Nadine Artemis on Sunlight, Living Libations, and Renegade Beauty
"When everything artificial and synthetic falls away, the breathability and the beauty of our own nature can shine through."
Welcome back to In Practice. Our guest today is Nadine Artemis, the creator behind Living Libations and author of books including Holistic Dental Care (2013) and Renegade Beauty (2017).
Like any beloved brand, Living Libations has become a world unto itself — with each gem-colored tonic and tiny amber bottle representing an investment in the boundless cosmos of your being (borrowing Nadine’s words).
“Living Libations bottles line my shelf like tiny stained-glass windows,” says Victoria, last week’s guest. “She really helped me minimize my beauty care by being multifunctional whilst still being daily luxuries…I have many favorites.”
“I could live without LL but it makes me feel like a princess and makes the appearance shine more,” added Anna in last winter’s gift guide. “There’s a magical and divine quality to their products.”
Though the first libations were poured long before the brand launched in 2004 (more on that below), it was Nadine’s fateful meeting with her now-husband, Ron, that sparked the true impulse to share them.
As an old company blog recalls:
Ron and Nadine embody a bliss that is caught rather than sought, the alchemy of their cosmic communion pours the levity of life into the sacred and the secular. Out of this play with pure-plant wonders their luxurious skin care [and] restorative essences are made, tuning people’s senses to the adventure of living.
From those early experiments, to becoming a mainstay of medicine cabinets and morning rituals worldwide — read on for a closer look at the magic that started (and sustains) it all…
I love how you described your younger self: There once was a girl with a wild look in the corner of her eye… pockets filled with acorns and twigs… Can you tell us more about that girl, and how Living Libations first came to be?
As a little girl and a teenager, I had a desire to concoct mixtures and cosmetics. By the time I was eighteen years old, aromatic essences had already brought a new dimension of delight to my life. In university, I collected every essential oil book and gathered from far and wide the oils described in these books, and this led me to in-depth studies of botanical-constituent chemistry.
I began making honeyed perfumes, practical potions, and skin care products, and my friends and family loved them. When I graduated college, I opened Osmosis, North America’s first full concept brick and mortar aromatherapy store. After a few years, I longed to leave the city and needed space to rethink and rejuvenate, so I closed the store. That’s when I met my partner, Ron, and together we launched Living Libations.
A few years ago, our home and business headquarters burned to the ground in the middle of the night. We lost everything. While it was scary and deeply overwhelming to experience so much loss, we were astonished to witness the strength of our Living Libations team and business rise to the challenge. We were amazed that we could rise out of the ashes so quickly and strongly.
Walk us through your current morning and nighttime routines.
As the sun rises, I contemplate all the blessings in my life, and if my family is around, we like to shout out all the things we are thankful for.
Every sunny day I spend at least a few minutes sitting outside keeping company with the Sun to let the warm rays reinvigorate my creativity, and then I go for a walk in the woods or swim in our lake. In the evening, Ron and I will sit outside in the moonlight as we brush our teeth and catch up with each other for the day.
This morning, I washed my face with Immortelle Best Skin Ever and rolled on Sunrise Poetic Pits for the sunny, summertime citrus aroma. I am going to sunbathe and swim in the lake, so I have drenched my skin with Everybody Loves the Sunshine to harmonize my skin with the sun.
I really dig mint in the summer, and I enjoy brushing my teeth with Triple Mint Enamelizer on the Sonic Shine Toothbrush. I clean my tongue with the Tactical Tongue Scraper with a drop of Happy Gum Drops, and I always floss with Smart Floss because it is gentle on my gums and never gets stuck in my teeth.
Tonight I will treat my skin to the Triple Crown: wash with lovely Rose Best Skin Ever, smooth on a drop of Rose Glow Serum, and seal all that moisture in for the night with Castor + Rose Otto. I will probably wash my hair with Seabuckthorn Shampoo, and to keep my curls together, I always use Calendula Comfort: Curl Crème + Conditioner.
While I could never pick a favorite Libation, our Best Skin Ever serums and Happy Gum Drops are staples in my beauty routine. I use them every day to keep my skin and gums healthy. And for days that I want to keep it super simple, those two products are all I need to be fresh and clean!
What do you do when you need to reset your energy?
When I need to reset, I set mighty sights on the Sun!
Being outside in the sun, among the flora and fauna, revitalizes me. I love to walk on our land and admire the abundance of life in the forest, in the lake, and in the swampy places in between. On my walks, I take photos to capture the wildflowers and creatures that I encounter. Enjoying a beautiful sunrise and basking in the sun to dry off after a swim also recharges my battery.
What does beauty mean to you?
Beauty, to me, is renegade!
Beauty is innate — it is something we ever-bloom into, not something applied to the skin. Renegade beauty is surrendering to the seduction of doing less and allowing the elements and the life force of nature to revive the body, skin, and spirit.
Healthy is always beautiful and true, cell-deep health is the wellspring of natural, lasting beauty. It is expressed from within when we are tissues and strong and our cells are properly nourished. When everything artificial and synthetic falls away, the breathability and the beauty of our own nature can shine through.
Our present-day perception of beauty is parched. Big beauty urges us to chase unrealistic perfection and prop up these excessive ideals even when we know the standards are unreal.
“Renegade beauty is surrendering to the seduction of doing less and allowing the elements and the life force of nature to revive the body, skin, and spirit.”
Over the last thirty years, thousands have brought their beauty questions. Many are distraught with dermal dilemmas, and the nature of their questions is complex, and much of modern day “beauty” has led us into this terrain… This is why I wrote Renegade Beauty.
How do you hope people feel when they encounter Living Libations?
When people use a Libation, I hope they experience jouissance, a French word without an English equivalent. Jouissance is the rapture of all the senses, a pleasure without opposite and without equal. It is an exquisite juiciness that lubricates the soul and brings dewy freshness to life, creativity, and health.
Botanical oils are the infinite intelligence of the universe and the boundless glee of the cosmos, and I want Living Libations to be an invitation to join in this cosmic communion.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
If I could whisper words of wisdom to my younger self and to others, I’d say, “Rose-colored glasses are an essential accessory in life. Don’t leave home without them! Trust life, engage in the glory of gratitude, and count your blessings — and bless life back!”
The very best advice on anything always comes from within, from inner intuition anchored into our beings.
A note on essential oils & sensitive skin…
Every essential oil has a verse in the language of the lymph, in the melody of the endocrine, in the balance of the biome, and in the song of the skin.
— Nadine Artemis, Renegade Beauty
Nadine’s libations play with many essential oils, some of which can irritate sensitive skin. As Nadine alludes to in Renegade Beauty, and Olivia Burr mentions below, different oils may be better suited to us depending on the season we’re in.
A bit more context from Olivia, who runs the divine Earth Archive:
I’m not necessarily an essential oil-free kind of person. They provide such a beautiful experience. But something that I’ve noticed is when I turned 30 my skin got way more sensitive. I’ve really had to reevaluate my skin and body care situation. I love the Poetic Pits (that is super, super strong) and have been using it the past few days because it smells so good and I’ve had no reaction. But then in the fall, I was using it and got rashes.
She continues:
I feel like we really live in a day and age where people want to demonize particular ingredients. But it’s not black and white in terms of sensitivities. It really feels, especially as women, our bodies move through such diverse seasons that I’m curious if at certain points in my cycle my body could topically handle things that at other points it can’t. Our bodies are constantly in flux and changing…
Another perspective, from Victoria:
I would say I have quite sensitive, acne prone facial skin. I think some essential oil can definitely be aggravating and I would solely keep around for body or for scent, such as: many citrus and mint oils. I found specifically with her products, for the face, I stick to ones sans coconut oil, which I find comedogenic. For her BSE, I stick to either the Immortelle or Sandalwood. Immortelle (helichrysum) is such a wonderful, antimicrobial plant that has helped my breakouts! I have also had good luck this summer with her zinc sunscreen despite it containing coconut, thankfully!
The consensus: choose your own adventure, dear reader…
DREAM