Scott Vincent Borba helped build e.l.f. Cosmetics into a major beauty brand, but he says professional success did not bring the sense of purpose he was searching for. In time, that search led him back to his Catholic faith — and ultimately to the priesthood.
Long before entering seminary and putting on a clerical collar, Borba was immersed in a very different world, one defined by red carpets, business success and recognition for his entrepreneurial talents.
Even at the height of that success, he said he was troubled by deeper questions about the direction of his life.
“Was I created just to work and to party and to repeat and then die?” Borba recalled asking himself.
Borba grew up in a deeply Catholic family in Visalia, California, and said he first sensed a call to the priesthood when he was just 10 years old.
“I knew God was telling me … he wanted me to be his priest. But I immediately challenged it back and said, ‘I am not that guy,’” Borba said. “I ran away from him for quite a long time.”
One day, he was watching women load up on discounted cosmetics at a 99 Cent store when the idea for e.l.f. Cosmetics struck him: “Sephora-based quality products for a dollar.”
“It’s so humbling to understand that something that started out with such a simple concept could be so uniquely successful,” he said.
Borba turned e.l.f. (short for Eyes, Lips, Face) Cosmetics into a “lucrative business” worth many millions – but he said it still wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
“I always wanted more. It was never satisfying enough,” Borba said. “I couldn’t make enough money. I couldn’t be on enough red carpets. I couldn’t be exposed enough on TV or in magazines. It was insatiable.”
Then heartbreak arrived: Borba’s father, Anthony Borba Sr., was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Borba headed home to care for his ailing dad.
“I never saw my father scared before. He said, ‘I need to close out my life before I go. Will you help me with that?’ I said, ‘Dad. We’re going to do this together and I’m going to find you the best doctors ever.’”
In 2010, Anthony Borba Sr. died.
Borba said his life began to unravel with the loss that “broke me apart emotionally.”
He began partying more as a way to escape.
It was during one of those parties at his house in Hollywood Hills that Borba experienced his “mystical” come-to-Jesus moment.
“I remember looking around. I was so unhappy … I looked up to heaven. I remember I asked God to help me be the man he created me to be, but I couldn’t do it without his help. It changed my life,” he said. “I kicked everyone out of the house. I packed my bag and I went down to a hotel. I fell to my knees right before I walked into the door, I started crying and I said, ‘This is not the man God created me to be. This is not the man my mother and father raised.’ And that’s when this beautiful golden portal opened up and our Lord was walking in and I just knew intuitively that it was him.”
At that moment, he knew he would become a priest. Borba said he gave away his wealth, funding churches and charities. Then he entered seminary.
“I want to be there for people that are suffering because I understand suffering,” Borba said.
Borba’s family fractured after his father’s death, driven apart by decisions made by Borba in those final days — but they gathered for the first time since his death at Borba’s ordination.
“I felt so proud,” his mother, Evelyn, said.
Borba’s first public Mass took place a few weeks later.
“If you’re searching out for love and peace in your life and families and businesses out in the world, come to him. Go in peace and bring glory to your lives,” Borba shared.
