There are health and beauty regimes we do out of routine – cleanse, tone, moisturise, foundation, lippy, blusher, etc. But some of those routines become a ritual, imbued with a sense of slapping on some armour before a day or night out – playing your favourite tunes, doing your hair, putting on lotions and potions to face the day or night ahead with a steady smile, a happy heart and a feeling that all will be well, because you look well and feel well.
Katy Theakston, founder of The Owl and The Apothecary
Katy Theakston, founder of The Owl and The Apothecary, has tapped into this ritual by making a variety of beautifully designed “wildness and wellness” packages to help women create the right personal atmosphere to face the challenges of a woman’s life. The concepts are broad – peace and clemency, motherhood, truth and freedom, and change and adventure, but the parcels are so delightful and pretty, that even the most hardened “wellness concept” sceptic, will find something to love about the gorgeous, present-style packages.
The Owl and The Apothecary Intrepid Fox Bounty Box
After a brief chat with the engaging Katy, a nature lover who feels that “the physical experience of using products such as a body scrubs and essential oils should be matched with rituals to make it more magical”, it becomes apparent that the wellness package right for me is The Gentle White Hart Box, which comes with a card stating, “There are moments in all our lives when we must sit quietly with sadness and pain”.
The Owl and The Apothecary box and candle
Previously I would have dismissed this as hippy woo, but incredibly, the parcel arrives as I am in floods of tears over the death of a friend, that very day. The parcel contains a beautifully scented lavender candle, a Rose Quartz crystal, and a White Hart mask with draping ribbons. Each product comes with a ritual card, some more do-able than others.
The Owl and The Apothecary box and candle
So while I gladly light the scented candle and clutch the crystal, “little ceremonies to treat yourself with kindness and love” I feel that donning the mask and dancing freely under the stars, in Hackney, London, might get me arrested or sectioned. I think the best approach is to take or use what you need, and if it doesn’t feel right or wellness enhancing, don’t do it.
I have to say, this particular package works – the church-like lighting of the candle, the clutching of the crystal, makes me stop my sobbing. I think of my friend who has just died, and I start to smile, thinking of all the good things he brought into my life.
It’s a little weird, and I don’t understand it, but it works, and it makes a very lovely present for a friend or yourself.
by Michele Kirsch
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