His journey as a professional makeup artist began in Oklahoma City, then Dallas, and eventually New York City, where his talents caught the eye of beauty revolutionary Bobbi Brown and was hand-selected to be a member of her exclusive artistic team.

From there, Peña dove head first into a world of beauty elites. His work has been featured in the likes of New York Fashion Week, award show red carpets, global luxury fashion magazines, major music videos, and more. Peña has done makeup looks and grooming for household names such as Beyoncè, Mariah Carey, Bebe Rexha, Ricky Martin, Nick Jonas, Ava Max, Danielle Campbell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Paul Reiser.

In traversing the global beauty space, Peña developed an expertise in creating radiant, natural, flawless beauty looks for his clients and editorials. At the base of these looks, however, is clean, healthy skin, which is the true foundation underneath the makeup artistry that Peña creates.

Because of the important role that skincare played in his work, Peña began prioritizing the use of non-toxic, clean products that would promote healthy skin on his clients—though many of the existing brands did not live up to the standards that Peña had for himself and his makeup kit.

With a desire for truly natural, clean-ingredient skincare at the forefront of his mind, Leland Francis was born. Using the finest ingredients nature has to offer, Leland Francis celebrates individuality and indulgent self-care for a glowing, healthier you.

The name pays homage to his great grandfather, who established the farm where Peña was raised.