We're big believers in self-care at Skylar, but we often struggle to find the time. To make sure we are still making a moment of zen for ourselves as we go about the day, we've come up with a quick 5 minute self-care fix that even works at the office!

1. Shut down your laptop, turn off your phone, and find a quiet space.

2. While standing up, take 10 long deep breaths. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. 

3. Turn your head to the left, then to the right.

4. Lean your head to the left, then to the right.

5. Roll your neck forward gently. Do 3 neck rolls slowly.

6. Roll your shoulders 10 times.

7. Raise your hands up to the sky.

8. Lean to the left then lean to the right with hands above your head.

9. Sit down on the floor, cross legged.

10. Take 10 more deep breaths.

Simple but oh-so relaxing. Take that moment of zen!

xo 

Skylar

What could be better than one Skylar Body scent? Mixing 2 scents to create your own signature, of course. It turns out, sometimes two is better than one. Especially when it comes to our favorite Spring scent. Layering scents is one of the benefits of Skylar Body. Because our scents are light and fresh, you can layer your favorites to create a combination all your own. It's the perfect way to transform your scent to a new season.

Here's how to do it like the perfumer pros.

1. Prep your skin.
For the purest scent experience, start your layering right after you've gotten out of the shower and applied your lotion. Fragrance molecules want something to bind to, so natural moisture helps each note ring true.

2. Set the foundation with the base.

We love the fresh, light scent of Isle to create a base for our Spring scent. To set a strong base, we recommend doing 2 spritz of Isle on your neck or your wrist.

3. Brighten with the top note.

Now that you have the base, bring your floral dreams alive with our Meadow scent. Just do 1 spritz of Meadow on top of your base for a dewy, floral, fresh combination.

Go grab your Scent Duo with Meadow and Isle today.

Happy Spring, Skylar Babes! Try out this combo and tag us @skylarbody to let us know what you think!

xo

Skylar

We love Love, and we love the idea of celebrating it. But Valentine’s Day tends to be so...complicated. You know what we mean. 

We think the most important type of love is self love. Buy yourself those flowers, get a massage, and enjoy a nice dinner—because you love yourself and you deserve it. The best part? You can keep it simple. We’ve rounded up our favorite ways to pamper ourselves in the shape of a few easy, at-home spa treatments.

7:00 am: Smoothie Operator
Super healthy juice doesn’t necessarily sound exciting, but we promise the right smoothie recipe can offer a real “treat yourself” moment. We love starting our day by making a spin on Heidi Swanson’s cherry smoothie recipe, using frozen strawberries and raspberries (because it is winter, after all). The delicious blend of fruit with nut milk, nut butter, and the unique addition of hibiscus water makes this smoothie rich, exotic, and brightly hued. Just the kind of special treat that’ll make you feel indulgent (without the guilt).

7:30 am: Spritz Yourself With Notes of Love
Our Love Notes Duo is the perfect combination of sweet-meets-spicy. Spritz on Meadow and bask in soft notes of tuberose, jasmine, and orange blossom all day. If you feel up to it, layer on Arrow to add some spiciness and create a unique scent that's feminine and alluring (you can always layer later in the day as well).

9:00 pm: Homemade Bath Salts Worth Their Salt
Bath salts are super easy to make yourself, with the added benefit of letting you blend your own scents to your liking. Take 2 parts coarse sea salt and blend with 1 part epsom salt (our choice for relaxing our oft-tired muscles). Add a pinch of baking soda for added skin softening and conditioning. Then add a few drops of your favorite essential oils, mix together, and store in a lidded glass container. Faster than you can say “Bath and Body Works.”

9:30 pm: Aw Sheet! Make Your Own Sheet Mask
These paper masks are ubiquitous, and for good reason: they’re awesome! But instead of putting mystery ingredients on your skin (um, snail slime?), it’s incredibly easy to DIY using your favorite natural serums (ours is Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum). Just grab some organic cotton makeup puffs, soak them in your go-to serum to the point of being nicely saturated (but not dripping wet), apply them to your face and ta-da! Fifteen minutes later, you’ve got a glowing complexion. Next-level tip: If you want to step up your sheet mask game, you can spring for these.

Sweet, sweet sugar. What’s not to love? But we’re not talking about eating it—we’re talking about wearing it.

Most commercial fragrances are made with something called SD 40, which is made with ethanol that's typically fermented from corn. But Skylar scents are made using organic cane alcohol, which is derived from sugar cane. What’s the difference?

1. For one, cane alcohol is way more environmentally friendly than corn-based alcohols. An acre of sugar cane produces double the amount of alcohol than corn does, which means you don’t need as much land to produce the same quantities. It’s also energy efficient and cost effective. Win-win.

2. Organic sugar cane alcohol is even better. Since it’s distilled from cane sugar that was grown without any pesticides or fertilizers, there’s no fear of any of these chemicals ending up in, or on, your body. We can probably all agree that worry-free breathing is what we all deserve.

3. In order to be certified as organic, not only must the cane sugar itself be grown without chemicals, but the production methods used for distilling cane alcohol mustn’t result in pollutants that harm the environment. Conventional alcohol production can leave a trail of residues that infiltrate the soil, water, or air. You never have to worry about that with organic cane alcohol.

That’s why we’re so sweet on organic cane alcohol. It’s the perfect base for our luscious, natural, hypoallergenic scents, and the fact that it’s better for the earth is just icing on the cane. Curious about how Skylar? Try our scents today.

Can’t get enough pumpkin spice everything? Us, too. It might be because the scent—familiar but complex, warm and cozy—reminds us a lot of our bestselling Skylar fragrance this season, Arrow.

In addition to our perfume, if you’re looking for more ways to add a little spice to your beauty routine and make your senses tingle, try our favorite all-natural DIYs featuring pumpkin to make your skin look as delicious as it smells. The virtues of this seasonal squash go far beyond its tastiness—it’s chock full of vitamins and antioxidants that’ll do your body good inside and out.

Pumpkin Face Mask
Adapted from Beautylish 
Benefit: exfoliate with pumpkin enzyme

2 tbsp canned pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp milk
1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional, but we like it for its acne-fighting properties)

Directions:
1. Start with a makeup-free, freshly washed face.
2. Combine all ingredients.
3. Use your fingers to apply the mask, avoiding the eye area. Let set for 20 minutes.
4. Gently rinse and follow with your moisturizer of choice.

Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm
Adapted from DIY Natural
Benefit: nourish with vitamins and antioxidants  

1 ounce pumpkin seed oil
1 ounce coconut oil
0.7 ounces beeswax
1/2 - 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (adjust to taste)
lip balm tins

1. Mix all ingredients in a glass vessel.
2. Heat on a double boiler until beeswax is melted.
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, stirring occasionally. The lip balm will harden as it begins to cool.
4. Pour into lip balm tins as mixture starts to thicken.
5. Cool fully before placing lids on tins. Store in a cool, dry place.

Have you wondered why the smell of homemade banana bread transports you back to your grandmother’s kitchen circa 1996? Or why the smell of coconut suntan lotion makes you instantly smile because your back on the beach during spring break with your best girlfriends?

As scent connoisseurs, the team at Skylar has been curious about the undeniable connection between scents and the emotions and memories they seem to conjure from thin air.

Is there a proven association between the two that would rationalize what we’ve all experienced at some point in our lives?

As it turns out, there absolutely is.

THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM, AKA THE “EMOTIONAL BRAIN”

On a very basic level, it works something like this: 

Scent has been proven to be more directly linked to memory than any of our other senses. It makes sense, then, that it has the capacity to forge strong bonds and intimate associations, both positive and otherwise. This tendency is found in even our most primitive ancestors and is associated with an ancient part of our biology related to survival instincts about what to eat, where to go, and who to trust. 

Your "emotional brain," or limbic system, is a harbor for all kinds of sensory information that it uses to influence your mood, memory, behavior, and emotions. When you smell anything, it makes a B-line for this "processing center," which sorts its relationship to existing associations with feelings and thoughts.

Functionally, that means that each time you smell a new scent, your mind subconsciously links that scent to a certain event, person, or circumstance. Every time you smell that scent afterward, your mind is hardwired to bring you back to that place, person, or experience.

HOW SCENT COMPELS US

So smell is, by nature, highly associative. That’s a big part of why we all prefer different scents for reasons that are unique and not easily defined.

Because smell is highly emotional, wearing certain scents can evoke a specific emotion in the people around you. Of course, what emotion it inspires is highly subjective.

It’s no wonder fragrance is such a subtle yet potent part of style. Much like the difference between wearing grey or bright red, or your hair in beachy waves versus a ballerina bun, each scent is creating connections and informing the perception of who you are and what you communicate to the people around you.

FIND WHAT SPEAKS TO YOU

The scents that speak to us feel almost instinctive — an amalgam of our unique biology and experiences. So while it’s tempting to spring for a world-famous fragrance, or the trendy one that's a supposedly an undeniable aphrodisiac, you’re probably better off listening to your heart (and nose) on this one.

After all, your scent is something others subliminally associate with you, so it should feel authentic. Just like any other part of your life, it should reflect you in a true sense. 

Plus, it’s kind of fun to know that whoever you attract is almost undoubtedly attracted to that part of you. They have an association, or some deep biological urge, that draws them to you. At least you know that the two of you have that in common!

We’ll leave you this parting thought: Selecting a scent new to the market almost guarantees that you’re breathing some fresh life into your routine. Not to mention, there’s zero chance your mate already associates that fragrance with a past life. Better yet, consider wearing it on a bucket list vacation, so you'll never forget the time you enjoyed together. We’d be lying if we said that wasn’t worth something. ;)