Sara Panton Blending Beauty and Brains at Vitruvi

Share your story of how your brand came to be

I had just finished a degree in Health Sciences studying global health and was in my first year of medical school when I learned about the olfactory nerve and how scent affects the brain. Learning about botanical practices of other countries in my global health degree and travels to Kenya and Morocco became a blog, which is now the basis for vitruvi. I was fascinated by the wellness rituals of people around the world and spent a lot of time interviewing anyone that I could about their wellness rituals. The blog was a passion project my brother and I did together and learning more about essential oils, I read that rosemary essential oil could possibly help with test anxiety so I started making my own essential oil blends. The first blend my brother Sean and I ever made is our Focus blend—it was developed to help me study and is a blend of Petitgrain, Rosemary, Frankincense, Clove Bud, Lemongrass, Basil, and Peppermint. We still sell the Focus blend today. It was all my passions and years of school being funneled into one project, and I knew I wanted to help women learn about different wellness practices, live more naturally and carve out simple moments throughout their days to take care of their well-being. I wanted women to help feel connected to rituals, wellness and beauty practices from around the world -- vitruvi acts as a translator between cultures, helping people experience botanicals and rituals used for sometimes hundreds of years. That was four years ago, I quit medical school and Sean quit his job, we worked side jobs as the company got off the ground and we haven't looked back since.

What does beauty mean to you?

Beauty is an interesting word to me. Beauty to me is really about uniqueness, the quirks and pieces of someone or something that make it truly one of a kind.

What are you daily beauty rituals?

My daily beauty rituals are really simple: I'm always looking for the easiest and most effective products and ways to integrate little moments of wellness into my day and much of it is about prevention. Wiping my face with a warm cloth in the morning with 3 drops of Geranium Essential oil. I use all natural plant based make-up and feel strongly that women's make up can do as much good as good skincare. In the evening I do a deep cleanse and then apply my customized vitruvi face oil from our Dynamic Skincare collection, I do a lymphatic drainage massage on my face with facial cups and a gua sha. I then apply lavender essential oil as a spot treatment for any blemishes I see coming. And I drink a lot of water throughout the day, and try to sleep -- That’s the biggest for me.

What current projects are you working on?

Right now at vitruvi we are full force in designing new products for 2019 and 2020 to roll out in a number of new categories. We've just launched our first skincare line and are expanding simple ways for women to customize their products to meet their specific needs. We're also further building out our initiatives with One Girl Can, our charity partner through which vitruvi is committed to supporting girls through University in Kenya.