The Capsule Collection Has Arrived!

THE CONCEPT

It took a while to get here with this product. It was last year when Karen and I began developing this idea one cold winter afternoon at our favorite Lincoln Square lunch spot in Chicago. “I’ve got a crazy idea…” This is often how the conversation for our products get started and most of the time our idea evolves into something different than originally planned. We’ve been hyper focused since, deep in new methods of formulation, studying technique and making countless of revisions for the best capsule ensemble possible. It’s been an exciting, sometimes frustrating and deeply creative process for us. This 15 piece ensemble is much more than a product. It’s a complete experience allowing you to be your own chemist/chef in a sense to design and build dozens of products using our deconstructed components for truly active skincare. Luxurious, beautiful and a bit whimsical, The Capsule Collection has been one of our favorite products to include into our product lineup.

THE INSPIRATION

Last year after spending a month in Italy and Karen had trekked through Spain, Morocco and Paris, we came home with interesting spices, oils and dozens of food stories. They all centered around quality, ingredients and the people who love to cook. I had attended the World Expo in Milan and connected with young talented chefs immersed in new ideas, spent a week on an olive orchard in Tuscany learning the process of olive oil extraction and of course there was that trip to the Cinque Terra where I was introduced to the scent of wild cactus flowers growing off rugged cliffs by the Ligurian sea. Karen had wandered markets in some of the world’s greatest cities testing and trying ingredients like no one’s business. We came home and did what we always do, merged our experiences comparing discovery notes and had our aha moments. So much of what we do is pretty similar to what our favorite chefs do. We search for top produced ingredients and for us that is always exciting and fun. We learn everything we can about ingredients from our producers sometimes until we understand these elements better than we do anything else. Ask me what’s my favorite part of my job and this is it. I love connecting with the real rockstars at our core, our growers. I’m always humbled by the labor intensive work on their part for what is honestly little financial reward. The passion producers have for perfection is fascinating to me. Our grape seed oil producer walked me through his vineyards in search of the perfect grape. He wanted to show me exactly how and why it was perfect and I felt like we were on some sort expedition. In our world nature tells the truth and there is something so gratifying about listening to an agricultural scientist turned winemaker talk about the history and integrity of a grape. It occurred to me that in many ways and much like a producer or chef, Karen and I have this innate penchant for nurturing other folks. Our brains think like chefs, seeking the new, the finest and not wanting to repeat what’s already been done. We have a unique curiosity to understand how and why things work and a desire to stir the imagination leading us towards the unknown. Sometimes, all the fun really is in the challenge.

There is nothing quite like The Capsule Collection in natural beauty or in the conventional realm for that matter. We collected our ideas and followed our curiosity because we know our customer craves a high level experience with their skincare. We really listened when customers wrote or called us and asked advice pairing products to make the experience more targeted and effective. We also wanted to offer a little fun and innovation much like a special dining experience does to make an occasion forever standout. The Capsule Collection offers several single ingredient products as well as new formulations allowing you to blend, create and design dozens of potent products yourselves. We think, this is not only a super cool concept, but effective for your daily treatments when you may need a product that is more or less potent depending on the state of your skin.

THE MUSE

One of the best food experiences I ever had was in Barcelona when I spontaneously wandered into an unassuming restaurant off a quiet cobblestone street. The chef, a tall Australian waited on me himself and sat down beside me at the table I thought to describe the menu. Instead, he looked me in the eyes, hand cradling his chin and said, “how do you feel that I don’t know you, but I get a sense you’re full of adventure and in this restaurant I cook what I feel like for the day and serve it to my customers? There are no substitutions whatsoever, but there is magic.” Well, how can anyone resist an offer like that? He was basically asking me to trust him and in return he would nourish me well enough. “Serve me magic,” I replied, and truly it was a spectacular meal in which I’ve described to friends over and over. The delight of simple ingredients introduced in a new way has been deliciously burned into my memory. We strive to take you to a place where you can appreciate quality because it’s simple and truthful and always to serve it up with a little magic.

So with that same fondness for sharing experiences and our love for nurturing souls we dedicate The Capsule Collection to our muses for this project, fellow nurturers and chefs; Jose Andres, Grant Achatz, Julia Child, Dan Barber, Lidia Bastianich, Curtis Duffy, Nobu Matsuhisa, Alice Waters, Marcus Samuelson, Alex Ataya, Hélène Darroze, Ferran and Albert Adria, Thomas Keller, Wylie Dufresne, Jiro Ono, Gaston Acurio, The tall Australian and so many, many more including my stepfather, Enrique Osorio (who gave me full license to really cook and indulged my experiments much to the disappointment of my siblings and at the expense of our family meals) and the ones we cherish most no longer with us, Virginia Correa Mercado (my dearest Spanish Abuelita) and Norabel King, Karen’s darling grandma. Thank you nurturers for giving us such a good foundation and thank you for exploring this Capsule with us.

With love,

Victoria