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For Sara Mirai, it was a layoff in the world of mining that opened the door that giving access to the cosmetics market: "I worked for a big multinational. When this was absorbed by another giant, many contracts were not renewed. The idea of venturing into the world of cosmetics was pure reaction".

Thirty-five years old, mother of a three-year-old child, Sara has a degree in industrial biotechnology with specializations in the mining sector and environmental sciences. She plans to attend a master's degree that gives her new skills in managing the chemical and commercial balance of cosmetics, but the pandemic and the commitments linked to her company, “Miss Trucco”, have forced to an indefinite postponement. An intolerance and a strong feeling for Sardinia and the environment are the basis of her second life as an entrepreneur: "I'm allergic to most cosmetic products, and I know I'm not alone. After my dismissal in 2014, I thought of becoming the link for all local companies that work in the organic cosmetics business. Thus was born 'S’Alchimissa', a word that translates 'lavender' in one of the variants of the Logudorese-Sardinia dialect".

S’Alchimissa was an e-commerce that, starting from Sardinia, ended up also welcoming products from the peninsula, always meticulously selected. “Unfortunately the market is hard and our producers don't always choose aggressive marketing policies. But I continue in my battle to enhance local products and workers”, explains Sara. So after two years spent selling other people's products, I made the first business plan, and the line of personal products dedicated above all to make-up removal. “Miss Trucco” is a line of eco-friendly biphasic make-up removers and accessories such as knobs, face cleaning pads and turbans. Lavender, helichrysum, sage, silk, almonds and bamboo are local and national productions that have gone through all the bureaucratic labyrinths of certifications, up to Brussels. Four make-up removers, four serums, four face masks, fifteen make-up products and fifty accessories are born from their treatment.

“I imagined the line and decided about the products. Then I entrusted the process to the formulator. All the most rigorous tests have been carried out. I had to study a lot, but certainly the first experience, with S’Alchimissa, was a good school. It was difficult, and several times I was on the verge of giving up”, says Sara. The natural substances are treated in a laboratory in Oristano, where a seamstress also works, transforming silk and cotton rolls into face placemats, mittens, bags, cases and scrub gloves. No machinery is used, everything is handcrafted according to a philosophy of simplicity that avoids environmental impact as much as possible. Bottles and labels are made of recycled plastic and paper. But it is the cotton make-up remover pads themselves (Oeko Tex eco-sustainable certification) that give an image of how much useless waste can be avoided: with their average life of two years, they save the environment from thousands of disposable pads.

“After seven long years of effort - says Sara - my products reach Sweden, Norway, France, Spain and Turkey. It is nice to think that each box shipped contains a product born in this land, a product that somehow contains it, and preserves it".