I came across this exceptional company when I was in New Hampshire and bought a few products as gifts.  Farm + Sea is a family-owned business based out of Massachusetts that specializes in bath-and-body care and home fragrance products.  Everything they do is handmade in small batches using quality ingredients and carefully chosen, seasonal scents.  Their mission very much aligns with my shopping ethos too: provide quality, thoughtful products that enhance your life.

Inspired by the utilitarian beauty of farms and the transformative power of the sea in her New England upbringing, founder/owner Mary Swenson uses the power of scent to evoke a memory or create a mood through her products.  All their products are nontoxic and contain only phthalate-free essential oils for a clean, subtle scent.

The bath and body care line includes body lotion, body oil, salt and sugar scrubs, roll-on perfume, liquid hand soap, and whipped soap.  I haven’t tried the whole line but can attest that the body lotion – which is really a cream – is absolutely wonderful.  Softly scented, it goes on like a dream, and is very nourishing.  The Lavender & Coconut Lotion is my favorite of the many they offer.  The body oils are perfect for the dry, colder months when you need to replenish more.

While I am typically not one for candles, Farm + Sea’s remove nearly all the reasons I don’t burn them.  They are made from a custom blend of coconut and soy waxes, premium oils that burn clean and slow, along with cotton wicks that are soot free when properly trimmed.  If you prefer a smokeless option, their home collection also includes diffusers and a linen + room spray.  

Supporting a small business that puts so much care into their good-for-you products is always a great idea!

Fragrance Stinks!  But Doesn’t Have To.

However, I recently struck gold when I discovered Nette’s line of eau de parfums that are free of parabens, sulfates, dyes, and endocrine-disrupting ingredients and actually smell amazing.  I have tried other fragrance brands with those standards and never found any remarkable scents.  I was so excited by these olfactory tantalizers in store that I bought the Discovery Set ($28) to see which I really like.  The set is five mini 3-ml, unisex, eau de parfum fragrance vials in scents that evoke a range of take-me-out to let’s-stay-in with my favorite at the moment being Opening Night and Thé Vanille a close second.  The discovery set is fun because you can layer the fragrances to create a signature scent or just pop one into your clutch or pocket.

Nette was founded in 2020 by Carol Han Pyle, initially through a collection of clean-ingredient candles.  Pyle collected tons of beauty products while a fashion editor at Lucky and Elle magazines, but once she was pregnant discovered she wanted to invest and create products that would offer stability and balance to her body, mind, and soul.  Hope to smell you later.