After building a multimillion-dollar brand and exiting the beauty world several years ago, Scott-Vincent Borba will soon be ordained as a Catholic priest.
In what appears to be a first for the fashion and beauty sector in terms of professional incarnations, Borba’s decision has lit up social media. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Borba worked as a model, singer and actor before starting E.l.f. Cosmetics with Joseph Shmah in Oakland, Calif., in 2004. Named as an abbreviation for eyes, lips and face, E.l.f. was built with vegan, sustainable and affordable assortment.
The 52-year-old former chief executive officer will be joining the Catholic diocese of Fresno, Calif., after his May 23 ordainment. The diocese’s director of public affairs and innovation Chandler Marquez could not be reached immediately for comment on Wednesday.
In 2017, Borba started donating more of his wealth to charities. For that fiscal year, E.l.f. Beauty reported net sales of $269.9 million — an 18 percent increase from 2016. After stepping away from the corporate life several years ago, Borba joined St. Patrick’s Seminary in San Francisco in 2021. A licensed aesthetician, Borba previously worked with celebrity clients like Mila Kunis and offered a $7,000 “HD Diamond and Ruby facial.” Before starting his company, he worked for other beauty brands like Hard Candy Cosmetics, Procter & Gamble’s Wella and Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena before starting E.l.f.
In an interview with his alma mater’s magazine, Borba spoke of how Asian culture enlightened him to the idea of internal beauty. After traveling to Japan, he set out to develop products that would improve skin conditions using vitamins, waters, serums and creams. Borba said, “I’m not about the falsification and overall blatant usage of camouflage. I want to help people solve their challenges so they can be comfortable in their own skin.”
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Jamie Melbourne, a model, makeup artist and cofounder of the men’s skin care line Apostle, said Wednesday, “Scott has spent his career helping people feel confident in their own skin, and this next chapter is a beautiful extension of that mission. Transitioning from the world of aesthetics to a life of servoce and faith suggests that the ultimate ‘glow-up’ is an internal one. As a fellow founder in the New York space and a person of faith, we at Apostle find his commitment to a higher calling both inspiring and a powerful reminder that our true purpose often evolves.
During his professional years, Borba was a supporter of the nonprofit Covenant House California, which helps provide shelter, food, clothing and educational program for homeless youth. A representative for Covenant House was not immediately available to comment, nor were representatives at E.l.f. Beauty.
In the interview with his alumni’s magazine, Borba said, “I feel like I’ve been put on this earth to help bring people back to Catholic/Christian religions and help kids who have been kicked out of their house.”
The former C-suite executive also wrote books — “Makeup for Dummies” in 2007, “Skintervention: The Personalized Solution for Healthier, Younger and Flawless-Looking Skin” in 2011 and “Cooking Your Way to Gorgeous: Skin-Friendly Superfoods, Age-Reversing Recipes and Fabulous Homemade Facials.”
While Borba will soon have a Catholic audience in his new path, fashion’s connections to Catholicism have been explored by others before. In the spring of 2018, the Costume Instutute’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” was staged at The Metropolitan Museum and The Met Cloisters. With more than 1.65 million visitors, the show was and remains the Costume Institute’s most visited one as well as The Met’s.
In an interview with ABC 7 in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Borba said, “I have never been happier in my life.”
