The Full Story
12 years ago I set out to create high quality skincare and make up. I had one goal, make the high pigmented colors that would match my elaborate Belly dance outfits. Yes you heard right, match my performance costumes. I quickly figured out that mineral make up was the way to go while teaching dance, conducting rehearsals, performing while keeping my skin from not breaking out due to all of the make up use. Then the pandemic hit, no more performances, and life got really boring. The store I sold at downsized and people no longer needed my lipsticks anymore. I remember throwing away 100's of $ in the trash as I always made everything with natural preservatives. But as they say: weeds are hard to kill and I took the opportunity to research more, meditate on what needs to change. I focused on coming up with products that reflect who I have become: a woman in the middle of my life, a few new wrinkles, grey hair, a few pounds to many but with so much more experience and knowledge. I would like to share that with everyone, because in the end, well, there is but one planet earth and we are all visitors here. Maybe the fact that I am a Grandma now, makes me think extra hard. What world is my grandson going to grow up in?
One of the things close the my heart is having full disclosure of products used and the benefits of the ingredients. Having grown up in Europe, makes me a little bit of a "Is it certified" enthusiast. I know here in the states we are far from that, but I hope you can trust I am doing my best to use the cleanest, organic, earth conscious materials. Please take a stroll though our list of ingredients to learn more about all I use.
I certainly wish I could say all our make-up products are not animal tested.... well, we have three dogs, and licks and kisses are a part of us hanging out and communicating so I can say with 100% confidence, they are all happy and unharmed after licking my foundation, chewing up a fallen lipstick and whatever they manage to get their paws on. LOL
About the materials we use, packaging and raw ingredients:
We at 23 North believe in the concept of the 7 Generations, meaning all impact we do today must be good for 7 generations from now and will be felt long after we are gone. Lots of people think caring for the environment is a goal too high but we believe if everyone did a little each day, it would have a enormous impact on tomorrow. Reuse, recycle, take into consideration if shipping outweighs the benefits of using locally made but not 100% recyclable is sometimes the better way. We also offer the options for our beloved customers to reuse their cosmetic containers to minimize waste. We believe this is a good step in the right direction and every bit helps.