Larysa used to have such dry skin from so much hand washing, that in the winter they would sometimes even crack and bleed! After trying to many lotions that were mostly a bunch of water, and not helping, she decided to create her own, with all natural ingredients, most of which are edible! She now enjoys velvety soft skin protected from drying forces. She also makes lip balm with edible ingredients. Take a look at the ingredients in most of the big name brands, they will have ingredients you can't pronounce. As well as ingredients that are more often found in your car or on your car. Which would you rather have on your lips? Something you'd eat anyway, or something your car eats? She loves using essential oils to fragrance many of her handmade items.
Philosophy behind the name "Lip Love, Hand Love, Skin Love etc"
If you know what I am about and see the rest of my website, the workshops I run etc, it would be no surprise that LOVE is an important part of everything I do, and make. If you have ever known about the work of Masaru Emoto, you will understand that words carry energy, thoughts are things and this is why when I make batches of the various Skin Love, I am praying as I make them that the users will enjoy as much Love, Happiness, Purity, Peace as possible while they use it, and that they may have those thoughts and intentions as they apply it. That's what I hope and intend anyhow.
I have always had a very strong sense of smell. When I was a child, my mother had to put perfume under my nose for me to be able to enter a public bathroom. I will stop and smell flowers and keep sniffing far longer than most people. I will exhale extensively and inhale indefinitely. It finally dawned on me, if essential oils seem to work so well and affect the mind and body, AND I have such a strong nose, why am I not doing more with this? I had read things here and there but decided to really research and learn more, going to workshops and any information I could get my hands on about how beneficial essential oils can be. And I have been pleasantly rewarded for that research. I cannot believe sometimes what a difference they make. Everyone knows lavender is relaxing and great before bed. But the mixes I make that help boost the mood? Ok great it works for me....but I am so thrilled when I am wearing them and not only do people I see and dance with tell me how good I smell, but they will say "it's so bright and cheery, makes me feel uplifted." And that makes ME feel uplifted!
I made a mix I use when I need to feel extra confidence. Supposedly some of the ingredients are even aphrodisiacs...I kind of raised my eyebrow about that...until I happened to be wearing it on a day where I was dressed in my usual casual not particularly cute outfit, and nothing terribly special about my hair, fairly on par with how I usually wear it, and pretty darn plain makeup, boring by my standards, just pretty basic and natural, not much effort or thought put in. And on that day, someone I greatly respect and admire, who almost never comments on my appearance said something to the effect of "hey you look very pretty today." If there was anyone else around I would have looked around to see who they were talking to because while I have witnessed them giving compliments like that to others, it's never been in my direction, and there certainly wasn't anything particularly great about how I looked anyhow...the only difference was the essential oil mixture I had made. I did like how it smelled, but I had forgotten I was wearing it, I didn't even put much stock in the whole aphrodisiac effect anyhow....until that moment, at which point, once I realized that was the only difference that day...And numerous times, I go into dance weary of asking people to dance...and if I remember, I spray a bit and usually within 10 minutes I've asked more than one person to dance. It's always tough for the first few of the night, it's like starting all over sometimes until you get "warmed up" with asking people.
And I'm still surprised sometimes when I make a blend to help me focus when I'm having a particularly scattered day....I still sometimes expect "oh it won't work, I'm just too fuzzy today, nothing can help." But I do often notice that suddenly my thoughts are more collected and I'm able to get the work done that had been eluding me all day.... It's kind of funny to me that the essential oils that are usually involved in assisting concentration usually tend to be less appealing to me. Perhaps my nature just likes being all over the place. But I also notice that when I most need them, they do smell a bit sweeter to me and more enjoyable, and that, to me, is telling me that my body knows what it needs and there's a reason I feel differently about certain scents on different days.
It'd be wise of me to note that I have read that it's not the scent alone that causes the reactions in the body. Even if someone is having issues with their olfactory receptors and can't perceive scent for a time, the designated essential oils still have an effect on the body. To me that proves more that it is really working on a molecular level and not just about it being a "nice smell" that we simply "like how it smells."
I love when people try the products I make, and then I hear things like
"Oh My Gosh this is the best lip stuff I have eeeeevvvveeerrr tried!"
"Ahhhh this smells so good I want to eat it!"
"Mmmmm this is so relaxing I just want to lie down and take a nap!"
I do love helping out clubs, teams, organizations I've encountered who are doing a fundraiser. One helpful method we have used is where they purchase a bulk number of lip balms, that I then custom label something for their organization, example: "Thank you for Supporting CHS Class of 2016." They get a discount for buying in quantity, and then they sell them at the usual price, thereby raising money for their cause. In the process, supporting a small local business, while also saving their fellow community members from putting harmful chemicals on their skin and on their mouth, and by cause and effect, in their mouth. All the while keeping skin soft and supple.