In a new interview, Sabrina Elba discusses how she has adjusted to sharing the workplace with her husband, Idris.
During an exclusive interview with PEOPLE held on the first day of Beautycon LA, Sabrina, 35, said that she and her actor hubby, 51, went through a “big learning curve” while working together on their skincare brand S’ABLE Labs, which was introduced to the market in July of last year.
“It’s not a perfect tie-in, but we’ve definitely developed ways of working together,” Sabrina, who sat on a panel at Saturday’s event while sporting an enormous pinstripe blazer and matching skirt, told PEOPLE. Sabrina was also wearing a similar skirt to go with her outfit. “We started a podcast in order to get an idea of how other people were approaching it, and we learned a great deal from doing so.”
“I think it’s having correct boundaries and understanding that, like you know, finding work is not the same as finding a date night,” the co-founder of the skincare company said further. “There are appropriate avenues, such as work hours; that’s been a big learning curve for me,” the speaker said. “There are appropriate avenues.”
Sabrina adds that she “can’t imagine doing it with anyone else” because of her partnership with Idris in the debut of S’ABLE Labs genderless skincare in 2021. This was an extension of the couple’s lifestyle business, which was also introduced in 2021.
This weekend marks the return of Beautycon LA presented by Walmart ® to its original location in Los Angeles after a hiatus of four years. The event will welcome some of the biggest names in the beauty, fashion, and entertainment industries, including Sabrina, fellow beauty brand founder Tia Mowry, Marsai Martin, Alabama Barker, Shirley Raines, Britni Ricard, and more.
At the event, Sabrina, who is of Somali ancestry and grew up in Canada, explains that she started S’ABLE Labs skincare to address the concerns that black people have with their skin that are not addressed by the beauty industry.
Sabrina shares with PEOPLE that she “always thought there was nothing that addressed my unique skincare concerns, especially when it comes to having melanin rich skin.” “Growing up I always thought there was nothing that addressed my unique skincare concerns,” she says. Therefore, conditions such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Simply finding solutions that address the issue on a holistic level as opposed to attempting to find a solution to the issue after it has already occurred.”
“We’re looking at how we can inhibit melanin excess production in the first place,” says Sabrina. Therefore, we are producing anti-oxidants as well as anti-inflammatory medications. Growing up, I saw my mother utilize a lot of the wonderful African ingredients that are so famous because they are so good for you. The African continent has a lot of them. So, I’m just trying to take all of it in.”
In addition, Sabrina mentions that she and Idris aimed for their skincare products to have “maximum results” with “minimal impact” on the environment.
“Black consumers, really do care about the planet as well,” she tells PEOPLE. “Black businesses, really do care about the planet as well.” “They care about the luxury of their products without having to pay exorbitant prices or just good quality ingredients that we feel like we’ve created.”
According to Sabrina, she and Idris make it a point to schedule some personal time away from work together for vacations, even if they are partners in a business venture.
“I go to the continent as much as I can go, so recently, Rwanda, and we were so blessed,” she says of the pair’s most recent trip. “I go to the continent as much as I can go.” “We were able to participate in this naming ceremony for the gorillas, and this is my first time going on the gorilla trek. Therefore, we gave the infant gorilla a name.
The second day of Beautycon LA will take place on Sunday, September 17, and spectators will be able to follow the event digitally by going to Beautycon.com and following @Beautycon on Twitter.
