When Elodie Cally moved here from Paris three years ago (at the time she was communications director for a D.C.-based company), she was surprised to find the regulations surrounding American skin care products more lax than she expected—both in terms of the ingredients and the claims on the labels. Newly pregnant, she was vigilant about knowing what she was putting on her skin and face.
“I had taken a class in Paris about making your own beauty products, and I fell in love with the process,” she says. Not only did it afford an intimate knowledge of the ingredients, it allowed her to customize them to match her exact skin type.
When she couldn’t find a similar class in our area, she decided to create one. Elodie’s Naturals has found an appreciative audience among pregnant moms, cancer survivors, teens and “anyone who wants to change their habits and be very careful about what they put on their skin,” says Cally, who is certified and holds a diploma in cosmetic formulation. Workshop participants learn how to read labels and create their own cosmetics based on skin type and environmental factors.
Many of Cally’s ingredients are sourced from suppliers in France, where designations such as “organic” and “natural” are regulated and the sources are traceable. “For example,” she says, “I do a lip gloss with pigments made from superfoods, like radishes, knowing that it will be ingested once you wear it.”
Prior to Covid-19, Cally offered classes inside her Westover home, as well as through partner vendors like Ballston’s Steadfast Supply. These days she is offering socially distanced outdoor classes (6 participants per workshop, max), as well as a series of 4-day outdoor skincare camps for teens. She’ll be adding more dates for kids’ summer camps in August. See website for session dates and times.
Class prices start at $65 per person, and attendees leave with both beauty products and an education.