A few weeks ago, we kicked off our Spring 2023 Season at a retreat with some of our Darling Ambassadors and special guests. We were lucky enough to work with a few of our favorite brands to give our Ambassadors a gift bag filled to the brim with all of our hand-picked products!
We wanted to recognize the incredible brands we worked with and give you the opportunity to get to know each of them a little better here—we highly recommend each one!
We love the special card that Velvet Raptor made for us for the event. It was the perfect addition to our bag for Ambassadors to be able to use to write their next thank you note. The brand’s goal is to create intentional and thoughtful products with sustainable practices at the forefront of their business. Lindsay Ulness and Sarah Hrudka Behlke hand make each piece themselves, giving each product an extremely personal touch.
Like Darling, Live Tinted was founded on the mission focused on community. With products that actually work on all skin tones and textures, they have dedicated themselves to creating something for everyone. All of their products are clean, vegan, cruelty free and 100% safe for your skin.
C & the Moon is committed to making exclusively non-toxic, environmentally conscious skincare, all in the beautiful coastal town of Malibu. They know that the way we do self-care can have a direct and powerful impact on the Earth, whether that be through ingredients or sustainable packaging. We absolutely love their body scrub, made with all-natural vanilla brown sugar body exfoliator that gently removes dead skin cells and replenishes the skin with hydrating organic oils and food-grade vanilla.
One Love Organics aims to erase the stress when shopping for beauty, and bring back trust and joy by only creating beauty products that we can depend on to have the healthy ingredients and sustainability we all love. We love that their mission strives to make beauty feel safe, easy, and comfortable for all. You can use OLODARLING15 to get 15% off your purchase! This code can be used once and does not apply on top of already discounted items. Happy shopping!
Indie Lee has built a community based on its dedication to healthy and balanced lifestyles. Its culture is grounded in the idea that our lives are intertwined with whatever environment we place ourselves in, and from that our surroundings have a direct impact on not just our overall health, but the health of our skin. By creating skincare that is committed to self-improvement, Indie Lee is a great place to start if you’re looking to better your daily skin routine.
Ursa Major’s goal is to simplify yet elevate your routines. Just like Darling, they’ve taken the “quality over quantity” approach to business, by focusing on formulating the products using only natural ingredients that they believe you absolutely need in your cabinet, rather than overcomplicating the beginning or end of your day.
Everyone knows that the true keys to healthy and happy skin are sun protection and moisturizing. Everyday Humans has combined these two essentials into the perfect one-and-done products. You’ll never have to sacrifice the quality of your skincare routine for times’ sake. We are so grateful that they have made sun protection an easy everyday step. No more dry, sunburned skin!
We all know that beauty on the inside is just as important as on the outside. Goldfaden MD’s passion to keep you feeling beautiful in both ways has always been an inspiration to us. They only use the best naturally derived ingredients to make sure that everything that’s being absorbed through your skin and into your body is good for it. They also are dedicated to being as sustainable as possible in their packaging, so we can take as much care of the world around us as we do ourselves.
Keeping your body and mind happy can sometimes be difficult, especially when you’re running from one commitment to another. We appreciate that Vina is so focused on helping us achieve that balance between our gut and brain, because we know that the day is so much easier to get through when we are able to prioritize both.
We all love good branding, but sometimes it can be misleading when it comes to what is actually healthy and good for us, and what just has a cute label. Sanzo noticed this and created their sparkling beverages with high quality Asian flavors minus the preservatives and added sugars, and branded themselves with the clean, modern look we’ve all come to reach for. The brand celebrates amazing flavors without sacrificing great quality of ingredients, helping connect us all with the authentic Asian flavors they’ve loved for decades.
We always love to work with other female-founded brands, so SkinTe was a natural fit for us. These women created the best and most delicious (if we do say so ourselves) way to make sure you’re getting your collagen into your diet. Every ingredient is uniquely chosen for its benefits to help us support both our inner and outer beauty.
Many of us need that energy boost that coffee gives us in the morning, and Explorer coffee was the perfect choice to put in our Ambassador goodie bags to get them up and moving at our launch event. Not only is their coffee SO delicious, but they also have an incredible partnership with Charity: Water. This organization works endlessly to provide clean water access to parts of the world. Every cold brew purchased through Explorer contributes to clean water projects.
Maker Wine combines a few of our favorite things here at Darling: delicious wine, ethical craftmanship, and eco-conscious packaging. Working with small-batch, diverse makers, Maker’s mission is to make great wine accessible, and have it be shared and enjoyed by all.
Not only were we drawn to Una Lou Rosé for their adorable labels, but we love their storytelling behind the making of their wine. They chose to harvest at a time that inspired the full feeling of their wine: ripe fruit and flowers overwhelm your senses with the smell of Northern California vineyards. Their wine is created to draw you in with the notes of citrus blossom, watermelon, and passionfruit, and makes you sink into the sensations of the earth it’s been bottled from.
It’s so important to include non-alcoholic beverages at your gatherings, which is why we loved Jukes. They have made sure that those who are alcohol-free can be a part of your gathering, without compromising on the taste of a great glass of wine. All of their beverages are organic apple cider vinegar-based, made with all natural ingredients, and absolutely delicious.
Sunwink was created to fill a real need for clean, tasty beverages that were actually good for you. After she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, co-founder Eliza realized that there were no beverages that she could drink without compromising her health. She founded Sunwink without any harsh ingredients or harmful, fake sweeteners, knowing that there were people just like her looking for the same thing. We are so inspired by her story and how she was able to take her own story and struggle and create something new and beautiful out of it.
Dairy isn’t for everyone, whether it’s because of an allergy, taste, or your own personal diet. Califia Farms is a great plant-based alternative for those who don’t consume dairy! They are trying to support a more sustainable practice through their ingredients like almonds, oats, coffee, cocoa, and vanilla. We were lucky enough to receive their cold brew for the launch event and absolutely loved all of the rich flavors they offered!
Mental health is just as important as physical health at Daily Crunch. They have put a huge focus on the ingredients they put into their snacks, ensuring that the nutrients you are putting into your body are there for betterment both physically and mentally. We love that they urge their customers to take a step back and do a self-check-in, as well as check in on a loved one. As they say when you #getcrunching make sure you are taking the time for yourself and others every day.
Nuts have been a snack staple for years, but Karma Nuts noticed that so many of them were oil-fried and not as healthy and nutritious as they advertised. They’ve proved that even healthy snacks can be delicious and keep you reaching back into the bag for more.
Friends and family with allergies can sometimes feel left out of snack fests. We love that Fit Joy has created these yummy gluten-free, vegan, and allergen free pretzels to make sure no one is snack-less! It was great to be able to add these into our gift bags to make sure all our Ambassadors were included.
As major potato chip fans over here at Darling, we were so excited to work with Real Foods From the Ground Up Snacks. Their chips are made of veggies like cauliflower, butternut squash, purple carrot and other natural ingredients making them a fantastic, healthier and completely delicious alternative to your everyday chips.
We love the focus that the sisters over at Lady & Larder have on hosting around the dinner table. While they are known for their stunning charcuterie boards, picnic baskets, and wine, we were lucky enough to try their incredible Olive Oil & Sea Salt Crackers. It was so fun to go home and add these to our own cheeseboards for our families to enjoy.
Purely Elizabeth’s granola is the perfect way to start off your day with something delicious and nutritious. Whether you are eating it dry or with yogurt and fruit, each bite makes you want to somehow incorporate it into every meal. They have proved that you don’t need to have unhealthy ingredients to make something feel like a total treat.
RIND is committed to helping their customers “snack better” and “do better” by minimizing food waste across the United States, all while being super tasty. Almost all of a piece of fruit can be eaten, such as the rind, but it is more commonly tossed, and through their mission to remedy that, RIND saved 340,000+ lbs of food waste just in 2021!
We were first attracted to Date Better because of their fantastic, eye-catching packaging. After trying their treats, we were hooked. With no soy, preservatives, fake sweeteners, dairy, palm oil, or anything you can’t pronounce, it was easy to open one box after another, making sure we tasted all of their flavors. We all agreed that these chocolate-covered dates were about to be a pantry staple.
Everyone loves chocolate, and 9th and Larkin have concocted one of the best bars we’ve had over her at Darling (and the most beautiful packaging)! They go through countless tests of each formula until they land on the perfect one. Handcrafted and only made in small batches, their bars are the perfect treat for yourself or a great gift for a loved one.
Justin’s has such an amazing range of products, and for our goodie bags we were lucky enough to get their organic nut butter cups. We admire how transparent Justin’s is about always reevaluating how they source their ingredients, what those ingredients are, and how they might improve their sustainability and flavor. They are also dedicated to helping protect the pollinators that make everything possible for them, by partnering with organizations working toward habitat conservation.
Candy is for both kids and adults, and Healthy Hippo knows the importance of making candy without the usual harsh chemicals. Rather than using sugar or harmful sugar substitutes, they use monk fruit, which creates the perfect sweetness that enhances the fruit flavors in their gummies. These are a great snack for when the inevitable afternoon sweet tooth kicks in.
Tate’s cookies are known and loved all over the country, and we knew that our Ambassadors would be so excited to have Tate’s mini chocolate chip cookies in their bag. They have the most reliable, tasty, buttery, cookie that you know will always hit your craving. While we featured their classic chocolate chip cookies at our retreat, Tate’s has expanded into making gluten-free and vegan treats as well, so everyone can be in on the delicious fun!
Makabi & Sons has become a Darling favorite not just because of their gorgeous packaging, but also their unique flavor profiles. Between the Vanilla Earl Gray, Matcha & Black Sesame, and Lavendar options, everyone on our team and all of the Ambassadors were satisfied. Made in Los Angeles with only the best natural ingredients, these shortbread cookies are a must-have at your next tea party.
