Q & A with Alima Pure Founder Kate O’Brien

I loved teaching kindergarten but my dear aunt and my darling mother died within 18 months of each other, both from complications of breast cancer. I was teaching and quietly grieving. Teaching is very outwardly focused, and I found balance on the weekends by nurturing myself making natural skincare and then natural makeup. From that Alima grew organically – friends started asking for products and it grew.

I usually wake up just before 5 am and meditate for half an hour, then zip off to early morning yoga. I’m home by 7:30 and then on my way to work by 8:45. Those hours in the morning have a huge impact on the rest of my day – I feel so much more focused and grounded when I’ve taken time to meditate and exercise. Workdays are filled with meetings, emails, product development and special projects. I love to go for a walk after work and cook dinner with my husband, and snuggle with my little rescue mutt, Ella. I usually read for awhile and conk out by 9:30 or so.

Oh, it’s tricky for all of us, isn’t it? Most days I carve time for myself first thing in the morning and it makes a big difference. I generally get up at 5, meditate for half an hour and then take a 6 am yoga class in a beautiful studio 5 minutes from my house. I still have time to pop home for a shower and a good breakfast before work. Usually I make lunch, too – it takes 10 minutes to put together a wonderful salad. With a start like that I’m ready for all of the challenges of the day. Evenings are peaceful and fun – often my husband and I will go out, I have some snuggle time with our little pup, and then fall asleep fairly early.

Foundation! It’s my favorite product and the cornerstone of our line. I spent months working on getting the proportions right so that it would have a light creamy feel and just disappear weightlessly into the skin. I love it.

Oh, so many things! There is so much support for living a healthy fun life here. By far the best aspect for me is the people. It’s so easy to connect with Portlanders – our beautiful city is laid back and easy going. I love to joke around with people, to laugh about how excited we get when the sun comes out, to ask questions and engage. Bike lanes and farmers markets and indie brands and food carts and awesome coffee. I love everything about it. Except the rain, perhaps, in February.