Thank you for checking out my website and products! I’m a Colorado Native, I grew up in Cortez, graduated from Fort Lewis College and eventually moved to Denver where I met my husband Curtis. After a lot of moves and career changes, we have been in Commerce City now for 10 years. We love to travel so being close to the airport is amazing!
Over the years I have been intrigued by the ingredients and products that we use every day and I realized I wanted more natural options and was determined to make my own. I started out by trying DIY recipes on Pinterest (as we do!) but I wanted to educate myself rather than just follow basic recipes. This led me to enroll in courses with Formula Botanica. The school provided in-depth, challenging online modules for a variety of products and ingredients (butters, oils, waxes, emulsifiers, stabilizers, extracts, clays, exfoliators, aromaceuticals, essential oils) and I had so much fun experimenting and finally creating my own lotions, chapsticks, creams, scrubs, facial oils, and body washes. After earning my certification, I was excited to sell my products but quickly realized I struggled to find a purpose that would set them apart so I moved on to other interests.
In June 2023, my purpose found me, in a very unexpected way. I discovered a lump in my breast, and after mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy I received the shocking diagnosis of cancer (hormone positive HER2 negative). The following year was a blur of more biopsies, images, surgery, and treatment decisions. September 2023 I had lumpectomy surgery to remove 2 tumors and three lymph nodes (one positive), and faced the choice of chemotherapy, radiation, or both. I opted for radiation and finally hormone therapy (medical menopause), which I will be on for 5-7 years.
During my radiation treatments, I frequently thought about the creams and lotions recommended for cancer patients. While I would have loved to formulate my own, I knew I needed to focus my time and energy on healing and getting through the daily treatments.
Now that I have completed my treatments and am cancer free, it’s even more important that I know exactly what ingredients I should avoid and what can be beneficial. I truly believe that some things happen for a reason and through a failed attempt for a facial and eventually through an oncology esthetician, I found the non-profit Hope Lives! for women going through breast cancer treatment in NOCO. I invited some friends to join us at their yearly gala and it was so inspiring that I wanted to volunteer with this amazing organization. Inspired by my own journey with breast cancer I am so grateful to now be able to focus on using my formulating skills again and make natural products for anyone who, like me, really pay attention to the type of ingredients they use daily and especially for those who are sensitive to fragrance.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns and as always if you have/had cancer check with your oncologist about what products are safe to use. Click on the resources page for ingredients and breast cancer information and other things that I have found useful & comforting through this journey. Let me know if you have any helpful links I can add for chemotherapy and mastectomy resources. With gratitude, Jill Brown