INSPIRATION BEHIND THE BRAND~
Although I am a clinically-trained pharmacist, my approach to wellness is holistic - synergy in nature reflected in you. The mentality of living in harmony with the land and using organic ingredients sourced directly from sustainable stewards and local regions when possible is reflective of my indigenous roots in the Kowloon Peninsula. I grew up drinking herbal broth from family-owned stalls in Kowloon (the pride and joy of these families, each claiming their recipe was the best), rubbing white flower oil on my grandmother’s temples, and drinking chrysanthemum flower tea all seasons of the year. I loved bringing these roots into practice, taking the best of both worlds and sharing these intimate traditions passed down to me to my patients. The whole plant ingredients used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) stem from ancient roots, representing thousands of years of a belief system that our bodies are a complex ecosystem, reflective of and deeply entwined with the world around us.
I loved being a pharmacist. I’d often stay at least an hour after closing, just to make sure all my patients were taken care of and that we had enough time to talk about what was troubling them, health-related or not. Healthcare is deeply personal and comprehensive, it requires not just all of you, but also truly compassionate, empathetic nurturing souls who have a rooted desire to help. So much of that personal connection woven into the beauty of craftsmanship and service is unfortunately lost on current business models. There’s something so beautiful about gifting someone something you made especially for them and seeing their face light up. Not processed, mixed or stamped by a machine, but rather from an artist’s loving hands, touch and time. All the innovation and automation we’ve achieved can’t compete with true craftsmanship and the warm embrace of storytelling, and I am not surprised we keep trying to find ways to come back to that.

PIVOT~
Since transitioning into the world of biotech, I found myself longing to connect, nurture and create. I went to pharmacy school in New York, the only state in the US that requires pharmacists to take an extra exam in compounding to get licensed. We spent a lot of time in the lab, making creams, emulsions, tinctures and ointments in addition to mixing IV’s. The main purpose is to optimize drug delivery. I used the same mentality to formulate our intensely nourishing creations, concentrating on natural performance-driven serum actives that will transform your skin’s health. Our formulations are simple yet powerful, we don’t use synthetic surfactants, binders, solvents, suspending agents, or even petroleum products, coconut oil, glycerin, squalene, preservatives or fillers of any kind. Everything is prepared by hand, we don’t use heavy machinery with rapid processing times, traditional techniques are practiced and honored. I like to think our offerings are quite similar to what you would get at an old world apothecary - herbal remedies rooted in ancestral wisdom crafted for healing.
A central focus during my graduate studies was chrononutrition, the study of biological rhythms and how the timing of food intake can affect our metabolic health and prevent disease. Since our skin is a dynamic, living organ, I formulated our hero product, the concentrated sleeping cream, on this concept that the timing and type of ingredients we feed our skin matters. The concentrated sleeping cream is intended for use overnight, centered around the impact of our skin’s natural circadian rhythm, energy balance and health. It's pretty common knowledge that you need to get enough sleep so that your skin can repair itself overnight, but it goes deeper than that, there is an actual science to the timing of our skin's nutrition intake to maximize their results. Our skin produces collagen as we sleep, loses more moisture and repairs itself - that means we need ingredients that stimulate collagen production, intensely hydrate and are vitamin-rich to enhance the skin turnover process. Every single ingredient was carefully selected to work double time for this reason - Baobab increases collagen and has an amazing moisturizing profile (so good for those pesky fine lines and thin skin), Amla is an antioxidant powerhouse extremely high in vitamin C and also enhances the production of collagen, and Cranberry Seed Oil boosts collagen production on top of improving our skin's elasticity and minimizing age spots. It’s time for a smarter, higher standard of beauty that works hard to restore your natural radiance so you can spend more time on you.

CREATIVE PROCESS~
I work with my partner, Tim, on branding and all things design. He is extremely talented and very much hands on in the entire process from start to finish. He also built our organic home garden from the ground up. Our partnership and synergy is a delicate balance of our individual strengths. The heritage soft blue found on our core packaging is sampled from our mischievous Siberian Husky, Charlie’s exquisitely soulful eyes. The anemones on our packaging is a subtle nod to our California roots, as the state flower is the California Poppy. Tim also works with the oldest print shop in Los Angeles who uses all original equipment passed on through generations. Every process here is slow and intentional, the processing times are significantly slower which means each run is a micro-batch and the energy consumed leaves a much smaller carbon footprint. Doug’s North Hollywood printing studio is within 40 miles of our own studio, helping us to also diminish our carbon footprint. We proudly support local craftsmanship and family owned businesses, Southern California is richly saturated with creative, dynamic makers and growers.

CALIFORNIA MADE~
We formulate, mix and package every single product by hand in California. We attempted to outsource the manufacturing process, and the magic that makes our little jars of concentrated sleeping cream so special - the carefully tempered texture of plant fats, sweet floral, citrus ambrosial aromatics attributed to specific cultivators was lost. So we reverted back to doing nearly everything in-house, from production to the final packaging - there’s no shortcuts here. It’s a true labor of love, but we think the end result is so worth it. Our formulas are unparalleled in performance and quality because of the copious amount of superior quality, nutrient-dense ingredients. There's no hiding behind any fillers, water, synthetic bases or fragrances. The end result is a wholly transformative experience for your well-being ritual and the land.

BRAND ETHOS & SUSTAINABILITY ~
There is no waste in nature. Each process is cyclic, consuming only what’s needed, decomposing and giving back to replenish what was taken. I truly believe in the nutritious, healing plants found in our soil to heal our bodies and our souls, reflective of ancestral diets and medicine. The land will heal you if you let it. Our goal is to always source the highest quality whole plant offering, never the synthetic derivative. We obsessively source all ingredients directly from small, organic stewards, honoring the ancient wisdom of herbal medicine and ensuring the most potent phytonutrient profile. Every ingredient is imbued with a deep story, we meticulously seek cultivators who have a connection to and deep love for their land - we find their harvest to be of superior quality. The blue tansy in our concentrated sleeping cream has a chamazulene content well over 10%, the standard profile in the market is typically 3-8%. It’s handpicked by women who harvest them on the wild hilltops of Morocco, then undergoes a no-pressure steam distillation process in small batches. The end result is a wild-harvested biochemically superior plant oil that is incredibly reparative for your skin's health.

THE PRODUCT~
Can the way something smells change the way you feel about the space you’re in? As an indigenous rooted woman, I was taught that healing begins on the multi layered mind-body-spirit systems. Our creations are formulated to provide a moment of release and sweet joy upon each application. A moment for you, a radical celebration of your unique beauty. We don’t use any synthetic fragrances ever, instead we blend a proprietary combination of complementary, densely nutritious botanicals and herbs that intuitively evoke calm and bespoke pleasure. Local Butte County Lavender in our concentrated sleeping cream gently eases and clears heat. Balanced by spicy, warming Ylang Ylang and discernibly unctuous, calming Blue Tansy, each little jar of concentrated sleeping cream is a floral euphoria, an invitation into our world of wild alchemy and sensuous delight.

BEAUTY SECRETS & RITUALS~ Secrets from your grandmother
It’s funny, my grandmother had the most beautiful skin yet the most simple routine I’ve seen to maintain it. She would wash her face with water day and night, and occasionally slather some kind of camphorous TCM ointment or oil on her face, neck and décolletage. She would always carry a little clear vial of white flower oil in her purse and keep it religiously stocked in multiple cabinets in her home, she absolutely could not be without it. She would rub it into her temples, cup, inhale deeply multiple times a day and always sigh the most satisfying breath of relief as if all her ailments were washed away with this one magical vial. White flower oil or Pak Fah Yeow is a common TCM household medicated oil, but it’s actually made from lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint unlike its name suggests. She had a drawer full of uniquely shaped wooden and stone scraping devices, my sister and I would join forces to gently scrape her neck and back - this was so much fun for us as little girls.

LOCAL GUIDE~ LA
I love the cold-pressed juices from Rainbow Acres, they have a great selection of adaptogen add-ins: Reishi, Goji Berries, Rhodiola and He Shou Wu to name a few. No frills, not fussy, just an all-around fabulous health food store with an excellent deli and juice bar. I’m also obsessed with the organic oriental beauty oolong tea from Jin Tea shop in Pasadena. Kirstie from Solstice Skin Studio in Malibu offers the most amazing facial sculpting sessions, her hands and grip are like magic.

SHOUT OUT~ Brand founders you admire
I really admire Sangre De Fruta, Muri Lelu, and Monastery. All founded by powerful women committed to using high quality, luxury botanicals. I’ve followed all three for quite a while and find myself drawn to their individual impeccable ingredient sourcing, beautiful packaging and lyrical storytelling. I’ve watched them grow and forge their own paths over the years as mothers, visionaries and leaders in their respective communities and feel very fortunate to have these strong female founders to look up to.

INSPIRED BY~
Instead of focusing on topical beauty treatments, my grandmother’s recipe for beauty and feeling truly alive from the inside out stemmed from ancient recipes, traditions and the continuous conquest for balance. She loved to come over and make us my favorite seawood soup, medicinal reishi mushroom and cordyceps broth, and lots of chrysanthemum tea mainly because I liked to take the flowers out and play with them. She had a deep connection with what she put into her body and what she kept in her home. She had a heavy, infectious laughter, she believed in having a light soul unburdened by worry or stress, even when the world around her was far from perfect. My goal is to share beauty in a new light, trusting in all the women that came before me and using the new tools I’ve spent honing over the last decade, to achieve a state of unbothered harmonious bliss from within.

CURRENTLY DAYDREAMING~
I always think back to what feels familiar and natural - laughter, a light heart, ancient recipes that were passed down to me from all the women who came before me and loved the land first, that I’ve since passed down to my patients in an embrace to connect on a deeper level. I would love to translate this into a physical communal setting in the future. For now it’s sharing skinfood, flower tea and simple, local seasonal fare evoking sensory joy to nurture souls and relationships in my organic garden. Maybe in the future it looks something like a superfood cafe/apothecary/health food store hybrid. A place to feel like you again, rebalance, connect and return to what feels good and natural.