MANIFESTO

Villainess' catchphrase is "Redefine Bad." and her archetype was the guiding force in taking significant steps to redefine the way skincare is formulated, manufactured, and marketed. 

But I'm not here to put lipstick on a pig. Villainess is the archetype of the modern day feminine. The archetype can express itself in all experiences in all ways but here, it's about the dark feminine with waiting for you to be a channel. The dark feminine shows up different for all of us but her mission is as liberator. We are in a time that women are in a prime of reclaimation. Each generation entering this transformation in the timeline best suited for the movement. Villainess' redefinition includes encompassing the entirety of the archetypal definition...not just a segment or story. Every business says "tell your story". Let your customers know you. My story includes them and their story. The creative process is a way for them to manifest a part of their story. 

My story is from the perspective of a Western woman. Who stepped into a frontier where war was already going on. War is a fast teacher. 

Bathing is its own alchemy. Villainess is nestled in "The Spa City" of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Famous, around the world, for our thermal healing waters for centuries upon centuries. The Greeks and the Romans centered their health and wellness practices around bathhouses and bathing pools. My passion to revolutionize the bathing experience has been alive in me since I was 20. I opened Bathhouse Soapery & Caldarium at 28 and we've been making small-batch handcrafted bathing luxuries for almost two decades. Now, in my early 40s, Villainess is taking it a step further in the revolution to micro-craft products with our customers on a 1:1 level. Small batch just got smaller. 

As for the offering you'll find at Villainess and those bespoke masterpieces you may create yourself - we love gentle, environmentally conscious, and animal-friendly components as much as anyone. But, we're not interested in helping perpetuate false dichotomies and marketing ploys.

A few premises:

  • Ease of pronunciation is not a quality of a skincare component. We will not condescend to our customers by assuming they lack dictionary access or basic linguistic skills.

  • Technically, all substances are chemicals and all materials originate from nature. The word "chemical" has been loaded with connotations that are not necessarily warranted. We refuse to exploit illegitimate fears of the unknown by using emotionally charged language.

  • Even some "natural" components have been processed and compromised; extracted with solvents, grown with pesticides, over-processed at high temperatures, homogenized, hydrogenated and several-steps removed from the "natural" materials they're derived from. These processes aren't always unnecessary, but they should be acknowledge as such and not sanitized with the "natural" label.

  • Companies that do not animal test often use components which were animal tested. Most animal testing takes place long before body-care components are made available to small-formulators. Small-formulators don't usually have the budgets for the "ground-breaking new developments in skincare" where most testing is deemed necessary.

We approach things a little differently at Villainess. Our customers are educated regarding their skincare needs, and informed about the issues. Rather than sell the latest market-trends, we're meeting them on equal ground and frankly discussing the challenges we face. We are committed to:

  • Candor - We operate on a full-disclosure policy regarding the quality, origins and purpose of every component in our formulas.

  • Safety - We consider the pH balance, possible irritants and potential sensitizers in each of our products and tailor those considerations for the application (we screen "natural" components as vigorously as their "synthetic" counterparts). The end-user's application of bath products takes place in a warm, damp environment - a breeding ground for molds, fungus and bacteria - and we preserve our hydrous products accordingly. Preservatives are (by their very nature) toxic, so we've chosen preservatives with track records for the least potential irritation and no long-term effects.

  • Efficacy - Skincare should be a pleasure, not a chore. We employ emulsifiers, surfactants and emollients to ensure our products perform with zero fuss on your part. We often talk about making "the right compromise" in formulation; selecting a key synthesized molecule to optimize product performance, and limiting its concentration.

  • Indulgence - You, and your skin, are worth the best possible ingredients. We use raw and unrefined components - vegetable fats, nut butters, fruits, herbs, essential oils and precious absolutes - as often as we can. Most of our formulations resemble recipes you'd find in a luxury cook-book.

  • Self Discovery & Transformation - Our Apotheclasses allow you to create weapons of well-being. Putting the creation process in your hands. The power to create new experiences around bathing and beauty and #kaboom regimens that no longer serve the modern VILLAINESS.