A Boketto Moment with Bee Simonds of H is For Love
We *virtually* sat down with Bee Simonds from H Is For Love to talk about body wisdom, and Boketto moments.
Tell us a little bit about yourself! What do you love to do?
My name is Bee Simonds and I’m a mama to two magical, smart, and talented kiddos, and I own a business that also happens to be my life’s passion. I get to work with beautiful plants and make luxurious skincare that encourages women to take time for themselves each day. It’s the best job ever.
How did you come to create H Is For Love?
My path to wellness began with the discovery that my ex had Crohn's disease. All the doctors said there would be medication forever, but I didn’t believe it. So, I taught myself to prepare foods traditionally and educated myself on how the human body works; what foods work best for most, and how traditional cultures throughout history had thrived prior to the industrialization of food (and subsequent rise in disease).
Within one year my ex-partner was free of all symptoms and to this day (a decade later), that remains. I knew then that I was onto something, so I started questioning everything. Cleaning products, fibers in the home, makeup, and at the very end: skincare. Had I known then what I know now I would have started with skincare. Needless to say, the day I looked at the ingredients in my skincare I learned the meaning of the term ‘greenwashing.’
I threw everything out in one day and decided to learn about the dermis. Come to find out, the skin-like the gut and the soil-contains a microbiome. I formulated every product in the H Is For Love line to honor the innate wisdom of the human body to heal itself when given the proper tools.
"Needless to say, the day I looked at the ingredients in my skincare I learned the meaning of the term ‘greenwashing.’"
What do you hope people experience working with the H Is For Love line?
My hope is to provide liberation from the belief that we need companies or doctors to tell us how to care for our bodies. We have within each of us a deep knowing; an intuition that drives us. When eating real foods and using real, unadulterated ingredients, our bodies communicate to us what works best for each of us bio individually.
When it comes to H specifically, I hope the scent profiles and textures encourage the user to slow down; that the way skin uses each ingredient to reach a state of balance encourages faith in the wisdom of our magnificent bodies.
You say on your site, "H is about returning to connection with nature and each other." Can you say a little bit more about this?
Oh yes! I believe most of our problems stem from disconnection. We’ve reached a point where it’s time to turn back to a more simple way. Feet on the earth. Arms around each other. Hands in the soil. Homesteads, biodynamic farming, communities working together. Fewer computer devices, more eye contact. It’s time to know who made your clothes, who grew your food, who the humans are behind what you use in your home. Think: pottery, the belt you’re wearing, the skincare you’re using, the stool on which you sit.
This isn’t about shame for not making choices with intention, but it’s about pivoting our course to end up in a vastly different place than where we’re currently headed. This is for the collective and the individual. Small acts made with intention over time create massive change. Start with one thing a month that you’re no longer going to do or buy, and replace it with something better. It’s easy this way, and it’s the most rewarding way to live.
If you could have a tea or take a Boketto moment (a moment of daydreaming and of rest) with any person dead or alive who would it be? What kind of tea would you have?
Tracy Chapman (I have so many questions). I would have whatever she’s having.
"Life really does begin at an older age...maybe not for all women, but for me 100%. It’s a thrilling discovery."
What does a moment of rest, recharging, or nourishment look like for you?
A bath full of baking soda, masking with PROPOLIS, surrounded by LIN and KAPHAR, with my meditation music playlist on and clean white linen sheets awaiting my arrival.
What's something you want people to know about you that I wouldn't think to ask.
Well, this isn’t just about me, but about women and life and something I wish I would have been told as a young woman. I turn 40 next month and I’ve never felt more beautiful, confident, willing to be vulnerable, great at setting boundaries, excited about my life and my future, happy alone, or secure emotionally and financially.
I’ve never had a more solid group of female friends, or been as inspired. Life really does begin at an older age...maybe not for all women, but for me 100%. It’s a thrilling discovery.
Sun/Rising/Moon sign?
This may come as a surprise but I don’t know much about this stuff. I’m a Sagittarius and I believe my rising is Gemini. This is apparently telling of something, but I’m too busy having a wonderful time to find out.
Image Credit by Elizabeth Podlesnik