Vanessa Sachs, a Master’s student at the University of Georgia never knew cosmetics would be in her future. In fact, only 8 months ago she was applying for 9-to-5 jobs. However, after winning the UGA Entrepreneurship Idea Accelerator, and raising over $10,000, she knew she had something special here that she had to see through. Her concept for a workout-proof makeup line focused on “changing the narrative behind sweat.”

Sachs spent days and nights planning and formulating SWAKE's first product, SWAKE 01: Sweatproof Foundation. Her background in biology and psychology allowed her to create foundation with an anti-perspirant twist. Sachs is currently working with a cosmetics chemist to develop the next products in her sweatproof line that allow men and women to go from the office to the gym, and back. She calls it makeup for the “lifelete,” or “the 9-to-5 achievers who work hard at their job and prioritize their daily workout.”

“With all of my family living in Florida, sweat is an integral part of my day-to-day,” Sachs said. “The term ‘SWAKE’ was a result of a slip of the tongue – I was trying to say I was ‘sweating my makeup off,’ but I said I was ‘swaking.’ That was my lightbulb moment. SWAKE came to me when I realized I just wasn’t confident about how I looked or felt when I was sweating. I wanted to invent something that would encourage all of the positive behind sweating such as growth, pushing boundaries and challenging yourself.”