Looking my best and taking care of my skin has always been important to me, but shortly after becoming a single mother with 3 kids, I saw my first wrinkle and EEEKKKK!!!!  Suddenly I became a crazy woman, determined to find a way to stay 29, wrinkle-free with great skin.  I stopped using products with harsh chemicals, and switched to all natural mineral cosmetics.  Then I discovered the miracles of emu oil so now I use emu oil as a first aid treatment, a moisturizer, as an anti-wrinkle treatment -- it's great for everything!  And I stopped cooking with vegetable and corn oils and switched to extra virgin olive oil.   Now if I could just learn to like the taste of water . . .

Several years ago I heard about European Bare Natural Minerals and couldn't wait to try them!  I had been using the popular brand of mineral makeup sold every day on infomercials, and I really wanted to love it as much as everyone else seemed to, but the truth is that the well-known brand adds bismuth oxychloride to their products and like a lot of women, I am allergic to bismuth.  The bismuth made my skin itchy and the unnatural shine from bismuth made me look like I was going trick-or-treating.  Lots of women are allergic to bismuth oxide so I'm not sure why they add it, other than the fact that it is a cheap filler which can still technically be called a natural mineral -- but then again, so is chalk.   And I just recently learned (from a well-known doctor) that bismuth oxychloride is basically arsenic.  Would you want to buff arsenic into your skin?  Especially now that scientists have proven that products applied topically to your skin do get absorbed into your bloodstream.  I don't know about you, but that was news enough for me!  They also add parabens which have been proven to cause breast cancer in women.  Unfortunately, they don't advertise THAT on their infomercials . . .

 

Anyway, when I discovered European Bare, I was ecstatic!  European Bare doesn't contain bismuth oxide so I can wear it with no problem.  And it is good for your skin!  I was so impressed that I contacted the company and asked for permission to sell their products so I could share them with others.  It was the beginning of a whole new love affair!

Soon afterwards I opened Village Boutique so I could share my passion for healthy, natural products with others.   I only sell products that I believe in and use myself, so if we sell it in Village Boutique, you can be sure that it's the best.  

I recently met and married a wonderful man.  He is an entertainer and  has performed all around the world, from Italy, Austria, Las Vegas, New York, New Jersey and (fortunately) Florida too!   When he's not on the road, you will very often find his guitar parked in the corner of my office while he is sitting next to me printing out PayPal packing slips and helping with with shipping while my 11-year-old is folding boxes and pink tissue paper for me.  My daughter now manages the Tarpon Springs boutique and helps out with emails, while my 17-year-old son sits quietly folding instructions and stuffing them into little bags (with his iPod headphones on, of course!)   Village Boutique has become a family affair!

 

I work long hours -- usually from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m., just trying to make sure that all orders are packed and shipped quickly and accurately.  Customer service is always important to me and I work hard to give each of my customers the best service I can -- from answering emails truthfully and honestly, to shipping all orders as quickly as possible but there just aren't enough hours in a day so I am always struggling to stay on top of all the emails.  Don't be surprised if you find that I am sitting at the computer answering your emails at 2:30 a.m. after all the kids are safely tucked into bed. 

 

Thank you for your continued loyalty and patronage.  We have been through a lot of changes throughout the past 7 years and have grown a lot, but my customers are all #1 to me!  Thank you for all your wonderful notes and all of your wonderful testimonials.  I love knowing that you love and appreciate our products as much as we do and I promise that we will continue working to bring you the safest and healthiest products we can find!