The Beauty Librarian

 

Every now and then, I encounter a skincare line created so much depth, passion, and love that calling the line’s offerings “products” would be demeaning, as it would discount the soulful artistry and sacred alchemy involved in their conception and creation.  Elaa Living Organic Skin Care is such a line.  This is line that is natural, vibrant, handcrafted with love, and dazzling in its beauty and its effectiveness.  Elaa Skin Care is a wildcrafted, fresh, living/raw (e.g., never heated above 115 degrees, such that actives retain all their nutritional value), 100% natural, cruelty-free, 95% vegan/5% beegan (i.e., vegan + bee-produced ingredients carefully managed so no bees are harmed in the process) skin care line packed with beneficial skin nutrition.  Crafted with living, healing, transformational, and highly-active superfoods, oils extracts, and nectars, the line appropriately takes its name from the Finnish word for “to be alive.”

The woman behind Elaa Living Organic Skin Care, founder and formulator/alchemist Jill Stacey, is as lovely, soulful, and vibrant as the line itself.  The way she approaches her craft hints at the wonders you will experience with her treasures.  For instance, Jill describes Elaa Skin Care as “an expression of what lights me up” and views her creations as a way to share her passions, wisdom, and gifts.  Jill understands that our culture makes true self-acceptance difficult, writing, “Due to the conditioning of our culture for unrealistic, artificial, and impossible standards of beauty, girls and women (and boys and men as well) are punishing and self-abusing themselves in subtle to life-threatening ways. Almost everyone I have ever known, including myself, has struggled with body image and/or skin issues.” Jill herself has found that loving self-care is a valuable practice for embracing ourselves exactly as we are and cultivating and deepening self-acceptance.  She handcrafts Elaa treasures with the belief that each of us is inherently sacred and that skin care is a way to cherish our bodies and help propel each of us to our highest potential of vitality, health, and beauty.  Elaa Skin Care is a truly inspired line that offers the highest quality, highest performance, natural skin care treasures to inspire self-care and self-love.

 

 

Elaa Living Organic Skin Care founder and alchemist Jill Stacey has the words of a poet, the vision of an artist, and a unique depth and breadth of skills that come from merging passion and natural gifts with a wealth of formal education and training.  An Ivy League graduate with a deep and longstanding love of nature’s bounty, the expertise Jill brings to her craft includes training as a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and Nutritionist, an Herbalist, and an Aromatherapist, among other qualifications.  Though this wealth of formal expertise is evident in Elaa’s uniquely nutritious skin treasures, so is an undeniable depth that goes beyond book-learning.  Jill’s approach to alchemy and creation is informed by her deepest passions, her life-learned wisdom, and perhaps even a bit of divine inspiration.  As Jill shared in a recent social media post, “Much of the creation comes from knowledge, science, research… but also a large portion comes from my heart and soul… and how they speak to me while I’m creating. My intuition is really the most critical instrument of all in guiding me as I create Elaa formulas. My inner guide speaks to me when my mind is quiet and I’m dropped into being and feeling the creation that’s wanting to come into form.”  The results are spectacular.

 

 

The recipes of Elaa Living Organic Skin Care formulas are something to behold, each one bursting with bountiful nutrition.  Jill’s understanding of and appreciation for superfood nutrition is evident in the abundant superstar ingredients she includes in each Elaa treasure, and the ingredient blends in Elaa treasures offer the ultimate wholesome indulgence for skin and spirit.  For just one shining example (of many), we can admire the impressive array of beneficial actives in Elaa’s Superfood Dream Cream.  This luscious creation features wildcrafted Goji Berries, Organic Cacao, MSM, Organic Mangosteen, Wildcrafted Amla, Organic Rhodiola, Organic Baobab, Organic Camu Camu, Organic Acai, Organic Reishi and Chaga Mushrooms, Organic Spirulina, Organic Pomegranate Oil, Frankincense Essential Oil, and more!  In another line, any one of these dynamic actives could easily serve as a sole star active in a formulation rounded out by copious fillers; in fact, one of Superfood Dream Cream’s dozen or so star ingredients, MSM, is arguably the basis of/inspiration behind an entire skin care line (i.e., OSKIA).  With Elaa, you get treasures that are completely filler free and literally packed to the brim with an array of superstar actives.

 

 

Jill’s alchemy is dazzling across the entire Elaa line, including two Elaa treasures that particularly caught my eye:  Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir and Bee Beauty Facial Oil.  I had the privilege of trying this dynamic, beegan, age-defying pair.  Both treasures draw on the amazing benefits of bee-produced actives (and, as I mentioned before, no bees are harmed in gathering these actives).  Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir and Bee Beauty Facial Oil both deliver high-performance results using dynamic natural actives in gorgeous, synergistic blends.  Let me tell you about each one.

 

Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir

 

 

 

Elaa Skin Care Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir is a skin-smoothing dream for aging skin.  The elixir features one of nature’s most potent and dynamic anti-aging ingredients:  bee venom.  Bee venom itself contains at least 18 active components that include enzymes, peptides, and biogenic amines; among these, substances called melittin, phospholipase A2, and a small amount of histamine are thought to act together to have circulation-boosting, tightening, and brightening effects on the skin.  Elaa founder Jill first became enamored with bee venom after experiencing apitherapy (i.e., the treatment modality in which bee venom is utilized as an anti-inflammatory treatment for pain and illness).  The healing Jill experienced with this left her in awe of bee venom and inspired her to incorporate this versatile active in this Elaa treasure.  The Bee Venom used in Elaa Bee Blessed is pure, potent, undried, and unadulterated.  The active is carefully sourced such that bees are unharmed and maintain their stingers throughout the Bee Venom collection process; a panel of glass is placed alongside a hive, and a very weak current is run through the glass panel, prompting the bees to pump out a minuscule amount of venom, such that it takes a million stings to create just 1ml of the star venom.  Talk about a truly precious ingredient!

Called nature’s Botox, Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir’s star active delivers clinically-proven anti-aging effects.  For example, a bee-venom serum containing a mere 0.006% concentration of the active significantly reduced wrinkle area, wrinkle count, and wrinkle depth. These striking results were obtained using a far weaker concentration of bee venom than that contained in Elaa Skin Care’s potent, active-packed Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir, in which bee venom is a top ingredient.  As bee venom is water-soluble, Jill has formulated the elixir in a water-based serum for maximum penetration with a pinch of black pepper essential oil to facilitate and boost absorption.  Not only does Bee Blessed deliver the equivalent of 212 bee stings in a single ounce, it also further boosts the anti-aging potency of bee venom by including it in a synergistic anti-aging blend that also features:  six Anti-Aging Peptides, PhytoElastin, Liposomal Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Organic White Tea, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and select Organic Essential Oils.  These actives offer a wealth of rejuvenating, hydrating, antioxidant, and skin-firming benefits that make a beautiful difference for the complexion.

 

 

Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir is a transformative anti-aging gem.  Moreover, in addition to anti-wrinkle actions, bee venom has serious anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects as well, so this elixir truly offers benefits for nearly any skin type, including one as challenged as mine (e.g., inflammation-prone, sensitive, acne-prone, and aging).  I love that Bee Blessed promotes calmer and clearer skin in addition to delivering serious wrinkle-reducing results.  Bee Blessed is a beautiful, high-performance treasure that will benefit all sorts of complexions, and I feel confident recommending it.

Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir Ingredients:  Organic Aloe Vera, Hyaluronic Acid, Radish Root Ferment, White Peony Tea Extract, Bee Venom, Peptides (6 varieties), Phytoelastin, Retinol Liposome, Silver Citrate, Organic Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils of Lavender, Frankincense, Rose Geranium, Neroli, Rose Otto, Black Pepper, Alpha Lipoic Acid.

 

Bee Beauty Facial Oil

 

 

Bee Beauty Facial Oil is another beegan gem from Elaa.  If you are a lover of natural facial oils, you will not want to miss this, and if you are not, this will make a believer out of you.  The star active is Triple Concentrated Royal Jelly, the substance that, when consumed by bees, turns them into queen bees.  The fact that royal jelly influences bee development this much (see Jill’s description in another incredible Elaa blog article) is pretty incredible, and it turns out that royal jelly also has amazing benefits for the skin.  Even at regular strength, Royal Jelly has been shown to boost collagen production, minimize inflammation by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines, and improve hydration; the 3x concentrated Royal Jelly in Bee Beauty delivers these benefits in a big way, leaving skin calm and plump.  The gorgeous blend that rounds out the formulation includes Wildcrafted Goji Berries, Organic Elderflower, Organic Green Rooibos, Organic Seabuckthorn Oil, Organic Pomegranate Oil, Organic Horsetail, and more.

Bee Beauty Facial Oil is a standout in terms of its ingredients and its results.  I have tried dozens facial oils in my day, and most of them are pleasant, but few really qualify as high-performance. Bee Beauty Facial Oil is one of these special few.  This oil moisturizer markedly changed my skin for the better–noticeably improving my skin texture and leaving my skin softer, smoother, and suppler.  Bee Beauty left me so impressed that I marveled at its results–I could not stop touching my face because my skin was so smooth and hydrated that it almost felt like I was touching the soft, plump face of one of my young daughters.  Bee Beauty is easily one of my all-time favorite facial oils.  It is incredibly hydrating without being heavy and, as is the case with Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir, Bee Beauty is a dynamic, multi-benefit skin care treasure suitable for a variety of skin types and concerns; this gem delivers potent anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects, along with skin-plumping hydration.

Bee Beauty Facial Oil Ingredients: Organic Jojoba Oil, Immortality Alchemy’s Organic 3X concentrated Royal Jelly, Organic Rose Hip Seed CO2, Wildcrafted Goji Berry, Organic Red Clover Blossom, Organic Horsetail, Organic Nettle Leaf, Organic Oolong Tea, Organic Comfrey Root, Organic Chamomile, Organic Burdock Root, Organic Red Rose Petals, Organic ElderFlower, Organic Licorice Root, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Green Rooibos Tea, Organic Pomegranate Seed Oil, Organic Seabuckthorn Oil, Organic Unrefined Vitamin E Oil, Organic Supercritical CO2 extracted Rosemary Antioxidant, Organic Therapeutic Essential Oils of Sandalwood, Frankincense, Rose Otto, Organic Jasmine Sambac.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Both Bee Blessed- Bee Venom Elixir and Bee Beauty Facial Oil are sumptuous, high-performance, multi-benefit skin care.  Bee Blessed is an anti-aging, wrinkle-smoothing powerhouse treatment serum, and Bee Beauty is one of the most effective skin-plumping facial oil moisturizers I have ever tried.  Each is a treasure on its own, but together they are a began masterpiece, offering countless benefits in just two (deeply enjoyable) steps.  Highly recommended.