You Only Go Once (Y.O.G.O.)
Cheryl and Eileen explore different topics around the limited time we have on this earth to create a fully layered life. Because...You Only Go Once!
You Only Go Once (Y.O.G.O.)
Embracing Simplicity: Ariane Noji's Path to Sustainable Beauty
Have you ever felt the pull of the mountains, whispering a promise of a quieter, more intentional life? Ariane Noji did, and she's here to share her extraordinary shift from the Los Angeles frenzy to a serene, sustainable existence. With her at the helm of the eco-conscious beauty brand Contemplation, we traverse the landscape of cosmetics through an artistic lens, examining how minimalism can not only declutter our spaces but also preserve our planet. Join us as we discuss Ariane's journey from her rural roots to her education in fashion, culminating in the creation of a brand that embodies her dedication to environmental stewardship and the artistry of beauty.
Navigating the world of consumerism can feel like charting a course through a stormy sea, especially when it comes to eco-friendly shopping. During our conversation, we unearth the importance of using what we already own and the skill of discerning genuine commitment to sustainability amidst a myriad of marketing tactics. Ariane and I share anecdotes on dodging the allure of anti-aging claims and the powerful act of restraint in purchasing. This episode is a treasure chest of insights on how to shop with our planet in mind, and how choosing not to buy can be the most profound statement of respect for our Earth.
As we wind down, the episode takes a serene turn, reflecting on the peaceful embrace of nature's grandeur. Destinations like Joshua Tree and the Grand Canyon serve as backdrops for introspection on our minuscule, yet significant place in the world. Ariane opens up about the evolution of Contemplation and the intricacies of nurturing a business while staying true to eco-friendly principles. It's a tale of personal growth amid the beauty of entrepreneurship, a reminder of the delicate dance between expanding aspirations and honoring the core values of minimalism and sustainability.
Hi, I'm Ariane Noji. I hope, when you look back on life, I hope you do something that inspires you, because you only go once.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello, hello, welcome back everybody. I am here with my fantastic co-host, Eileen Grimes, and this is the you Only Go Once podcast, where we explore stories around the limited time we have on this earth to create a fully layered life. Eileen and I have a wonderful guest. Eileen, kick us off.
Speaker 3:Thanks, cheryl. It's so good to see you. I miss you, my friend, so I am so excited to introduce our guest tonight. So, after working in the beauty industry for 13 years and living a busy LA lifestyle, ariane Noji was ready for a change. She felt a strong personal responsibility to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and decided to move to the mountains to become more connected with nature and living more mindfully. She wanted to contribute to the beauty industry in a positive way, combining her two passions of self-care and planet care. Her desire for minimalism has been key in her message that you can do more with less. Ariane took the leap of faith to start her own eco-conscious brand contemplation and her hope is to encourage conscious consumerism in the face of extreme materialism, so that everyone can benefit in the long run. Ariane, welcome, welcome to you. Only Go Once. We are so excited to have you here with us tonight.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3:I'm excited to be here, yeah so, my goodness, 13 years in LA. What was that like?
Speaker 1:You know what I really loved living in LA? It's great. You have the beaches, you have the city like tons of art museums. I loved it. It was a great part of my life.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and did you grow up there? Was that sort of home for you, or how did you come to be in LA?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I actually grew up in Central California in a really small town and hated it. I hated living in a small town and I was like I want to live in the city. So like as soon as I graduated from high school I moved to LA and then it just like it felt like home. I loved it so much. But I moved there for college. So I went to the Fashion Institute in LA and was there for a couple of years and studied the beauty program that they had. I knew I wanted to be in the beauty industry and they had a very specific program for that at the Fashion Institute for some reason. Yeah, and so yeah, that's kind of what led me there.
Speaker 3:Very cool. So what was it about the beauty industry that just intrigued you? What drew you into that industry in general?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I think growing up I was always interested in cosmetics just because I love the look of them. They're very colorful. I'm very artistic and I think maybe that had something to do with it of seeing color palettes and I love to paint, and so around the time I was in high school, it was like my face is a canvas. I like to use a lot of makeup and experiment with it, and it was honestly more so about the products, not so much about like using them, but I just I love just seeing them and seeing the colors. And, yeah, I just always knew I wanted to somehow be involved in that some way. Whether it was like be a makeup artist or have my own beauty brand. It was just something that I was always interested in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I have my. We were talking before we kicked off. We were talking about how we have kids. So I have my six year old daughter. Honestly, it's so much fun having a very young daughter that loves makeup because the the ability for us to play in color, especially at that age, is so much more accepted. I mean, I think I think there's a little bit more acceptance now of really like bold colors and like glitter and like really just having fun with that. And I have the best time when she and I get together.
Speaker 3:She loves to put my makeup on me and all the colors and like it's just so fun and like the draw to it because of that makes so much sense and I'm having more fun with it now than I ever, because I wasn't allowed to wear makeup growing up, like that just wasn't something, but I always found it fascinating. And the first time I got to wear blue mascara oh boy, I was so excited. Maybe look like I was freezing to death, but that's fine, but totally get it on that color palette right. There's so much and the way that can look and hit your skin and then also match with what you're wearing or whatever. Like it's just it's a lot of fun, so I completely get that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure it's. There's definitely like a creative aspect to it.
Speaker 3:Definitely, and when you know how to do it. Well, that's so fun, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've been finding the world of makeup and everything very fascinating ever since I've gone down the rabbit hole of TikTok.
Speaker 2:Because there are so many people there now that have embraced, I mean similarly to what you both have been talking about. I mean, I know there's YouTube, youtube tutorials and things like that, but I'm amazed at how creative people are with it, you know. So your face is literally a canvas that you just embrace all that color and that's wonderful. And you know there's something to be said too, because you are looking at sustainable, what's responsible, all that too, and I applaud you for that, because I'm a bit of a plain Jane when it comes to makeup. I also like to look at the products and kind of make sure that you know there's no harm done to other creatures and stuff like that. So you know, I would imagine you've seen the gamut working for 13 years in the skincare industry. What was there a particular event that sparked your? I'm switching and going to break out on my own, or what did that look like?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's interesting.
Speaker 1:So, like you know, like where I started out of, like what I was interested in, what I wanted, has drastically changed when I moved to LA until like where I am now.
Speaker 1:Because you know, like I mentioned, like the idea of like the products and like the color and all of that stuff is very interesting to me. But I personally am a minimalist, like I don't wear a makeup, I don't use a ton of products, and what I found was, you know, like I'm working for these brands where I'm like spitting out like one product after another, but I myself am not actually using them all the time and I just I don't feel like you need that many products. So it's interesting and it's also like ironic. It's like I'm very interested in the products themselves, but I think like the idea of meeting so many of them is kind of disheartening to me, that you would need that many products, and so it kind of moved me in a direction of like how do I like make this like something that I'm more passionate about? That actually is intriguing to me, where it's a much more of like a less approach, if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely no one can see it right now, but I would, I would venture to say, if anyone were to look at the three of us currently on video. Minimalism is certainly the route.
Speaker 2:For sure yeah.
Speaker 3:Which, and everyone you know, everyone has their own unique way of approaching that, but I definitely, like I do, I'd like to play in it. Sure, do I typically go that route? No, I mean, I well, anyway, I tinted my eyelashes and had them permed, so I don't have to do anything. Awesome, I know not wearing any makeup, so, anyway, I still love it when I can, but for me, it's just not something that I want to have to do every single day with a whole lot of stuff like it's I, I want to spend my time doing other things, and that's just my own perspective on it, right? Yeah, what I love and one of the pieces that we talk, I feel like comes up quite often in our in this podcast is self care, and you know that you have these kind of combined passions of self care and planet care. What does, what does self care mean to you?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think to me it means taking care of yourself in whichever way you find is the best way, because it means something different to so many different people like to one person, self care could mean a full face of makeup and looking their best and filling their best. To me, self care is just how do I protect my self in a way that makes me feel good? So when I speak about it in terms of like combining self care and planet care, I think of it in a way of like everything needs protection. You know, like I don't think you can just not use products in general. I think you need sunscreen, for example, if you're going to go out in the sun.
Speaker 1:That's just my opinion. One example, or you know, nature doesn't need to like have trash thrown all over it. That's not protecting nature, so it's it's kind of like all you know, like full circle in terms of like caring for yourself, caring for the planet, and in terms of like the brand perspective. I wanted to create something where it's using something like that takes care of you with a very minimal impact on the environment. So if you see a lot of brands out there, even like sustainable brands and I put that in quotes because you see a lot of brands that claim sustainability but then they have like 1012 products in their lineup, and to me that's not sustainable, because what is that doing?
Speaker 1:It's taking tons of ingredients from all parts of the world, shipping them. You're having to grow ingredients. You're having to use like land, water, all of that stuff that goes into it that people don't see, and then they end up in plastic bottles and those plastic bottles end up in the ocean and it's just like this chain reaction that I don't think a lot of people necessarily think about. They just think like, oh, I'm going to buy this product because the internet told me to, or the internet told me I needed it, and so for me, it was like well, I don't think we need to get rid of products.
Speaker 1:I don't think that. I think we still need products to take care of ourselves. But how do we do it so that it's very minimal impact? So, looking at ingredients of like well, how are these ingredients grown? Where are they shipped from? How? Like, what was the process of them, from the seed until it turned into an actual ingredient that's in your bottle? Like? There's so many different steps.
Speaker 1:I've possibly sourced all these different things and trying to put all of those things into one product that then can take care of you from head to toe. So I only launched with one product. It's a. It's an oil that you can use on your face, your body and your hair, and the idea was that you don't need a ton of things. You can still get the same effect as a 10 step skincare routine, but using one product, and it's a lot less wasteful, it's a lot more resourceful, you're not spending as much money, you're not spending as much time on yourself. There's all these different things that play into it. That goes into like taking care of yourself with the self care and also being mindful of our planet in the process of it. I know that was a lot A lot of work on it.
Speaker 1:No, hopefully it makes sense.
Speaker 3:No, not at all, it absolutely does. And, oh gosh, this is so part of what you were saying reminds me. I don't know if you've ever watched the Good Place. It's one of my favorite shows with Kristen Bell, it's so good.
Speaker 3:And so there's a part well, anyway, there's a part where, like, they're just, you know, when they figure out who goes to the Good Place or the Bad Place, right, and some of that determination is like the choices that you make in life and you get points based on the type of things that happen, and this conversation is like a piece of that. Like, how can people even make these decisions when there's like 50 things that happen before that? Like, is it ethically sourced? It's like, who's actually doing the farming of the different things? Are they being taken care of? Like there's so many decisions and pieces that come into creating this one product that you might have and you don't know all of the pieces behind that, right, and so, anyway, no one was going to the Good Place because of that, basically.
Speaker 3:But it's so fascinating when you start really thinking about it and what that looks like from a consumer's point of view, and then the overwhelm that can come in to be like, oh my gosh, like how do I even, how do I even choose at this point, so yeah. And then you look at marketing and branding of things and they're like, oh no, we're super, you know, eco-conscious and all of those things. It's like, okay, well, they put it on there. So that's gotta mean that's true, right? So I don't like, do you have any recommendations for people who want to shop in a way that is with care of the planet in mind, to like what are things that people can look at and look for when they're trying to be intentional about this kind of thing? And obviously your brand, but you know, are there other things that people can kind of consider when they're out shopping?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think to me the biggest thing is just like how much you're actually buying. Like I know this is probably not the greatest business advice for myself even but I'm like if you have a cabinet full of products, you don't need to buy my product. Like use what you have first, right. Like you have stuff already. So I'm sure tons of people like they have a ton of products that they don't even use. So that's the other thing.
Speaker 1:Like we're constantly bombarded with advertisements like on the daily of like you need this, buy this, like you can't just have one, you need all of these other things, and so I think that's it's really confusing for the consumer because they're constantly told that they need products.
Speaker 1:So I think if somebody's really interested in like changing that behavior, it's kind of trying to like cancel some of that noise out. Like you kind of just have to cancel some of that advertising noise out and be like okay, if I want to shop mindfully for any product, not just like skincare, but like what food am I eating, what clothes am I buying? All of that kind of stuff, like it just starts like very simply, it doesn't have to be complicated. You just, you know, kind of do your own research by less. And then if you find you can look up, like you know, ethical brands or responsible brands, and you'll get a ton of different ones. But you know just like kind of looking into it and making sure, like you look at the ingredients, if there's a product that has like 25 ingredients in there, like a skincare product, that's going to be a little bit difficult to go to that that brand and be like, hey, where did all these ingredients come from? First of all, they're not going to tell you.
Speaker 3:But absolutely no.
Speaker 1:No, they're not going to tell you. But if you, you know, start researching just more like ingredients and seeing like, oh hey, there's only like a couple ingredients in this. I know what those ingredients are. So, just like making small steps. And I think the biggest advice is just like doing your own research. It's really not that hard. It sounds complicated, but I don't. I don't think like if you take an hour or so to do like a little bit of research, you, you could be fine, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's just my it is hard because I think people, you know they see something and then they're like, oh, that's cool, I want that, you know. But if you stop before you click the purchase button and you're like, wait a second, do I actually need this? Do I already have this at home? And if I really do need it, like, let me just do a quick little. Like what's this brand all about? Like, what is their messaging? What kind of steps are they taking? Like are they giving back to any like nonprofits or are they supporting any like environmental causes? It's all there on the website. I'm sure If they want to be transparent about it, brands will be transparent. It's when brands are very vague and just use like greenwashing terms, like you said earlier, like sustainable, or just these quick little catchphrases. It's like but how, how are you at?
Speaker 2:And I've seen, too, like I think there are states now that are starting, you know, a long the vein of you know, making sure we're doing right by the planet. I've seen that there are some states that are enacting laws that are saying like don't throw out clothes, like get them to like a thrift store or something else, but don't throw them out because of the what it's doing to landfills and things like that. I will fully admit that I came from the generation where we used either sun in or baby oil to tan. So you know, if there was one thing that I could do in reverse back time, it would be to take care, better care, of my skin and with all the marketing that's happening about like fighting ageism and stuff like that, I just saw a makeup brand and you know the marketing is very convincing. I mean because I I my hand, my button, my finger was there on the clicker and I'm like, nope, I'm going to behave where they were erasing what I call the 11s, so those two furrowed brow lines between your eyebrows.
Speaker 2:Whatever this makeup was, it erased it and I was like, oh, give that to me, but I don't know what's in it. I don't know if I'm causing more damage than good. So it's just been with the world that we live in right now, it's very confusing to figure out what's good while looking good, while feeling good. You know, and I love that your brand focuses on all of that, and I actually think it's, I think it's really admirable that you say, like, don't buy our product if you've got, or you've got stuff in your medicine cabinet, you know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is really confusing and I think it's Okay. Great people who really want to make the change they have to start with their own self, which is my journey, is. I had to stop and take a look at myself. It was like why don't I use all these products? To me, it was like, well, I'm wearing a lot of products if I have a business meeting or if I'm going out on a date or if I'm trying to impress somebody. For me, it was like I need to scale that back and be like I've got to be comfortable in my own skin. Honestly, the pandemic helped with that. I feel like a lot of people got comfortable in their own skin because they stopped wearing makeup. They weren't going out as much. I think people got used to their own natural faces and not having to use a ton of products.
Speaker 1:It is very complicated. I think using more products actually over complicates your skin. You have more reactions when you use more products because think about it you're just putting all these different things on your face on the daily. It's just too much. Your skin needs to rebalance itself. Less is definitely more. I think we're just so living in this world where we're constantly told we need, need, need, and we really don't. It's even like, for example, with the food. I could go off on a tangent but simply eating an apple, that's one simple ingredient versus, let's just say, an apple pie, where there's a ton of ingredients. It's more complicated, it's just like a basic. Just narrow down all the different things and things become a lot more simplified. We totally just overcomplicate things as humans.
Speaker 3:I feel like We'll definitely enjoy that.
Speaker 1:Well, it's more fancy than special.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is, but I think when it's also like it doesn't seem as special, when it's in everything, when everything is over-complicated, it's not as special. If I can eat apple pie every single day, it's not as special as getting it once a year. That's kind of what I think of, of like let me scale back my daily life and be very simple and conscious and mindful with my daily routine and save those extra special things for once in a while to make it more special and exciting.
Speaker 3:No, I totally agree. I was being silly on that. All the steps to go into making these things I don't even know that.
Speaker 3:I want to take the time to do all of that, if I'm being really honest. Yeah, no, I agree completely. I mean, that's your message to do more with less. It makes me really think about, because for me, it really is the time when I have less if I'm not making up, let's say, the pie, if I'm not making the pie, if I'm not doing the 15-step skincare routine and the 45-minute full face makeup, whatever. That means I have more time and I can do more with less. It's where are you looking? What are you prioritizing to put first in all of that? I mean, look, some people love making themselves gourmet dinners and their families and stuff. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking that. Wonderful, and that's how you share and show love. Amazing, right, everyone's different. I can completely understand where that more with less really hits home, at least for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think, as also we were talking about earlier, we're both moms and our time is precious. I would rather spend a quick 10 minutes on myself so that I could spend the extra time doing something fun with my family. Or do I even have 10 minutes for myself? I really don't. But yeah, I think, also living in LA, everything is so fast paced.
Speaker 1:You're going, going, going. You have everything at your fingertips, it's everything that you want, all there. And then when I moved to the mountains, there's nothing, it's like stripped away, it's just nature and I think part of that slowing down your life. You realize, whoa, what was I doing all that time? I'm just going, going, going, never stopping to just reflect on my life, and I think the pandemic really did that for a lot of us.
Speaker 1:We were literally forced to pause and reflect on life and what is happening in our lives right now, and what do we actually want, what's important? And so me, moving to the mountains, I was completely engulfed in nature and I was just like I looked at life so differently of moving at the pace of nature, being one with nature, protecting what we have and honestly, just being super grateful for things that we don't typically notice, like you know, the trees, like giving us fresh air, like that was just a simple thing. But it's like life changing. When you really sit down and just look at it on a deeper level, it can really change your life.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean so I don't know what you can see behind me. I made the inside, my outside, yeah, and then I also have my picture or my painting of Gaia, right, like there's. I very much. You're speaking my language very certainly, so I get that completely. And for you, was there a calling to nature, or did you find nature's calling once you went into the mountains?
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little bit of both. So my husband and I we always have the dream of, oh, let's have a cabin in the woods one day. Like that was just like a very far off dream. We both worked in LA. That was a reality for us, to just go off and live in the mountains. But so it really was kind of like a blessing in disguise when we had the opportunity of like hey, like well, we are both working from home right now. Like we've always wanted to like make that move. We don't know what's happening in the world right now, like we don't know how much time we have. Like it literally felt like time stopped and it's like I need to do something. I need to like live my life. So, and we had actually gotten married in Lake Arrowhead, so we were very familiar with the area. It's only like an hour and a half from LA. And we're like why don't we just like go? Look, you know and I mean LA is extremely expensive to live.
Speaker 1:Like so anywhere outside of LA less expensive than LA, yeah. And so we just kind of made like a quick decision of like let's just do it, this is our opportunity. And we found something within a couple of months and just fell in love with it. Like I there's I know this sounds like corny, but there's literally something in the air, the mountain air, that just like is so refreshing and you're just like I don't want to leave. And even when I do go off the mountain, like if I need to make a quick trip to LA or if I go back to visit my family, I'm always like I gotta go back. That fresh air, like it's just there's something so peaceful and calm about living amongst the trees. I don't know what it is.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it's just it. Once I was there, I just like slowly started morphing into like a different person and I literally think nature changed me.
Speaker 3:I don't doubt that at all, I really don't. And I mean I've told Cheryl knows so my a lot of my childhood was in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and there is something for me that when I get to see the mountains and just take them in. I actually got to go to Denver this past summer for something, for a conference, and I just, I don't know, that's like I can breathe again and there's just this, this relaxation. And it was funny because when I lived in Philadelphia I was told that I should go visit the mountains out in out in Philly, over on the Poconos. So I go over and I was like when did the mountains start? So these are hills, people, they're beautiful. I'm sorry, the Poconos are wonderful and beautiful. It's just when you've grown up in like the Rocky Mountains and seeing that that range is incredible. But yeah, I feel that very deeply in just what the mountains are and what they bring.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:You know, I was just thinking about what you said about LA and working in Philly for several years, and Eileen knows this like we're. You know it's just very rushed, it's very rushed, Everything's rushed. If that light turns from red to green and you haven't moved like, people will be on their horns. It's you know it's a cultural thing. I do it in the suburbs and people are like, what are you doing? And I'm like, oh yeah, that's right, I'm not in the city.
Speaker 2:It's fine Like we have to move, you know we have to move a little bit slower and that's okay, and but that taking time and taking that time for yourself is really important. And you know, there are times, too, where I think getting away from it all is also a wonderful thing. It's a very good thing of self care. Friends of mine are actually talking about seeing if we can go see the breakers, which is in Newport, rhode Island I'm terrible with geography, so that's why I'm saying it out loud and to go see the all the different mansions that are dressed up for the holidays and just doing a long weekend there. For you, is there a place I mean like Arrowhead sounds amazing and idyllic and all the good things but is there a place that you go like on vacation with kids or to get away or anything like that, where you're like, yeah, this is my happy place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so one of like the places that we like to go a lot is Joshua Tree. Are you guys familiar with that Joshua?
Speaker 2:Tree.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just kind of. It's really close. Actually, it's probably like a two hour drive from like Arrowhead. It's the desert, but that is like my second favorite place. Like I just I love being out there because, again, it's all nature, it's all like empty, it's quiet and I think like any any like place in nature is cool. But I think when there's like a lack of people or there's just like a huge space for you to like wander around, there's just something very like calming and refreshing about that of just like kind of just being one with the earth and just like being like wow, like I am just a small little human, like surrounded by like so much of this like planet. And I think like there's so many cool places like that.
Speaker 1:My husband and I just like went to Olympic National Park, which was amazing.
Speaker 1:I highly recommend it for anyone.
Speaker 1:There was a section that has like a, I think it's like called the Ho Rainforest or something like that, and it is just like breathtaking and you just kind of you get the feeling of like like I mentioned earlier like you just feel very small but in a great way of like wow, there's so much beyond my small little ego or what I feel like Like I probably have like a big ego at times where I'm like everything is like falling apart or but it's, it's not, it's all.
Speaker 1:A lot of stuff lives in our head, right Like we get stressed, we get anxious, we get like angry, but so much of that lives in our head and I feel like when you're in a quiet place like Joshua Tree or Olympic National Park or something like just some like wide open space of nature, it just kind of like calms your thoughts and you're like OK, what I was mad about or what I was frustrated about or anxious about or stressed or whatever, it's really not as big as I think it is, because I'm really just a small little human in this huge world where there is so much more to be like grateful for and thankful for you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I live in the Pacific Northwest and totally feel all of that. I also love going down to Redwood Forest.
Speaker 3:I definitely get that feeling there just seeing how big those trees are. And I think I show were we talking about Grand Canyon last week? I think we were talking about that in our conversation last week, but that is one where that feeling I guess felt it in, like the Redwoods and different things like that. That place for me is the like OK, I'm not, I am so small, I'm so small in all of this and in the best absolute way possible, where right I'm, I don't, I don't matter, but like it's, there's so many bigger things and my problems aren't really that big and things that I can get through, and it just puts so much of it in perspective. I completely agree, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's funny that you mentioned that, because I think there's a question about like. Where is like one place that like has changed me, and it is definitely the Grand Canyon. Like that experience is, it's life changing, like you can go there and look out and you get so many different feelings, like it feels unreal, almost like it feels like you're looking at a painting because it's so unreal and it's it's kind of scary, almost like to feel that, like little you know. But I think, like you said, like your feelings, like it's not that they don't like matter, because they do, but I think it puts it in to perspective of like we're all here, like together, like there's like like the whole world is here together, you know, and like we're all sharing this one earth together.
Speaker 1:So I think that's kind of like, where the idea of like self-care and planet care and people care is like you got to take care of yourself, you got to take care of the planet and you got to take care of humanity, like we got to take care of each other, like we're all in this together, like we all live here, we all share this one place. So obviously people are going to have differences of opinion on so many different things, surface level things, but at the end of the day, we're just like one big human race, all trying to like survive this one earth, you know, just trying to do our best, and I think that's what puts it in perspective for me, like we're just humans trying our best and we're sharing in this experience together. We all have shared feelings, whether they like are different or the same.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, yeah, no, I agree, and it's. I mean, I've said it many times, but in 2020, I went and wrote my own eulogy and there's something about the approaching of our own mortality, right, like I whether it's seeing the Grand Canyon and how big that is like I am just a small part of this very large story, right, yeah, and even my own story is so small and truly goes by so quickly and kind of understanding that and not being afraid of what that means anymore changed my entire approach to who I am and the life that I wanna lead and the value sets that I have and I know you said it before too it is that taking time to be quiet for a minute and to just breathe and think and reflect, and how much that can change your life when you really take a minute to do that, is truly, truly incredible. So I mean, there's something about that I think we've, like, when we talk to all the people we have on this podcast, it feels like everyone's had sort of that moment or maybe it's been a few different moments, right, where it feels like people who are living on purpose or finding ways to really live out their one true self in this world. There've been a moment or a few different ones that have really they've taken the time and opportunity to reflect on what it really means to be here, and it sounds like you definitely have gone down that path as well. Yeah, definitely, yeah.
Speaker 3:So tell us a little bit about contemplation, just a little bit more. What does that look like? What is the? You've started with one product. Where are you at now and where are things kind of going with it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it started really as kind of like a passion project, like I think like moving from LA to the mountains was my first big leap, just of life in general, of like let me just do this Like I never thought I would like go move in the mountains and like have a house there or whatever.
Speaker 1:But so I think taking that leap made things less scary, because it's like, okay, I can do it and what's the worst, that's gonna happen, right. And then it was kind of like, okay, I've always wanted to start a brand. What's the worst that can happen, Like you know? And so, just like taking that leap, and so it really started with like I just wanna do this. It's like something that's important to me and I was really looking at it in that way of not like what does it mean? Like like I'm not trying to impress anybody by like doing this, I'm just doing it for me.
Speaker 1:So it really was just like a passion project and what I've found is like a couple pros and cons to that One, like when you do that, like you're really focused on the passion and not so much of like the strategic business angle Totally, and so and I think that's hard when you're a creative person to actually focus on like hey, like is this actually gonna make money? Like does it make sense? Like is it feasible, Is it sustainable for me as a person, and I've learned a lot of those things, but I've also like grown in so many ways, because I've had to force myself to learn about things that I like like I didn't know about, Like I don't know about marketing and sales and handling finances and all that stuff and like I'm sure a lot of entrepreneurs don't know. They just have this cool idea and they wanna bring it to life.
Speaker 1:So a lot of that has been like challenging you know, this first year and a half that I've been in business.
Speaker 1:But I've also realized that it's made me grow as a person and kind of just reflect on like hey, like I went into this with this idea, Is it like it constantly morphs?
Speaker 1:Like that's what kind of you learn, like when you're starting something and then you go into it, like it constantly changes from what you originally thought it was gonna be right, which is kind of special in a way.
Speaker 1:And so I started with one product and in my mind I was like okay, I'm gonna start with one product and then I'm like gonna launch some other products. But now it's kind of like been like wait, I started this because like the whole purpose was to be minimal, and like, if I just keep wanting more products, it's kind of like counterintuitive to what I originally wanted in the first place, you know. And so I'm really just kind of taking a step back and looking at the business in general and being like let me focus on like what I've built so far and let me like build upon that instead of just trying to jump into the next thing, you know. And so I'm really trying to take a slower approach, because that's what fits for me in my life in general, Like I want to take a slower, organic approach. I don't want to just like snowball this into something huge. That like goes too fast for me personally if any of that makes sense, but so I don't know.
Speaker 1:We'll see, like what happens. Right now I'm just really trying to get a little bit more brand exposure and my biggest like message with the brand is to just teach people that you know, you don't need a ton of products like even though we're living in this like extreme consumeristic mindset of a world, like we can just like calm some of that noise down, we can just still take care of ourselves very mindfully with a lot less products. You can do your research, you can be more conscious in general about what you buy and just try to get that messaging out with like a small community and grow that messaging to people.
Speaker 3:I love it. Have you thought about a podcast?
Speaker 2:Seriously, I know, right.
Speaker 1:You know what's interesting? I just recently started listening to podcasts, probably like maybe like a year ago, like I, I didn't even realize like what podcasts were. I know that sounds so silly, but like now I'm like obsessed. I love listening to podcasts and I have like their life changing, like people. You hear stories of people and you're like, oh my gosh, like you feel so inspired. You feel like you can, like also do different things with your life and like not be afraid, like.
Speaker 1:But the one like thing that I've gotten from listening to so many podcasts is that, like, everybody's afraid of things, right, like, and it's not, it's you just like, you have to just force yourself to do it and, at the end of the day, like nobody cares, like, what you're doing, you got to do it for yourself, like, if you're not happy doing it, like, what is the, what is the point, what is the point of anything if you're not happy? You know yourself.
Speaker 1:If you're just doing it for someone else, like it doesn't matter, like how much work or how much effort you put into it, if it's not fulfilling for you, it's not, it's not worth it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I am.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly I am. One of the reasons why I love doing this podcast is because there's a simplicity in how we do this, like, ours is really just a conversation, and I know I've referenced this. This other podcast I'm going to mention at least a bajillion times, but there's one called this is Love, and this is Love is one of my favorites because it takes stories that are so simplistic and you are completely invested in them.
Speaker 2:Like there was a story about how I tell the story, because it's one of my favorites about and I forget if it was I think it was a town in Italy where they were retuning a certain instrument and they had to tell everybody in the town to be quiet, so nobody, for like, I don't know how long it was, but nobody could speak above a certain decibel because they wanted to make sure they got this thing like so perfectly tuned, and when I listen to what you're doing, I feel like you're taking out the noise, so you're saying everybody shush, because I want to make this as simplistic and as beautiful as possible, so I need to take out all of that noise and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:I think what you have is a wonderful product. I need to look at it because, quite frankly, I'm out of makeup and I would like to actually get something where I'll send you one. Yeah, okay, I won't say no to a freebie.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:So that's awesome. So, Ariam, we're coming up on the time of our hour here. How do people connect with you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you can go to my website, which is mycontemplationcom, or my Instagram, which is contemplationofficial, and on there I kind of just share videos, not necessarily just about the product, but kind of like what we've been talking about here, just like trying to be more mindful, conscious and living more sustainably. But, yeah, those are my two main places where you can find more information about the brand.
Speaker 3:We'll go to Joshua Tree at some point, yeah we'll go to Joshua Tree, yes. Stop by and visit.
Speaker 2:Yes, and we'll make sure to include the resources and the connection points that you mentioned. We do a lot with social media, so we usually post resources, so we'll make sure that we spread the word that way as well, and we usually spread that stuff on Facebook, instagram and LinkedIn. So awesome. Yeah and TikTok.
Speaker 2:No, I'm trying to figure it out, yes, the famous TikTok, the TikTok, as I've been saying, yes, the TikTok, oh my goodness. All right. Well, ariam, thank you so much for this. This was wonderful talking to you, and I have to get on your Instagram now to see all the pretty pictures and videos and everything like that, and I encourage others to do that as well. So, on behalf of Island Grimes and myself, this concludes our episode with Ariane Noji. Everyone, thanks again for listening into you. Only Go Once and we'll see you next time. Take care Bye.
