After becoming a licensed Esthetician and working for years in a medical spa, CEO and founder, Rachel Sommers launched Intoxicated Cosmetics. That's the really short version. But much, much more has really gone into this labor of love.

“I began working on Intoxicated a long time ago - as the first document I created for it dates back to 2013,” Rachel says. “Back then I was feeling a bit lost in my career. I was living in New York City and working in advertising - a field that I had no true passion for. During this time, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told by many hospitals that he was essentially not going to make it, no matter what the treatment.”

“With no medical knowledge, I started doing my own research & looking into alternative methods of cancer treatment, thinking that perhaps there would be something in an alternative medicine space that we weren’t thinking of which could potentially help treat or even save him.”

During her research, Rachel stumbled upon a naturally occurring chemical compound known as Mellittin that is found in bee venom. Mellittin is the only naturally occurring chemical compound known to man able to break into disease wall barriers such as HIV & cancer. Although it did nothing to cure these diseases, she was intrigued enough by this discovery to write it down and keep note of it. 

Using its ability to break into the disease wall barriers, many people with Multiple Sclerosis use bee venom injections to help alleviate pain and ease muscle movement. Bee venom also contains countless proteins, vitamins, and fatty acids, while it is an anaphylactic, it also breaks down cell membranes, improves circulation, and can help treat acne with its antimicrobial properties. 

Most importantly, but unbeknownst to her at the time, Rachel discovered that bee venom also had a similar effect to Botox when applied topically in the sense that it inhibited neuromuscular transmitters which essentially enable facial muscle movement, just on a smaller scale. The more research she did the more she was amazed by bee venom. 

“I noted this in my research as a potential cure for my father but did not think too much of it as unfortunately, a few short weeks later, my father passed away. During this same time, for obvious reasons, I was incredibly stressed out and my skin was starting to show it. I remember walking into Sephora in Union Square and telling one of the associates there that I was looking for an effective anti-aging serum, stating that I didn't care how much it cost, but that I just needed it to work because I believed I was too young to get Botox (only 24 at the time). When the answer I got back was "Botox is the only true solution", I knew there had to be another way.”

As she walked back to her apartment that afternoon, Rachel had a lightbulb moment.

“I started walking more and more quickly on my way back home, remembering my findings on bee venom and realizing the massive gap between topical and injectable anti-aging solutions. It got me thinking – if this is just bee venom, what other useful venoms are out there? Can they also be applicable to skin care?”

From then on, Rachel spent hundreds of hours teaching herself about chemical compounds, peptides, skincare, researching other venoms, and reading through lab analysis. Lost in content but eager to learn, things finally started to click, and Rachel began to be able to talk about chemical compounds and understand them in skincare. 

In addition to Bee Venom, Rachel began her research of other venoms. Being an animal lover, she knew that she didn’t want to harm any animals in the making of her products, and that some of the chemical compounds in the venoms were not safe or too unstable to use on skin. So she hired a team of scientists to dissect the beneficial chemical compounds from the harmful ones, recreated them in a lab, and then added a handful of natural ingredients as well as plant based stem cells and other biomimetic peptides. 

“Shortly thereafter, I quit my job in advertising, moved back to Boston, and took the time to go to school to become an esthetician to understand skin care even further. After graduating and getting licensed, I worked at a medical spa for years in order to be able to “talk the talk and walk the walk”. I really wanted to immerse myself in the skincare industry while simultaneously creating my business and game plan. After leaving work at my day job, I would go home and work at my company for hours on end.”

With the help of mentors, Rachel created a business plan, partnered with a female-founded biochemical company based in California, collaborated with a marketing company, and created a timeline. Finally, in 2019 Rachel launched Intoxicated Cosmetics, launching her Signature Venom Collection first, and then later, Antidote Moisturizer, and a number of other products as well as a perfume. 

“My vision is that injectables do not have to be the only effective anti-aging solution for men and women. I believe in science, but I also believe in nature. In my opinion, combining the two is the solution to many things in skincare, health, and wellness.”

And thus Intoxicated Cosmetics was born.