My great-grandmother rarely wore makeup. She did not dye her hair when it turned gray. She did not pierce her ears. I don’t think I ever saw her fuss about her looks or what she was wearing. My father tells me he fell in love with her before he fell in love with my mother. I think about this a lot, and I know what he means. She exuded an inner essence that was grounded, earthy, intelligent, vibrant, and above all, pure love. I thought about her a lot when I made these products (she’s on the inside flap!). I know her life story was not easy. She lost two little brothers when she was a child herself, and her husband, the love of her life, died when she was just fifty-two.
She rose above all challenges with a deep and abiding faith in the power of love and community to heal. Her bathroom had potions. Bay rum. Rubs. Balms. We lived in that bathroom. Not because we could steal creams or lipgloss or the latest foundation, but because it felt good in there. The scents still linger in some part of my brain. They never go away. The bathroom felt like an old European pharmacy. Authentic. Rooted. Almost necessary. Nina’s essence filled the air, and her inner strength was that essence. That was her beauty. That was her wellness.
These products are a tribute to her and to the idea that beauty is how you feel. That a scent can transport you to a place of comfort. I called it wellness instead of beauty because you can’t be beautiful if you’re not well.
I want to use this platform as a way to honor women whose beauty resides within. They are beautiful because of what they’ve endured. Their beauty is their inner strength, a strength that is not just power, but vulnerability and tenderness. Their beauty is a smile despite the pain they’ve had to endure. Their ability to give of themselves when they feel like they no longer can. Women who often do not have the time to care for ourselves because we are caring for others.
All mothers often feel like we have no time, but I think it is exponential for those who spend weeks and months in a hospital setting or a special education classroom, or a doctor’s office. The mothers of the “orchid children” as a dear friend likes to say. Those who came to show us a different path. I want to honor those who have crossed my path and tell their stories, and hear, in their own words, what beauty and wellness has meant to them. What makes them feel good? How have they learned to survive? What does it take to be well?
I created these products to help nourish and nurture through feel and through scent. To help us all feel good. By sharing stories of women I consider extraordinary, I hope to expand the notion of what beauty and wellness means and I hope we can continue to follow the threads that unite us all, and build a community of mutual care around our individual experiences.