Clean Conscious, Clear Conscience

Wild Ice Botanicals

Wild Ice Botanicals is a first of its kind cold-preserved skin care line that maintains a complete cold chain from ingredient to sale. As a small family operation, all Wild Ice products are made and packaged at a local Pensacola-area studio where owner and founder Mila Olegovna Busch and her spouse Andrew craft natural, toxin-free, cold-preserved skin care products.

“We started Wild Ice because I was tired of paying premium prices for products that had been slowly cooking in warehouses and on store shelves,” Olegovna Busch says. “It’s like buying farm-fresh eggs and then leaving them on your dashboard for three months—the quality just isn’t there anymore. Our customers aren’t just buying skin care; they’re buying the promise that what they put on their face is as fresh and potent as what they’d eat from their garden.”

Olegovna Busch grew up under the collapsing USSR, during a time when skin care was a luxury and products were simply not available. Her family made their own beauty products from garden ingredients using generations-old folk recipes. Born from necessity, the practice became a passion for Olegovna Busch.

“When I immigrated to New York, I searched everywhere for products that matched my three nonnegotiable criteria: natural ingredients, actual efficacy, and reasonable value,” Olegovna Busch says. “Spoiler alert—I couldn’t find them.”\

Photos Courtesy of Wild Ice Botanicals

She launched her first line of products in 2017 at a 30A farmers market with a setup that she remembers as “hilariously amateur” today.

“Just a folding table, a crying baby, and a handful of handmade soaps,” she recalls. “We gradually evolved from soap into skin care, learning as we went.”

The cold-preservation approach came in 2018, following Olegovna Busch’s revelation.

“We figured if cold keeps food fresh, why not skin care?” she says. “Our customers suddenly started raving about results.”

The family-run business committed to keeping all products cold, even turning down big retail opportunities that wouldn’t accommodate refrigerated displays.

“Some called us crazy; we called it conviction,” Olegovna Busch says.

Skin Solutions

A Wild Ice bestseller, the Cryo-C Serum uses lipid-soluble vitamin C, which is said to enhance skin penetration.

The D.B.T. Baba Yaga Face Cream references the old crone from Slavic folklore: “Don’t become the Baba Yaga.” This peptide and ceramide cream, Olegovna Busch says, “is like a time machine for your face.”

A wintergreen and niacinamide cleanser, the B-Meltee Cleanser gives you that “just brushed your teeth” feeling for your face.

Where to Get It

Shop Wild Ice Botanicals in person at the Pensacola Palafox farmers market, the 30A Peddlers Pavilion farmers market, Bluetique in Downtown Pensacola (perfume only), Cryo850 Spa and Recovery in Destin, The Pearl Spa in Rosemary Beach, or online at WildIceBotanicals.com.

JA Essence Beauty Collection

Jennifer Albert spent nine years in corporate and boutique salons throughout Chicago before being recruited by Frédéric Fekkai’s flagship salon on Fifth Avenue in New York City. She spent another nine years working as a key specialist on the team and honing her expertise as a colorist, texture specialist, and hair extension specialist. She later founded her own studio that fostered innovation and creativity in the beauty industry and was featured in Forbes magazine.

Today, Albert has brought her industry expertise and passion for beauty and wellness to the Emerald Coast at her Santa Rosa Beach JA 30A Salon. Relocating to the Emerald Coast allowed her to merge conscious beauty with lifestyle healing. Albert offers a holistic approach to beauty with her signature JA Essence Beauty Collection.

This signature brand, born from Albert’s personal beauty and wellness journey, goes deeper than traditional hair and skin care. The plant-based product line is crafted with nutrient-rich oils like moringa (sourced directly from a Haitian farmer partner) and essential oils selected for their therapeutic benefits. These blends are designed to nourish the skin, calm the nervous system, and support overall vitality.

Because, according to Albert, beauty goes beyond looks—beauty, at its core, is defined by how we feel and how we care for ourselves.

Photo by JA Essence Beauty

A Ritual, Not a Routine

Form healthy habits with daily use of JA Essence Beauty products. As Albert notes, “Self-care isn’t a step; it’s a lifestyle.” Start with a gentle cleanse using the Fresh Rose Peru Balsam Body Cleanser, then soak in the Chamomile Lavender Honey Soothing Bath Milk to soothe your nervous system. Hydrate your skin with the healing Signature Scent Body Oil. And seal it in with a plant-based body butter such as the Sandalwood Rose Body Lotion.

Why Plant-Based?

“Your skin is your body’s largest organ; what you put on it is absorbed into your bloodstream,” Albert says. “These products are crafted with that truth in mind—using only clean, non-GMO ingredients with no synthetics, no chemical fillers, and no toxic residues. This is skin care that works with your body, not against it.”

Where to Get It

Shop the JA Essence Beauty Collection in person at JA 30A Salon in Santa Rosa Beach or online at JA30ASalon.com/beauty-essence-collection.