When Self-Care and Environmentalism Meet

Article By Mia Somera, Founder of Liliko'i Luxe

As you may have guessed I am passionate about all things ECO friendly. Did you know that ECO stands for earth conscious? Little by little I try to lessen my family’s environmental impact and be more environmentally friendly.

We live on the small and beautiful island of Kaua’i now, but we were born and raised on the main Hawaiian island of O’ahu. Growing up in Hawai’i has taught us to be closer and kinder to our Mother Earth. My husband Cheyne and I had a baby girl in June and our desire for a brighter future for our planet has strengthened even more. As a family we love to spend a lot of time in nature. When we have time all together we are often either at the beach, in the mountains, or enjoying our home in our yard/garden. We took our daughter Coco for her first ocean dip recently and we are continuously grateful to be able to raise her in clean clear ocean water. I dream of HER children one day having the same opportunity.

Limited Resources

On a small isolated island in the middle of the pacific it’s important to understand the finite resources we have, and that includes landfill space.

Ten ways my family works towards being more earth conscious is using more eco friendly products:

using cloth diapers and wipesbringing our own to-go cups and containers when eating out
always use our refillable water bottles
minimizing food waste
using compostable trash bags
refusing single use plastics
saying no thank you to mindless consumption, for example the dentist “goody bag”, and use bamboo tooth brushes and zero waste floss like we have in the shop
purchasing from ECO retailers who have mindful business practices
buying our grains, spices, and other things from the package free bins
And so many more little everyday choices!

The Dream

When starting Liliko’i Luxe my dream was to help you lessen your own environmental impact when it comes to skincare and personal hygiene, which is typically a very wasteful and toxic industry. As you start to make small ECO changes in your life it tends to have a snowball effect where you want to continue to minimize your waste output and live more sustainably. I love the quote:

“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”

Often times I hear from people that the idea of zero waste is overwhelming and too much of an inconvenience. With Liliko’i Luxe I would be honored to be the catalyst for you to see that an ECO lifestyle doesn’t have to be all or nothing, and that it can still be luxurious! Luxury doesn’t need to be wasteful.

Why did I start with skincare?

My journey with skincare and wellness started in my teens. Like many, I suffered from cystic acne. As a young surfer, who worked multiple jobs, and was a dedicated student, my skin care routine was non-existent. I dreamed of clear glowing skin, but the idea of running to the store to buy chemical filled plastic bottles was not my idea of self care.

I was also taught to fear exfoliation (aka the forbidden Apricot Scrub). Little did I know that my skin needed proper gentle exfoliation and quality nourishment to thrive! It wasn’t until well into my 20s that I starting to learn about how to properly take care of my skin and looked into eco friendly products. Eco friendly and clean skincare is amazing!

As a gemini I love to research and my journey led me to discover many incredible brands and products that were doing ECO clean skincare right! I saw a big shortcoming with the clean beauty retailers. They were so focused on “clean” and for the most part neglecting sustainability.

That’s where we come in. We find the best in clean beauty products AND green skin care for you!

On our Liliko’s Luxe website, you will find clean beauty brands with environmentally friendly products ranging from skin products to homegoods, zero waste products, non toxic makeup brands, and more! Take a look and check them out! If you purchase above $100, your shipping is free! Be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter as well to get updated!

In conclusion I want to leave you with this food for thought:

Ask not what the earth can do for you, but what you can do for the earth!

By Mia Somera, Founder of Liliko'i Luxe