Bucket Challenged

Sometimes our decisions about donating don’t even seem to be driven by values or potential impact ….but by celebrities and the entertainment value of the fundraising campaigns they endorse. Look no further than the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The feel-good campaign works like this: you film yourself throwing a bucket of ice over your head, post it to social media, and then challenge your friends to either do the same or donate £100 to the ALS Association, which works to end Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Sure, the ice-bucket brigade has raised “awareness” about ALS, and no doubt lots of money as well. But there must be a better way to accomplish the same thing without encouraging people to do a little pretend suffering—whether that means pouring a bucket of cold water over your head, or running a 10K race or taking on some other physical inconvenience—when it’s the people being helped who know all too well what real suffering is.

The ice-bucket challenge is a gentle and well-intended little game of pay-or-dare, and I admire the good humor and neighborly spirit involved. Still, I wonder about the true nature of this “challenge.” Do I prove something about myself by rising to it? Is it better to fill a bucket or ? If I wrote a cheque but told no one, would others think less of me? Absolutely not.

Here’s my CHALLENGE to you…go donate to a charity, this one or ANY charity you feel passionate about. Not because you want to dump cold water over your head and have everyone clap you on the back and ‘Like’ you; but because you WANT to….Oh, and the most important part of that challenge~DON’T tell anyone, don’t look for Thanks, just know that you helped and let that be enough. I promise you, the Blessings are the same.

Being Extraordinary and Living Your Truth

I get asked all the time about my visions for myself and my company and how I got here. The truth is, it took me years to realize that everything I am now is because of choices I made from the very beginning. The good, the bad, and the not so glamorous all have a play in what has become a most EXTRAORDINARY life so far.

You'll find as you set out after your dreams that most people don't really want you to transcend the situation you were born into.
This particularly applies if your reaching your dreams means that you will rise above whatever position they are in. Not the position you or society puts them in, but the position they CHOOSE to see themselves in.

It's human nature and no, not everyone is like that. The people who love and truly believe in you WANT to see you reach your dreams. The people who grant "beingness" have no problem with knowing you have every ability to be EXTRAORDINARY.

A small town was never going to be big enough to hold me. I knew I was destined for more than young marriage and motherhood followed by a lifetime of nothingness because I'd given up on all MY dreams.
There's a saying I once heard that is SO true.

"When you're the most happening person at the party, It's time to leave."

For me that "party" was small town life. I had to get my boogie on or I'd die......literally and figuratively.

If you surround yourself with people and things that are ordinary and those people think YOU are also ordinary....chances are eventually you'll become just that....ORDINARY.
Ordinary is Death in a perfectly comfortable pair of well-worn pj's....it won't incite anything in your life but more of the same. For some folks that's enough. Their light on this earth dies out with the same dim flicker it with which it began.

Don't hide your glow of EXTRA-ORDINARY!!!

Go out and surround yourself with people and things that reflect your extraordinary self!!!!

Love and Light,

Brittany

The Art of Making Money & Success

Some folks are really blind about making money....they wonder why it eludes them. The simple truth is it's the intention behind it. We all want success and a better life but at what cost? Morally you need to take the high ground.

Lately I’ve seen a lot of people, some of them friends, do some really dumb things in an attempt to earn more money. They buy into lame money-making programs, join and promote useless MLM schemes, and fall prey to scammers.

The common pattern is always the same — they’re focused on trying to make more money. They make it their top priority. They think about it constantly. But they keep getting sucked into trying to make money without providing any real value, and it’s unsustainable.

In the end this sort of thing eventually self-destructs. The only way to succeed with it in the long run is to find lots of suckers and basically rip them off in order to enrich yourself. It's doomed to fail in the long-run. You aren't making money honestly, morally or with integrity. You are playing into an already corrupt system.

Instead of focusing on trying to make more money, put your time and energy into CREATING and DELIVERING real value.

Creating value means expressing your unique talents and skills in a way that can potentially benefit others.

Delivering value means ensuring that other people are actually receiving and benefiting from the value you’ve created.

The most viable long-term strategy is to create AND deliver value. You can mix and match other strategies with it, but this should be your primary method of income generation. If you get good at creating and delivering value, you can basically write your own ticket and enjoy lots of abundance.

When you are putting positivity into the Universe in any form, you will get it back. I wish you success and the fulfillment of all your dreams.

Love and Light,

Brittany

Summer 2014 Collection is Here!

The new Summer Collection sugar scrubs and body cremes are now on the website and ready to start shipping.
 The scent descriptions are below, you will find these scents in both sugar scrubs and body cremes.

 Carnival Clown Fizzy Pop~ Another childhood nostalgia blend of all the great scents of the carnival without the scary clowns! Red shiny candy apples, sugary blue bubblegum slushies, cotton candy and fizzy strawberry soda pop are all blended together for this toothsome favorite.

Coco Beach Hut~ Coconut lovers take note!! This will blow your coconutty lil mind! Sweet, sun-warmed coconut, tropical breezes off your own private beach, a touch of white musk and the tang of salty air with a touch of fragrant dried driftwood.

 Creme de Pistache~ Don't wear this and expect to get away un-nibbled!! So very sexy and alluring and not at all what you would expect. Creamy Italian pistachio ice cream is blended with dark chocolate, salted caramel and honeycomb liberally sprinkled with toasted brown sugar, a touch of cinnamon for the ultimate gourmand experience.

 Frozen Blue Raspberry Sorbet~ Like slice of your childhood, this scent captures the aroma of ripened raspberries, sugary cotton candy, and the melty slushiness of sorbet.

 Frozen Margarita~ Just like the drink! This has that perfectly tangy blend of fresh limes, a shot of tequila (or three!) and a touch of salt...all swirled together with the intention of delighting all of your senses!

 Nekkid Rockstar~ Do you know the difference between naked and nekkid? Naked is when you don't have any clothes on, nekkid is when you don't have any clothes on and you're up to something! hehe Utterly sexy delicious scent which takes 3 types of vanilla, Lebanon cedar, Egyptian musk, and chypre. All softened with notes of melon, strawberry & pink sugar.

 Strawberry Cheesecake~ The perfect aroma of cheesecake with a nice thick strawberry coulis sauce. What could be more perfect?!

 

The Doktor Witch Is In

Over the years I have gotten used to the daily e-mails from folks all over the world asking advice and 'prescriptions' for their skin. I get photos of skin conditions, descriptions of sensitivities and pleas for help from all corners of the globe. I ALWAYS take time out to personally answer each and every one of these e-mails.
 If I am being placed in such a position of trust on very sensitive topics, then they least I can do is be present and as helpful as possible. Over time my role seems to have grown organically from just a cosmetic chemist and CEO for my line into what I jokingly refer to as "Doktor Witch". Most people who know me or spend more than 5 minutes on my website or in my retail store, very quickly realize that I follow the witch path.
 Because of my increased role in things both internal and external I am taking steps to get my fully licensed Homeopathy division in place. Right now I can legally make and prescribe things for friends and family but not the general public. This is something that will be changing this year once I get all my little legal certification and insurance ducks in order.
 For now, my public role is that of licensed cosmetic chemist dealing with external issues only. Mr. Posh Brats comes into the shop with me on Saturdays to help with the heavy traffic flow of customers. I tend to stay down in my "soap cave" getting things made and restocked and making appearances when I am needed.
 
This is what I refer to as my "soap cave". This is in the cellar of my retail shop in Macclesfield on the cobblestones of Church Street. One fabulous thing about my soap cave is that the archway you see there is actually a blocked tunnel that leads to the church at the top of the hill, the old village gaol and the castle. This was all blocked up at least a hundred years ago but it makes for some interesting noises and spirit activity at times.

 I digress here back to the main topic at hand..... the gradual morphing of my role into one of a caregiver of sorts. Word in the village very quickly spread about our skin care products and handmade soaps more than anything else in the store. Because our prices are low in comparison to most High Street brands, people were skeptical. They plunked down their £ and "took a chance".
 What we found is that most Saturdays we have people coming through the door asking for me. I come upstairs and spend as long as I need to with each person making sure we get the perfect Rx prescription for their skin needs.
 Mr. Posh Brats will often call me upstairs to give advice or go into deeper discussion on a product for those customers that have a deeper need of the science behind the product. So, just as I have online for years....I am now doing this service in person. It is my sincere belief that this personal service and caring has been what helped build the PB brand with zero outside advertising. As far as I am concerned, the Doktor Witch will ALWAYS be in....