As humans, we thrive when we wander to gather experiences and confidence that come as a reward of age. Instead of going backward by seeking the Fountain of Youth, we seek to be our best selves now and for our future.

It's been said that all who wander are not lost. It was out of not-so-beautiful circumstances that eventually gave me my passion and guided me to where I was meant to be. I suffered from years of acne, eczema, psoriasis, and skin sensitivities and as I've aged, I've also had to deal with dark spots, lines, and dryness. To me. beauty and grooming goes beyond the superficial, and I knew too well what good and bad skin can do for your confidence, overall energy, and interactions with others.  

What started out as a personal pursuit to help my own issues sparked my desire to help others. I became an esthetician, and with continued education plus years of hands-on work with clients of multiple ages, ethnicities, and skin conditions, I improved my understanding of skin and discovered what worked to help positively address several skin conditions and concerns. Even after almost three decades as an esthetician and makeup artist, it's that personal connection that makes me love my work, and seeing the delight on each and every face I work with still brings me so much joy. 

It's been a long journey but founding Alaric Arwen helped me find myself in the process. Today, I humbly share my years of discoveries with you. Through a simple routine of proven essentials combining precise concentrations and synergistic combinations of ingredients shown to visibly help improve skin strength and beauty, it allows you to use less to achieve more.

Making a meaningful connection with you (whether through beauty or my other work) is important to me. I am grateful your path has brought you here as I hope I can be a small part to help bring a bit more beauty and joy to your life. Please visit often, email me @hello@alaricarwen.com to let me know you’re interested in hearing from me personally, and feel free to connect with me (and be a part of our wonderful communities) at the social links in the footer below.

Thank you for your trust and for allowing me to be a part of your personal journey. It just goes to show each path leads us to the people we're meant to meet and to exactly where we're meant to be. 

With love & gratitude,

Alaric

It's my hope that ALARIC ARWEN MERCANTILE can help to inspire us all to connect with our authentic selves with soul care through shared arts and self-care through skincare. We use vitamins, proteins, and enzymes that naturally occur in the body plus carriers and delivery systems that work best with the knowledge that our bodies fight off many foreign substances.  We do away with the outdated natural vs synthetic war and stay away from commonly-used skin sensitizers, fragrant plant essential oils, added fragrances, dyes, and fillers. This allows ingredients and products to be more compatible with and work with your skin to activate energy that can visibly help decrease aging inflammation, and stimulate its detox and repair functions that help to regulate the visible biological aging processes of the skin. 

It all starts with the ingredients. We not only list our full list of ingredients, but we expand on what each purposeful ingredient does. We don't want to waste your time or money for marketing's sake by putting in anything you don't need that will not make the product work better and make your skin look better. 

I consider myself fortunate to have spent a lot of my life so far in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by so much beauty. From the vineyards of Willamette Valley, fruitful Sauvie Island, the grandeur of the Hood River & Columbia Gorge, to the independent, creative spirit of Portland, there's a lot to wander through and be inspired by. Alaric Arwen offerings were created in part, to allow us to enjoy what it all has to offer while feeling confident that we are doing the best we possibly can to help our skin protect and repair against the elements. After all, the less you worry about your skin, the more time you have to experience the joy.

Beyond beauty, I plan to share my other pursuits here that I hope can serve as tools to help you connect with your own thoughts or with others, serve as messages of hope, healing, celebration and help you to discover or rediscover your dreams and passions. To me, beauty is not just about how we look, but it’s about finding the joy and beauty with every interaction and every day.