Precious Skin Elixirs

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” - Howard Zinn, 📖 “You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train”

Sterling Honey Polish ✨ Have you fallen in love yet with this sweet honey/earthen clay mask?

🍯 Humans’ use of honey goes as far back as 8000 years, as depicted by Stone Age paintings. Honey, in it’s raw form, is an incredible healer and when mixed with the clays, botanicals, and colloidal silver in Sterling Honey Polish, the result is an incredibly nourishing facial treatment that brings out your skin’s natural glow.

🍯 There are many beautiful honey and clay based facial masks to choose from these days. As an herbalist and lover of all things born in nature I’m heartened by all these natural options that encourage healthful, earth-connected care of our precious skin.

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"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
— Marcel Proust
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Hydrosols… the best way to hydrate skin! Yes, plain water is fine, but why not give your skin calming, toning, nourishing hydration that also contains the water soluble aspects of skin-loving flowers and herbs?

Experience the most effective moisture quench with a boost of botanical goodness. Hydrate first, then seal in with nourishing oils last. 💜✨

This mask never disappoints. It’s as comforting for the heart as it is soothing and nourishing for skin. Sometimes the honeyed hug of Sterling Honey Polish and all its sublime aromatics are just the reminder that sweetness is here in the present. 💜✨

Oil cleansing has dramatically improved my skin. I got rid of a Mirena IUD 8 years ago and my skin freaked out! Cystic acne, weird flaky patches, and waking up to another breakout had me getting depressed. I longed for clear, smooth, and healthy skin.

💚 I started experimenting with oil cleansing formulas to help my skin stay as peaceful and clear as possible while I rode out all the hormonal fluctuations. And you know what? I discovered a profound re-set in cleansing with oils. My skin was the healthiest it had been in a while. Yes, my hormones were still wacky, but my skin was finally getting the proper cleansing that supported TRUE skin health.

💚 I fell in love with oil cleansing and I wanted to make something that provided deep cleansing power AND nourishment. And so, Peridot Cleansing Balm was born. Made from h**p seed oil, jojoba, kalahari seed oil, and tamanu oil combined with silky kokum butter, Peridot provides skin with an ideal foundation for natural skin care that prioritizes BALANCE. Respecting skin’s natural balance is the key to addressing acne, dryness, and all sort of irritations.

💚 The massage skin gets while cleansing moves a lot of stagnation through the lymph, fascia, and muscles… not to mention how your tender touch upon your skin sends waves of seratonin through your body. All this creates the proper conditions for your skin to be at its healthiest and most vibrant.

When I run after what I think I want

My days are a furnace of distress and anxiety

If I sit in my own place of patience

What I need flows to me, and without any pain

From this, I understand that what I want also wants me

And is looking for me and attracting me

There’s a great secret in this for all who can grasp it.

—Rumi

Nothing like berry stained fingertips and a handful of wild blackberries on an August afternoon. 💜 These are going into a peach blackberry buckle later today. What’s growing wild near you?

Oh that beautiful moonrise last night. 🌝

There’s something very poetic about the fleeting nature of scents. Natural scents, that is. Synthetic scents in perfumes, candles, etc have staying power. Why do we want scent to linger? I think it’s even better when a scent in nature breathes its spirit outward into the world where we can detect it and then vanishes. Perhaps we value things more that can’t be clung to.

Though making natural perfume is all about encapsulating nature’s evanescent fragrances, there’s a subtlety that can’t fully be contained, only hinted at. And if I do my job right this echo translates in the final formula.

The ephemeral scent of lilac is something I’ve been trying to capture for years and I think this is the year. It’s echo, dancing in organic jojoba is as close to true lilac as I’ve ever gotten before. I can’t wait to share a new perfume with you. Until then I hope you revel in the beautiful mystery of each flower’s gift 💜💫🌸

I was given this beautiful block of cacao and shown how to make true Peruvian hot chocolate 💜 My new favorite! This came from if you’re interested in amazing, pure cacao.

“In our life there is a single color, as on an artist’s palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love.” - Marc Chagall 💜💫