Adriana Ayales, Founder of Anima Mundi Herbals, speaks about herbalism with a wisdom beyond her years. The eloquence and ease with which she talks of the herbs and plants she works with can only come from a life lived among them. It’s clear she possesses an intuitive gift for the healing power of plants and how they work synergistically to balance and protect the body. After our first conversation, I knew that whatever Adriana made would be of the highest quality. I am careful about inner beauty ingestibles at Beauty Heroes because the field is so vast and claims can be dubious. I have felt more confident focusing on whole food products because they are more easily absorbed and assimilated by the body. When it comes to Anima Mundi, I can see the quality and density of her elixirs through each clear apothecary bottle. I can taste the concentrated herbal goodness when I mix her elixirs into my daily rituals and since launching her line of ingestible wellness and beauty products in 2017, we have been overwhelmed with the positive response about the efficacy and taste captured in each unique blend.
When I finally met Adriana last August in New York, I had already falling in love with Anima Mundi and learned so much from her shared wisdom. When she served me a small glass of warm Euphoria Elixir, mixed with Mangosteen + Hibiscus and touch of Coconut Cream, I had an out-of-body moment when I truly felt I was being served a shamanic concoction, blended with love. Unexpectedly, within moments I felt a warmth in my chest, in my heart. I was struck how my whole body felt the warmth and comfort that came from the little cup of her Euphoria Elixir. I asked Adriana if we could collaborate on wellness discovery to share this recipe, and others with our Beauty Heroes community, and she agreed. I also asked if we could include her Curam Elixir, which in my opinion is by far the best way I’ve found to take Turmeric, it is simply so delicious.
Knowing that she spends half the year in the jungles of her native Costa Rica, I wasn’t sure if she’d have time in her schedule to stop by for a quick video interview at Sabina’s Loft in New York where we had just wrapped a long day of shooting our Use Less. Love More video. Happily, she was in town and made it work! To be expected, I learned so much from Adriana in just 15 minutes, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing this interview ever since we shot it last summer. The launch of our first-ever internal supplement discovery is a big moment for us, and it’s an honor to share Adriana’s herbal medicine magic with the Beauty Heroes Tribe. I know you’ll enjoy discovering the delicious, heart-expanding and nutritious Anima Mundi range as much as I did.
