Creating a natural skin care product line is very fun. I get to use my years of knowledge, my imagination, and my skincare “spidey sense.” I also do a lot of collaboration with skin care professionals on creating products they are looking for, which is an extra bonus that comes with the job! My creative process might be considered a little “woo woo” or unconventional in the clinical world of skin care, but this is how it has worked for me for the last 25 years.

First, I get insights into new products to create and let the ideas stew for a few months. Many times, I will have a few base ingredients I want to work with, something that inspires me, and that will become my starting point. When I created the Rosehip Refining Scrub, I knew I wanted a scrub for my rose line that was pore refining, so I started with fine powdered rosehips.

Then, over time, the other ingredients start coming to me in my dreams. It might be a flower, maybe a feeling or even an energy. I take that information and research those ingredients to see if they will fit with the formula - most of the time my dreams are spot on! When I have trouble with a formula, I leave it alone for a while, and come back to it when the inspiration comes to me again. From start to finish, from the initial idea and the actual packaged product, a new idea may take up to 9 month to be birthed. Understanding my natural rhythm is also important, I know that most things I create will take 9 months - I carry a lot of mother energy and the natural rhythm for the mother is 9 months. I have tried to push my timeline and when I do, it can really be a disaster. Learning and following a natural rhythm in things you do can be beneficial to you in your own creative process, and in the final product!

Once I start creating a new formula, not only do I review the physical properties of each ingredient, but also the energetic information as well. Each ingredient then must work in harmony with everything else in the product, and the result is a synergistic blended formula. The synergy in both the physical healing properties and the energetics are equally as important - my products aren’t done until the energy is just right.

Have you ever looked at products that are in the stores and discovered that they are all white? I like to use ingredients that are as close to their natural state. This means my oils have not been deodorized or had the color removed, like most other skincare products you come across. You will see the bright orange of the Sea Buckthorn oil in the Radiant Beauty Elixir and the wonderfully scented, beautiful green Tamanu Oil in the Restore Serum. Utilizing all of the senses in a formula can make it a much richer and complete product.

If I don’t feel “right,”(ie our energy is off) we will not make product that day. Because our products rely so heavily on energetic properties, we believe that we must be in the right head space to create them. Have you read the ingredient list on the labels and wondered what Vibrational Essences and Full moon de-ionized water are? These are the things that give the products a full spectrum vital life force energy, and without them, these products wouldn’t be Gifts From the Earth.

Now you know how I incorporate equal parts “woo woo,” science, and energy work into my product creation process. As always, if you have questions, please let me know!