Beauty as Ceremony, the Story Behind The Rose Soufflé

"For thousands of years, the banya has been a symbol of human tenacity and endurance, a place to cleanse and transform."

The banya dates back to ancient times, before Russia was even Russia. As early as 440 AD, nomadic tribes on the Black Sea would bathe in steam they generated using hot stones.

The custom is intended to detox the body, improve circulation and cleanse the skin. Slavic women swear that the banya is a fountain of youth. If you saw many Slavic women, you would probably agree.

…begins when i was just a little girl. My family members, immediate and extended would get together for family retreats often and oftentimes men would fish, women would prepare food, we’d sing, dance and eventually, everyone would end up in a banya. 

Even as a little girl, the ritual was clear to me. 

It is embedded in how I’ve approached my personal beauty as ceremony. Truly taking the time cleansing, massaging, enveloping my entire face and body with soap, honey, strawberries, oils as part of a regular self-care ritual was a spiritual experience. Inevitably, it passed down onto Gressa’s philosophy of taking the time to find your beauty. 

Nearly every time, to amplify the effects of the banya, we would massage our faces with sour cream, honey, strawberries and whatever was handy and known to have beautifying effects on the skin. Salt was always around, which is a clear inspiration behind The Salt of the Earth Essence. 

… is that no one needed a research paper to prove that what they were doing had any benefits to the skin.  We just knew.  The connection between ceremony as beauty, body and spirit was strong proof that these rituals were necessary, wholesome, and healthy to your whole being. 

This spilled out onto my inspiration for Gressa’s Beauty Takes Time and what’s to follow in the near future. 

I formulated the Rose Soufflé Cloud Masque 11 years ago, while Gressa was still so small. My attunement with nature was the inspiration behind seasonal treats to our customers with hopes to tune them into nature, into themselves. If you’ve been around, you’ll recall the Pumpkin Mask, which we bring in the Autumn to warm up your routine and prepare your skin and senses for the changes in seasons. 

The Rose Soufflé is here, in limited quantities for a short period of time. As short as the Spring season. Its mysterious scent, cloud-like texture and alchemic healing benefits will bring you a moment of connection with yourself. 

As we begin to enter into the Spring season finding inner balance will be essential to meet the Spring and Summer. Much like the seeds need preparation before being planted into gardens for a successful harvest, our minds, bodies, souls need intimate attention in order to bloom. 

I formulated this treatment and packaged it to encourage for you to take the opportunity to have this intimate moments while performing beauty as ceremony. 

After all, time and beauty is on your side as beauty takes time. 

With love,