Lipsi Cosmetics is much more than a brand; it’s the journey of a lifetime. The inspiration of Lipsi Cosmetics comes directly from the island in Greece, Lipsi. The island has virgin beaches, untarnished by extensive tourism. While in Lipsi you can’t help but to be amazed by how naturally beautiful every inch of the island is. The feeling you get while touring the island is sensational. One can’t help but to be fully amazed by Lipsi. The people, the food, and the overall beauty are overwhelmingly perfect.

Lipsi’s logo is that of a single tree called Monodentri. This tree is significant in more ways than one. Monodentri symbolizes the enchanting island of Lipsi whose existence is a miracle to modern science, not to mention it is the symbol of hope and friendship to two young boys Christo Nikolaou, the co-founder of Lipsi Cosmetics and his long-time friend Savvas Georghiou.

Monodentri is the name of a mysterious beach located on the island that is know for a curious single tree that hangs off the edge of the beach. It is planted in rock and fed by salt water; its existence is utterly unexplainable. The beach is located at the end of the island and is accessible only to those who already know the way.

It is a very exclusive beach unintended for virgin eyes. The exposed nature of the beach is too mature for adolescents. Thus, sparking the interest of two curious young boys. Savvas recalls trying time and time again to reach this unattainable beach:

“Lipsi is quite a magical island, a young child’s paradise pulled directly out of a fairytale book. As two young boys coming from America and Australia we visited Lipsi for the first time in July of 1997. As young children it’s very interesting how you develop friends. You don’t view friendship by wealth, connections, education, or social status. You have a very open mind and heart because you are genuinely seeking a pure connection, someone to share your thoughts, and just have fun with. Chris and I bonded the moment we met, that summer.

Both of us being troublemaking, restless young kids with the curiosity, and nine lives of cat, our exciting memories are amusing and comical, but one particular story takes the cake.  It’s a story that started by a rumor we heard about Monodentri, a beach intended only for adults.

Monodentri is a remote beach on the island nearly impossible to reach. Obstacles to consider before making this journey incorporate, steep cliffs, indistinguishable rocky trails, and venomous snakes. We easily overlooked these minor hindrances, as our determination to reach Monodentri was ruthless. With this fantasy beach stuck in our heads we grabbed two bottles of water and headed out. After searching relentlessly for the trail, we could no longer bear the heat. We were dehydrated; exhausted, and famished thus we called it quits. Not being able to get Monodentri out of our thoughts we knew that it wouldn’t be the last time we tried.

The following summer we were sure we would get there because of a little tip Chris had received about the correct path. So we were off again, more determined than ever. We learned from our mistakes of our last expedition, so we set off fully prepared with more water and more willpower. This time we just knew we would get there. Our excitement grew the further we got till’ we found the correct path. We couldn’t believe it, Chris’s little tip was right! Treading faster and faster though the perilous trail, we were bursting with excitement. That is until we were unexpectedly stopped by a man neither of us knew, who questioned who we were and where did we think we were going. We then innocently explained to him that we were merely heading to the beach of Monodentri. He then made us get in the car and he drove us to my house. When the man explained to my Grandmother and Mother where he found us, they simply said that he “should have just let them go see for themselves.” We were miserable we couldn’t believe how close we had gotten and now we were going to have to start our whole expedition again.

A few years later I made it back to Lipsi and reunited with my good friend. We soon decided that this was the year we were going to make it to Monodentri. At this point we knew what was at this beach, we weren’t the same innocent, curious little boys, but we had come to far and tried to hard to give up now. This was our final excursion and we were set on reaching our destination.  So set on it in fact, that we recruited a few family members for help. We all crammed in a car driven by a man we knew from the island, and he drove us more than half way there. He informed us on how to get to Monodentri from that point. We followed his directions and in no time we were standing there in astonishment, we could see the single tree out in the distance. As we got closer we came to a vertical cliff that was impossible to cross and regrettably for the third time we had no choice but to call it quits.

It’s been many years since we have last tried to reach Monodentri, but we haven’t given up. This tree is the symbol of Lipsi, of our friendship and now of Lipsi Cosmetics. It is strong, tough, and determined to grow even in harshest conditions.”

The island itself, as legend would have it, is said to be the remaining part of the Goddess Calypso’s island from Homers Odyssey. The Goddess’s island was then split and named Lipso (or Lipsi), which means “Not Complete.” Lipsi Cosmetics aims to achieve completion. This cosmetics line is entirely inspired by the pure magnificence of this truly unique island.