A few years ago, back when I was doing my monthly beauty boxes (RIP,) I made what I thought was going to be a limited edition facial oil for an August box. To be honest, I did this not because I thought any of us needed a new moisturizer in our lives, but because I needed to come up with something exciting and special/exclusive to put in a subscription box to get more people to sign up, because August is the s l o w e s t month ever.
I thought it'd be fun (and enticing) to make a set of products that would be helpful for repairing skin after too much summer fun in the sun. So I made a new mask (now my green tea and aloe mask,) and this facial oil, which I called the August serum. (Such a creative name, I know!)
Well, oops. You people FREAKED OUT over this serum. I was practically forced to make it full time even though it was never my intention to make anything outside of my original skincare line because my whole thing was that I wanted to keep things simple and minimal. This was just supposed to be a one time, just for fun kind of experiment, just to get people to sign up for the darn box. But people kept writing to me, worried about what they were going to do when they ran out, etc., and who was I, as a newbie business just trying to make it to the next level/out of the spare bedroom at my parent's house to turn down paying customers??
(Oh, how things have changed. Haha!)
So August serum became the Autumn Serum, and everyone lived happily ever after.
For a couple of years, at least.
You see, that box was such a hit that of course I had to repeat it for every season that year! I made a winter serum, a spring serum, and a summer serum, all which I also had to offer year round because everyone had their special favorite.
This was all well and good (and not overwhelming for me at all, HA!) until last year, when I made my facial oil for acne prone skin and sensitive facial oil and realized that I had 8 DIFFERENT FACIAL OIL OPTIONS on my website and it was no wonder no one knew which one to buy and kept emailing me with constant questions.
Also, even though everyone swore that if I released their favorite serum and made it available all year they'd buy soooo much, there's really only so much facial oil one can buy in a year. (3 - 6 bottles maybe, depending on how good you are at keeping up with your skincare?)
So one day last summer I picked a dusty old bottle of winter serum off my shelf and thought, "Nope. I don't make things to sit around and collect dust." Just like that, I scrapped the seasonal serums and still 100% stand behind this decision. I currently have 3 (5 if you count the makeup remover + cleansing oil and all over oil,) AMAZING facial oils that I know will suit your needs beautifully no matter your skin type. I mean, what more could you possibly want from a one person business?
Well, you want another facial oil, apparently, seeing as how people are still asking me about the Autumn serum.
So what's the big deal about this serum?
No, really, I'm asking you.
I think it's good, don't get me wrong, but, what is it that's so much more exciting about this one compared to my other facial oils?
I have some theories of course, but I really don't know. Tell me if any of these resonate with you.
Theory 1: This box was the one that got a lot of you to try my skincare for the very first time, so this was your first experience with any of my facial oils, and you loved it so much you didn't think that anything else could compare, no matter how many times I tried to tell you that my other (original) facial oil is just as good. Like an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it kind of a thing?
Theory 2: Certain ingredients seem to have a lot of sway with people who are shopping for natural skincare. This serum has frankincense (commonly touted to cure and heal all skin issues, EVER, and also cure cancer?) and jojoba oil, which I hear over and over is the BEST, so like why even use anything else?
The answer to that is I also love jojoba, but lots of plant oils have beneficial properties, and I want to take advantage of them all, instead of limiting myself to just one ingredient.
Theory 3: It's the texture?
If it's the texture for you, this one is most similar in texture to my makeup remover and cleansing oil for its glide, and the facial oil for acne prone skin for its lightness.
Theory 4: It's the rosehip?
If it's the rosehip for you, this one has the same amount of rosehip as my original facial oil and facial oil for acne prone skin, FYI!
They're all similar in different, subtle ways, so my answer whenever anyone asks which one is the most similar to the Autumn serum is always to just get a sample of each to try! There's also frankincense in the facial oil for acne prone skin and beauty butter, and, jojoba is also in my sensitive facial oil and makeup remover + cleansing oil.
As you may (or may not) know, I would actually like to write a recipe book and just give you all of my secrets, but things have been absolutely INSANE this year and I haven't gotten to work on it as much as I would like.
But people are still asking about this serum, so I thought sharing the recipe here would be a good way a) calm you down, and b) to gauge - how interested are you in having my recipes to make at home, really? And how good at writing them will I be? No idea. Let's find out!
Consider this a test run, or a way to get my feet wet, if you will.
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Stefanie
