With the recent quarantine, now more than ever, it’s important to support small businesses and independent artisans. I’m sure we could all use a little extra ‘me time’ too to help de-stress and retreat to a place of peace, if only for a couple of minutes each day. So today I thought I’d share some of my favorite independent Etsy shops that offer everything from good-for-your-skin, deliciously-scented skincare, intoxicating fragrances that will transport you to someplace magical, mood-boosting gemstone jewelry, and more…
Skincare
As a natural beauty lover, when I first came across Bear Beauty’s shop and read about her dedication to using natural, organic, food-grade, and wild-harvested ingredients, I was impressed. Not only that, she puts a ton of research and care into her work – from crafting high-quality formulations, to making her production and shipping process as green and eco-friendly as possible.
For my first purchase, I picked up her scrumptious Orange Cream + Sea Buckthorn + Hemp face scrub. It’s packed with nourishing butters and oil, including organic shea butter, sea buckthorn oil, and hemp seed oil, plus caster sugar and apple amino acid for a gentle cleanse and exfoliation. Topped off with organic orange peel and vanilla & sweet orange essential oils (plus bits of organic vanilla bean swirled throughout!), it makes for one skin-loving, zesty, energizing facial.
Body Care
To treat the rest of my skin, I love to grab a few of DeShawnMarie‘s luxurious, handmade soaps. Her shop was actually one of my very first Etsy discoveries – from way back in 2011 – and to this day, it’s still a favorite. For my first order, I purchased a bunch of scented soaps, from Lilac Rose to Patchouli Clove. All of them smelled amazing – some rich and comforting, others bright, zesty and refreshing.
I now have favorites for both morning showers (Lemongrass) and evening baths (Sandalwood) – both shown above. I love how the scents linger on my skin for hours post-shower, while the soaps’ gentle cleansing ingredients leave even my drier bits feeling soft and smooth.
Another one of my favorite body care shops on Etsy is Journee Naturelle. She crafts deliciously scented body washes, body scrubs, and more, all made with nourishing, natural ingredients. One of my favorites is her Coffee body wash, made with organic raw honey to help cleanse and hydrate and unrefined African shea butter to lock in moisture. It also contains tiny, gentle bits of ground coffee beans and smells just like a mocha latte!
Lastly, for both body and facial care, I’m loving facial cleansing rounds and washcloths from HandcraftedGoodies. They’re great because they’re eco-friendly. They’re made of a 100% organic hemp cotton blend (so they’re pesticide and chemical-free) and they’re reusable – you can toss these right in the wash along with your regular towel load, instead of constantly throwing away cotton rounds or wipes. Hemp is also durable and they resist microbial growth! I love the baby soft washcloths – they’re super gentle on my skin – while the exfoliating washcloths offer a bit of more texture to help remove dead skin while cleansing.
Fragrance
My all-time favorite Etsy shop for fragrances is ForStrangeWomen – their scents are instant mood boosters. I visit their shop every month or so to check out their latest creations and re-purchase long-time favorites, like Decadence and Debauchery (which smells warm and boozy, and reminiscent of a jazz club in the 20’s – or what I can imagine one might smell like!) and November in the Temperate Deciduous Forest (which smells just like a walk in the deep woods after a rainstorm – if fall is one of your favorite seasons, you’ll love this one!).
What I like most about ForStrangeWomen’s creations is that they’re all handmade in their Kansas City studio, crafted using pure plant essences and other carefully sourced ingredients from around the world, many of which are sustainably wild harvested and organic. They offer this sample set, which is a great way to try out different scents (it’s how I discovered my favorites!).
Jewelry
Taking care of our appearance – even if we aren’t planning to leave the house – is a form of self-care. This can be as simple as dressing up a t-shirt and jeans with a couple of delicate chains, or a bolder piece of statement jewelry. When it comes to the latter, one of my favorite Etsy shops to explore is Crystal Cavern Imports. They have the most gorgeous natural stone rings – I’ve purchased quite a few so far and all are well-made and very unique looking (not to mention reasonably priced too!). Below, I’m wearing one of my favorites – a moonstone ring with the most gorgeous blue-purple flash.
My favorite shop when it comes to building my own little custom ‘stack’ is EarthlyAbundanceGems. Below, I’m wearing a range of her tiny bead bracelets, up to her 6mm bead size bracelets – some with cute little charm and silver bead accents. I especially love that she offers sizes to fit almost any wrist size (I have a small wrist, so that was a huge plus!).
And last but not least, for some fun boho-style pieces – also with crystals and natural stones, because that’s what I’ve been into lately 🙂 – ByCilaJewelry is another great jewelry shop to check out on Etsy. Her pieces are minimal and very wearable, all featuring gorgeous accents. I especially love this pair of moonstone earrings – they’re lightweight and great for everyday wear (they’re also available with aqua chalcedony and labradorite stones!).
Crafts & DIY
In an attempt to find a few new at-home activities to do while quarantining, I wandered over to the DIY craft section on Etsy and eventually stumbled upon EmbroideryArtbyNat’s shop. She offers embroidery kits featuring super cute patterns – I grabbed the cactus & succulents one, shown below. Each kit includes everything you need to get started on a project, including the hoop, fabric, threads, needles, and pre-traced pattern.
I’ve only just started on the kit, but so far, I’m really enjoyed it. I feel like I rarely work with my hands anymore, and after reading up on the benefits, I decided to stock up on a few more kits. In fact, I joined the shop owner’s Patreon and am having so much fun learning different stitches and techniques. She offers a ton of resources to her patrons too, including live stitching sessions for all of her monthly patterns!
Home
Finally, for creating a relaxing atmosphere at home, I can’t recommend Frostbeard’s candles enough. They have so many unique scents to choose from, many inspired by mystical places found in series like Harry Potter and Outlander, to name a few. My favorite to this day is still Reading at the Cafe (which I featured a while back in my gift idea post here – I just keep going back for more!). And though they are a bit pricey (~$20 for a 8 oz jar), I like that they offer smaller 2 oz and 4 oz sizes so you can try a few scents out before committing to a larger jar.
Are you a fan of Etsy? What are some of your favorite shops?
