I think of you in the shower....

I wonder... do you know where your bath products are made?
I was thinking about this when working marketing our handmade line of products using the "eat locally grown food" trend as inspiration ( yes, I wish eating locally was not a trend, but for the moment it is) I imagine, the larger companies have chemists and test labs and things like that... well, not here at ellenoire ... all you get.. is me. In the store I make the recipes for our products at my almost 200 year old marble topped counter. In the store I am head "chef"... making up the recipes from whichever ingredients we have in stock, or are available to us... based on the time of year.
Where do I get my ideas? Well there are the trade shows I visit and publications I read... and all the friends I have in the industry passing ideas back and forth... but at the end of it all... the ideas happen in my bathroom.
Although as you may know if you follow this blog I am quite minimal in the product selection I use in my day, I do test a lot of things for the store. I try them, I like or hate them... and often I try to think of how to make them ourselves, or make them better. I have oils and butters, bowls and bottles, spoons and measuring cups all over my bathroom... I smear and scrub, I lather and wash.... bubble bubble toil and trouble as it were.... but it isn't any trouble you know... I hate taking baths, it makes me hot and my brain sleepy... but the shower... oh the shower I could stand there forever pondering things for my life and my lovely store... and the fun ingredients to make new bath products for you.
So, when you wonder where your bath products are created... you have my permission... to think of me.. in the shower...

eeeeew stinky!

My son just returned from two weeks at summer camp. I got to the laundry right away after reading many horror stories on facebook about other moms waiting a few days to unpack bags only to find damp musty yuckiness lurking in their little ones suitcases and backpacks. WHY? WHY? WHY? is it not part of a camp counsellor's job to make sure wet clothes get hung up?
Little did I know, my son swam every day and "forgot" he had extra towels he used the same one for two weeks!! Luckily it was an Aquis Towel, so it was not totally skanky... buuuuut.... wait for it... the boys went for a trip into the SWAMP... the green, slimy.. but mom I only went in up to my waist... SWAMP!!!!!
Sadly, the question "Son, did you dry your clothes after the swamp activity?" was answered with a BLANK STARE!

Sooo, the mouldy stench of old swamp water and a stiff muddy t-shirt that was stuffed into the outside pocket of the suitcase on perhaps.. the second day went into the laundry. Thank goodness for Sports Suds! This really cool Canadian made laundry detergent is designed to take the funky stink out of sporting gear... it was no big deal for this pile of mouldy nastiness! Biodegradable and hypoallergenic, Sport Suds allows technical clothes to wick moisture and breathe the way they were designed. It's completely unscented with no nasty chemicals.. so your clothes smell like... clothes! In High Efficiency washers you use just the tiniest bit. It's super simple, but it's one of the coolest things we carry!

Are you 90% perfect? We are!

For the last few months I have been using a philosophy in the store to help customers understand why we have chosen to keep some product lines and fragrance oils in the store. There are a lot of articles and news pieces and stores talking about all the harmful chemicals in the personal care industry ... and we are one of them.. I am very excited that the day has finally come that the general public is learning so much and educating themselves about why many of the large companies have given us very few options about what is in our soaps and lotions and makeup and such. This gives us, and many other great small companies the opportunity to show how great products and ingredients can be without all the chemicals.
In this post I am not going to list brands, or many chemicals or what is good or "bad" about them all. Today, what I want you to consider is how perfect you want to be, or can realistically be with products and ingredients in both your food and personal care choices.

So, here is my philosophy and how I got to it.

IF you could afford to choose your food, and your personal care products and their ingredients to be as perfect and healthy as possible would you do it? If you were told that to be healthy you could never eat junk food, or ice cream or use your favourite French soap, or Lilac scented lotion or anything with artificial anything in it... would you do it?

Na, me either.

I am totally willing to work toward a goal of eating the best I can afford/ have time for. I am totally willing to give up some of my less healthy habits in food and skin care if I can use/have them occasionally and not feel guilty about it.

The thing that bugs me, is there are stores out there: health food stores, co-ops, and even some boutiques that lecture you to get rid of all things with chemcials and ONLY use things with no artificial scent, no artificial colour, no parabens, no petroleum, and on and on.

That is GREAT!.. but, honestly I think there is only a small percentage of the population that will, is willing or will even try to be 100% perfect. I think in some cases people are tired of hearing it and use whatever they want anyway and avoid talking about it. They don't want to know or learn about chemicals, they don't want to read labels, they want to just assume they can trust the companies that sell to them to not use cancer causing, dehydrating, fossil fuel crap in their products.

So, the 90% rule came out of all of this thinking, and I have successfully made sure the product line up at the store is 90% perfect. I guarantee it!

If you can aim for 80-90% of everything that you eat, drink or put on your skin and hair to be the best quality natural ingredients YOU can AFFORD then you are far ahead of most people and likely well on your way to being super healthy. Personally, I have almost totally given up processed, packaged food of all sorts, but I have the occasional cocktail and dessert a few times a week. On my body I chose to use mostly paraben free, petroleum free, silicone free, and sulfate free products. My makeup, is my 10% cheating in personal care, I don't wear much, but I like my 18 hour wear lipstick!!! and I am not giving it up anytime soon... just like I am not giving up Ben and Jerry! I mean halloooo! who are we kidding?
100% perfect?! ? Pleeeeease!
I have a "perfect" vegan friend that "occasionally" eats an Indian meal complete with butter and yogurt ingredients.... I don't believe anyone can be 100% perfect.

So, 90% it is then! ?

Give me the chance and I will make sure you have a skin, hair and household cleaning "diet" that gets you well on your way to 90%... Give me a few more minutes of your time and I can help with your food diet too!
... but that, is another blog topic!
I hope a grand summer, and fabulous holiday weekend (in Canada this weekend) is/ will be/ has been yours!

I'll be in one on the patio with a cocktail in her hand and bright pink lipstick with a gorgeous natural fragrance wafting from her pulse points!!

Cheers!
N

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Soapy Soap Soap Soap!

So excited! I get to make Soap tomorrow morning!
We don't have a kitchen at the store, so this will be backyard soap!
I have made lots of bath products over the years, but making cold process soap is a type of creation I have a feeling I will get addicted to, so I am a little afraid of starting. I made some with friends in December and it was an honourable attempt, and I was lucky enough to have help from someone and their tried and true recipe.
My goal, sometime soon... if we in fact get this store through the recession... is to have quite a few soap types made here at the store by me and the staff.

I have about 1000 ideas that no one else seems to be doing, and if I see one more bar of chemical based garbage soap, or one more boooooring handmade bar with the top 5 everyday essential oils I will pass out! Don't get me wrong.. some of my
fave soap makers use those top 5 oils, and I will use some of them too, but my goal is never to be the same as everyone else. Since unique fragrances are my gig there will some interesting experiments on the way if I get the chance.
As you know the store is in some pretty serious financial trouble, so if you want to see the fruits of my labour coming out over the fall and holiday seasons you better get to shopping at ellenoire!... while your at it, boycott your big box stores for a week and shop local! Yes, your budget will change, but I bet some fun will come of it! Think of all the new recipes you will have to create, and the time you will save driving and parking and such. Let me know if you need a hand finding local meat, produce, clothes etc.. I am good at it!

Exfoliation for everyone? Or ..Have you looked at your feet lately?

How often do you exfoliate? Did you know that you are simply wasting your money on creams and lotions if you don’t? Did you know you can banish dry skin if you exfoliate once or twice a week with a moisturizing scrub and use a richer lotion or butter the rest of the week?
I am pretty diligent about it. Not perfect, but I never go longer than a week without doing it. Head to toe.
I love our new demerrara sugar scrub for the head to toe routine.
I know I know… you don’t have time, you forget blah blah blah.
Let me tell you about time. I am a single mom with no Dad involvement. I run the business side of ellënoire full time by myself. I workout at least 3 times a week. If I can find 10 extra minutes to treat my skin once a week…so can you!

Women: I have one shower a week where I do my head to toe spa treatments. I run the water, put the plug in the tub (you’ll understand why in a sec.) and get all the supplies ready. I get in the shower, put a little bath oil or tub fizz in the water to soften my feet, wash my body and hair (with only sulfate free soaps and shampoos of course). I put a deep conditioner in my hair. Then I get out the sugar scrub and massage my face and every square inch of my body and use a foot scrubber or salt scrub on my feet and toes. In the summer I try to get a pedicure once a month, but sometimes I can’t get to it, or can’t afford it.
After this whopping extra 5 minute treatment I rinse my hair and body and get out and towel off. I usually don’t put on any extra lotion at this point because of the oils in my scrub, but you could if you want to … just be careful not to slip on the floor. There is a famous ellënoire product story from a friend who over moisturized herself and slipped … and found herself on the floor naked and laughing hysterically all while her poodles watched in confusion…

Men: Think of exfoliation as part of your regular maintenance, just like mowing the lawn or detailing your car. It does not have to be done all the time, but if you don’t take care of it now the next time you do it will be a pain….
Everywhere you shave, and everywhere that gets touched by someone else can be exfoliated. Sugar scrub is gentle enough to be used EVERYWHERE!
Your hands, face and feet are the most obvious places to start; soon you will love how nice your skin feels you will try the head to toe treatment. Rough, crappy looking uncomfortable feeling skin is NOT sexy…
Trust me, your partner, your wife or girlfriend will LOVE that you did it!!!

Questions?
Let me know!

P.S. Fake and real tans work better with the smoothest skin!

The sale is almost over!!!!

There is a table outside is covered in 50% off items. The Aquis line of towels is 40% off, and almost everything else in the store is 25% off.
Where are you?

DevaCurl is on it's annual sale.. for only another 6 days!
Drop by or call the store ASAP.. 905 627 9379 to see what is in stock to get your summer deals!