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One of the joys of being a blogger is getting to meet new and interesting people. And if those new and interesting people also happen to share the same ideals, loves and passions you do, then it can be all the more exciting.
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Meredith, founder of Pure Living Boutique, an online shop dedicated to providing the most pure and natural handmade products around.
A purist for over three decades, Janet has been seeking out and using green products long before it was hip.
As someone who strives to find and use the cleanest products I can, I was particularly excited to be introduced to this site. Even more so once I noticed that one of my favorite brands, Living Libations, is among those to purchase.
Read on to learn more about Janet, her journey to a cleaner, greener life and what products she uses!
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| Lost in a pile of packing material! :-) |
1) Was there a specific event or experience that made you start using organic products?
It all began with a pimple. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in front of a dermatologist
being given directions on the use of Retin-A along with a script for antibiotics. This sun
worshipper surfer girl used the Retin-A but flushed the antibiotics down the toilet.
Quickly the skin on my face blistered and peeled from the Retin-A, I was horrified and
threw it in the trash. At that moment, age 14, I knew intuitively that this was not the right
road for me. Shortly after that I picked up my bottle of Herbal Essence shampoo and it
struck me like a lightning bolt - that bright green color and hideously sweet odor were
not the result of herbs.
By age 17 I had a part time job and a car so I would spend hours wandering around the
local healthy food store. Mesmerized by the bins of sesame seed sticks and dried herbs
and books, I explored my way around this new found treasure. In my early 20s I began
studying herbalism and experimenting with mixing and brewing and concocting; making
my own skin care products. Many years of formal education and research along with
personal lifestyle decisions have led me down a pure path.
2) What inspired you to create Pure Living Boutique?
Art inspires me. I’m always seeking out and buying handcrafted original paintings,
photography, skin care products, ceramics, handbags, etc. I enjoy farmers markets and
developing a relationship with the farmer and supporting my local community. With a
background in aesthetics, I especially love personal care products.
Pure Living Boutique is my vision of an online farmers market ... minus the eggs, of
course!
3) What do you look for when choosing products to sell on your site?
Ingredients, hands down. No item can contain toxins, chemicals, methyl-anythings,
sulfite-yuckies, or other weird scary sounding stuff. Unless it’s a facial mist or home
cleaning item, my products do not contain water or other fluffy fillers.
I support artists who handcraft their yumminess as a labor of love. To the best of my
knowledge no one uses pre-made base formulas. The majority of items are edible,
although I don’t necessarily recommend eating them! Marketing is an amazing tool and the average consumer relies heavily on a pretty label.
Often times the information on the front of a bottle and the actual ingredient listing {not
“key ingredients”} are incongruent. One of the hats I wear is teaching a course titled
“Label Interpretation”. To find out more about my services, please visit
www.JanetMeredith.net.
This has been and continues to be an amazing learning experience for me, some of my
customers are very knowledgeable and I love it when they ask questions because they
teach me too!
I also look for items that meet this criteria: O{rganic}, R{aw}, V{egan}, W{wildcrafted},
F{airTrade}, E{coFriendly}, G{lass}.
4) What is a typical day like for you?
In addition to Pure Living Boutique, I’ve been teaching yoga for over 15 years. So, most
days I’m either teaching or taking a yoga class. Rarely do I wear makeup or blow dry my
hair, I’m fortunate to don comfy clothes and a ponytail most days.
My skin care routine is simple + easy:
Dry brushing, I use soap on my body and an oil cleanser on my face. Then I mist with flower water
and roll on an under eye protectant. If I’m teaching a SUP yoga class, I’ll rub on some coconut oil. I floss, brush with tooth soap and use a brushing rinse . Then I add a tad of lip color.
Once per week, evenings, and special occasions require a little more effort ... but hey I
LOVE using all of my products, so it’s super fun!
5) What advice would you give someone who is looking to "green up" their life? What
are some good products to start with?
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying ... beauty shines from the inside out. Many times
irritating skin disruptions are the body’s way of saying “wake up, I’m in need a mineral/
nutrient/amino acid or something”, so I would begin with cleaning up the food choices by
striving toward purchasing organically grown fruits + vegetables. They are most
nutritious when eaten raw or lightly steamed. I cannot praise simple h2o enough.
Begin with a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer. A weekly scrub and mask are a wonderful
addition for deeper cleaning. For the body, using soaps and body creams and
deodorants that do not contain fragrance or other weird stuff. Oral care is extremely
important as well and can easily be a separate interview!
Herbal tonics and salves are also available at Pure Living Boutique and serve specific
purposes. They make great substitutions {or additions} to your home first aid kit.
Eliminate nasty environmental toxins in your home. It is amazing how effective pure
essential oils combined with a few other nontoxic ingredients can be at thoroughly and
safely cleaning your entire home, automobile, litter box, children’s toy box, etc.
Pure Living Boutique offers choices that match all of the above suggestions {minus the
fresh veggies}. If you’re unsure which product may be best for you, please feel free to
contact me at pleasure@purelivingboutique.com, my mission is to offer excellent
personalized customer service. I want you to love my products as much as I do!
6) Any plans to create your own natural products for your site?
Yes, I am so excited. I’m finalizing the elegant details, so stay tuned for the debut!
I can't wait to see what she comes out with! How about you? I'd love to hear your thoughts!~
Janet was also kind enough to offer the discount code “chickweedandblush” to use on her site. The discount is good from now until 8/15/14 so hurry up and check out Pure Living Boutique ASAP! :-)
You can follow Pure Living Boutique here:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/PureLivingBoutique
Twitter: twitter.com/pure_advice
Instagram: instagram.com/purelivingboutique
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/pub/janet-meredith/12/1b1/79a
YouTube: youtube.com/user/purelivingboutique.com
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/PureAdvice/
Peace & Love,
Sabrina xx
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