Meet Reiko Kaneshiro | Skincare Formulator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Reiko Kaneshiro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Reiko, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am a woman of Asian and European decent. I was born in Hawaii, where I was raised until the age of 7. My father was a Japanese steel worker that was born and raised on the island of Oahu, where he still lives today. My mother was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania. She is of European decent. She had moved to Hawaii around the age of 21. My mother worked for a real estate developer on the island and continued to work in the real estate and mortgage field for her entire career. She was probably the most influential person in my life and her choices molded me the most in how I create careers in my own life. My mother has teetered between running corporations and owning her own businesses. She taught me, through modeling, that business ownership was not only attainable but also quite possibly the best choice for me in my life. My mother was such a big part of my “nurtured” development but I see so many parts of my “natured” aspects peaking into the choices I make in my business and personal life. I find that I have a good balance between risk taking, hard work, dedication, and work ethic because of the differences in my parents and how I was raised.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am first and foremost, a stay-at-home mom. This has always been my biggest dream and it has come true. Now that I have my dream home life, I am able to fulfill my career passion. I desperately wanted to make effective, affordable skincare for EVERYONE to feel and look their best. At 49 years old, I am determined to keep myself, and you, looking as youthful as possible for as long as I can. Obviously, there are other ways to look younger, but they are also more expensive and invasive. My goal is to offer anti-aging skincare products to everybody, regardless of their background, gender, or financial status. All of my products are made with the richest of ingredients, and most items include peptides for a more enriched and effective product. This is a woman-owned, handcrafted, small-batch, and cruelty-free small business. I spend many hours in my lab finding what works. This is probably the place where I struggle the most. I can have days that are very frustrating. I come into the lab with an idea of what I want to accomplish and it can work in my favor (I love these days), or quite the opposite. I can become so frustrated and it takes a great deal of commitment and patience to finally get to the result I desire. This process can take me weeks or even months with just the creation of one product. In the end, I always find my completion and a feeling of pride as I push through to accomplishment.
As I become comfortable with running a small business, I find myself expanding on a daily basis. It has definitely been a very fun and rewarding growth experience thus far. There are so many things for me to be proud of. I have found that taking baby steps is a perfectly acceptable way to grow a business. I am impressed with how quickly something can grow in just a short period of time. Gratitude is not a strong enough a word to describe how I feel about the overwhelming welcome I have received from patrons. I must say that it has been easy getting to where I am today because it is my passion that is driving this venture. I have been very blessed with the gift of time and a village of people to support me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My best friend lives in the city and has probably already done all of the things I will mention but ok, I will play along. Today is Saturday and we will visit Marina Del Rey, Venice and Santa Monica for a fun, relaxing day. We shall start out in Marina Del Rey, shopping the wonderful vendors for our breakfast at their weekly Farmer’s Market. We will ride bikes from Marina Del Rey to Santa Monica, using the boardwalk along the sand. We will stop to become impressed with the skaters in the skatepark along the way, and join in the drum circles for some sound and movement at sunset. After our fun day at the beach, we will sit down for dinner at the Siamese Garden on the Venice Canals.
Sunday we will continue our day at the beach in Pacific Palisades for a little spiritual enlightenment at Lake Shrine. We will have lunch at John’s Garden in Malibu afterward, and then take an artistic journey through the Getty Museum. We will then finish our day with dinner at Geoffrey’s.
On Monday we will have some pampering at the Beverly Hot Springs and enjoy some delicious food afterward at Il Capriccio in Los Feliz, where they make delicious handmade pasta.
Tuesday comes quickly and we are going to take in some nature with a hike at Castaic Lake where we will hope to happen upon some owls. We will then have lunch at Karma Indian Cuisine in Valencia, where the ambience is very homey, and the welcome is very warm. After this we shall take in an afternoon at the Botanical Gardens in Pasadena.
Wednesday is earmarked for a lovely day at the beautiful Americana. We shall spend the day here shopping, eating, having our nails done, and possibly taking a class at Lululemon.
On Thursday, we will take in the show “Shun Yin”. This will be the highlight of the trip. If Cirque is in town, we will see that at some point too.
Friday is here and we shall spend this day at the 3rd Street promenade. We can take in a movie, have some delicious food, do some shopping and strolling but my favorite is to watch all of the talent that adorns this walk street.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people in my life that offers support in growing my business and allows me to bloom as a business owner. It takes a village after all. I am only one person and although I have a large capacity and a tremendous amount of energy to make it work, I could not do it without some key people that surround me and support me daily. I have a great friend that supports me the most by introducing me to ideas in marketing and assisting me in creating an attractive packaging for mainstream market appeal. Honestly, I would not be as successful as I am today without the continued support, assistance, and cheerleading from Daniela Rey of Growing-Up Rooted. Her knowledge of all things small-business and marketing continues to inspire me to take bigger steps. I must also mention that my family has supported me in an amazing way as well. They make huge sacrifices for me, so that I can follow my passion daily. My family has allowed me to work in my lab, even on the weekends, and attend street fairs and market to get my name out there. My son will even work my cash register, assist me in my labeling process, make instagram videos for my business account, and announce our presence to bring in potential customers at pop-up markets. That covers my son’s participation but my husband makes huge contributions to! For starters, he lets me take big risks using his financial income and he has built and continues to service my indispensable website, which is now the main source for my sales.

Website: https://creamandsugarbyreiko.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creamandsugarbyreiko/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1926926044223949

Image Credits
Daniela Rey (product photos) Lyndsey Vlaicu (photos of Reiko)