In episode 243, Kestrel welcomes Julia Perez, the creator of Jae and Leona, to the show. Through her company — Jae and Leona — Julia offers small batch, plant + botanical skin care products, as well as in-person facial treatments. She is also an intuitive esthetician, energy healer, and model.
"Self care should be an everyday thing, and it almost should be an every moment thing — like every thing that you’re doing is with intention to support yourself, to preserve yourself, so that you can then continue to go on to live your life’s purpose, whatever that may be." -Julia
Have you felt like you’re hearing a lot more about *self care* over the last year or so?
I mean, let’s be real - the last year+ has been intense on so many levels - from COVID-19 to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd to job insecurity to economic difficulties … it’s been a lot. And with all of that, there has been a heightened need to find ways to care for ourselves, in order to keep going.
But one of the things I notice is how much the *growth* of self care has been directly aligned with capitalism - you know, it’s companies marketing products to us, as these things we have to have to take a break, or something we need to help us rest or do something for ourselves.
When, there are so many ways we can slow down without buying anything new.
This week’s guest reminds us that self care doesn’t mean retail therapy — and that self care can be little things that we do for ourselves on a daily basis. She shares more on her work as an intuitive esthetician, how she released her own skincare line during the pandemic, some of the ways her own heritage has been built into her products, and what skincare as liberation means to her.
Quotes & links from the conversation:
Julia’s favorite ingredients?
“There are 2 ingredients — one is tamanu, which is a nut that comes from the South Pacific that has incredible healing properties, and the other one is tulsi which is sweet basil. But both of those ingredients actually have links in history to my own heritage — my Dad is from Guam, so from the South Pacific, a lot of Natives actually used those two ingredients or those plants to do their own healing. In my research, I wanted to create a link to my own heritage and healing and really investigate and be connected to that.”
“I hope that many businesses can really step away from the scarcity model — of like ‘you need to buy this right now or it’s no longer going to be available for you’. You know, not only is that mind frame and that model toxic, but it also doesn’t support others that may not be able to make that investment at that moment, and is kind of exclusionary in a lot of senses.” -Julia
Jae and Leona's Awakening Hydrosol
Jae and Leona's Bare Face Cleansing Oil
Follow Julia on Instagram >
for all things sustainable fashion for larger bodies
Follow Jae and Leona on Instagram >
for all things skincare + self care
S03 Episode 121 | NEST + BUILDING A NEW HANDWORKER ECONOMY
S03 Episode 120 | THR3EFOLD, SOURCING ETHICAL FACTORIES + LOOKING BEYOND TRANSPARENCY
S03 Episode 119 | STATE OF FASHION + SEARCHING FOR THE NEW LUXURY
S03 Episode 118 | FIBERSHED + REGENERATIVE TEXTILE SYSTEMS
S03 Episode 117 | INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS + THE IDENTITY OF PRODUCTS
S03 Episode 116 | MARA HOFFMAN ROUND 2, AN UPDATE ON SUSTAINABILITY, GROWTH + EVOLUTION
S03 Episode 115 | OLORI + THE DIVINE RIGHT OF QUEENS
S03 Episode 114 | MODERN MACRAME
S03 Episode 113 | RESONANCE + CONNECTING ART WITH COMMERCE
S03 Episode 112 | NEO•THREAD, ONE-OF-A-KIND GEMS + COOL GIRLS CARE
S03 Episode 111 | ADITI MAYER, ADIMAY + REVOLUTION WASHING
S03 Episode 110 | BUY GOOD FEEL GOOD + ELEVATING ACCESS FOR SHOPPERS AND BRANDS
S03 Episode 109 | FINERY + MAKING USE OF THE WARDROBE YOU ALREADY HAVE
S03 Episode 108 | G-STAR RAW + THE MOST SUSTAINABLE JEANS EVER
S03 Episode 107 | SHOP GOOD + INTENTIONS FOR WELLNESS
S03 Episode 106 | CRAFTIVISTS + THE ART OF GENTLE PROTEST
S03 Episode 105 | THE CORDES FOUNDATION + SUPPLY CHAIN STORIES
S02 Episode 104 | WOOLN + GRANDMAS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN
S02 Episode 103 | WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY + THE SOCIAL IMPACT ECONOMY
S02 Episode 102 | MELANIN & SUSTAINABLE STYLE + ETHICAL FASHION AS A PRIVILEGED WHITE GIRL THING
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