Annmarie’s 2017 Update

Another year has passed and every year on my birthday we gift all of you with a discount! We do this because you make it possible for us to bring you high quality products and continuous education. You allow us to spread the message of the importance of being Wild and Beautiful. The skin care industry is unfortunately still broken, but this message is getting out there and change is happening as we speak! So thank you all for your help.

For the past 5 years you have not heard directly from me because I chose to be the main caretaker of our children. Typically around this time, a team member would interview me on what products are my favorite or what I have been up to the last year and they would write something up from my response. This year I am happy to take the time to write this update myself!

It always feels a bit strange for me to communicate like this to all of you that I can’t see or feel. I am a true Scorpio in that way.

But, I also know and understand the importance to hear the realness in the folks behind a brand. And totally get that you want to know what products are our favorites or what books we are reading because I ask those same questions.

My Favorite Products (For Right Now)

This is an ever changing answer as my needs are always different. For now my favs are:

1. Wild Fruit Serum for sure! I love the texture, the smell, and the feel on my skin! This product does not last in our house because I use it way more than I actually need to.
2. The old timer Coconut Body Oil is almost always a favorite of mine. My skin tends to run dry and it just soaks this oil right up! I drop it in my bath and use it all over my body right after I get out of the shower. These days I also use a little bit in my hair. Since I have had kids my hair gained even more texture, it even added a bit of curl to itself, which means it’s gotten even bigger. :/ The Coconut Body Oil is great to keep it tame and hydrated. I just put a few drops on my fingertips and run it through, avoiding my scalp.
3. Our Calm Essential Oil Blend has kept me sane during those moments when I feel like parenthood is the hardest job in the world. During those times when I just want to walk away, but can’t, calm brings me back into balance. Not only do I put it on myself, I defuse it in our home and our car. I add a few drops in my bath and the kids’ bath water. This one has been such an essential part of our daily routine!
4. Sun Love: OMG turning 40 has really started to show up on my skin! All those years of lifeguarding, playing in the sun.. my mom never used sunscreen on me and my sisters growing up and I am seeing the results of it now. (no Mom, I am not blaming you I promise, I understand that it just was not popular then and that you were doing the best you knew how, love you still!) So I make sure, 1. to use it every time I am outside (which is always when you have kids) and 2. to set a good example for Hudson and Basil, so I can help prevent them from sun damaged skin.

HONEST

For the past 23 years I have not had full eyebrows. I have a condition called Trichotillomania. It is a BFRB (body-focused repetitive behavior) which is a general term for a group of related disorders that includes hair pulling, skin picking, and nail biting. Mine has been focused on pulling out my eyebrows, something that started when I was 16yrs old. I have been working with a few different modalities to help me move on from this and in the past 6 or 7 months ago my eyebrows have grown back! I can’t say I am fully cured, but at least for now I do not need to fill my eyebrows in with makeup. I heard in Chinese Face Reading, thin eyebrows can reflect in low self esteem and thick eyebrows can reflect in warrior like power, I feel great and I’m thrilled to gain a new sense of power that I didn’t even know I was releasing.

My favorite eyebrow tint is by Tarte, their Amazonian clay volumizing brow powder in rich brown.~

I have been journaling. Moreso now then ever—so much so that I thought it might be a good time to share some of that literary energy with the world—stay tuned on how that
is going to blossom!

My favorite book right now is Brene Brown’s newest “Braving the Wilderness” She is so in line with being Wild and Beautiful.

WILD

10 years married. On June 9th Kevin and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Where does the time go? For our anniversary Kev and I took a 10 day breakaway from the kids. Traveled to San Diego and Hawaii. Honestly it was one of the biggest challenges I choose to overcome—it was hard to let go of the reins and allow someone else to care for my children. It was also the longest we have ever left them. They stayed with my parents who live in New Jersey and got to vacation with their Aunts and Uncles and all of their cousins! Family is important to me and I am so happy we were able to give them the space to truly bond with their extended family.
The time spent alone with Kevin was so good! And also getting alone time with me, bonus! What a pleasure to become friends with myself again, I have missed me.

The Total Eclipse. What an amazing experience that was and a reminder how vast the universe is. As the sky was getting darker the night bugs came out—crickets started singing, and fireflies lit up the sky. It was a reminder how much the sun and the moon have control over this world and a no wonder why many cultures worship them. It was a reminder of when Kev and I were in Machu Picchu and learned why the incas built their temples around the Sun and the moon and the power they both had over their ceremonies. How they would sacrifice their food right when the moon shined through a certain window just onto the table, it was that moment in time that a feast could then start to be prepared. No sooner, no later. Maybe this is how we all can slow down again and to reconnect with the present moment. A true lesson in the power of now!

BEAUTIFUL

Our Children

Hudson. Now 5, our Cancer, the sensitive one, quick to help others, loves to stay at home and play with his Legos. He was named the ‘Big Brother to All’ at his end of the year school celebration in the spring. He as well as his sister this year attend a Forest School part time, using nature as their classroom.

Basil. Now soon to be 3, is my scorpio mini me. She is miss independence, stubborn, passionate, always up for an adventure, loves being around friends (and breaking Hudson’s Lego’s).

That’s it for my update. Thank you for reading and for helping us spread the message of clean organic skin care, your dedication to our brand is one way to make a difference in this industry. We appreciate you for that!

Promise me you will continue to take a break from all that is going on in the world with some TLC and if you are not already, becomes friends with yourself.

May your days and skin care products be filled with love, honesty, and wildness! And your life be filled with beauty!

Much Love,
Annmarie Gianni