Back from the Dead: On Getting Older

It’s weird to be writing again. Well, writing here again. It’s kind of like saying hello to an old friend and things feel awkward because you don’t know how it’s gonna go, but once you figure things out, it’s like you were never apart at all. So a lot has happened since I posted last and I won’t go too deep into it because I’m not trying to turn this post into a novel, but I will give the short version: I was single for a while after my break up and was very depressed, I adopted a dog and started dating again, met a few duds and finally found a guy that I’m still with, bought a house and recently got a new car. Amidst that entire saga, I have been working on the blog in small ways but not as actively or tangibly as I would’ve liked. Because of this, the next few blog posts will be dedicated to catching everyone up on what I’ve been doing over the past year and a half (?).

So I’ll be 27 in a week or so. And, I gotta say, being 26 wasn’t really all that fun so you can imagine that I’m not exactly looking forward to being 27. I know, I’m young what’s so bad about being 26? Well, I had to start paying for my own insurance, which certainly sounds like a first world problem, but I did just buy a house so taking on an extra expense was very nerve wracking. The most alarming thing for me, however, was how drastically my body has changed, and seemingly overnight.

So I’m not complaining about my body, I love it and I think I look great. When I look in the mirror, my body doesn’t seem all that different from when I was graduating from college, but the scale at the doctor’s office says that I am 30 pounds heavier than my last visit about 6 months ago. And while I did go through a bit of a tailspin and was pondering my food choices of late (do I have to give up beer? wine? cocktails?!), I eventually found an article online, that helped me to make sense of things. And on Cosmo of all places!

So my skin isn’t sloughing off my face because I have a monster inside me, my hormones are just waging war on my previous efforts to make sure this “black don’t crack”. So it was time to change tactic and after spending an embarrassing amount of money at Sephora, I decided to get back to my roots and searched for local makers and apothecaries to aid in my skincare needs and here are some favorites that I have found:

Indigo Wild

Many people have heard of Zum bar, but maybe you don’t know that the company that makes everything “Zum” is actually called Indigo Wild. I visited the Zum factory a few weeks ago because I was looking for a quality, natural soap that wasn’t going to break the bank. I remembered seeing the soaps in the health food section at my local grocery stores but it wasn’t until I dug deeper that I learned that Zum bars are made here in KC.

The Zum bar is made with goat’s milk, which lowers the soap’s pH in order to maintain the natural pH mantel of your skin and contains alpha-hydroxy acids to help rejuvenate the skin. The end result is a creamy, foamy soap that makes my skin feel super moisturized before I ever put on lotion. The bars of soap are about $6 for 3 oz worth of product, which isn’t terrible considering that the product is make locally and all natural. I highly recommend buying from the Factory store though because they have a bin of all of their soap ends on sale by the ounce. Not to mention, you can see everything Indigo Wild has to offer, that you may not see at their designated retailers. A word of caution, this soap is super soft so be careful about getting it too wet while you’re in the shower or you may wind up using the bar in one day.

3125 Wyandotte St, Kansas City, MO 64111

For Strange Women

I have never blogged about For Strange Women before, but I they have been in my beauty wheel house on and off again for the last 5 or so years. There’s no real reason why I stopped using their products, it’s just a little hard for me to get down to their studio to stock up on what I like, since their hours don’t often mesh with my schedule (okay, so maybe there is a reason).

For Strange Women is an apothecary, in the truest sense, seriously, check out their studio, it’s a work of art. They are a woman owned business that uses scents derived from plants to make androgynous and custom perfume. I’ve never bought their perfume as it can get pretty pricey, (then again, so can your synthetic designer perfume you’re probably wearing right now) it has been on my “local bucket list” to commission them to make a custom perfume for me. However! They also make AMAZING, RICH, CREAMY lip balm in biodegradable applicators. Their lip balm is my go-to for winter because it’s a pretty thick formula (so be careful about over applying unless you want that weird white ring on the inside of your lips) that leaves my lips feeling soft, supple and not peeling, which is a huge plus for me since I’m a total lip picker.

A couple pro-tips: As with the Zum bar, this is a natural product, so be careful about getting it too warm, it will melt. Also, be mindful of leaving this out around pets. Since the tubes are a biodegradable paper, it’s real easy for your dog to eat it. It’s happened to me…so I know.

115 W 18th St Suite 102, Kansas City, MO 64108

Wild Wash Soap Co.

Ahh Wild Wash, an old favorite of mine and owned by my lovely friend, Sarah Preu. Sarah and I met when she owned the .POP! shop before taking ownership of Wild Wash Soap company and turning it into a full service bath and body business with soaps, shampoo bars, armpit detox cream and of course, my favorite, aluminum free deodorant (check out my post about Wild Wash’s deo, if you haven’t already. That stuff is the bomb).

I’ve been using the Wild Wash deodorant for a while now, before Sarah took over to be exact, and I have tried other products here and there, but I have never really looked into any of the skincare products that have since been introduced.  To be fair, I don’t experiment with too many skincare products. My skin is super sensitive and I don’t have the capital to spend exorbitant amounts of money on a product that I can’t return and doesn’t work.

However, Wild Wash was doing an Insta sale on some reject products (crooked labels, leftover product in old packaging, etc.), one of them being the Sencha Tea Skin Serum.  Skin Serums have been a new addition to my skincare routine, since I’ve gone through “womanhood puberty”, however none, I repeat NONE of the serums, I’ve tried have done much to help me combat my dry and peeling skin. Full disclosure, I haven’t been using this serum for long, but based on the last few days, I can say that my skin is very bouncy, dewy and the serum quickly absorbs into the skin, while still providing adequate moisture. Sencha Tea also provides a lot of health benefits when ingested, but when used topically, like this serum, supports blood movement to the dermis and improves the appearance of wrinkles and dark circles.