But in being married, I’m learning that it is not just me getting married and being me with someone else. And although I’ve grown up with siblings and roommates pretty communally, and know all about sharing, compromising, and living with others, it’s not quite the same as marriage and equality with another human being who hasn’t grown up with you.

So for my first new year as a married woman, I plan to shape up on a few things:

• Patience – because husbands claim they can’t always read your mind
• Communication – but not during a sports game
• Be Positive – because being negative ruins my day, but not his! and it’s always nice to hear compliments
• Be Fair – sometimes the small things don’t matter, except the way the toilet paper rolls…
• Be Supportive – when he has a bad day, I should give him a break if he’s a little negative and doesn’t notice my new haircut

Besides these outlook changes, I plan to be more ritualistic. I’ve read that having little rituals with your mate, can help build bonds. I had friends that would have a monthly date night, but even something small like washing and drying dishes together every night, can help build communication and positive feelings toward each other.  And it’s important to have some fun husband wife activities…my husband has chosen bird-watching to be one of our new hobbies. I’ll keep you updated, but  I did try it out in Florida – and wading birds are beautiful up close! And finally, I’m looking forward to problem solving our problems…whether by reading books on conflict resolution, or by looking for a relationship counselor. I figure all relationships have problems – it’s good to findthe tools to maintain and improve good relationships before they become bad.

So wish me luck, and let me know your thoughts about your relationships!

Summer is here. The sun is shining, the beaches are calling, the iced tea is being sipped and you’re feeling great. You might be prepared for summer….but is your skin?! Exfoliation – a term that most of us (and I’ll ashamedly admit to this) pull a face at. It takes time, it takes effort, and quite frankly we’d rather use that time to enjoy the 90-degree heat.

But what if I told you that your skin is harboring hundreds of dead skin cells called ‘Stratum Corneum’ – even the name makes it sound positively disgusting.

What is it?

Put simply, old skin sheds itself on a regular basis, making way for new skin. Unfortunately not all of this skin is removed and a build up begins to form; the average build up of stratum corneum contains between 15-20 dead cell layers. Eww.

Benefits!

So apart from the obvious benefit of removing this cheeky invasion of cells, here’s a few other benefits to why exfoliating is essential for a glowing summer face (and don’t be lazy, I expect amazing spring, autumn and winter skin too!)

• Reduces dryness and gray dullness by removes grease and dead skin cells on your skin.

• Gives your skin an amazing radiant glow and leaves you feeling fresh and more youthful looking in your ‘new’ skin.

• Improves blood circulation and boosts the flow of oxygen.

• Can improve performance of product applied after (like that expensive night cream you’re rationing out) by increasing its absorption into the newly exfoliated skin. 

So ‘when and with what’….?

Most experts recommend exfoliating twice a week (stratum corneum – enough said!) We recommend different products for your face vs your body as your face may be more sensitive and require different treatments.

For your face, I’d recommend the Rice Facial Scrub containing fine exfoliating beads, which helps say Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Bye to those dead skin cells. This gently foaming cleanser + scrub also removes dirt and m ake-up leaving your skin smooth and fresh with a healthy glow! For your body, I also recommend my absolute favorite product  Invigorating Coffee Scrub which is made with fresh Indonesian coffee beans and finer walnut shell grains for dual-action exfoliation. This gently exfoliates and awakens the skin leaving it fresh and awakened and with the most amazing chocolate coffee smell. Plus it also cleanses with soap-free surfactants which means it won’t dry out your skin. Remember this isn’t just for ladies, men love it too!

If you prefer a creamier option, try the Candlenut Body Polish which exfoliates and moisturizes together in one single application. A sister product to the coffee scrub, this one doesn’t so much cleanse as it hydrates deeply while exfoliating. Perfect to use before a self tanner, or on dry skin when you’re about to go out an notice dry patches on arms or legs you just want to rid of! Plus, you’re going to smell sweeter than summer!

Tell me how!

Now you’re equipped with knowledge and products, here’s the many different ways you can exfoliate!

Manual – Usually in the form of a sponge, a facial scrub or a tool, such as a Clarisonic that manually sloughs off the dead skin.

Chemical – Mostly provided over the counter, these types of exfoliation often contain acids and help loosen the skin layers. Most often recognized as ‘peels’.

Superficial/Deep Microdermabrasion – These two types of exfoliation help remove damaged skin cells, giving your skin an overall youthful appearance and is most usually performed by a professional.

So now you know and above are some options on how to exfoliate… SUMMER SKIN HERE I COME!

JUARA Girls: Tami the Bride, with Maid of Honor Metta, and Bridesmaids Jill & Yoshiko. Woohoo!!

On April 23, 2011, JUARA Girl Tami married Louis-Simon Ferland, an extraordinary and handsome French-Canadian gentleman who considers himself one of the luckiest guys in the world. Well he should – he’s with our JUARA Girl Tami. And she, by the way, is just as ecstatic. I recall back in 2004 when we first started working in our tiny apartments on this idea called “JUARA” and our journey began. 2004 we were all in our late 20′s, single, hunched over double boilers with skincare formulations and researching Indonesian beauty treatments by day, going out together as friends in the evening, chatting about our latest obsession (a.k.a. JUARA), and of course, the male species.  It was only less than 7 years ago, but it feels like a decade.

We launched our first 5 products in 2005, followed by a series of team bonding trips to Puerto Rico, work trips to Indonesia, and late-night drives to QVC and other work related locations… let’s just say we have spent a LOT of time with each other. I’ve spent the night in the back of a car in a parking lot in Las Vegas with Jill due to an unfortunate scheduling mishap, and missed flights going over presentations with Yoshiko…while waiting at the boarding gate. We’ve moved offices about 4 times together, lifted more boxes than I can ever count, tied ribbons till we couldn’t feel our fingers, debated over spreadsheets, bonded over disappointments,  commiserated over breakups,  rejoiced over engagements and births, and survived global separation when Tami moved to London to be with her beau. Where many partners could have buckled under all the work stress, we were committed to our relationship to each other and continued to make it stronger. Before someone coined the term “The JUARA Girls” for us, believe me, we didn’t create it, we used to be referred to as the ‘Sex and the City’ girls, but even more – as legal business partners, we are technically in bed with each other too in many other ways than the literal.

What a lot of people don’t know is how much JUARA is infused with our personal lives. In trainings, we talk about how the Candlenut Body Creme is inspired by an ancient body scrub made from candlenuts, or how the oil is so gentle it can be used on babies to aid with cradle cap. But I remember making the scrub from fresh candlenuts and all of us crammed in a tiny NY bathtub one afternoon, experimenting with it – adult women giggling like girls. Or in creating our JUARA signature packaging, we talk about the inspiration being the Indonesian batik (wax dye-resist technique) patterns on fabric, but we don’t always mention how we got the idea:  Tami and I were in Bali wracking our brains for what our packaging should be when I woke up at 2:30 in the morning after a long day with a jolt. Like a good friend, I shook her awake immediately screaming “EUREKA, I GOT IT! BATIK AROUND BOTTLES! WE HAVE TO GET UP AND DRAW!!!… YES, NOW!!!” So Tami being a trooper got up and we drew through the night. We emailed the preliminary designs to Jill and Yoshiko in the US in the AM, and with everyone’s input and ideas, JUARA’s packaging concept was born. So jump 7 years later and where are we now? Yoshiko is happily married with the cutest daughter, Asami, (We don’t test on animals, only on Asami, JUST KIDDING!) and I’m on her hubby’s football team. Jill is happy, I won’t say anything to jinx it, let’s just say, And Tami just got married. We have a few products in the pipeline, products absolutely relevant to our own skin’s needs today, and are excited to be launching them soon… To us, looking at JUARA is not just looking at the product of a labor of love and an awesome skin solution, but also a nice walk down memory lane.

We’ve come a long way, and plan to go a long way more. Congratulations, Tami, and here’s to all you women who have your own story to tell!

Fun summer events: Special discounts and exclusive gifts with purchase!

When the sun is up, and everyone’s heading to the beach, we like to cater to those who are still in the city for fun, JUARA events. We like partnering with our other business owner friends, as well as our retailers whom we know also really appreciate their customers, so what better way to say “thanks!” than to make shopping even more fun with our free hand treatments and extra samples – just for showing up? This June, we have had several fun events – ranging from a store launch party (Pachute) at a delightful little boutique in the Upper East Side, to big shopping bashes with up to 350 guests at the Green & Gorgeous event by Pretty in the City.  We have the following events this month, so stop by and say hi if you can, Yoshiko, Jill or I will be there – so come get your free hand massage!

To see what events we have this month in NYC, check here.

Donna Kraft with her mother Jewell Blanken

Donna, Jewell and their entire family

How did you celebrate this year?