FINE FEATHERED FRIEND: SARAH GILBERT
Haley and I are so excited to FINALLY feature our dear friend, Sarah Gilbert! We may have grown up with this girl in the heart of Georgia, but she's recently become a household name as a contestant + fan-favorite on NBC's The Biggest Loser (season 17). Even after last month's finale, Sarah is staying fit and maintaining her healthy new lifestyle -- all while building her beauty empire, securing fitness endorsements with NOW and WOD, and being THE ultimate boss babe (in our humble, totally non-biased opinion). Check out Sarah's interview with us below!
Name: Sarah Gilbert; freelance hair + makeup artist, stay-at-home mama (the best job).
Inspo for beginning Biggest Loser? I was at rock bottom. I felt terrible about myself and had given up hope that I could be different. My job and my marriage along with my relationship with my son was suffering. I knew I needed a catalyst for change. I needed a ray of hope. Then, one day, I heard an ad for the casting call in Atlanta and that was all she wrote.
Biggest takeaway from BL? Never underestimate yourself or your impact.
Fav superfood: Cacao nibs and hemp hearts!
Health trend you are loving: Drinkable beauty products. I'm currently obsessed with adding collagen to my daily routine. I typically do 1-2 servings a day along with other similar beauty tonics.
Preferred activity: I love walking around my city before dawn in the morning. It's not the highest calorie-burn, and it isn't the trendiest exercise, but there is something about walking around a quiet city at 5 A.M. that just settles my mind and prepares me for the day.
Personal mantra: Let go.
Veggies via The Little Farm + Photography of Haley Sheffield.
BEESA SKINCARE
It's that time of the year! No, not just the holidays but the season of dry and itchy skin too. I have normal to oily skin and even MY face feels the wrath of winter. At IFF, we decided to seek out a local beauty boutique -- Beesa Skincare Studio. Located on Ingleside Avenue in Macon, GA, Beesa offers spa-quality skincare treatments such as facials, microderms & waxing, all with organic ingredients. Check out our Q+A with our fine-feather friend, Brooke, below!
Tell us your name: Brooke Weatherford Kinross, owner of Beesa Skincare Studio -- a studio spa in Macon, Georgia where I offer facials, waxing and tinting with a focus on natural products with organic ingredients.
Inspiration for starting your own biz? I love what I do -- sharing the knowledge I have gained over the past 15 years, making people feel better about themselves, and to be able to do this while balancing my family -- life is perfect. My children are still "little", so it's important to me to be at soccer games, dance recitals and play dates while they still think I am kind of cool.
What is the goal of Beesa? I want people to understand skin - that it is the largest organ of the body - reflecting what is going on inside of the body. Healthy skin goes beyond using quality skin care products. What you put in your body is just as important as what you put on it. Many of my clients come to me with hormonal acne, or acne in general. Most women in their 40's don't understand why they are still breaking out! I try to help them pinpoint the cause of their skin challenges, whether it's a hormonal imbalance, diet, incorrect products, prescription medications, whatever the trigger may be... that way we can find a solution, not just a quick fix.
What makes you tick? I was an Environmental Studies major at Oberlin College with a focus on Organic and Sustainable Agriculture. I guess you would say I am a little bit of a hippie still to this day. It's important to me that my children get to enjoy nature and being outside as much as I have. I love buying local food and supporting local growers, cooking and entertaining, camping and being outside with my kids, catching a full moon view whenever possible and relaxing with my partner-in-crime (my husband, Steve).
Favorite Macon pastime? Music! So much of what makes Macon so special is the music history. I carry that with me wherever I go.
#LETSBEFRANK: MEET THE BABES
Happy Thursday, mates! In our previous post we reviewed our Australian-based skincare crush, Frank Body. Today we introduce you to the babes (and bros) behind the beauty line, which you can find exclusively online via the Frank Body e-store.
Tell us your name: Jess Hatzis, co-founder of Frank Body (pictured far left)
Name of owners: Steve Rowley, Alex Boffa, Jess Hatzis, Erika Geraerts & Bree Johnson
Location: Melbourne, Australia
What is the goal of the company? From the start Frank Body has attempted to connect with its customers on a more personal level than that of traditional beauty brands. We like to call it an ‘open relationship’. Frank is centered around values such as honesty, cheekiness, and commitment. As we extend the brand portfolio, we hope to maintain this integrity.
Inspiration behind Frank? It all began in 2013, through a series of fortunate events. Steve owns a few cafes in Melbourne and had a customer ask for leftover coffee grinds. After a while he grew curious as to what they were using it for, and as it turned out, they were using it as a body exfoliator. At the same time, myself, Bree, and Erika who run Melbourne communications agency Willow & Blake, were looking to develop our own product (and brand) within the beauty and fitness industry to market through social media - a service we were already offering to many clients locally and internationally. After some research our team came to find that coffee scrubs were attributed to relieving many skin conditions, and although there were a lot of DIY recipes online, no one was selling coffee scrub as a product. Along with Alex who helped lead production and logistics, we realised that you had to use fresh coffee grinds to get the best results, combined with a mixture of essential oils, sugar and salt - thus the original coffee scrub was born.
We wanted to remove the taboo of a bathroom regime, and speak honestly with babes from around the world about what beauty meant to us. We wanted to be frank with them. And so the name and strategy was born. In the early days, a team of about 20 including friends and family, helped us to make the product by hand. Within a month the business had grown substantially, and we needed a full-time manufacturing group. Frank Body now offers an extended range of coffee-based products for both the face and body and is made in Melbourne, Australia. It is sold purely online through www.frankbody.com and ships to 141 countries worldwide, with five distribution points. It recently sold its 1,000,000th scrub, and boasts a healthy 635K followers on Instagram, with over 71,000 tagged images under #thefrankeffect not to mention its other social media channels. Celebrities including Jessie J and Ariana Grande have all been quoted sharing their love of frank’s products on social media.
One word to describe the team: Caffeinated
Perk of working at Frank? The endless supply of coffee!
All images © of Frank Body.
THE FRANK EFFECT
Hi guys, Haley here! Tess and I were thrilled when our Insta friends from Down Under at Frank Body, an Australian-owned + coffee-based skincare company, asked us to try their line. And to be "frank," we fell in love with the products even before using them. When it comes to both product and design, Frank delivers. The flirtatious packaging and cheeky branding drew us in instantly.
I anticipated the coffee scrub would smell delightful, being the coffee lover I am, but was not prepared for HOW deliciously aromatic my caffeine-infused bath time would be. Also, the creamy face cleanser had the perfect texture -- leaving my skin not too dry or oily, just happy. On IFF, we love to preach on the importance of organic, natural skincare and #thefrankeffect left us glowing. You can put together your very own bundle of beauty here!
All photos (c) of Haley Sheffield Photography.
DIY ESSENTIAL OIL LAUNDRY DETERGENT
Hopefully by now you're an avid IFF follower and are familiar with our recurring DIY series; a collaboration with Anna Liesemeyer from In Honor of Design. If not, then see here and here (no hard feelings) ;) Check out our repost from IHOD below!
I have been trying to find ways to integrate essential oils into our lifestyle more since there are hundreds of benefits from them. I was already using this detergent recipe (which literally comes out to 1 cent per load!). I added a few essential oils to enhance the smell but also reap the health benefits. Have you all seen Lindsay Coletta’s work yet? She is an all star when it comes to floral design and she styled this shoot for me! And you might be able to guess by how beautiful these photos turned out that the photography is by Haley Sheffield. My dream team! - Anna
Ingredients:
Lavender or Lemon Essential Oil
Balance Essential Oil blend
1/2 c. Borax
1 Bar Soap (I use Fels-Naptha or Ivory)
1 c. Baking Soda
5 Gallon Bucket
To use as gifts, head to Hobby Lobby in the bottle section for those pictured above! You can add some lemons and flowers to complete a gift basket:)
Instructions: There are several versions for the base detergent on the web, but this is what I have found most successful.
1) Grate your entire bar of soap with a cheese grater.
2) Boil a teapot of water and add 5 cups to a pan. Add your grated soap bar. Stir over medium with a wooden spoon until fully melted.
3) Fill your 5 gallon bucket with hot water and stir in the borax, baking soda, and soap mixture till dissolved. Use a giant ladel or spoon to stir.
4) Add in several drops of each essential oil you choose to use. This will enhance the smell and benefit stress and anxiety relief!
5) Fill the rest of the bucket with cold water and stir again. Cover and let sit overnight.
6) In the morning you will have a gel type liquid. You may need to stir it up before you use each time.
LITTLE BARN APOTHECARY
At IFF, we are lovers of shopping local and discovering new Georgia-based brands. During a trip to Atlanta's Root City Market, we were introduced to Joshua Morgan and Brad Scoggins, creators of Little Barn Apothecary. Founded in Stone Mountain just earlier this year, Little Barn has already made a big name for themselves as they were recently featured in Vogue, Elle and InStyle as one of the Best Natural Beauty brands. They are stocked in shops in 15 + states as well as Panama and Canada along with online carriers such as Urban Outfitters.
Joshua is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Brad grew up in a farm community in Cordele, Georgia. Currently, they live in Stone Mountain, Georgia and create simple and plant-based apothecary goods from wild-harvested, certified organic ingredients. Right now, LBA carries nearly three dozen small-batch items, including soaks, washes, scrubs, oils, balms, salves, naturally scented air waters, and more.
In 2012, Josh and Brad began researching botanicals and experimenting at home with recipes for simple self-care products. They shared some of the items with friends and family, who responded with enthusiastic requests for more! After expanding the line to include today’s core selection, they debuted Little Barn Apothecary to the public. The idea was born from a passion to create unique formulas as a substitute for the chemical-laden skincare that’s so prevalent today. Together, they love educating people on the benefits of using herbs and botanicals. From recipe testing to packaging design to shipping, Josh and Brad handle each step of the process. They select ingredients not only for their intoxicating scents but for their unique healing properties.
Making use of the South’s long growing season, Joshua and Brad grow most of Little Barn Apothecary’s ingredients in their backyard garden or source them from nearby farmers markets. By committing to whole and certified organic ingredients, Little Barn Apothecary creates goods from scratch that are 100% safe, naturally potent, and highly effective.
“The goal of Little Barn Apothecary is to be an everyday and affordable brand that feels like a treat. We believe in the power of nature and want to bring luxurious, natural options to the market. Our brand is a reminder to slow down, enjoy daily rituals, and keep it simple. ”
