This past weekend, you may have been following my social snaps of a new event in Boston, the WELL Summit. I have been talking about this "conference" for many months now and was extremely excited to have the weekend finally arrive. I guess I would say that my main reason for buying a ticket was that I've been very much into Green Beauty and making sure that there are less chemicals coming into our home and more natural products that are good for the Earth and our Family... but my expectations for the event were blown out of the water. Of course, there were breakout sessions geared toward green beauty and there was even a breakfast panel dedicated towards it but what surprised me the most were the breakout sessions that I didn't know what to expect but ended up receiving some very thought provoking "gifts" from.

On top of making soap with a master, getting my DIY on with a fellow mom, beauty tips from a green pro and learning about herbs for the urban dweller from an actual herbalist, there were sessions geared towards finding your sacred beauty, meditation and following your intuition. I will be completely honest that I wasn't as excited about these sessions as I was the DIY + beauty ones because my goals for the conference were somewhat superficial at the beginning but what ended up happening, was that I let myself be open to the entire experience + what I received was a great gift of self reflection + some thought provoking realizations about my own personal happiness... I need to make my personal world a better place to be.

• Rebecca Casciano helped me look at beauty in a different way and then verbalize it with complete strangers, which was perfect. The insights that others had was amazing and it totally set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Rebecca is a beautiful person, inside and out, and I will always appreciate meeting her in this way. 
• Josh Rosebrook, in addition to being just a plain joy to be around, led a meditation session that really helped me get a grasp on what I wanted to achieve with meditating at home and also find a peace, even if it's only for a few moments a day. Every time that Josh and I spoke over the course of two days, I felt more of a connection. This connection, like all of the new relationships over the course of the weekend, is something to be treasured.
• Rachel Winard, led the last session that I attended and shared her story about following her intuition/gut feelings. Let's just say that her story had me feeling all the feels. She inspired me to be vulnerable, she inspired me to look inside and ask myself what I can do to make myself a happier person and to trust my feelings about all the choices + the trajectory of my life. All of the people in her session shared personal experiences that resonated with me and I thank her for starting the conversation for all of us.

The order with which I took my sessions was no mistake, as it turns out, since I believe that every message I received was one that helped me have some emotional release at the end of the whole thing (yeah, I cried in front of some people). Each step of the way, each person that I talked to, I was looking at myself and my own personal happiness a little more + more. If you were there, you would have seen/met all manner of person who was either working at their happiness/wellness, doing what they were meant to be doing and/or trying to help others do the same. It was a truly multi-dimensional experience where all involved were of like minds and souls (cheesy, so sue me). Authenticity and truthfulness is something I hold dearer now than ever before. There was no competitive, self promotion at WELL Summit but rather a collaborative atmosphere where everyone was learning from one another.

Thank you to everyone who hugged me, encouraged me (I'm looking at you, Tara), listened to me, shared their stories with me, helped me find which room I was supposed to be in and hung out with me in between (Hi Jessica, Quiana and Cam!). Plus, a huge thanks to Gianne of Organic Bath, whose "brain child" came to fruition in the most wonderful way. I am so excited to take part next year and see each and every one of the people that I can now call friends.

One of the up and coming, heavy hitters in the Green Beauty realm, Organic Bath Co., has some really exciting things happening + they are based out of Boston so I thought this would be a really great opportunity to share some tasty tidbits about the brand and what they have planned for the future. I, myself, was introduced to Organic Bath less than a year ago, but they have fast become a favorite in my house and with my family + friends. We love that the team at OBC is thoughtful about the ingredients they use to create their products + they WORK! I sat down with co-founder, Gianne Doherty on how the OBC got it's start, what they're cookin' up now and what she sees in their future!

Give us a little detail as to how Organic Bath came about. What initially drove you to start OBC as a brand?

Jay and I were inspired by brands who not only have incredible financial success, but who use their cache to make the world better through their donations to charity. It seems that in the past near decade, especially, the world has been changing: customers care about what they’re buying and where their money is going. We want our customers to know that they’re not only getting incredibly luxurious, safe products, but they’re helping improve the lives of others in the process.

A few year ago, when my daily skincare regimen had me breaking out in hives, we ended up making a pure, unscented, shea butter-based body butter for me that my skin still loves to this day. I turned to Google and fell down the rabbit hole; the lack of regulation in the beauty and skincare industries is astounding. I was determined to make safe products for myself and family and friends. Organic Bath Co. began out of necessity with that shea butter-based body butter (now known as “Drenched”), and we’ve donated a portion of our proceeds to charity since day one!  

When creating your products, where do you take inspiration from? (scents, packaging, etc)

We take inspiration from our daily lives. How we want to feel, how we want people to feel using our products. Take our Stress Less line for instance: is our most popular and we realized more and more people were using Stress Less as part of their nightly routine. So it made sense to expand into a soy candle as well as an Aromatherapy Roller Ball, which will be available this fall.

Our Enhance Face Oil was created because we were tired of the messages always being marketed to women. Anti-this, Anti-that...the message always seems to be you aren’t enough. But you ARE enough. So am I. So are we all.  We wanted to create a face oil that enhanced your natural beauty.  Some days you wake up and your skin feels great, you feel great, and you want to hang on to that feeling by moisturizing for a healthy glow. That is what Enhance Face Oil is for.

You've created The W.E.L.L. Summit... what is that all about?

The W.E.L.L. Summit was really born from our conversations with our customers, friends and family. We kept getting asked questions that were a bit outside of our scope such as: which natural deodorants do we recommend? Why essential oils and not fragrance? We saw a need to create a space to bring the best in the wellness industry together for a weekend of empowerment and learning.

What do you love to do in New England, when you aren't busy running Organic Bath? 

Haha. We love Nantucket! That is definitely a happy place for us that we can enjoy with our friends and family. When we’re in the city, we also love taking our dog Bruschi for a walk along the Charles. The beautiful thing about New England is that in a few hours you can be at the mountains or the beach and just get out and enjoy nature!

You have been super successful so far! Where do you see Organic Bath headed in the future?

Why thank you very much! In more spas and boutique retailers. And if I’m (Gianne) really dreaming, I think an Organic Bath Co. spa would be an amazing thing! We’ve had customers tell us that they bring our body oils or body butters to get massages with! It would be fantastic to have someplace where you know no questionable ingredients are being massaged into your skin.

Interested in learning more about this awesome brand? You can find Organic Bath Co. on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!

Excited for the Inaugural W.E.L.L. Summit!

I have been waiting for pretty much 6 months for W.E.L.L. Summit to draw near... and here is it, almost the end of October. In just a few weeks, the team over at W.E.L.L. Summit will be throwing their inaugural event with lots of great breakout sessions, movement classes, farm to table dinners and more all with people who are interested in living well. I am super excited to have organic cocktails and wine with like minded people who I am hoping to call new friends after a couple of days, just hangin', learning to live a healthier life. I'm posting the full info on the summit so that if you just have an inkling to think about going or if you have been waiting to pull the trigger, now is the time my friends! There are a couple different options, surely one will fit your needs! I hope to see you there!

Full Experience

– Farm-To-Table Welcome Dinner

– Lunch on Friday, November 6th & Saturday, November 7th

– Breakfast on Saturday, November 7th

– Brunch on Sunday, November 8th

– 2 days of interactive and educational breakout sessions and access to wellness leaders. All breakout sessions will be capped at 30 people ensuring you will have a chance to connect with the speaker, ask questions and get your questions answered!

– Networking opportunities with wellness professionals and enthusiasts

– Exclusive gift bag filled with wellness goodies

– Exclusive offers from our Sponsors such as a two month membership to Thrive Market + 15% off of your first purchase

Full Experience Pass $549.

Weekender Pass

Here’s what your W.E.L.L.come Weekender Pass will include:

 – Farm-To-Table Welcome Dinner with Keynote Speaker Latham Thomas

– Check-in Gift Bag

– Turn-Down Gift Bag

– Access to your choice of Breakout Sessions (Saturday & Sunday)

– Saturday morning yoga class with Boston Yogi Emily Griffin (optional)

– All inclusive Saturday lunch

– Access to the L.I.V.E. W.E.L.L. Marketplace

– Sunday morning movement class (optional)

– Sunday brunch

 Weekender Pass Price: $350.

Drop me a line if you're going; I'd love to connect!

Hello Beauty!, Natural Beauty and a New Outlook on my Beauty Biz

I went to a beauty event at the Wholefoods in Lynnfield, MA a couple of weekends ago. I haven't written about it because dang it, I've been really busy, guys! Along with the 21 Day Fix and my spending freeze, I have been trying to make our family unit better and more healthy. Being that this event was at Wholefoods, I popped the baby in the car and made a Sunday afternoon out of it. Since then, I have been really (I mean REALLY) inspired to start cleaning up my act as far as my skincare and beauty routines are concerned! My eyes were opened up to a whole new world of brands that keep your skin and body happy, without pouring on the chemicals, which happens all too frequently.

I mean, I am mindful of what I am bathing my baby in, I should be mindful of what I am putting on my own body right?  I know some of my friends have made changes in their skincare due to sensitivities and allergies, which is a great catalyst to make a switch up in your beauty batting order. Unfortunately for my inner motivator, I haven't had much of a need to break the status quo, Until now...

There were some local brand on hand at the Hello Beauty! event, Laughing Tree Organics, Shamanuti and Thesis Beauty, all with the women behind the lines on site (which was awesome)... These gals put on some great presentations about what natural and organic skincare can do for you and how it helps the environment, all the way from conception, to creation and even the packaging. These women are thinking about everything, bottling it up and giving us the opportunity to live a little more healthy. I am thinking you might be hearing from a couple of these gals in the near future, here on Prim and Propah! 

I guess what I am trying to say is that I am going to try to turn over a new, and more natural, leaf. I can make changes which will then become habit. I grabbed my ticket to the 1st Inaugural W.E.L.L. Summit Tickets (being held this November in Boston, MA) this week and am really looking forward to connecting with other like minded and well seasoned natural living people, since this a journey that I am just starting to take. I am not saying that everything in my life is going to make a complete turnaround right away or even ever but I can make some easy changes now that should help in the long run.

Do you make an effort to include more natural things into your every day? Was it a choice or do you have allergies? Do you have any recommendations for me?

W.E.L.L. Summit Tickets Go On Sale Tomorrow!

This Fall, the first ever W.E.L.L. Summit will be hitting the Boston scene! W.E.L.L (Wellness, Empowerment, Learning, Luxury) Summit is a celebration of living well, making empowered decisions, learning from top professionals - and of course, the luxury of health. There will be breakout sessions, fabulous speakers, makeovers and the opportunity to learn about living better. This seems like one of those conferences where you can take away so much amazing information, meet fun + like minded people and just really feel inspired! I am already working out a plan to keep my husband and child busy for 1.75 days!

What do the breakout sessions entail?
The majority of the itinerary will be made up of interactive breakout sessions. All breakout sessions will be capped at 30 people ensuring you will have a chance to connect with the speaker, ask questions and get your questions answered! Breakout sessions will be 60 to 90 minutes long.

Tickets:
The 1st inaugural W.E.L.L. Summit is going to be something special! The folks at W.E.L.L. are beyond excited to have you involved. Come with a friend, your sister, a co-worker…make it a weekend getaway! Whether you are new to wellness, want to meet our wellness experts in person, this is the event for you. Tickets go on sale April 1st at 10am! Early bird passes are going to be available for $449.00,

Your all inclusive ticket price will include:

• A seat at our sit down Farm to Table Welcome Dinner including organic wines and cocktails.
• Lunch on Friday, November 6th & Saturday, November 7th
• Breakfast on Saturday, November 7th & Sunday, November 8th
• 1.5 days of interactive and educational breakout sessions and access to wellness leaders. All breakout sessions will be capped at 30 people ensuring you will have a chance to connect with the speaker, ask questions and get your questions answered!
• Networking opportunities with wellness professionals and enthusiasts
• Exclusive gift bag filled with wellness goodies!

Sample of Breakout Sessions:

• Beyond the Bar: The Beautiful Art of Soap Making with Tara Pelletier of Meow Meow Tweet
• In the Journey: Walking the Path to Healthy, Wholesome & Sound Beauty with Tara Foley of Follain
• Eat Pretty: Looking Beautiful, One Bite At A Time with Jolene Hart, Author Eat Pretty, Certified Beauty & Health Coach

What do you think? Are you going to be grabbing a conference pass?