Your Purpose is Beauty

A temporary goodbye for now! I’m taking the rest of 2021 off (Sept – Dec) to give birth, mother, and move out of state – big changes for Family L’Amour! In this episode I share details about all this, as well as how you can access lots of archived work I’ve done in case you don’t want to go 4 months with no new L’Amour content. I will be back on YouTube, this podcast, and my main Instagram account (@lamouretlamusique) in January of 2022, and will continue to share spontaneous content on Patreon, the Patreon Instagram stories feed, and newsletter over the coming 4 months. The second half of this episode is beauty chat because that’s always a good note to end on.

While beauty box unboxings, initial tests and first impressions are an integral part of beauty social media, a longitudinal review (similar to an empty products review) is usually much more valuable to beauty enthusiasts. I’ve had the pleasure of receiving and testing The Boxwalla beauty boxes – which are sent every two months – for just over two years now and finally had a chance to put together this retrospective review which covers 13 boxes. If you like in depth product discussion and curation musings, settle in and enjoy! And please see below for a special Boxwalla shop discount offer for Your Purpose is Beauty listeners for the rest of this month!

I’ll always remember when I was first introduced to Inlight Beauty – a 100% organic UK beauty brand – because it was just about a week or so before I gave birth to my first baby in early November of 2018. Inlight products went on to have a foundational place in my postpartum beauty routine. I felt such a deep connection to the formulas, the textures, the experience of the products which continues to this day. I had the immense pleasure of speaking with Inlight’s Founder and Formulator, Dr. Mariano Spiezia last month and I’m so excited to bring you this conversation. I hope you find it as meaningful and healing as I did.

In this episode Dr. Spiezia and I cover:

*His formative influences around nature, health, and healing

*How an interest in skin/skincare developed from other health interests and work (particularly detoxification protocols)

*Why Inlight relies on oils in their formulations, and how they act as carriers and holders of plant information

*Dr. Spiezia’s insight into an essential ideal skincare routine that relies on respecting the skin

*A bit about the inspiration behind Inlight’s Supreme Collection and the role gemstones play

And of course more! Please head over to @lamouretlamusique and @inlight_beauty on Instagram to let us know what you thought of this episode, or if you have any questions, comments, or feedback.

In March of 2020 I did a HUGE Collective Empties video on YouTube. Since then I’ve done a number of empty skincare and makeup videos and/or podcast episodes but here we are again – over a year later with everything I’ve finished beyond skincare and makeup. I had a giant overflowing box in my office and I cannot TELL you how good it feels to have recorded this, been a little awed that I went through FIVE Osmia Naked Body Mousses in that time, and move on. Hope you enjoy and find this useful!

I first remember coming across Pratima Raichur’s book Absolute Beauty on Ayurvedic skincare probably 15 years ago, if not more. At the time there was really nothing else out there easily accessible to North Americans about Ayurveda and beauty, but that has certainly changed. Enter Sahajan, currently the only Ayurvedic skincare line with clinically proven results. While I have always felt there is so much more to products than what a particular test or trial can show, after trying many of Sahajan’s products myself I can attest to their efficacy – especially the Nourish Crème Riche which I tested extensively during 2020. I’m so happy to bring you this conversation with Sahajan’s founder, Lisa Mattam so you can learn a bit more on the Ayurvedic perspective on beauty she is bringing forward and what makes Sahajan unique.

In this episode Lisa and I cover:

*Her experience growing up in Canada with South Indian parents and natural Ayurvedic home remedies

*Lisa’s tenure as a pharmaceutical exec and how she brings rigor from that world into her brand

*A deeper look at some of Sahajan’s best selling products and their key ingredients, as well as a glimpse at Lisa’s personal skincare routine

* “Clean” versus “Conventional” beauty paralleling “Traditional Healing” versus “Science”

*The universal working mom struggle and words of support and encouragement to fellow beauty entrepreneurs

Please head over to @lamouretlamusique and @sahajanskincare on Instagram to let us know what you thought of this episode, or if you have any questions, comments, or feedback!

Today I’m very pleased to welcome Donagh Quigley of The Handmade Soap Company, based in Ireland, to the podcast. Donagh and I had a chance to record the day before St. Patrick’s Day, which given the brand’s Irish heritage felt fitting and special. This brand came from humble beginnings a decade ago and has grown into an international green beauty brand with #kindnesscomesnaturally as a guiding motto.

In this episode Donagh and I cover:

*The ride of green beauty in Ireland/the UK versus the US

*Parallels between the farm-to-table/natural foods movement and the green beauty movement

*A tour of the brand and the inspirations behind their scent collections

*An in depth discussion of the ANAM range, the latest addition to the brand with a focus on packaging sustainability and aesthetic beauty

*Donagh’s favorite wellness practices and inspirations

Please head over to @lamouretlamusique and @thehandmadesoapcompany on Instagram to let us know what you thought of this episode, or if you have any questions, comments, or feedback!

I’m not crying, you’re crying. Can I even handle that one of my biggest beauty inspirations is here on the podcast today? In Fiore drew me in from the moment I saw a Beauty Huile blog post on the Nourrit face oil almost a decade ago. All these years later I’ve explored many of the layers to this completely singular brand, with much still left to discover.

In this episode Julie and I cover:

*How In Fiore all started: with body balms

*International Orange nudges In Fiore into skincare

* Green beauty cosmetics manufacturing – an eye-opening look at supply chain, transparency, owning your formulas, and marketing

*The how’s and why’s behind In Fiore’s skincare layering philosophy alongside rigorous Japanese formulary and testing (oils first!)

*An exclusive sneak peek at a new trio of products In Fiore is launching next month!

Please head over to @lamouretlamusique and @infiore on Instagram to let us know what you thought of this episode, or if you have any questions, comments, or feedback!

This convo needed to happen. I’m sure it’s imperfect, and our thinking will evolve. Social media isn’t real discourse and it’s creating psychological damage to all of us and our interpersonal interactions (in real life and virtually). Pushing groupthink or categorical/binary thinking through provacateurism (i.e. being intentionally inflammatory or controversial) are attention grabbing strategies that have been yielding results online (by our dysfunctional metrics of what is “successful”). What’s happening in the beauty industry is simply a reflection of broader social trends. A nurse and a sociologist, both passionate beauty creators sit down to discuss why so many things are so frustrating right now.

The last time I did a monthly favorites was back in November here on the podcast, Episode 49. But then I did Annual 2020 Favorites on YouTube and I think it was the longest video I’ve ever made! So let’s do something more manageable today, just a look at what I’ve been loving so far in 2021. Enjoy and I can’t wait to share some exciting interviews with you next month! Please see the list and all associated links for products discussed below, and full extended show notes and transcript on lamouretlamusique.com.

If you’re in the mood to listen to something uplifting, aspirational, cosmopolitan and beautiful – Valérie Grandury, the founder of pioneering eco-beauty brand Odacité Skincare is just who you need to hear from. After my Saturday afternoon recording conversation with Valérie last month, I knew her uplifting energy and passion that comes through her work – fusing her French beauty heritage with a California lifestyle – would be a joy for you to listen to. Odacité was founded in 2009, forging the way in eco-luxe beauty beyond the aisles of the health food store when there was no “green beauty” the way there is today.

In this episode Valérie and I cover:

*The foundations of her personal passion for beauty and wellness

*An in depth look at Odacité’s iconic serum concentrates

*Odacité’s best selling products, from country to country

*The uniquely aspirational French approach to skincare and beauty

*Valérie’s personal skincare/wellness/nutrition recommendations

And of course plenty more. After the interview, I come back on to end the episode with some quick Odacité product reviews, recommendations, and my wishlist. I’ve tried many of Odacité’s products over the past 10 years, and always have something in rotation.