This January, we are Giving The Process: For each of the first 30 days of the month, we’re highlighting something—and someone—amazing in the wellness world, representing the beauty, health, style, creative, energetic and/or spiritual boost you need to make yourself a priority in the new year—and decade. On January 31, one charmed follower will win one of every item and ritual we highlight, including a $1,000 gift card for Live The Process!

They say it takes 30 days to create a habit—sign ups for our newsletter, follow us on IG and tell us how you’re hoping to make taking care of your physical, emotional, intellectual and/or spiritual self a priority this year—to make 2020 about self-care without guilt.

Today’s gift is The Empress Collection by Wildling.

My name is: Wildling. 

I’m known for being: A beauty brand founded by three women—Britta Plug, Gianna De La Torre and Jill Munson.

I'm sharing: The Empress Collection, a facial gua sha skincare ritual that will lift, plump, tone and brighten your skin.

You can find it at: wildling.com, Credo and Goop.

What inspired me to create it was: To offer an alternative to botox and injectables by teaching the 4,000-year-old ritual of facial gua sha to the modern human.

What makes it special is: The Empress Collection is the only complete facial gua sha system. Our Empress Ritual and facial massage techniques require a stone tool to deliver whole-plant actives from the products into deeper layers of the skin, yielding increased absorption and efficacy. The plant medicine ingredients in the Empress Tonic & Oil reinforce the benefits of gua sha by increasing circulation, activating lymphatic movement, plumping the skin and invigorating energy flow or qi. Our Empress Stone is made from bian stone, which was created when a meteor struck a mountain in ancient China. It is said to emit ultrasound pulsations, far infrared rays and negative ions as a result of the cosmic impact—all of which are known for their antioxidant and anti-aging effects on cells and DNA.

One thing you can’t miss is: Many of our ingredients are wild-harvested.  Wild plants tend to be stronger and more potent because they exist in their most natural environments; the stress of survival in the wild makes these plants more medicinally valuable. At Wildling, we use a unique “live plant” process, which extracts the most potent oils from living plants, making our Empress Oil the most hydrating and healing oil. While other oils are created by using dried plants, the Empress Oil’s ingredients are extracted in a meticulous artisanal process using fresh plant material, capturing active cellular waters and volatiles. This potent formula is imbued with hydrating, live plant medicine. This specialized process creates a more powerful and effective product than a dried plant could.

Your body will thank you because: Facial gua sha opens the flow of energy in your entire body! You can treat the entire body with the foot, hand, ear and face. As you lift, plump tone, and brighten the skin, you’ll also start to feel very relaxed. This practice will bring your nervous system into a parasympathetic state and you'll feel better after you’ve done it.

This will help you prioritize your own health, joy and energy this year because: The Empress Ritual is amazing for your skin, but it also offers you some valuable time for self-care and self-love. We encourage you to take this practice out of the bathroom and onto the sofa, into bed, into the bath/sauna, etc. This is a skin ritual to relax with, and this self-care practice is deeply nourishing in every way.

My favorite personal short ritual for self-care in 2020 is: Deep breaths, turning off the phone, being outside and doing the Empress Ritual.

Cover art by Stefano Giacomello