A letter from Connie

I have spent more than twenty years as a naturopath and herbalist in central Missouri to be confirmed, listening to people describe their skin, their sleep, their tired feet and their long days, and going back to the workbench to blend something for them. Wise Women Botanicals grew out of that work. Botanica Essentia is what I always wanted to make alongside it: the same plants, the same care, and a bottle worth keeping.

Every formula in this collection is mine. I choose the oils, I decide the proportions, and I make the first batch by hand. Frankincense, lavender, macadamia, rosehip, snow mushroom: these are not ingredients I read about. They are materials I have handled for most of my working life, and I know how they feel on skin and how they behave in a jar over months.

The glass matters to me as much as what is in it. I chose Miron violet glass because it is designed to limit the light that reaches the contents, and light is what botanical oils dislike most. It also happens to be beautiful, and it is meant to be kept. When a bottle is empty, wash it and use it for something else. That was always the idea.

I am careful about what I say these products do. They are cosmetics. They cleanse, moisturize, scent and change how skin looks and feels, and I would rather you judge that for yourself than take my word for it. What I will say is that I use every one of them, and that I made them the way I would want something made for me.

Thank you for reading this far, and for trying what we make.

Connie Jacoby
Founder and formulator, Botanica Essentia
Naturopath and herbalist