If you've been with Under Luna for a while, you may have heard us talk about Cortney from Wildcare a lot. She's the herb-whisperer behind some of our most potent ingredients like the rosemary hydrosol in Luna Clear Shampoo or the tulsi in Tulsi Bloom Conditioner. We are so lucky + grateful to be only 30 minutes away from her garden, a space that is reflective of her deep care and abundance of vitality. While on her yearly family "pause", Cortney was kind enough to share with us a little window into her beautifully poetic world.

P.S. Exclusively for YOU, Cortney is offering 10% off any Wildcare purchase now through 4/23. Use code FRIENDSOFLUNA at checkout.

How would you describe your current phase of life? 

I’m in my birding era of life! I’m enchanted by simple things, more curious and not as serious as I once was, thank goodness. :) I can sit and photograph or paint birds for hours & feel utterly content with my life so I think that means something big about the phase I’m in. Birds have carried me into a current of courage, into freedom using my voice, trust in my intuition & have called me into the spaciousness of creativity. They called on me last year and I began to listen.

My survival strategy through life/death experiences of my 30s has been to churn meaning-making & poetry out of ordinary & the quite unordinary situations I’ve encountered. Substantial shake-ups in that regard have shown me who I am under pressure, & physical & emotional discomfort, just as much as I’ve learned who I am through the ease of pleasure & play. The dichotomy of all the relations that have presented along my walk have carved out a core remembering of what was, what is and what could be. I’m moving with more wonder for every experience I find myself in, and give thanks to them all. Because of them, I’ve gathered a more concrete understanding in why I’ve been gifted this life that feels more purposeful than it ever has in the past. The rest is out of my hands, flying high with the birds in the sky and is an exciting mystery I’m curious to greet each day.


I feel most myself when... 

I have my hands in the dirt and when I’m traveling with my family. We’re currently on our yearly ‘Pause’, where we travel for almost a month. As I write this from the sunny Sonoran desert, I’m sitting here in total peace, charmed by a cacti-gaze & a regulated nervous system. I thrive in this window of pleasure, transformation & exploration. When I feel spaciousness in my day and I listen to my body, I feel free and most aligned with the essence of my full and true spirit. 

My home-life is centered in homeschooling our 2 kids and running Wildcare, our distillation house & skincare line. Being a triple Virgo has helped me develop good patterns for a well-functioning flow, but jumping out of the hoop & traveling, finding a flow in the unknown & spontaneity of that particular day is rewarding for my whole self. In the past, I used to be much more rigid and felt more structure equated to more safety & order. I know now that’s because I needed to find that in myself first. That discovery has allowed me the space to see that structure can look like a container for free-play or even a container to do nothing, which actually allows me to remember myself even more in a world I've built where I’ve put many ahead of myself. It also helps as a parent to see when your kids are expressing their uniqueness & essence so well, you remember offering yourself the same opportunities can bring you back to center too. Who ever said as you grow up you should stop playing in dirt? When I’m home, the garden is my happy place. Gardening connects me to my past, present & future. Is there anything more gratifying than giving effort to growing a tiny seed and being well-fed by it in return? 

Your favorite Under Luna ritual. 

Lately it’s been the Luna Clear Shampoo and Luna Clear Conditioner. It’s like a wash in a spring for me; A clean, clear reset. We distill Rosemary and Bay from our family garden for the formula, and I’ve been loving the simplicity and efficiency it offers when I’m having a more scent-sensitive day, which is often! A few years ago, after my daughter was born, I presented Carly (Under Luna’s founder) with an idea for a postpartum-focused shampoo set. We worked with plants & Hydrosols from our family garden to create Tulsi Bloom Shampoo and Tulsi Bloom Conditioner & it’s been a solid staple in my haircare to plug in ever since.

What is your recipe for 'taking care'? 

Apart from the usual human things, I’m going to do something different here and actually leave you a real recipe that the kids and I have been making this season that’s been making us feel real good. Have you ever noticed you take on the colors of the food you eat? When we cook, we share space, feeling, memory with our ancestors as we quilt into a memory bank with each other. We want to feel vibrant and we most often look to the colors of our food to do so. To be well-fed is a nice poem of splendor & sentiment.

Anyways, here it is…

Carrot salad ribbons with crushed pistachios, mint and maple.

Get a big bowl & a peeler! This is a side dish for our family of 4.

  • Take 5 carrots and start peeling long ribbons length-wise with a peeler.
  • Dunk those ribbons in a bowl of ice water and watch them curl up. Now you’re ready.
  • Drain them and set aside.
  • Tear up mint leaves (the kids pick from our garden year-round)
  • Toast a little cumin seed in a pan with rough-chopped pistachios. Set aside.
  • In a little bowl we whisk up 1/4-ish cup of good olive oil, a hefty splash of maple syrup, a squeeze of a whole lemon, a tiny squeeze of whole grain mustard or sometimes a spoon of miso instead, maybe an apple cider vinegar splash if we feel like it and grate in the lemon peel too.
  • Toss your carrots ribbons in a bowl with your dressing.
  • Top the whole thing with your torn mint leaves and toasted spiced pistachios, flake salt & pepper.
  • Add a little torn parsley if you’d like.

    You can tell we’re fluid in the kitchen so choose your own adventure and play. Salud!

Shop Cortney's Ritual

Luna Clear Shampoo

Luna Clear Shampoo

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Luna Clear Shampoo

$ 30.40
$ 38.00 $ 30.40

balanced to dry scalp

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Luna Clear Conditioner

Luna Clear Conditioner

Sale

Luna Clear Conditioner

$ 30.40
$ 38.00 $ 30.40

all hair types + sensitivities

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