Stephanie Lee’s story doesn’t follow a traditional path, but that’s what makes it so special. Before she became the founder and CEO of selfmade, a skin care brand rooted in emotional wellbeing, she was the director of the Office of the First Lady for Michelle Obama, held high-level roles in the beauty industry, and, like many of us, once found herself as a college student facing uncertainty. Her story is one of reinvention, radical honesty, and the kind of risk-taking that redefines what it means to care for yourself.
Lee’s parents are Vietnamese refugees, and like many children of immigrants, she grew up with the belief that safety meant financial stability and a secure job. But deep down, she wanted something different. “I’ve always been a person [who takes] risks … in the sense of ‘How do you make life better?’ Not just for myself, but humanity,” she says. “I’ve always been a very mission-driven, impact-driven person.”
That desire was ignited during Lee’s final semester of college, when she coincidentally met an organizer for the Democratic primaries and ended up volunteering for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Her involvement snowballed from there: She heard Michelle Obama’s chief of staff needed an assistant, so she took on that role, and eventually moved on to a director role in the First Lady’s office, where she began working on initiatives like “Let’s Move” to combat childhood obesity, and even helping Obama publish her first New York Times bestseller, American Grown. She had to teach herself on the job, but she emphasizes that she got to where she did by “creating relationships and taking chances, and not telling myself ‘no’ before even getting to the door.”
During her work at the First Lady’s office, she found herself drawn to the creative aspect of her work and wanted to explore those avenues more — so in 2014, she transitioned from politics to beauty. Soon enough, Lee’s life looked like the makeup-lover’s dream: a brownstone in New York and a fast-moving career working for brands like Estée Lauder and MAC Cosmetics. But internally, she was miserable. “How did I end up here?’” she recalls asking herself.
The beauty industry, she noticed, was deeply flaw-focused, often preying on women’s insecurities in order to make sales. While she loved creative work, she realized that the space didn’t support the kind of emotional depth or systemic change she craved. So she paused. She began therapy. She traveled. And through that process, she experienced a turning point.
“I started asking, ‘How do you take these really incredible lessons from therapy, which are often too expensive and inaccessible [for the general population to benefit from], and turn them into a livable lifestyle?’ ‘How do you meet people where they’re already trying to care for themselves and inject as much credible mental health support as possible?’” she says.
Lee recalls how, during her own mental health crisis while working for MAC, her skin broke out, her hair was falling out, and traditional products didn’t help. “I went to Sephora, I went to the dermatologist. Nothing helped until my nervous system calmed down,” she says. That insight sparked the creation of selfmade, a brand that reimagines skin care as emotional wellness. Rooted in the practice of psychodermatology, selfmade offers neuroscience-backed body care paired with emotionally supportive rituals designed to help users not only look better, but feel better from the inside out.
Each product is designed to help users regulate their emotions and build self-trust. “Instead of thinking, ’I’m so ugly’ it’s actually ’I’m stressed,’” Lee says. “And reviewing that self-judgment and replacing it for curiosity is what we’re all about.”
Unlike the CEOs who wake up at 4 a.m. and bulldoze through meetings, Lee is learning to live differently. Her mornings start with barefoot walks on the beach with her dogs. “The first thing I got to do is put my feet in nature. 100%. It grounds me,” she says. She’s learned to say no to endless meetings, make space for deep focus, and prioritize what feels nourishing, not just productive. She is now able to live freely, the way she wants, while also working toward a mission she’s proud of.
When asked what advice she’d give young women who want to pursue big dreams, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds like hers, Lee doesn’t sugarcoat it. “The rules of society or any organization were never made for anyone that looked like you and me. All the systems [were built] to oppress and suppress,” she says. “And in fact, the people that are doing well, the people that have made the rules, don’t follow their own rules.” In fact, Lee wants you to do the opposite. “Break the rules.”