I’m Tanya: Jewelry Designer, Pilot, Scuba Diver, Entrepreneur and Wellness Warrior. In January of 2011, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. After the first few weeks of shock, anger, denial, despondency, tears and despair, I went into serious Survival Mode and came to two very important conclusions:

You Can Accept Your Fate As A Victim OR You Can Shape Your Fate As A Victor AND…
The Only Things In Life That You Regret Are The Risks That You Don’t Take…

In my determination to understand and learn about my situation I did a lot of research and discovered the following:

• A positive attitude is crucial.
• The Standard American Diet kills.
• Exercise is non-negotiable.
• Having fun MUST be taken seriously.
• Meditation conquers stress.
• Don’t eat things you can’t pronounce.
• Eat foods with one ingredient.

While modern medicine has advanced tremendously over the years, there is still one thing that the health industry does not give very much importance to and that is: We ARE what our bodies ingest and absorb; whether it is what we eat and drink, what we put on our skin, what we breathe or what we are exposed to. HELLO??? Doctors want to give us chemo (Poison) but don’t do much to encourage us to adopt healthy habits and diets?!

There is little likelihood that our physicians will advocate these approaches (i.e.: we ARE what we eat, etc) Changes in lifestyle cannot, by definition, be patented. For example, Broccoli can not become a “medication” and it does not require a prescription and therefore it will not make the large drug companies money. This means that it becomes up to us to be informed and to take charge of our health!

Through all my months and months of study and research I set out to make changes in my lifestyle so I could create within my body an environment in which Cancer would find it difficult to survive. Changing the way I ate, really reading labels and adding more organic food was a cinch. Exercise and meditation was a joy. Having a positive attitude (well, most of the time!) was relatively easy. But through all my study I discovered that ALL commercially produced perfume was potentially carcinogenic. One of the main things I HATED to give up was perfume…After all, I may be a pilot but I am still a girl!

Perfume consists mostly of chemicals called Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. These VOCs are chemicals such as formaldehyde, ethanol and d-limonene and can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, difficulty breathing, allergy symptoms and headaches. Formaldehyde is considered a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But fragrances aren’t only inhaled — exposure occurs through skin contact, especially since we apply perfume and beauty products to the skin directly. Among the chemicals of concern in perfume was diethyl phthalate (DEP), an irritant and suspected hormone disrupter that is absorbed through the skin and can accumulate in human fat tissue.

WHAT IS A PLASTICIZER DOING IN MY PERFUME?

DEP and other phthalates (Pronounced THAL-ATES), which are plasticizers used to soften vinyl plastic, are among the most common fragrance ingredients in perfumes and cosmetics. Phthalates are added to cosmetics and perfumes for multiple reasons. For example, their oily texture helps lubricate and extend the other substances in a formula. Phthalates also help lotions penetrate and soften the skin. They’ve become essential to scented products however because phthalates help fragrances last longer, according the American Chemistry Council.

Some health advocates and some researchers are becoming wary of phthalates, though. Phthalates are suspected carcinogens and hormone disruptors that are increasingly being linked to reproductive disorders. Some disturbing trends in human male reproductive health mirror the effects of phthalate exposure in animals. And one study from the CDC (Center For Disease Control) has associated phthalates from hair care products and cosmetics with early puberty in young girls. How was I going to be able to find a natural and “good” perfume??? Well, I thought, why not make my own? And TLC Botanicals was born!

All the perfumes that I create are made with 100% Pure Essential Oils, Pure Aroma Notes, Phthalate-Free Organic Perfumers Alcohol and Pure Distilled Water.

562.774.6964