Save the Date! November 2014 Body Mind Spirit Expo *PDX*

I will be one of the opening lecturers for the Body Mind Spirit Expo November 1-2, 2014!

I'd love to see you!  Make sure you stop by the Okamura Farmacopia booth #201 for hands-on chakra balancing demos, FREE make up touch ups, and lotions/potions galore to spray, sample and mindfully spa it out.  : )

Come see my lecture Saturday November 2 @ 11 am:
http://www.bmse.net/bmseweb/event/lecture_schedule.php?eid=200

Love a deal?  Here's a coupon for entry!  Woo-hoo!

Use What You Have

I don't throw anything away. Craft-wise, that is.

This whole crafting journey began with candles. My husband loves burning candles and even though we recycle, I always felt bad about the glass jars left over.

Fortunately I love anything wax, so as a cost-cutting strategy, I learned to make cotton-wicked soy candles scented with essential oils. Which led to massage candles, which led to lip balm, which brought on the whole doggone Farmacopia.

Back in my Actors Theatre of Louisville days I met a wonderful man named Fred Rochlin who was performing a one man show called "Old Man in a Baseball Hat". I think you can get the ebook on amazon, it's an amazing story of his experiences in WWII.

Anyhow, he gave me a nice compliment and said I was pretty. I thanked him but told him that I didn't have anything to do with being pretty, it wasn't a virtue because I didn't learn it or earn it. He laughed and gave me some of the best advise I've ever heard, "Use what you have."

Fast forward 15 years (mama mia). Guess where the labels I'm using on the prototypes of Okamura Farmacopia's best selling Bawdy Balm came from? Candles, baby. The economy crashed, the salon hit a speed bump and I didn't use those labels for 4 years. But I saved them.

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to have new labels printed in bulk all shiny and pretty and new-like, but I'll channel Fred first and use what I have.

Fred is no longer with us, blessed be fine sir. Blessed be, and thanks.

Introducing Okamura Farmacopia

What they are: Paraben free, vegan lotions, skin safe room fresheners, aromatherapy facial toners, + magic soak salts.

I use a combination of essential oils and skin safe fragrance oils, with several 100% essential oil blends.

Since all of these products are made in Oregon, when it came to naming them, I wanted to promote the places I love in the area.

100% ESSENTIAL OIL BLENDS

HWY 101 - Patchouli, cedarwood, rosewood & ylang ylang Forest Park - Cedarwood, juniper & frankincense Shanghai - 100% ORGANIC black pepper, ginger, clove, grapefruit, peppermint & German chamomile Saturday Market - Litsea, bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, lime, ginger, rosewood, lemongrass, citronella, patchouli, ylang ylang, cinnamon & neroli Last Thursday - Lavender, grapefruit, cedarwood, cistus, ginger & tea tree

ESSENTIAL + SKIN SAFE FRAGRANCE OIL BLENDS
House (LOTION only) - Limited edition small batch fragrance, currently our House Lotion is inspired by Urbaca stylist Daria, 100% organic French Lavender and black amber Tabor - Born on Mt. Tabor, 100% organic patchouli & sweet orange essential oils with oriental floral amber. Pittock - Cedar, patchouli, rosewood and ylang ylang with lilac Japanese Garden - Mandarin essential oil with cucumber and jasmine Country Fair - Fennel & grapefruit essential oils with blackberry sage, amber, cedar & sandalwood. Pearl - Soft floral with pomegranate

SKIN SAFE FRAGRANCE OIL
Portland - Raw sugar with a touch of lemon Laurelhurst - Woody Italian bergamot, cardamom, vanilla bourbon

The "Non-Facial" Facial! Getting creative in the facial room...

I had a new guest yesterday who received an Xmas facial gift certificate from hands down, one of my very best clients.

The first thing she said to me was, "I don't mind being massaged, but I hate having stuff put on my face!" You can bet that got the little gerbil in my head running! Hmm. What to do, what to do?

Communication was key, I asked her a lot of questions, "Is it ok if I..." and she said no to a lot!

Also, I think it helped to be really open minded. I told her, it's not about me, this is your facial, let's do what you want. Instead of being frustrated that my status quo was being altered, I was super excited to do something different and I told her as much. She seemed to appreciate my enthusiastic willingness to work with her and it made her a tiny bit more comfortable and open to trying what I suggested.

This was her facial: One wash, application of SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 gel, massage shoulders, neck, face and head (without massage lotion on her face), mask, massage hands and arms, and a chakra clearing and balancing (a la Barbara Ann Brennan). Followed with moisturizer and eye cream. Fortunately, it was evening so I could send her out without sunscreen in good faith.

No second cleanse, no exfoliation (there were AHAs in the mask that did it for me, hee hee!), no extractions, as few as possible products on her face. Basically, she didn't want anything that makes a facial a facial! Such an interesting challenge!

And you know what? She LOVED it and said she'd be back for more and tell everyone she knows.

I thanked her profusely for giving me the opportunity to create something new, I might just add this to my menu.

What are the pillars of your skincare philosophy?

1. Garbage in, garbage out: eat right, get enough sleep, no smoking, do what you can to mitigate stress. DRINK YOUR WATER.
2. If you wear make up, wash your face before going to bed.
3. Exfoliate consistently and properly--no St. Ives apricot scrub!
4. Sunscreen, including topical antioxidants for UVA protection
5. Do what makes your skin happy, not what the marketers tell you.

What is the most results-oriented skin care product on your shelf?

1. Phloretin CF
2. C+E Ferulic
3. Hydrating B5 Mask
4. Epidermal Repair
5. Retexturing Activator

Question: Sherry, what are the active ingredients in these? Why do clients love them?

Sherry: Phloretin CF contains 2% Phloretin--a skin lightner from apple tree leaves, 10% Vitamin C in L-ascorbic acid form for maximum absorption, .5% Ferulic acid, from wheat, I believe--SkinCeutical's "secret weapon" antioxidant. Phloretin CF is the best lightening antioxidant we retail--and at $152 a bottle, it flies out the door, even throughout this economy.

C+E Ferulic has been SkinCeuticals' flag ship product, voted 3 years in a row Best Antioxidant in Allure's Best of Beauty Master List http://www.allure.com/beauty/bestof/skin. It has 15% Vitamin C, 2% Vitamin E, and .5% Ferulic Acid. C+E Ferulic protects you from sun and environmental damage and helps to repair the damage you have. The second most expensive product and another hands-down best seller.

Epidermal Repair has a 0.5% concentration of water-soluble beta glucan, known as "biological response modifiers" because of their ability to activate the immune system. Titrated extract of centella asiatica, or Gotu kola as it's known in Sri Lanka, is antibacterial, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory. Sodium palmitoyl proline is an amino acid extracted from the process of wheat protein, a skin nutrient/regenerator.

What do those things do? Soothe the heck out of compromised skin--I put it on after all my peels and most of my facials. Good for almost every skin type. Excellent for these Portland winters. I often recommend this for my guests going through chemotherapy and/or radiation, along with Hydrating B5 Mask.

Retexturing Activator-- 25% concentration of Hydroxyethyl Urea/Aminosulfonic Acid Compound--synthetic urea, exfoliant. Kombuchka and Hyaluronic Acid. A newer exfoliating moisturizer, really results-oriented--guests love it! 

Freaky-deaky field trip today--Body Mind Spirit Convention!

Presentations I want to see: Roberta MacKrill, Portland's own Wisewoman and healer presenting "Plant Spirit Shamanism", Sharon Appelbaum presenting "Past Life Insights", "Be the Healer You Are" with Bryan Ressler.

I can't wait to incorporate what I learn into Urbaca's skincare services!

BRING IT! WHEE!!

www.bmse.net