If you think the concept of poetry in a bottle sounds like something out of a romantic ninteenth-century novel, well, you’re not far off. Enter Poetic Blend. Handmade in Toronto, the luxury line of face and body oils are like “poetry for your skin,” and they’re as lovely as they sound.
We chatted with the brand owner and co-founder Mikayla Tran about the inspiration behind the line, the beauty of bringing poetry to life and her latest creation.
SH: What inspired you to create Poetic Blend and foray into beauty oils?
MT: As someone who suffers from extremely oily skin, I was really tired of using products that only temporarily provided relief for my overactive oil glands. I’ve used so many different types of lotions and potions on the market, but nothing offered the lasting results that I needed. Fed up with it all I decided to research ways to defeat oily skin on a deeper level – that’s when I discovered the elementary chemistry concept of “like dissolves like”. In order to combat oils, I decided to fight with oils. To ease any apprehension for those who are unfamiliar with using oils in their daily skin care routine, let’s delve into and debunk the most popular oil myth: adding natural oil onto already oily skin will not make the skin even more oily. In fact, whether you have oily, dry or even combination skin – integrating pure and nourishing oil into your daily skin routine could actually be a complete game changer. I spent over two years meeting with sustainable growers, farmers and consulting with naturopaths, botanists and other formulators who collectively gave me the insight I needed to develop my incredible formulas for Poetic Blend.
SH: Can you talk about the significance behind the name, Poetic Blend?
MT: When you think of poetry you’ll probably think about the best words, in the best order, handsomeness of language, the use of similes along with patterning and rhyming – that you might even forget that it is something profoundly deeper than that – it is a synergy between thought and feeling. Whether reading it or writing it, poetry invites us to tap into a deeper space that is often left unexplored and sometimes even forgotten. As a lover and student of poetry, I’ve spent four years studying its various forms from different eras and ages. And, arguably, as a dying art form, it was important for me to bring it to life through the physical manifestation of Poetic Blend.