THE SOIL & THE SEA

Written by
David Bedwell
Photography by
Erik Rasmussen
06.28.16
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The Soil & The Sea skincare is the face of nature

 

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Wash your face with chocolate and honey. That isn’t a mistake or a practical joke. It may sound odd but it’s good advice and, according to the creator behind the luxury skincare line, The Soil & The Sea, chocolate and honey may be the best face cleanser you’ll ever use.

 

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The Soil & The Sea is a newly launched skincare company based in New York City and sold online through the company’s website, and exclusively at The Chelsea Market. The products’ ingredients come from one of two places…the soil or the sea.  

 

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The line is the brainchild of Jay Saba, a New Yorker by way of Florida by way of Costa Rica. Saba was born in Costa Rica to “adventurous” parents, as he puts it.  “They moved there without knowing anything about the country. That’s where me and my brother were born.” Moving to south Florida shortly thereafter, Jay spent his late teens and early twenties shuffling between New York and Miami for modeling, which, he says, “was a very early start to learning the importance of skincare.” Although he returned often on surf trips, he didn’t seriously reconnect with Costa Rica until he was eighteen.  “It was definitely that feeling of needing an outlet that brought me back (which today feels like more of a “home” to me).”  

 

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When he rediscovered Costa Rica, Saba says, “I knew immediately that I wanted to eventually move there full time.”  It was around that time when he started to notice the locals bathing with charcoal and other natural ingredients from their environment, simply for lack of another choice. The rest as they say…in cliché… is history.

 

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Now, back to washing your face with chocolate and honey. That particular product is called Peruvian Cacao and Honey facial cleanser, and no shit, it really leaves your face feeling clean and fresh. There are also coconut and sea kelp, and herbal grapefruit options. The Soil & The Sea offer six different choices of lip balm (one tinted), three different body washes made from bamboo and charcoal, coconut and sea mineral, and Costa Rican coffee respectively. There are body scrubs made from virgin coconut, sea kelp and rose petals, and five different bar soaps from all (and only) things natural. Not to leave anything out, there are two body lotions to choose from: one is made from blood orange and vanilla, and the other from a combination of lavender and grapefruit. And if Hydrosols are a must for you, yes they have them, three in fact, each made from lavender, neroli, or roses. He’s even working on a texturizing spray for hair, set to launch soon.             Maybe, if I’m lucky, it’ll grow mine.

 

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THE PLUG is a weekly column about a brand and the people behind it.