My journey led me onwards to Japan where I spent time with Geisha to learn more about the local Japanese culture and beauty secrets. I was surprised to learn that the traditional Japanese lifestyle, and their way of life boasted them the longest life expectancy in the world. I discovered the beautiful use of Tsubaki which is a special type of Camellia, which was used daily to remove . They explained to me the significance of soy in their daily life, from everything to which later became a major inspiration in the Japonica Face Oil.
Brasil was a mind opening experience. I travelled to the northern region Pará to a city called Belém – the gateway to the Amazon forrest. I saw how connected people with the land and old traditions. I was invited to my friend’s family farm and his grandmother prepared a natural Peroba oil for me to drink. This was delicious, and made me feel energised. We explored the various local markets where Amazonian nuts and berries were sold at street markets. At their family farm, Babassu oil, Buriti & Pracaxi was cultivated. I noticed that many of these ingredients were used in synthetic formulations on the local shelves, but not in any natural formulations.
I initially visited Greece to look at the architecture, in particular the Parthenon. But my curiosity led me astray and I ended up visiting the island of Kos, the island of ancient philosophers and healers. There I spent my time at the local markets and spent time with local market vendors who came from a long family of root cutters known as ‘rhizotomist’. One local vendor gave me some dried Peony root, and showed me other types of roots such as Marshmallow and Licorice rootcutters would use for all kinds of skin ailments.
-Dickson