Oh hey there!
Did August go by quickly or what? I can't believe it's Labor Day weekend already. Goodbye, Summer! 😢
Once again, I'm posting my shop calendar for the month here on the blog in an attempt to minimize any confusion about when my OKC shop is open.
To summarize: most weekdays I'm here while my son is in school. Fridays and Saturdays I'm open later for those of you who can't make it by during the week.
The updated weekly schedule is right on the homepage, and I'm still posting my daily schedule in my Instagram stories, but y'all... we gotta have a talk about Instagram. (Scroll down for that.)
In the event that I decide to come back to work after school pickup, I will post my plans on social media and you can swing by when I'm there. You're also always welcome to email me to make an appointment for a time that works better for you!
Now that that's out of the way, I thought that this might be a good opportunity to update you all about what's been going on with me lately. (No one asked, but I have some things to share and it's my website! LOL!)
Work/Life: (Trying to) embrace the slow...
August is my slowest month of the year. This year I was prepared for it, and instead of panicking, I tried to just enjoy having some downtime after a crazy summer of moving the shop and serving lots of new customers. I'm very grateful that I've been able to take off in the afternoons with my son. We finally got to check out the latest exhibit at the OKCMOA!
(He used to enjoy going to the museum with me after school, I swear! 😆)
And last week it cooled off just enough to spend some time at the Myriad Gardens, finally.
Slow months are great for catching up and getting some new ideas out there before the holiday rush. To be honest, I don't have a lot of new things up my sleeve for fall. I've got one or two ideas I'm testing, but I'm mostly working on keeping up with what I've got.
What's new/in the works:
People have been asking me to do this for years and I finally felt able to add one more thing to my plate. Twice the size for $20 so you can save money and order less often.
Have any of the people who asked me for it bought it yet? Erm... no. *Shakes fist at August.*
You'll be back soon, I know, I know...
Edition *08!
Slow months are wonderful for working on all of the perfume ideas I have floating around in my head at all times. I don't always give myself a mission for my Asterisk Collection fragrances, but for this one I was on a mission to make a lavender scent that I actually wanted to wear. (Real talk: everyone loooooves lavender, but not me.👎) Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for lavender, it's just not what I ever want to smell like! Well this lavender is warm, spicy, woodsy, sweet, and rich, but still very fresh and clean. It's like a breath of fresh air. A nice palette cleanser as we head into fall. Get a sample and let me know what you think!
PS I am so, so excited about October - December's perfume junkie scents. I highly recommend getting the 3 month pre-paid subscription if you love fall/winter scents!
Also in the works: Calming Cleansing Grains (?)
The Stain *Shimmer* (?!)
and I'm bringing back some skincare set listings, targeted by skin type. This way when people ask me what I have for oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, etc., I can give them a bundle to buy instead of hopelessly trying to explain how I designed my entire skincare collection to be good for all skin types. 🙃🤷🏼♀️😂
Oh, and I recently made a HUGE investment to majorly upgrade my product reviews platform here on the website. Soon you'll be able to post pictures/swatches with your reviews, ask (and answer) questions, and help me spread the twinkle love! Seriously, I will love you forever if you keep an eye out for any review request emails you get and post a quick something!
Speaking of helping me out...
DM me no more! 🤳🏼🚫
💔💔💔
You might have noticed that I turned of the "allow message replies" feature on my Instagram stories recently. I've also set up auto/quick replies on Facebook and Instagram to direct your messages elsewhere, because I just can't keep up anymore.
Please don't be offended. It's not you. It's just that there are SO MANY OF YOU. 😅
Instagram is a great tool for marketing, sharing product knowledge, and general lifestyle/fun stuff, but it's not ideal for answering detailed questions or handling order issues. It's extremely difficult for me to keep track/keep up with the volume of messages that I receive, and I've been killing myself trying to respond to everyone all the time. It feels like I'm an emergency skincare counselor on call 24/7, which is not what I signed up for when I started this business. I dread opening up the app, even though 98% of the messages I get are lovely and positive and sweet and friendly. There simply aren't enough hours in the day, and I'm feeling D R A I N E D by it, to say the least.
I recently read this article about big time beauty entrepreneurs spending 4-5 hours a day on their phones responding to instagram messages and I found it to be far too relatable. Only difference is I don't have venture capital funding and I physically make all of the products that I sell myself. So when am I supposed to have a life exactly??
Please, I beg you, email me so I can respond to your message when I'm at my desk. Not while I'm trying to make eye tint. Or dinner, or fold the laundry, or god forbid go on a date...
Oh, and your unsolicited advice and "constructive" criticism?
I'm definitely not here for it.
Technology is wonderful in many ways and I value all of the connections I've made with you all over social media, but lately I've been wishing I could go back in time and open up a store in the 1990s when a gal didn't have to become internet besties with everyone before they could consider setting foot in the door. What freedom that must have been, to not have been chained to a tiny handheld computer! 😭
Did people just like, hear about something cool and decide to go check it out?
And talk to the store owner IN PERSON?!?!
IMAGINE!!!!!
What I hope to do with my free time (aside from folding that damn laundry) is share more about my products here on the blog. I must have started and stopped 10 blog posts this month, but I just kept getting interrupted and distracted and bogged down by having to type out the answers to the same questions over and over...
PSA: Please treat small business owners like humans. If you're interested in their brand/product, browse their website and at least see if there's an FAQs page before you send that message. We are not bots. That is all. ✌🏼
Personal stuff:
OH HI!
I post a selfie in my Instagram story everyday, but here's another for you. Speaking (again) of making things easier on myself, I've decided to grow out my natural hair color. 👵🏻
I just woke up one day and realized that I was comfortable and happy with my appearance. I only want to nourish myself with my beauty routine and no longer feel like I need to "fix" anything. I'm 36 and my hair is turning gray and I'm beautiful. Men don't age "better" than women. Spread the word. 🗣
Health wise: I started going to an herbalist who's been a huge help in treating my food sensitivity issues by using nutrition response testing, and I think we might have actually discovered the root cause of my histamine intolerance. Only problem is that I've been experiencing a lot of detox symptoms over the past week which is NOT FUN. I've been forced to slow down and take better care of myself. Early bedtimes and gentle yoga morning and night have been getting me through. Also might be why I finally decided I've had enough of the instagram hustle... 😂
Hopefully I'll be back to 100% after resting up this holiday weekend. Oh and I'm gluten free now. (So that makes me vegan, nightshade free, gluten free, coffee free... but who's keeping track?)
TO HEALTH! AND WELLNESS! AND #SELFCARE! 🥂
Catch you later. (But please not on Instagram? 🥴)
-XO-
