By Pat Lawrence
Marie Williams and Kristy Bales, looking and feeling good with
Succulent Sunday. |
Kristy Bales and Marie Williams have beautiful, fragrant ideas. Succulent
Sunday, their growing line of beauty products, is designed to make
women feel good, look good -and relax. Marie, an ex-model originally
from Virginia, says the trade name covers a growing number of bath
and skin lotions, creams and soaps.
About four years ago, she and a friend started making emollients
and lotions as a hobby, usually on Sundays, as a relaxing break from
her busy days raising twins. She says, “We taught ourselves,
researching different recipes and making mistakes along the way. We
got books and learned about herbs. We found products we liked and
make our own variations. I’d gotten a recipe for an emollient
cream, and we made Christmas presents for our friends.”
Kristy, a neighbor and Ohio University graduate, had supported herself
in college making candles and was interested in making soaps, too.
Marie was ready to turn her efforts into something more than a hobby.
Their combined interest and expertise gave them the impetus to officially
start their venture.
Marie says, “I’m a painter and an artist. On my own,
I would have been lost. Kristy is the brain!. She is 25 and very talented,
plus she does the business and accounting end of things. We complement
each other.”
The two have just moved to a new location in Athens, Ohio, with an
FDA approved kitchen and six acres to plant the numerous herbs and
flowers used to make Succulent Sunday beauty products. “We grow
roses, daisies, spice berry, comfrey, St. John's Wort. We’ll
be planting stinging nettle for shampoo –It’s very good
for your hair! We harvest plantain and put it in oil and alcohol for
toners and salves. It’s good for healing.” They also plant
rosemary, cucumbers, lavender and sage.
Succulent Sunday uses four blends for their body care products, lavender
lilac, pear sage, rosemary cucumber and orange ginger lily. They have
five different ‘flavors’ of soap and candles. They will
have been in business two years this June. Marie admits they’ve
come a long way since the time her spatula stuck in the blender, creating
an emollient cream with wood chips.
Besides moisturizers, there are Succulent Sunday sprays, salts, scrubs
and balms. The rich lotions are based on exotic oils like sweet almond
or apricot or calendula. Marie says “ We plant a field of calendula,
a marigold, and extract it into pure olive oil. It’s a very
healing oil.” They use the fragrance oils in their candles as
well in a total of 35 different products.
That number is increasing everyday. Kristy and Marie plan on adding
facial scrubs, new shampoo, deodorant and toner. Marie says, “The
toner should be ready, we just keep changing the recipe.” Succulent
Sunday products are sold through distributors in Athens, Columbus
and Marietta.
For more information. Call Twisted Sisters Boutique 740-374-7330.
Kristy and Marie will be at Twisted Sisters Boutique in Marietta February
8th to present their beauty products, answer questions and dispense
beauty suggestions.
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