Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Have you met Sosae? (And a giveaway!)


Comments closed!  Winner announced first thing on May 15th, 2010!

Virtue Natural is one of my all time favorite etsy shops and I'm so honored to know the creator behind the amazingness.  Meet Sosae.  



Not only is she gorgeous to boot, she's talented in the ways of brilliant customer service and she and her husband Dennis create amazing natural skin care products.  I use almost all of the products they carry in their etsy shop and let me tell you, I'm never going back to commercially made products!  My personal favorite is the Virtue Natural Radiant Complexion Scrub which I use after every shower (and sometimes in the middle of the day when my skin is dry) and it never lets me down.  Keeps my face hydrated and soft and smelling like a summer garden.  Another favorite is the subtle yet lovely Orange and Patchouli Body Scrub... I take showers just to smell like this scrub.  Seriously.

 
Virtue Natural carries an incredible line of all natural, organic, simple yet surprisingly complex skincare products and we want to give you a chance to try them!  

But first, a little bit about the shop and the beauties behind it.

Tell us a little bit about your process/workspace.

First off, thank you Brie! It’s a pleasure to be here. Let’s see… My process involves lots of note-taking. I have a notebook always on hand, where I write down any runaway ideas for products, scents, design, etc. Then I spend time trying to elaborate on those ideas. I research potential ingredients, and try to see what exists that can match what I have in mind. Thankfully, nature is abundant. That’s one of the reasons why I feel that skincare ought to be all-natural: the laboratory can never really match the quality of nature’s own ingredients. Once I have my ingredients in mind, I will design a recipe based on how I know these ingredients to behave, and then I’ll go to the kitchen/lab and begin “development.”  (With some products, this development stage has taken months to a year!) Workspace: As of now, my workspace is in transition. For the last year it’s been my spacious industrial kitchen (once the main kitchen of a huge office building that housed a software company!) In the near future (once we move) I will have a truly beautiful, more traditional kitchen to work in. In both cases, my kitchen windows point to endless pastureland with cows and horses. Love it.




What's your favorite part of being a small business owner?

What an awesome question – the list is endless! I love that I can set my own work hours. Yes, I work all day long and get very little sleep most nights, but I love it. Even on off-days when nothing’s going right, I still love it. I whisper thanks all the time. I love that my husband and I can work together, creating things that provide a benefit to others. I love being able to organize my own time, and of course, being my own boss. (I’m a nice boss because I seldom have to fight myself: I just do what I need to do. I think it’s that easy because I enjoy it so much.)  Oh, and I tend to alternate between running around in my pajamas and floppy slippers all day, and getting dolled up and wearing pumps. Seriously. I just go with the flow.


What's your favorite Virtue Natural product and why?

Before I answer that I have to mention that I use virtually all of our products daily! (That cracks me up, because I’ve always been a products girl, and until 2 years ago, it never occurred to me I’d be using our own brand of products!) My absolute favorite is the Radiant Complexion Scrub. That was the second product we developed (the first were the Organic Cocoa Butter lip balms.) I think I would have saved myself a lot of trouble over the years if I had this face scrub. (Namely the years when I had bad problem skin.) It’s an all-around gem: cleans, moisturizes, soothes, enriches…  Yeah, the Radiant Complexion Scrub is my baby, and I’m really really happy to see so many of our customers loving it as much as I do!



Besides making awesome product, what's your super power?

What a cool question! I think my super-power is something I inherited from both parents: I can learn anything in a flash, as long as my heart is in it. My husband/partner’s super-power is the ability to hypnotize field-mice at 100 yards. It’s pretty amazing…


Creation of any kind burns a lot of mental energy – what do you do to recharge? Does your creativity come in waves, or are you one of those (rare) people who is always charged?

I have to thank my mother for this: I tend to have an even and constant charge. I’m not a hyper-active person or anything, I just have a constant flow of energy, rather than surges and drops. I keep a steady pace, and I think that’s why I can work all night and into the morning without getting worn out. But of course, the spirit needs food to convert to energy, and that’s where my hobbies come in: knitting and spinning. I can’t stress enough the importance of having a hobby one really loves! And I believe if you’re self-employed, that hobby needs to be something unrelated to your business. I look at it like this: my business is my brain-child whom I love and nurture to grow. My hobby is how I nurture myself, find inner peace and grow. I then take that and give it back to my business.  So basically, I’ll spend 8 hours a day working at Virtue Natural, and then I’ll stop and start knitting or spinning for 3-4 hours, and then I’ll go back to VN, and finally sleep around 4am! Good times. 



 
So, what's in it for us, Sos?
  :)

We’d like to offer your readers a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to our shop! 

Well folks, you heard her!  Leave a comment on this post for a chance to try your new favorite body scrub, face mask, complexion serum, and lip balm.  Not to mention complexion serums and foot soaks.  Comments will close on May 14th and a winner will be announced!  For more chances to win, tweet, blog, or facebook about this giveaway and leave a comment for each place you've shared.  I can't think of a more lovely shop to support and spread the word about!

P.S.  Don't forget to enter our fiber giveaway here!

33 comments:

JuliaA said...

her shop looks wonderful! i have severe dry skin because of chronic hormonal probs, and i am always obsessing over natural skincare possibilities.

i've been reading the feedback about the facial scrub and i'm really curious about trying it! and i love that she has natural tinted lip balm!

Ashley said...

I love natural face products and I'd love to try hers! I'm eager to try the radiant complexion serum, it sounds great. Thanks for the chance at winning this!

Chantel said...

I have used her Radiant Complexion Scrub and her body scrub and love both of them!

Jacqueline said...

I've heard so much about her and can't wait to try her products!

Ida Mackin said...

I need to win this!

Pessoa número 7 said...

I also love this shop! Virtue Naturals is amazing! There are so many products I want to try out!

Lacey said...

Hi Brie! Hi Sosae!

I've heard so many wonderful things about Virtue Natural- whenever I look at her wonderful shop I'm always so tempted to add one of everything to my cart!! I do plan on saving up for some Orange and Patchouli Body Scrub soon!

Audreyrose said...

Well, now I can't decide between buying fiber or some mango and grapeseed complexion scrub. I think I'm gonna have to have both :D

Erin said...

I've been on the hunt for a good facial routine - I might have to give this a shot! :)

jori said...

oh, i'm totally going to get that body scrub. something to add to the list of guilty pleasures in which i indulge between boyfriend visits. there are few benefits to living 300+ miles away from your s.o., so i take what i can get and am looking forward to adding 'smelling like patchouli' to the list of 'not having to shave my legs, wearing my most comfortable (and least attractive) pajamas to bed, and having popcorn for dinner.'

JuliaA said...

i blogged about the giveaway!

http://juliaas.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/virtuenaturals/

and btw brie, i blogged about your shop again a few weeks ago when i got that wonderful king handspun. LOVE it. the post is called something inventive like 'yarn', i think.

Pessoa número 7 said...

posted about the giveaway on my twitter! ^^ (@Cacau_Birdmad)

ikkinlala said...

Her shop looks great - I love to see options without synthetic fragrances.

Unknown said...

Sosae is an amazing woman, and her products are wonderful! I love every one I've tried, especially the Radiant Complexion Scrub and the lip balms. Virtue Natural Rocks!
(Don't enter me in the giveaway--I want to give someone else a chance to try Sosae's products. I just wanted to post to show my support for my lovely friend!:))

Christy Simmons said...

Oooooh! Everything looks so great! I have had really weird skin ever since my (stupid and botched) hysterectomy, so I am hoping that maybe one of these serums can help in that department! Thanks for sharing, Brie!

Sarah said...

Wow, this all looks like such good stuff. I'd love to try any and all of it. Best of luck in the business!

JuliaA said...

tweeted! my un is @juulia. i don't know how to link directly to a tweet, but it should be findable.

JuliaA said...

also posted on ravelry in the giveaway group:

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/contestants---enter-here/1129982/1-25

oonagh said...

it all looks wonderful!!

i've got to be careful, i have perfume allergies....but some of the all-natural stuff is much better, because of the lack of chemicals....
looks fun to try out!!

Sarah said...

i think the Mint Chocolate Cupcake - Organic Cocoa Butter Lip Balm sounds absolutely delicious and i would love to be able to try it!!

StephCat said...

that cookie dough looks edible....

Constellation Designs said...

Thanks for sharing, I'm excited to try her stuff.

Knittingdancer on Ravelry said...

I would love to try your natural products. I have super sensitive skin.

Robin said...

Ooh new products to try, thanks!

|chee-uh| said...

Thanks for highlighting this. I'm looking forward to trying some of this now. I'm a big fan of serums.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for showcasing this wonderful store - all the products sound absolutely wonderful and I love the presentation!

Anonymous said...

I tried some of Brie's leftover face serum carrot stuff. AH-Ma-Zing! In loooooove!!
~ally

Lena7771 said...

I am so excited to try Sosae's products! I have already ordered the lipblam, but am thinking of trying her RC scrub - I am in love with the idea of using all natural ingredients - and Sosae is SO WONDERFUL - her customer service is incredible! Thank you!!!

Lena7771

Pessoa número 7 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pessoa número 7 said...

http://fancygeek.blogspot.com/2010/05/sorteios-giveaway.html

Also posted about the giveaway on my blog! ^^

hugs,

Cacau

Ju! said...

Her products always get great reviews, and she seems like a sweetheart! Hope I win!

Camila F. said...

Sounds amazing!!! Count me in!

naomemandeflores@gmail.com

Quinn said...

These products sound wonderful! Count me in, please!

quinn on rav