These past few months I’ve started to pay more attention not just to what I put in my body, but what I put on my body as well. I’ve always loved natural and small-batch bar soaps and have been purchasing from The Little Soap Shop (who we refer to as Soap Lady) for years. Mike and I have even crafted our own cold-processed soaps, back when we were feeling really ambitious! I’ve tried lots of different foods as beauty products as masks, scrubs, washes and moisturizers. So you see, my food experimentation goes beyond the kitchen.
My skin has always been sensitive to make-up and I had just assumed that it was supposed to make your skin feel sort of uncomfortable and a little itchy. I thought everyone else had just figured out a way to ignore that creepy-skin feeling for the sake of beauty. This is most likely not the case, and perhaps they’ve just found the right products for their skin type. I think I’m on the way to doing that as well. I’ve turned away from some of the more traditional and chemical-laden products and have started to research and test more natural and safer alternatives. The problem is that many natural skincare brands are not readily available – you have to go to multiple stores or do lots of online shopping. Not that this is a problem, but for makeup, isn’t it better to see it, feel it, smell it and test it in person? Color, texture and smell are so important, and are not part of the online shopping experience (at least the last two aren’t, and color is not always accurate on the computer screen). I also like to test a product and wear it for a few hours/days to see how my skin reacts to it. I was basically looking for the Sephora of a parallel universe, where products were natural, chemical and fragrance free, organic, and non-irritating.
Lo and behold, someone else had this same idea and has opened a small shop to do just this! Enter Follain, in Boston’s Back Bay. The shop carries the best organic and natural skin care and makeup products. They do all the poking, rubbing, smelling, testing and vetting of products, so you don’t have to! Walking into this store is like a breath of fresh air. The owner is just lovely and helped me pick out a few new items. They also offer a bulk soap program where you can refill a container with liquid soap, scents changing regularly. Less waste and more cost effective for a win-win situation.
I have been happily using my Follain purchases for the past few weeks and am excited to go back again soon. So far no adverse reactions and I have a simplified new beauty routine. If you live in Boston or are visiting, I’d suggest heading over to the South End and visit Follain.
Follain
53 Dartmouth Street, Boston
Tues-Sat 11-7
Sun 12-6
Closed Monday