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Anne-Marie | Cosmetic Formulator

@ritualsandcells

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Skincare science, from cells to formulas
Cosmetic formulator + stem cell biologist
Follow as I build @jolimay.biomolecular in my lab

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Building Jolimay has been slower and quieter than I imagined. We have one product on the market, a small audience, and a long list of ideas we hope to bring to life. I’m learning how to talk about the work while still doing it, and how to keep showing up when growth takes time.

I started this because I wanted to make thoughtful skincare and help people feel more confident asking what the research actually supports. That’s still what I’m working toward.

So when a magazine editor reached out to me for the first time, it felt like a really special little moment. I know it’s one step, but today I’m letting myself celebrate it. by @ritualsandcells

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14 days ago

Seeing a beauty claim and asking, “Wait, what does that actually mean?” doesn’t make me cynical about skincare. It makes me curious. And it’s shaped the kind of promises I’m comfortable making as a formulator. by @ritualsandcells

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16 days ago

Before I started meditating, I was unaware how much my thoughts were shaping what I noticed. When my mind was always looking for what was wrong, I missed so many of the little things that were already good.

Your thoughts are powerful!! not because they magically change your life, but because they change what you’re able to see. by @ritualsandcells

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19 days ago

Pack an order with me! by @ritualsandcells

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19 days ago

Sometimes other people are just projecting their own fears, limitations, or experiences onto you.

So yes, listen to advice!! Ask questions & stay willing to be wrong.

Just remain skeptical enough to find out the truth for yourself. by @ritualsandcells

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23 days ago

Starting and running a business is hard, especially when you’re Type B and have absolutely no business background.

I’ve made plenty of questionable decisions I do not stand by. But these are the ones that somehow 🙌 miraculously 🙌 worked in my favor.

Let me know if you want part two: the questionable business decisions I would not make again. by @ritualsandcells

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a month ago

I don’t naturally wake up wanting to work out, answer e-mails, or get into the lab.

I used to think the motivated version of me had to show up first. I’m slowly learning that she usually shows up after I start.

One thing that helps is music. Sometimes putting on a record shifts the energy just enough to get me moving.

#storytellingcontentchallenge by @ritualsandcells

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a month ago

Some people paint. I formulate. by @ritualsandcells

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a month ago

Behind the scenes in the Jolimay lab:

Right now, we’re building a model of cellular senescence, basically stressing cells on purpose and watching how they respond.

The question we’re working toward: can aging cells recover? by @ritualsandcells

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a month ago

I used to treat experiments like exams. If the result matched what I expected, I passed. If it didn’t, I assumed I had done something wrong (which was sometimes the case tbh haha) or worse, that I simply wasn’t good at this.

But research isn’t an exam. The goal isn’t to prove that you knew the answer before you started.

An unexpected result can challenge an assumption, reveal a problem in the method, or lead to a better question. Even when it doesn’t answer the question I asked, it can show me where to look next.

Now, I try to meet the data with curiosity instead of judgment. I check the method. I document what happened. I ask what the result can teach me. Then I design the next experiment.

Sometimes, the result I didn’t expect is the one that moves the research forward.

& hey, maybe that’s true outside the lab, too?

#storytellingcontentchallenge by @ritualsandcells

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2 months ago

I almost didn’t share this story.

I am grateful to the former students began speaking publicly about their experiences. Eventually, the school closed, a class action followed, and former students won.

Their stories were not all the same as mine. But hearing people speak openly about what happened there gave me something I hadn’t been able to give myself: closure.

And maybe that’s one reason we tell our stories.

Not because everyone will relate to every part of them.

But because somewhere, someone might hear yours and finally understand a piece of their own.

#storytellingcontentchallenge by @ritualsandcells

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2 months ago

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1. I only have one product manufactured. I thought I would be so much further along by now. I completely underestimated how long it takes to get a product from an idea in my head to something someone can actually buy.

2. It took me over two years just to find a bottle for my first product. Things I thought would take weeks have taken months. Things I thought would take months have taken years.

3. I’m rebranding for the 3rd time. It feels wasteful. And somewhere between changing directions, second-guessing decisions, and starting over, I’ve lost some trust in myself and my own ideas.

4. Sometimes I feel caught in an impossible loop. I need money to grow the business, but I need the business to grow to make more money.

5. I haven’t taken a single vacation day in 2026. There is always something else that needs to be figured out, fixed, formulated, tested, ordered, or finished.

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Despite all of this, I still love to formulate. I still love to innovate. And I still believe I have something worth creating.

If you’re a business owner still figuring it out as you go too, stay for the journey. 🌙

#storytellingcontentchallenge by @ritualsandcells

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2 months ago