lipstick. Later, when I grew up, she gave me that same red lipstick, which I still keep safely.
G: When I was young, my mother used to have a beautiful golden lipstick: when you opened it, it was green, but when you applied it on the lips, it became pink. It was a really cool product, I loved to play with it. I still think that makeup is magic, so it’s a memory I will never forget.
Now some exciting news – your upcoming co-collection with Elisa Maino. How did that collaboration come about, and what makes it special?
E: One year ago, Gabriella and I met right here, at the Ralph Lauren Bar. Immediately, we clicked. I already knew Sweed Beauty, and from that moment I got in touch with her team—always so kind, and they had already noticed I was using their products organically. I knew Sweed had done capsule collections with other talents before, so when they reached out to propose one with me—their first with an Italian talent—I was beyond excited. It was an honor to collaborate with a brand that knows the industry and could guide me, even though they really gave me complete freedom regarding the shades. I’ve always loved their Le Lipstick—it’s so easy to use. I think Sweed’s attention to detail makes the difference. The market is saturated, but Sweed has such strong resonance, even with a focused product range. And every product is just beautiful, they’re all ideal.
G: Yeah, we met by this very table a year ago. I remember Elisa was using Cloud Mascara! So, I think it was a quite organic process because when someone loves the brand, like Elisa did and does, that’s the goal, that’s the person we should work with. It was meant to be and also her audience was craving for the lip combos she was using, so I felt that the collaboration had to happen.
How did you merge your visions? Elisa’s vision with Sweed’s DNA?
E: There wasn’t a single moment where we weren’t aligned—we always agreed on taking things slow and making thoughtful decisions. We knew how to recognize the right timing and when we could improve. The secret to this collaboration’s success, in my opinion, is that there was never any rush or limitation—which is rare. I always felt free to take my time and reflect, and every request I made was always received with care and respect.
G: Elisa is already a natural Sweed girl, so it wasn’t hard. Then, we also wanted to be more Elisa, basically, we wanted to make her vision come to life. Sweed is a vegan and clean brand that believes in “less is more”, “look like yourselves,” to boost women with confidence, so we felt that it was a natural way of working. Elisa picked the colors, the vision, she even did the photoshoot on her own—we just wanted to make it all her and keep it as simple as possible.
Gabriella, you’re expanding into skincare with Sweed’s new hair serum and eye gel patches – what inspired this move beyond makeup?
The hair serum was a pretty obvious move because people had been asking us to create it. They were using our eyebrow serum on their hair and sent me messages saying that it worked!
As for the eye gel patches, I think we are really strong in the eye area, so it felt natural to expand our range there.
Gabriella, you began your career as a makeup artist, while Elisa, you began your career on YouTube. What moment or insight pushed you in the game, and what were the early days of your career like?
G: I started with an internship in a store selling makeup in Sweden. I loved to try products on women, and I remember they were so stressed, they said, “I just want to buy one product,” and I would say, “Give me 5 minutes.” And in those 5 minutes, I saw them become confident, happy, they started to smile.
That’s what made me fall in love with beauty—it can make people feel better.
E: I started at 12 years old with a YouTube channel, so I “found myself” doing this work over time. Back then, I had no real goal—I just liked doing makeup and filming videos with my best friend. At first, we posted them privately, then, with our parents’ approval, we made them public.
What truly inspired me and made me move to Milan was writing a novel with my grandma. When she passed away, I published it as a tribute, and it was a success in Italy. Over time, I discovered the world of makeup and work in general. Makeup has always been a central part of my life, thanks to my grandmother.
“Makeup has always been a central part of my life”
Looking back, what were the biggest challenges you faced becoming entrepreneurs – and how did you overcome it?
G: When you become an entrepreneur, no one tells you how to do things, you just have to figure them out on your own, so I’d say that’s the biggest challenge. There’s no roadmap, there’s no guidance, so you do things and hope for the best. Also, for me that I work with a lot of countries all over the world, the time differences are another big challenge, the fact that I need to be awake all the time. But at the same time, it gives me so much pleasure, because it’s like putting up a puzzle, when all the pieces are coming together, and you meet a lot of fun people down the road, so it’s nice.
E: I think that the biggest challenge, and I speak as quite a determined and ambitious person, is the pressure you feel on you. In anything you do, if you put a lot of effort, a lot of dedication, you always tend to have, in my opinion, the fear of failure, or of not being able to make it. And I’m not talking about numbers, I’m talking about personal satisfaction.
It’s not so common to wake up every morning and say, “I’m happy with my life, I’m happy with what I do.” So, also reinventing yourself, always finding inspiration, and also the courage to change a situation if you don’t like it, it’s a big deal. So maybe the biggest challenge is the fact that you never feel satisfied and try and not be afraid to change things.
What excites you the most about where Sweed, or your career in general, is heading right now?
E: Definitely, the biggest satisfaction, in general but also regarding the collaboration with Sweed, is when a brand reaches out to you and believes in you. There are a lot of people doing what I do, but being chosen for a specific reason and for values that I know also represent the brand that is making this request is obviously very rewarding. It makes you think you’re doing something “right” in an environment that is often heavily criticized and very competitive.
Then, in my opinion, Sweed’s community and mine have now kind of merged, and I think it was really a good match.
A match made in Heaven.
G: Yeah! You know, I love to meet incredible women, to collaborate with them. I really, really enjoy it, and especially young talents like Elisa, because I know she has an amazing future ahead, so it will be very exciting to follow it. And I also would love to be a mentor if she ever wants to create her own brand or do something like that, I will always be here to support.
I think it’s so important to have a person like that in your network, among your friends, and I know how important it can be.
And also, for me, personally, I love that we are giving back to nature. We made a trip earlier this year to Mexico, where we were rescuing baby turtles. Since we are a vegan and clean brand, we save one baby turtle for every sold mascara, and we had the pleasure to invite 12 women from all over the world to Mexico and do this together. We’d love to do more of that.
What’s currently inspiring your creativity? Any trends or movements that are influencing you right now?
G: I don’t like trends, but generally speaking, I love Scandinavian women and their kind of beauty. But with Sweed we don’t follow any trends. We are more about classic, timeless beauty.
You know, my “beauty motto” from when I was a makeup artist was: you never want to look at a picture of yourself where you feel like, “Oh my God, why did I follow that trend? It’s not me anymore.”
I think when it comes to makeup, you should always go for less is more and be classic, timeless, because that always wins, and you will never regret that.
My creativity is very technical when it comes to products, because I really want to create products that don’t exist, some formulas that are not there yet. Usually, when I do products, I think about vegan, clean beauty, but also about products that need to work on mature skin, on rosacea and acne-prone skin types, sensitive skin types, so that can be a challenge: to find the right formulas and to also make them last on the skin because, speaking as a makeup artist, we’re not happy with the product just looking good for an hour, it needs to look good for 10, 15 hours.
Also, I want to create something that people really love, I would say.
E: I try to take in a lot from what surrounds me or what I see. I don’t have one particular trend or one person that I follow in a specific field. Even when I meet someone and we get along, I always try to pick out the positive things that strike me in that person in that moment, and reflect on whether I would want that for myself, personally or aesthetically.
Maybe, not feeling rushed or not feeling obligated to follow trends is helpful… obviously, the goal is to set them, rather than follow them! [laughs]
What’s one product in Sweed’s line-up that feels especially personal to you?
E: Definitely, if I had to choose one product, which I also find very iconic from Sweed, it would be Le Lipstick. Beyond being beautiful to look at, it’s convenient, you can use it in lip combos but also on its own, it’s a go-to that you always have in your bag, and it’s also very easy to apply.
It’s a product I really feel is mine, because I’m often a bit more minimal, but sometimes I also like being a bit more bold, and Le Lipstick is perfect to achieve both looks.
G: I would say the products that feel special for me right now are the Lip Combo Vanda – January that Elisa created. I think the Lip Combo is so iconic and cool, and we really missed that color, and it really looks good on everyone. It’s such a beautiful color, and the texture is amazing. And also you barely need a mirror, it’s so easy to apply, I really love that kit. Except from that I would say our Miracle Powder, because it looks like a Paris filter on the skin.
Who’s your style icon?
E: I do have one: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
G: Yeah, I agree, Rosie has a really cool style! If I would say someone from older times, I think Jackie O. She’s very elegant and classic, she’s also a timeless icon.
And what’s your must-have beauty product?
E: I have many. Maybe mascara is one of my main must-haves, especially the one from Sweed, because it immediately gives you that extra touch. Even if you like the makeup-no makeup look, you carry it in your bag, you do a super simple daytime look, then you put on the mascara for the evening and your whole look changes. It’s a universal product, that we all have. I find it fascinating that if you take ten girls and open each of their beauty cases, you’ll find a mascara in every one.
G: I like Sweed’s brightening eye pencil – I love to use it inside the waterline when it’s a bit reddened, it really opens up your eye look. It makes your eyes look bigger, you look more awake, so I think it really helps. Even if I’m not wearing makeup, I love to wear it.
You know, for me, make-up is a sort of shield. If I wear make-up, I feel prettier, I feel more powerful and, as a consequence, I feel more self-confident. What is your “beauty weapon”? What role does make-up play in your life?
E: I think it’s not just about being made-up that gives you confidence, but everything that comes before that – the time you take to get ready. The prep is a beauty ritual that automatically, if you’re feeling dull or low, makes you feel beautiful again.
It’s not so much the final result that makes you feel confident, but how you got there – in a moment where you were thinking solely about enhancing yourself. In the end, the secret is identifying the small gestures that help bring out the best version of yourself, the one you like the most.
G: Makeup for me has the role of making me be more me. I feel more feminine, I feel more like myself when I’m wearing make-up. I don’t know if it changes me, but it definitely just makes me feel more me.
What’s the best view you can think of? What would you like to see when you open the window?
E: My dog! [laughs]
Aside from that, I would love to open my eyes and see beside me all the people who are able to make me better. I’d like to wake up and know I have everything I dream of and hope for – health, happiness.
You know, sometimes you wake up and your first thought is: “Work’s going badly, I fought with my boyfriend,” and you say, “I didn’t want to wake up.” But then there are days when you wake up and think there’s nothing you’d change, and you’re happy to start the day, and that’s beautiful.
G: I would say to wake up in the early morning with the sun and a blue sky and the ocean that glitters, I think it’s beautiful.
What is the latest thing that you learned about yourself thanks to your job?
E: For me, that I’m capable of bringing spark back into situations. Sometimes you realize things have gone a bit flat, whether it’s in your professional or personal life, and you’re not feeling anything anymore.
I’ve realized that sometimes you need to disconnect a little, even get a bit bored. Even though we’re often afraid of boredom, of being alone with our thoughts, I think it’s in those moments that we realize what needs to change. We start missing the things we used to take for granted – things we realize we need, that we like. Sometimes you just have to let something go to understand its value.
G: I taught myself to not sweat the little things. When things go wrong, I try not to react and just move on. But I don’t know if I learned that about myself, it’s more like I taught myself to not react or care, and just see things from the bigger picture.
What does it mean to you to feel confident and comfortable in your own skin?
E: Having a ritual, a moment for yourself, which also here doesn’t mean taking care of your skin only thinking about the final result, but actually carving out mental space too.
Being more beautiful and having good skin should be a consequence.
When we’re sad, we tend to neglect ourselves, right? While when we take care of ourselves, it means we’re doing well.
When we feel like taking care of ourselves, we should consider ourselves lucky to be happy enough to want to.
G: For me it’s more about not letting any noise come near to close yourself and to not compare yourself with anyone or anything and just do your own thing.
What is your happy place?
E: My home in Milan with my dog, my boyfriend, and my family. I realize how lucky I am to travel a lot, but there’s no place like home.
G: I agree, for me it’s the same, my bed in Stockholm. I think both of us travel a lot, so we don’t get to be at home so much, and that’s why luxury is to be at home.
People often want to travel and see things, but for us it’s the opposite – we wish to be home and eat home-cooked meals.
E: Peace and relax.
Thanks to Sweed Beauty.
What do you think?