Spring: Nature's New Era

After a long, cold winter, there is nothing quite like watching the hard earth soften; blossoms spreading along the branches of trees, plant shoots hungry for fresh air and sunlight, and the return of our resident hummingbirds and bumblebees, awaiting their botanical feasts set against the backdrop of occasional warm breezes and endless birdsong. Spring is one of our favourite times of year, because it reminds us that no matter how badly the winter tries to linger, it will always give way to a season of new beginnings.

Here at Flourish Apothecary, we're amping up our creative juices after a long period of rest and reflection - seeking new ventures, expanding our product line, and making more connections in our community to continue strengthening our local economy. With the political climate currently in turmoil, there is a huge push to support local businesses and shop within Canada. This is both a blessing and a curse for small businesses, as many don't have access to solely Canadian-made ingredients and are either struggling with outrageous tariff costs, or scrambling to find reliable alternatives to their usual suppliers. On the flip side, most are seeing sales go up as the desire to purchase locally-made goods continues to grow. It is moments like these that we remind ourselves why we initially chose to source our ingredients as close to home as possible; because when times get tough, it's always our local communities that stand together, strong and united, ready to face whatever challenges may lie ahead.

You can rest assured that our products will always be 100% made in Canada, from locally-sourced ingredients, and with the highest commitment to both quality and sustainability. With so many amazing small businesses popping up over the past few years, it's never been easier to replace your everyday goods with locally-produced alternatives.

And speaking of everyday products, we've got you covered for all-natural bodycare with our botanical bath salt blends, face serums & beauty oils (which also act as a nourishing beard oil), mineral toothpastes, and roller perfumes (made from organic essential oils). New to our product line this year we'll be introducing a soothing facial toner, hydrating mineral sunscreen, invigorating scalp spray, and more! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter and/or follow us on social media to be the first to know when these new products drop! We're looking forward to providing even more access to high quality, planet-friendly, locally-made household goods. Spring is nature's newest era, and we're here to celebrate it! So what are you waiting for? Spring into a more natural lifestyle today with Flourish Apothecary.

Flourish Apothecary of Victoria, BC is a woman-owned online herbal shop specializing in organic and wild-crafted natural health products. Each product is hand-crafted from freshly harvested medicinal herbs on Vancouver Island. We believe in planet before profit, and emphasize sustainable business practices to ensure we can deliver the highest-quality goods without having a negative affect on the planet.

Your New Best Friend: Natural Perfume Rollers

Looking to step up your scent game? Our 100% naturally-scented perfume rollers are the perfect addition to your holistic hygiene routine.

Have you ever wondered what kind of ingredients are inside that pretty little bottle of fragrance you like to spritz on before you leave the house each morning? We're about to tell you, but you may not like what you hear.

On average, commercially-produced perfumes are made up of between 2,000-4,000 different chemicals. I'm sure you don't need us to tell you that that is a LOT. Some of the most popular perfumes on the market contain a plethora of undesirable ingredients, including:

• Synthetic fragrances - Often the main source of fragrance/scent in a perfume, these artificial fragrances are far removed from their original plant parts and are chemically synthesized compounds which are designed to smell similar to the natural scents we know and love. These synthetically altered compounds have been shown to disrupt normal hormone functioning, which is turn can negatively affect reproductive health and reduce overall life expectancy; increase respiratory issues like asthma, allergies, and chronic respiratory diseases; increase the risk of developing allergies and dermatitis; cause headaches and migraines, and trigger cancer cells by introducing known carcinogens both onto the skin and into the airways.

• Ethyl Alcohol/Denatured Alcohol - While ethyl alcohol is merely a high-proof alcohol, using this as the base of your daily perfume can be incredibly drying for the skin, and lead to skin flaking/cracking, while exacerbating other skin conditions such as hives, rashes, sunburn, dermatitis, acne, eczema, and psoriasis.

• Phthalates - Common pthalates include diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) (DEHP) and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP). These pthalates are often found within synthethic fragrances, so you may not find them in your ingredient list due to being clevery hidden within another listed ingredient. Pthalates are primarily responsible for disrupting the endocrine system, decreasing fertility in both men and women, and negatively affecting the metabolism, promoting obesity.

• Benzyl Acetate - Often used as a fixative in perfumery (making the scent last longer), benzyl acetate can cause irritation to the eyes and respiratory system, and negatively affect the central nervous system.

• Ethyl Acetate - Commonly used in everything from paint, varnish, lacquer, and cleaning products, to chemically decaffeinating coffee beans (go with swiss-water decaffienated coffee, folks!), this solvent can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and skin, and repeated exposure can negatively affect liver health.

• Isolated Plant Compounds such as Linalool, Limonene, etc - These compounds are touted as being 'natural' due the fact that they have originated from a living plant cell, but this is classic greenwashing at its finest. When you utilize the whole plant structure, you are using every part of the plant, which has a beautifully built-in blueprint of balance and ultimately aims to help (and not harm) you as it works in harmony within itself. When you isolate a specific compound from a plant and add it to an ingredient list, you are taking away all of the other components which help to keep that compound balanced and healthful, and add in only the element which may provide a scent, preservative, or fixative in your perfume blend. These isolated compounds can negatively affect the central nervous system and cause adverse skin reactions and allergies. Not fun!

At Flourish Apothecary, we only utilize whole, natural ingredients that benefit your body, mind, and the planet. Our personal perfume rollers are made from a base of ultra-nourishing, unrefined, certified organic jojoba oil to lock moisture in (not suck it out like an alcohol-based perfume would). We then add consciously curated blends of therapeutically balanced, 100% organic essential oils of the absolute highest quality. The result is a refreshingly clean, balanced, and invigorating personal perfume that can be re-applied as needed throughout the day when you need a little pick-me-up, without having to worry about any negative or adverse health effects!

Each of our natural perfume rollers features a sleek stainless steel roller ball, durable frosted glass bottle, and recyclable plastic cap. Each component can easily be reused and/or recycled, and we are currently working on creating refill options to minimize our carbon footprint even further. Be sure to follow us on instagram, facebook, twitter, and of course, check back in on our website to find out when refills will be available!

In a day and age where there are so many options for personal care products available to the general public, we feel so blessed to not only have customers who choose to continue to support our small business, but also to be able to offer a truly natural perfume option knowing that it will wholeheartedly benefit your mind, body, and spirit. So go ahead, find a scent that speaks to you, and make the switch to your new favourite, all-natural perfume blend today!

Flourish Apothecary of Victoria, BC is a woman-owned online herbal shop specializing in organic and wild-crafted natural health products. Each product is hand-crafted from freshly harvested medicinal herbs on Vancouver Island. We believe in planet before profit, and emphasize sustainable business practices to ensure we can deliver the highest-quality goods without having a negative affect on the planet.

Why Organic Matters

With our global communities being affected by seemingly endless price hikes and inflation, how do we justify spending a little extra on organically-sourced and locally-created products?

What does it mean to purchase organic? For some, it's a way of life. For others, it's an unnecessary expense. For all, it's a way to ensure you're getting the highest quality product for your body and home. Purchasing organic goods means you are supporting the growing, harvesting, and manufacturing practices that are most sustainable for our planet. There are quite a few misnomers out there about what 'organic' truly means, and we'll break down some of these below.

Organic Farming

When you purchase an organic product, you are ensuring it has been organically farmed. This means supporting farmers who work in harmony with the seasons and soil, encouraging biodiversity and longevity of their home-grown goodness by minimizing (or eliminating) the use of pesticides, herbicides, and other chemical compounds which, ultimately, end up doing more harm than help. Farmers, wild-crafters, and organic gardeners all know how important sustainable growing practices are, and they do their best to produce the healthiest, highest-quality goods that money can buy, all while ensuring the land and the many creatures that share it can reap the benefits as well. At Flourish Apothecary, we only source ingredients from certified organic farmers (or highly knowledgeable and skilled wild-crafters) to ensure our products are packed full of vibrancy, color, nutrition, and optimal healing benefits.

Organic Harvesting

Organic farming practices include sustainable harvesting. In terms of harvesting from the wild, this means knowing how much and how often a plant can be harvested before it starts to negatively impact the surrounding ecosystem, or the plant itself. In terms of harvesting from the farm, this means carefully watching the growing cycles and knowing when each plant is at its peak in terms of medicinal value, and working with the weather and seasons to ensure the plant is ready to be harvested at said peak. Both methods require a knowledge and understanding of our local ecosystems, including native plant species, sustainable wild-crafting etiquette, and proper storage/handling techniques.

Organic Processing

Processing plant materials is a delicate and time-sensitive business. In order to reap the potent healing benefits of each plant, they must be picked and immediately tinctured, dried, or infused, depending on what your end-product is going to be. Processing is an important part of the field-to-bottle process, as many companies will use heavy machinery and chain-production practices which result in a lesser-quality product. When you support organic processing practices (especially in small businesses), you are encouraging hands-on experience, encouraging local job placements, and ensuring your product is free of any heavy metals or other contaminants that may come along with larger-scale production and processing facilities. Organic processing means minimal processing. It is building a connection to the ingredients you are working with, touching, smelling, feeling, and seeing any impurities or issues long before they end up in their final packaging.

Organic Packaging

Ok, ok, so this isn't really a thing. But it should be! We spent a lot of time and energy researching and reviewing all packaging options before we finally settled on ours. We get a lot of suggestions (and questions) about our packaging, because everyone seems to have their own idea of what 'sustainable' really is. The truth is, there is no wholeheartedly sustainable way to package products. No matter what, we are utilizing resources, creating a product that has a shelf life, and eventually will need to be properly disposed of (hopefully after being used and reused until it is no longer usable). What we choose to package products in does matter, though. At Flourish Apothecary, we strive to be a truly zero-waste company, and that means keeping plastic and other hazards out of the landfills, our soils, and our waters. We package most of our products in easily recyclable (but more importantly, reusable) glass and metal containers, and utilize hand-made, non-toxic, food-safe glue on our 100% recycled paper labels, making it easy for our customers to peel off their labels, recycle or compost them, and reuse their glass & metal containers indefinitely. We only utilize re-used and recycled paper & wood shredding for our shipping needs, and any plastic that may work its way into the mix is always 100% re-usable, recycled, and recyclable. By making conscious choices to do better when it comes to producing goods for the public, we are helping to raise awareness of truly eco-friendly shopping habits, and hopefully inspiring other companies to follow suit! To read more about our packaging, check out our blog post here.

The Takeaway:

Sometimes it costs a little extra to purchase goods that are made organically and sustainably, but in the long run, it's always worth it! When purchasing organic products, it's important to remind yourself of the bigger picture. Organic products keep your body healthy, your home clean, and your children safe. Your extra pennies are going towards keeping the earth & all of its creatures happy, and showing the companies (like us!) who put time, thought, and effort into creating beautiful eco-friendly products that you care. And for that, we thank you.

Flourish Apothecary of Victoria, BC is a woman-owned online herbal shop specializing in organic and wild-crafted natural health products. Each product is hand-crafted from freshly harvested medicinal herbs on Vancouver Island. We believe in planet before profit, and emphasize sustainable business practices to ensure we can deliver the highest-quality goods without having a negative affect on the planet.