JOURNAL

In honor of Earth Day, let's all take a moment to renew our vows to the planet individually and as a species. As living, breathing beings we require energy and create waste, but to minimize our footprint for the sake of the earth is part of our due diligence. The following list consists of my top 10 life hacks for reducing my personal impact on the planet...

Having evolved for far longer a time frame than we can even truly comprehend, plants are the original artists of attraction. With a rather stationary status, the survival of flora required pollinators to come to them: for freely moving creatures to to be so allured by their scent and sight that they would stop to take a sip of nectar and pass along their seed. February's Elixir Collective potions, crafted for the upcoming holiday in celebration of love, incorporate all of my most beloved botanical aphrodisiacs...

The January Elixir Collective subscription was centered around maintaining optimal wellness throughout the winter season. A special first batch of my newly released Breathe Relief Balm, and exclusive batch Breathe Easy Herbal Steam, and a page full of tips to stay healthy in colder months were all a part of the No. 12 box...

Of all of nature’s delectable pleasures, few offer such universal delight as the exotic Cacao bean. The November Elixir Collective subscription box featured an exclusive batch Cacao Oil Mask and a sample of my latest reincarnation of Chocolate Balm. These offerings were sent along with hand-decorated recycled paper card with the following words...

Locked within plant cells and tangled amongst its fiber, nature’s richest resource resides often out of sight: oil. Inspired by this nutrient-dense, luscious liquid that we adorn ourselves with, the September Elixir Collective featured a tinted Hibiscus Kissed Lip Oil & Tropical Locks hydrating hair serum. 

At the heart of the August Elixir Collective is Vetiver ~ one of the most grounding plants on the planet. This month's alchemy subscription box featured a Limited Batch Vetiver Balm with a ring of Hawaiian Vetiver roots at its center, along with a small bundle of these aromatic roots from Vetiver Farms Hawaii. 

To keep cool in the midsummer heat, we often seek places to bathe our bodies or even just our feet: the ocean, lake, river or pond become highly desired destinations of the hottest months. Immersing ourselves in water is one of the most universal human rituals, as it frees us of our weight and leaves us feeling pure. When we take the time to soak — not just to cleanse but to relax in water — we can find a meditative space that is both calming and refreshing.

This month's Collective features my first proper bath salt blend, the Summer Soak. A true fusion of East + West, the Summer Soak combines salt of Hawaii with seasonal botanicals of the Northeast. Hawaiian Sea Salt, solar evaporated from the surrounding pristine waters of the Pacific, is a mineral rich detoxifier that pulls impurities out of the skin and reduces inflammation by improving circulation. Salt is known as Pa‘akai in Hawaiian — pa‘a means hardened and kai refers to the ocean — and salt water plays an integral part in their healing traditions that rely on the ocean’s ability to maintain health and relieve illness. The coarse salt is infused with Roses, Lavender flowers, Elderflowers, Honeysuckle flowers and Spearmint sourced family’s sprawling gardens of Massachusetts. This is where I first fell in love with the flora around me and was inspired to choose the path of an herbalist: while my soul is at home in Hawai‘i, a large piece of my heart remains with the land that nurtured my earliest escapades into the realm of plant based beauty and medicines.

The Summer Soak is intended to give you an excuse to draw a bath, and to take your time in it: let the troubles of the day melt off of you and into the pool. The cooling herbal allies infused within help to keep you grounded when the days are hot: Summer Soak will quiet the mind, lighten the body, and rejuvenate the skin — now, it is time to take a bath!

The July 2018 Elixir Collective Box includes a 2 oz clear glass jar of herbal bath soaking salts, and was wrapped in strands of hemp with a personalized stickey & detailed card printed on 100% recycled banana peel paper. You can read the card here.