I have a soft spot in my heart for entrepreneurs. People who have the creativity, desire, and guts to create something out of nothing. People who have the discipline to be their own boss.
Opening your own business (particularly a brick and mortar with overhead, employees, and inventory) has to be one of the most terrifying, exhilarating things a person can do. To take a passion and create a business is, in my opinion, one of the most awesome things a person can do.
(Shameless plug alert: I'm so super proud of my entrepreneur friends Lisa and Wendy, who own two of the cutest nail salon and boutiques in Austin, Embellish...the only place I ever get my nails done. If you're in Austin and haven't gone to Embellish yet, go make an appointment. Today!)
A few weeks ago my friend Kara invited me to her house to hear a presentation by her friend Keri, who started her own business creating hand-crafted, organic skin care products. A cosmetologist by trade, Keri's business began when she became disillusioned with the skin exfoliants and moisturizers in the market that contained petroleum and artificial abrasives. As an alternative, Keri started creating natural sugar scrubs for her clients. Eventually the scrubs became so popular that
Savvy Boheme was born.
Clean eating is all about giving your body nutrient-rich food it recognizes and can properly process. I think many of the problems we face today with food is that the chemicals and additives are foreign to our bodies and we cannot process them. Eating chemical-laden food results in inflammation, digestive issues, obesity, and who knows what else.
Keri explained that our skin works the same way. When we pelt it with harsh chemicals and strip it of its natural oils, skin can't function properly. She said that your "face is structured like a brick wall, composed of brick (layers of dead skin) and mortar (oxidized oil). The bricks and mortar need to turn over regularly to promote a beautiful complexion."
To remove the bricks and mortar, you need oil, an exfoliant, and a moisture barrier -- just like what's included in the Savvy Boheme Facial Trivium:
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| Those squares are what's called African Black Soap, then the black container is the raw coffee sugar scrub, and the Raven's Balm moisturizer. |
I've admitted previously that I know nothing about skin, and up until this point my facial regimen has consisted of cutting Olay Daily facials into quarters, scrubbing the makeup off, and slapping on a little moisturizer. Couple my amateur facial regimen with a wicked "picking" habit and for the past few months I've looked like a teenager in the midst of a acne breakout. Not to mention my skin tone was just kind of...dingy.
I came home from Kara's Savvy Boheme house party and broke into my Facial Trivium set. You're supposed to use the African Black Soap in combination with the sugar scrub, and then you dot some of the Raven's Balm moisturizer on afterward.
Y'all, this regimen has totally spruced up my face! First of all, I love that coffee sugar scrub so much. It smells delicious (when I remarked at the party that it smelled so good I could eat it, Keri told me that technically you could because it's food grade), and the pleasant little scrubbing it gives my face feels fantastic. That moisturizer smells great, too, and it's a weird combination of thick but light on your skin. Hard to describe!
For quite awhile now I've been getting the dreaded "volcano zits," you know the ones that you want to squeeze so bad even though you know you shouldn't, and then you do and nothing comes out and then you just end up with a 10-day struggle with a nasty looking zit on your face? Well I haven't had any of those in three weeks. If I do have the start of a zit, it's not big and when I squeeze it (I KNOW I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO SQUEEZE IT!) it comes out easily.
I know it sounds crazy but I
look forward to cleaning my face. It's fun! And isn't it nice when the things in life that you just
have to do end up being fun?
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| Volcanoes belong in Hawaii, not on your face! |
And since you know I'm super cost-conscious, you'll be happy to know that the Facial Trivium gift set (pictured above, minus one square of soap) was just $20. Super affordable! I think that this set will last me well over three months or more. I've got my
Shakeology for my insides and my Savvy Boheme for my outsides. Clean eating all around!
Keri is so knowledgeable about skin and I completely related to her passion for all things natural. Her business is going really well, and it's easy to see why: she is an awesome lady, a great business person, and her products are fantastic. I want to see her business thrive and grow, and I know that she will continue to have great success.
If you're local, Keri is coming to my house on Dec. 13 so I can help her spread the word even more about her awesome products. Let me know if you want to join us! Check out her
website to read more about her company and products and
order your own coffee sugar scrub or Facial Trivium set. (Or any of her other stuff! I can't wait to try more!)
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Workout of the Day
P90X2: Plyocide
My lower back is cooperating and I'm back to the grind, workout-wise. Feeling really good! Zach's marathon is 6 days away so he will be taking it easy this week. I'm looking forward to Les Mills Combat, which is scheduled to ship this week. In the meantime I'm mixing up some Les Mills Pump, P90X2, Asylum, and any other workout that floats my boat.
