Monday, August 12, 2013

Lack of Patootie

I know, I know... I quite apologize for the lengthy amount of time it has been since my last post. I have been struggling with my time management a bit since taking on an additional project. (Otherwise known as a part-time job). I am looking forward to picking up Sage Pure right where we left off. We even have our first show coming up in a few weeks! With a bit of luck, we will be able to sell our butts off (therefore losing the hefty patootie I've gained over the last few months)!We will be at the Lawrenceville Fall Festival in Lawrenceville, GA on September 8th. Myself and a few of my girlfriends are SO excited to be able to be a part of this show!

We've also been working on some new sewing projects- a messenger bag and a few other projects. We hope we can share all of these projects with you as we continue to share our successes and failures and tribulations and all of our other situations.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Even Celebs Go Natural!

We're not sure if you're seen this wonderful article yet or not, but we're so excited about it!! We found this on Yahoo's website. What do you do for your skin to keep it healthy and clear?

Jennifer Aniston: I ate a Big Mac and felt 'terrible'

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper TODAY

July 3, 2013 at 1:06 PM ET

WireImage file

Jennifer Aniston's not lovin' it at McDonald's.

It's no surprise that Jennifer Aniston watches her diet, but she has good reason to do so. After so many years of eating carefully, just a little junk food can turn her stomach.
In an interview about her beauty habits for New York Magazine, Aniston admitted a recent fast-food indulgence was not a good idea.
"I'll never forget when Justin [Theroux] and I were on a road trip and we were so hungry," she told the magazine. "The only thing around was McDonald's. I think I ordered a Big Mac. Wow, my body did not react well to that!"
Aniston explained that because the quick fix was so foreign to her body, her reaction was understandably bad. "It was like putting gasoline in a purified system," she said. "I am always trying to eat organic and natural foods, so that just made my stomach turn and made me feel terrible. And I think what you put in your body, as well as stress, is reflected in the quality of your skin."
Aniston recommends that fans lean on good old water and other healthy basics to stay healthy and fit. "I can never stress enough to my friends that they must do as I do ... hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!" she said. "Drink lots of water, get enough sleep, exercise, and eat a clean healthy diet, whenever possible."
But she doesn't recommend emptying your wallet on pricey cosmetics, even though she can well afford it. "When I started making enough money to afford high-end, fancy skincare products with sexy bottles and impressive claims, I decided to give them a try," she said. "As a result my skin acted up and got irritated. I think sometimes women may be overcleansing their skin. Some products and masks can be too aggressive and irritating for certain skin types. I believe the more simple, natural, and easy the skin care regime, the better off your skin will be."

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Abigail's The How and Why of Exfoliation

The Why and How of Exfoliation with Abigail Stoms

So why should I exfoliate?

I’ve had this asked of me many times. Exfoliation helps bring the healthy cells to the surface and soften the skin. Exfoliation also helps keep the pores from clogging if you are prone to breakouts. This comes with a warning however. If you have sensitive skin, be careful how you exfoliate and what product you use. But sensitive skin is a discussion for another time.

How often?

A general rule is to exfoliate every 2-3 days- any more frequently and you risk over- stripping the skin. This will cause the skin to produce too much oil so it can repair the damage caused by too much exfoliation. Over production of oil will cause clogging of the pores and an unhealthy shine on the surface of the skin. This can also alter the PH levels of the skin. A proper PH level will assist in anti-aging and fight against free radicals, but that’s a completely separate article.

What should I use?

Keep in mind that billions of dollars are dumped into the skincare industry every year. The big beauty companies pump exorbitant amounts of money into research on how to get you (the consumer) to buy their product. Even if it looks good and it is endorsed by a Hollywood starlet, chances are, it’s not good for you. A product should speak for itself without a celebrity endorsement. If you really want to know what is good for you, ditch the advertisements and what the media is telling you use and try looking on the back of the bottle. If the ingredients list is more than 20 items of words you don’t know, put it back. We can discuss what ingredients to look for another time.

Stick with natural, as in from your own home. You can mix up your own facial exfoliator at home or order from sagepure.com if you want to save on time and products. Sage Pure products like the lotion bars and sugar scrubs including my favorite, the Lemon Sugar Smoother, are preservative and alcohol free. They have my endorsement and can be trusted.

So what should we discuss next? Do you have a skin care question that you want answered? Let us know. We are here to help you navigate the sometimes confusing realm of skin care.

Want an easy way to exfoliate your pretty face? Check out the previous post about making your own exfoliator! Again, remember not to exfoliate more often than every 2-3 days.

Stay Gorgeous!

Abigail Stoms

Monday, July 1, 2013

Our New Team Member

Please Welcome Ms. Abigail Stoms to the Sage Pure team! Abigail has been in the skincare industry for over 20 years and is not only a licensed esthetician, but also an esthetician instructor as well. In 2009, while working at the Esani Institute, she was awarded for best technical expertise. Over the years, she has worked with many people at a variety of spas, but never felt herself completely fulfilled by her work at these other spas.

Inspired by the Karate kid movies, as she is also a 3^rd degree black belt in Taekwondo, she wanted a fun name for her new business. Wax Foo Spa was born in 2010. Ms. Stoms performs facials and skin care using exfoliants, washes, and moisturizers made from natural products.

As a dedicated, lifelong instructor of both esthetics and martial arts, she has graciously agreed to join the Sage Pure team as a frequent blog contributor, answering your questions and providing information on our various ingredients and products. She is also an avid learner, specifically interested in sciences including chemistry and as such has asked to be a part of our research and development team!

We are very excited to welcome such an experienced and dedicated woman to our team!

With the addition of her expertise, as we have previously mentioned, we are actively starting development on our newest product- Sun-sitive Skin After Burn Crème. Abigail is well versed in the properties of aloe vera and has already developed a new way of harvesting aloe that keeps the resulting ‘gel’ from feeling sticky. When combined with shea butter our locally grown and harvested aloe (from our own garden!) creates a smooth and soothing butter for your hot, parched skin. At the very end, we want to add some fresh lavender oil, lavender leaves, and dried lavender flowers from our very own plants, keeping our products locally grown and sustainable.

Let’s show Abigail how glad we are to have her join our team this week. Sage Pure is looking forward to posting a bi-weekly article by Ms. Abigail Stoms beginning next week.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Make It Yourself: An Article on Sugar Scrubs and How To Make Your Own Facial Scrub

I decided this evening while waiting on supper to write a quick post containing a few Do-It-Yourself ideas. I've lately been training the horses outside a great bit so I've arrived home quite sweaty and stinky and exhausted.

Today, however, I decided to pamper myself. No puppies, no Manfriend, no ponies... just me, my book, my beer, and a nice hot relaxing bath.

With Lavender scented bath salts and some baking soda for detoxification added, I enjoyed a super hot soak while enjoying lots of lit candles, a beer, and my aforementioned book (The Second Horseman, for those who are interested)

The reason, though, for this post is not my bathing habits. While I was in that bath, I went ahead and quickly whipped up a lovely exfoliating mask of baking soda and honey. Just take a tablespoon of honey- any one will do, they all have antiseptic and antibiotic properties, mix it well with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and a teaspoon of baking soda for exfoliating.

The lemon juice acts as a toner to tighten skin and close pores. Honey moisturizes and removes the bacteria within pores and baking soda acts as an exfoliator to remove dirt, dead skin cells, and open pores.

Enjoy pampering yourself!!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Realigning Energy

I post a lot about our trials and errors in the test kitchen and on the streets. I haven't posted much about our facility. There's a bit of a reason why, but all in all, that's inexcusable. See, our facility is in my home. So posting lots of pictures and talking about how and where I live isn't exactly something I want to face. Then I'd have to own the messy office/den and the dishes in the kitchen sink. But here's the thing- It shouldn't be there anyway.

My den doubles as my office and because of the double duty, collects double the mess!

Lots of people go through changes in their lives. Some people move, some change jobs, some refresh their looks. I, too, am in a transition phase: from a hardworking corporate stooge that I hated to an independent free agent who loves everything about her job. Unfortunately, my work space needs some changes, too.

This post is more about something I learned last night than anything else. Last night I attended a get-together in which a "Clean Sweep" was the topic. This Clean Sweep "program" isn't really a program, but a reality check. It's all about energy. Ever notice how cleaning your living room makes you feel better? And not just when you clean it and the next day. The whole room feels different- as long as it stays clean. It's all about energy. Clutter in your home, in your relationships, in your finances- has a huge impact on your well being.

For example- when you make your bed, you feel better about your bedroom. It's one less thing to worry about. And even if you think you don't worry about it, you're just going to get back in it and mess it all up- it still makes an impact. Try it for a week. Make your bed and pick up all the dirty laundry or put all the clean stuff away. See if it makes a difference.

My moment of epiphany occurred when I realized my work space was abysmal. Maybe that has been holding me back. Could that be the reason that I find it hard to concentrate? That I'm not sure what comes next? The reason I can't focus?

After my cleaning, my desk looks SO much better!

I even added a couple pieces of wire to hang pictures on to act as inspiration for my various projects.

Now that I've got one area of energy remedied, my goal is to attempt to fix one or two of the issues I discovered could be affecting my well being every week. If I can fix one thing a week, imagine how much more streamlined, fluid, and harmonious my life and yours could be?

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Keeping it Photogenic: The Art of Taking Pictures for a Blog

A while back, I wrote a post about how I couldn't find my camera, had no idea how Manfriend's picture taker worked and I was unsure when I would be uploading pictures. Well, I finally figured out how to take the photos (no guarantees on how good they are). Then I ran into the problem of not having any stock to take pictures of. Problem also solved- with a good bit of money, patience in waiting for the stuff to arrive, and sweat in product preparation.

So I got out Manfriend's little camera and I toted all my stuff outside and I found a decent space to start snapping away! (which really means I found a level space to put my stuff on- trust me, that's not an easy feat)

So... without further ado, I'd like to show you all some of my lovely photos. Also to be included in many later posts about the products themselves and on the webpage!! I just can't wait!!!

Lemon Sugar Smothers, Cafe Mocha Scrub, and Anti-Bug Balm Cube

(I thought the lavender in the background was a lovely touch)

Lemon Sugar Smoother and Anti-Bug Balm Cube