It's the most wonderful time of the year. Twinkling lights shine all around, holiday decorations fill the stores, and you thoughtfully purchased gifts for your beloved wife and everyone else on your list. Wait... what are you getting your wife for Christmas?

You definitely don't want to repeat last year's mistake. That ironing board may have been something she needed, but it most definitely did not qualify as a gift. Note to you: don't buy household items unless your wife specifically asks for them. And even then, just don't. This year you want to make a big gesture and show her how thoughtful you can be and how much you appreciate her. Well, never fear, the Pit Liquor fairy is here! As a woman-owned, women-run business, we know what your wife really wants for Christmas. Are you ready? 

She wants a break. An honest to goodness, rest-without-anyone-bothering-her, minute/hour/day to herself.

This has been a tough year for us all, and your wife has become a super hero juggling work and kids and life as a whole. We know you appreciate her more than you could ever express, and we also know it can be hard to translate that love into a gift. We have the perfect gift trifecta for you: a few thoughtfully chosen, good for her body products to guide her toward the rest she needs and deserves.

First up: our new olive oil castile soap. This small-batch, handmade soap will wash away all her worries, leaving her smelling sweet and fresh. It's gentle enough for her face, hands, or body, and is easy to travel with once life returns to normal. With lavender, orange clove, and lime to choose from, you can find one that suits her perfectly.

Next, add our lavender bath tea. Healing umkaloabo, calming sea buckthorn, and Epsom salts combine with lavender and four other powerhouse healing herbs to pamper her and leave her rejuvenated. Fill the tub, add the tea, and let her soak her way to happiness. Bonus points for soothing music and candles.

Finish your perfect gift trio with our fan-favorite deodorant. She'll smell so good and feel so fresh she won't sweat the small (or big) stuff that's coming her way. We love coconut rum paired with our lime soap, lavender for a triple soap/tea/deodorant trifecta, or chai spice with our orange clove soap.

Pull these three together (we'll even gift wrap them for you) along with a dedicated, on the calendar day to herself before year's end. Take the kids or the dog and leave her to wash her cares away. No phone calls, no cleaning, just rest. After 2020, she deserves it.

It's that time of year, when you think about those you love and choose gifts to exchange, Christmas cards to send. Some years this seems fun and easy: a new apron for Mom, a thoughtful gift for your partner, a popular new toy for your kids. But other years? All you can think about it how hard it is to give gifts! What do your family members need or want? Santa is seriously underpaid. 

Never fear, we've got you covered! We have a gift idea for every hard-to-buy-for relative or friend on your list. Even better? Every gift has been thoughtfully selected from small, eco-friendly businesses, many run by women just like our own CEO. So sit back with a cup of coffee and get ready for some truly great gifts for all your hard-to-buy loved ones.

1. For your beloved grandmother across the country.

Talking over Zoom is the worst, especially when you're trying to call sweet Granny who still uses Windows 98. All you want to do is give her a hug and talk about her memories over a warm cup of tea. In years past you would visit once or twice a year, enjoying the Florida sunshine and Granny's company. But this year, everything has changed, especially for higher risk folks like your grandmother.

Try the Felt greeting card app. You can send beautiful cards with your very own handwriting straight from your phone to your grandma's mailbox. Now she can see pictures of your dog or her great-grandkids with a few thoughtful lines from you. The app makes it easy to send cards regularly so she won't feel forgotten after the holidays. She'll feel all your love, even from far away.

2. For your over-achieving, on-the-go sister-in-law.

Every time you call her she's in the middle of another volunteer event while simultaneously running fifteen miles and updating her color-coded planner. She seems to be everything and do everything while still maintaining her figure and somehow squeezing in some sleep. Just thinking about her makes you feel exhausted, but you still have to buy her a gift (wrapped perfectly, of course) before you can take a nap.

Try Girlfriend Collective leggings. These fair-trade, eco-friendly leggings mesh with her on-the-go lifestyle and even better, they're made from post-consumer plastic bottles and recycled polyester. The high rise pocket legging can hold her phone and keep her comfortable any day of the year. Throw in a few of Kate's Real Food bars in her stocking to fuel her on busy days and she'll be happy all year long.

3. For your kind-hearted aunt who has room for everyone around her table.

It might be a virtual table this year, but your aunt is the most compassionate, down-to-earth woman you know. She's never met a person she doesn't like, and she's always making new friends. Every time you're at her house, you feel like the most important person in the world to her. Her relaxed manner, her simple home, and her focus on kindness instead of competition make her everyone's favorite person.

Try Pit Liquor! Our products are as kind to her body and the earth as she is to everyone around her. You can choose a scent that's just right for her (pineapple is a favorite!), and give her a practical gift that will keep her hug-ready all year long.

4. For your best friend who has been virtual-schooling her kids all year.

It's been a year for parents, and your best friend is right in the thick of things. She's juggling two elementary school kids learning online this semester plus a toddler who needs her attention. She's holding it all together beautifully, but you know this is too much for any one person to handle. She needs (and wants!) to send her kids back to school so she can take a breath and gather herself back together. 

Try Wander + Ivy wine. This woman-owned company offers delicious organic wine in 6oz single-serve bottles. Now she can pour herself a glass at the end of a long day and take a well-deserved bubble bath. Order a holiday gift bundle so she can try a few different wines and she'll love you forever. 

5. For your brother working day and night on his new start-up.

It's been a hard year for businesses across the world, and your brother is no exception. His startup is doing well, really well, but it's requiring everything he has night and day. You've barely connected with him this year, and next year will likely be another year going full throttle to get this amazing company off the ground. You want a gift that tells him you're thinking about him and believe in him, even when you can't see him.

Try Copper Cow coffee. This pour-over Vietnamese coffee is easy to make at home and comes in a variety of delicious, organic flavors. No matter how busy his days (or nights!), your brother can make a quick cup of coffee to fuel his work. Try the Best-sellers Bundle or splurge on a Coffee Club gift subscription. He'll be ready to start the new year off right! Try

Bonus: this woman-owned, sustainably sourced company is definitely worth supporting, just like your brother's startup.

6. For your extra-tidy, extra-thoughtful mom.

Every time she calls (which is often), she's cleaning something around the house. She tells you all about her bunco club or your dad's latest project while she does the dishes, mops the floors, or dusts the shelves. Lately she's been in overload adding Christmas décor so her grandkids have something to see over Facetime when they call. Her house is warm, cozy, and always immaculately clean. While you could never achieve this level of housework perfection, it's nice to know you have a neat and tidy house to visit at the holidays that's brimming with holiday cheer.

Try Whoa Nellie cleaning supplies. This delightful company, handmade in Iowa, offers non-toxic cleaning supplies, cleaning accessories, and a few personal care products in pretty colors and patterns. Their Swedish dishcloths are as practical as they are festive, just like your mom. Send her a holiday cleaning bundle and she'll be all ready to welcome the new year.

7. For your always-drunk-at-Christmas uncle.

At this point you can't imagine a holiday without Uncle Bobby saying something inappropriate while drinking liquor out of Aunt Shirley's favorite holiday mug. You still have no idea how he manages to hold down a full-time job and take the family to Disney World every summer but props to him for pulling it off. You need a gift as unconventional as he is.

Try a Viking horn cup. He'll be delighted by the unconventional shape and history, while Aunt Shirley can finally get her mug back. Instead of picking a fight with your dad, he will feel ready to set sail with the Norse gods. 

 Looking for even more companies with a great mission and fantastic products? Click here to check out a few brands we love and join us in shopping small this holiday season to make the world a better place.

Melanie lives near Raleigh, NC with her husband and three kids. She loves hot coffee, good books, and deep conversations. Connect with her on Instagram via @intentional_motherhood

Three years ago, Pit Liquor deodorant was born from the desire to find a truly natural deodorant that works. Through hard work, grit, and determination, the company has gone from a kitchen counter to a full-fledged small business. Today, on Small Business Saturday, we want to take a look back at how this small business has grown and where it all began.

Pit Liquor was started back in 2017 by husband and wife Jason and Erica. During Erica's pregnancy with their daughter, Eve, Jason was concerned about the carcinogens in deodorants. They'd been trying various natural alternatives, but none of them worked. One day, he begged Erica to stop using toxic deodorant for the baby. So she slapped hand sanitizer on her armpits and headed out the door issuing Jason a challenge to find something that actually worked. When she got home, she was surprised to find she didn't stink. The hand sanitizer illuminated a new idea: high-proof, drinkable alcohol is less toxic than anything unregulated and potentially made from inedible ingredients.

Always the inventor, Jason thought plain old hand sanitizer was a boring (and not entirely non-toxic) solution to underarm stench. Any friend could tell you Jason and Erica's love for good whisky, so obviously, they turned to whiskey to solve their quandary. Jason began reading medical textbooks about deodorant and had a conversation with their doctor about the topic. He did research, trials, and found a perfect formula all while sticking to a motto to use only ingredients that are safe enough to eat.

Once they had a product and a fantastic name, they started (and completed!) a successful Kickstarter campaign and sit cozy with their patent pending. Three years later with two babies and a Great Dane in the mix, Erica and Jason have turned their idea into a thriving business, selling Pit Liquor online and in select stores, and are growing so fast their warehouse is bursting at the seams.

Pit Liquor has had over 100 media stories written about its products. They've been featured in places like: Playboy, Circa, local papers like the Loveland Reporter Harold and the Coloradoan, and even Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly talked about us on ABC's The Chew. Recently, Erica even appeared on Entrepreneur's show Elevator Pitch to promote Pit Liquor.

With hard work, ingenuity, and a little humor, Pit Liquor has grown into something Jason, Erica, and their team are truly proud of. We at Pit Liquor hope you'll join us to today to support this small business and many more like it. Cheers to quenching that stench and living your dream!

I have discovered, in recent years, that I am a master of self-criticism. I can critique myself on anything from the color of my hair to my attitude to the way I say hello to the grocery cashier. The holidays amplify this. I am suddenly hyper-aware of the way my house looks, my (lack of) gift wrapping techniques, and the Christmas cards I do or don't send. I wonder what family members or friends think about me, my gift giving, my holiday style, my very soul while silently berating myself for things no one would ever say to me. 

Sound familiar?

What if we change things up this year? What if instead of criticizing yourself, you celebrate the amazing person you have become? Here's the thing: even if you only ever criticize yourself silently, the people around you notice. They see your anger or your sadness or your self-pity. They become the recipient of your criticism too, even if you don't mean for that to happen.

The bottom line? Changing your inner monologue and treating yourself kindly is an act of kindness to those around because you won’t be the worst version of yourself.

Let's give it a try. I'll be your guide as we learn together to change our inner narrative, which will in turn change our outer attitudes. We might not be able to change this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, but we can certainly change our inner dialogue.

Holiday Photo Cards

You know the drill. Your mailbox fills with shiny cards from every Facebook friend and extended family member you forgot you had. Each photo is more perfectly coordinated than the one before. How is it possible that your friends all lost five pounds and learned how to be a model during 2020?! Suddenly, sending out your own holiday cards with that candid photo from last summer seems like a terrible idea.

The Lie: An inner dialogue pops up in your head that says something like, "These people are so much more attractive/beautiful/handsome/thin/curvy/fill-in-the-blank than me. Clearly, they have their lives together in a way I never will. Look how happy they are, while I struggle with depression over here." If you drill down to the bottom of your self-criticism, you are believing that something is fundamentally wrong with you. You just don't measure up and you have no idea how to fix it.

The Truth: A dear friend once told me that when I compare my worst to another's best, I will always lose. Those holiday cards are another family's absolute best moment. They got out of their sweatpants for an entire hour and put on extra makeup specifically for the photos. They don't actually look like this all the time, just like you don't wear leggings and a pony tail every day of your life. Your family, appearance, or life may look very different from theirs but that doesn't mean it's insufficient or insignificant. Differences are worth celebrating, not shaming ourselves over.

As you leaf through holiday cards, take a moment to send good wishes to all your family and friends who are trying just as hard as you to make this year the best it can be. Then thank yourself for your beautiful body and all the happy memories you made with your loved ones this year

Holiday Hosting

Inviting family or friends into your living space can feel equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. You suddenly feel the need to clean all the things, decorate with holiday spirit, and buy enough food to feed an army platoon. A small holiday gathering can quickly go from simple to overwhelmingly complex and expensive.

The Lie: It's easy to believe the state of our home/apartment/room reflects who we are as people. We think that when people walk inside our doors, they judge us for a pillow out of place or a ring around the toilet upstairs they'll never see. We tell ourselves this was a bad idea, our home isn't up-to-snuff because it doesn't look like one from a magazine.

The Truth: The real reason loved ones visit during the holidays is that they love to be together. You invited people because you want to be with them, not because you want to them to be guest judges on "DIY Home". There will always be people who judge your living space or even you, but those aren't the voices to listen to anyways. The people who truly love you will be delighted to see you no matter what color your carpet is or the absence of a Christmas tree.

Before you host your next gathering, make a point to simplify the day. Pick no more than three things to make or buy yourself and ask others to bring the rest. Light a few candles to bring in the holiday spirit, turn on festive music, and call it a day. Everyone will have such a good time with stress-free you that they won't notice or care if your snowman collection is missing from the mantle.

Holiday Traditions

Instagram is a highlight-reel of traditions come December. Elf-on-the-Shelf, holiday cookies, walks through the snow, visits to Santa, and more flood your screen in all it's picture-perfect brilliance. You tell yourself that your small stocking stuffers and store-bought sugar cookies aren't enough to make Christmas magical. You are failing on an epic level. Your kids will basically grow up emotionally destitute because you didn't do a 12-days-of-Christmas extravaganza.

The Lie: Holiday magic + elaborate plans = happy loved ones, right? Wrong. This equation sets you up for failure, because the more elaborate your plans, the more overwhelmed and stressed you become. The more stressed, the more angry or hurt or sad you become which typically makes your loved ones unhappy. By believing your people will only love you and have a good holiday through your own efforts at winter magic, you set everyone up for disappointment and fuel the fire of your inner critic who already believed you were going to fail.

The Truth: Your family and friends love you because you're you. They don't expect you to put on a song and dance routine every Christmas (unless you're David Rose, and then you definitely should). Every personality, no matter how exuberant or introverted, has something to celebrate. Find something that brings you joy and share it with your loved ones. They'll be so much more delighted to share something you love than to do a hundred forced Christmas activities while you yell at them.

Pick your favorite traditions or poll the people you live with. Choose no more than five and ditch the rest. You'll be so much less stressed it won't matter that the Elf never made his appearance this year.

Are your ready? Take off that self-criticism like a bad manicure and get ready for a joy-filled, self-loving holiday season. It will be your best holidays yet.

 Melanie lives near Raleigh, NC with her husband and three kids. She loves hot coffee, good books, and deep conversations. Connect with her on Instagram via @intentional_motherhood

"Always be a little kinder than necessary." JM Barrie

As 2020 draws to a close, we could all use a little extra kindness in our lives. Kindness to ourselves, kindness to others, kindness to the world around us. Here at Pit Liquor, we're committed to showing kindness to our world through our sustainability program, and through our top-notch customer relations. Did you know that National Kindness Week is November 9-13? Let's kick off the celebration with a few stories about kindness, both big and small. 

Small Kindness

When I think about small acts of kindness I often think of the classic "pay for the person behind you" idea where you pay for your own food or groceries as well as the person in line behind you. I'll be honest, I was a skeptic about this idea for many years. I always worried I would be the one using my last $5 to cover a millionaire's coffee order. Of course, good judgement is always wise, but let me tell you how much of a difference this can make.

One day not very long ago, I was having the absolute worst week. Everything that could possibly go wrong did. I was upset with my partner, our house was  a mess, our money wasn't stretching as far as it should. Our children were being generally terrible, I was in a particularly bad disagreement with a family member, and I was feeling really lonely. While I was out running errands, I stopped by my favorite local coffee shop for a much-needed caffeine boost. As I stood in line, all I could think about was the weight of bad things I was carrying in my heart. It took everything within me not to cry right there at the coffee counter. I managed a small smile and half-hearted "How are you?" to the barista, who joyfully responded with the news that someone had paid for my drink. I was flabbergasted. I could have afforded to pay for the drink myself, but the fact that someone else cared enough about me to cover the cost meant the world to me. I'm not exaggerating when I say that small act completely changed my day. I suddenly realized there was a big wide world out there beyond my own struggles. Everything was going to be ok.

Kindness Through the Mail

I imagine almost every person in the world, including you, is feeling the pain of being separated from loved ones this year. My best friend lives several states away, and it has felt particularly difficult lately to live far apart. We spend time on the phone or using video-message apps, but it just doesn't feel the same as a hug or in-person conversation. It probably doesn't help that we have five children between us, so our time is often full-to-bursting with online school and parenting and potty-training.

My best friend holds that title for a variety of very spectacular reasons, but one of her extra-amazing qualities is her talent of sending thoughtful notes and gifts through the mail. Every month or two, she'll send me a handwritten note or small gift: a box of chocolates, stickers for my kids, a little something she picked up because she was thinking about me. None of these have been expensive or elaborate, but her kindness on an ordinary Tuesday often transforms my whole week.

In our digital age, I have forgotten the power of a handwritten note. The notes my friend sends always make a point to tell me something specific that she loves or appreciates about me, and to speak kindness and encouragement to my heart in some way. Now that we've been in quarantine for over six months, I have a whole stack of notes in her loopy handwriting that I can look through when I'm feeling especially discouraged or lonely. This small, seemingly insignificant kindness on her part has bolstered me through the one of worst years ever. Imagine if we all began writing notes to those we love, near and far.

Sacrificial Kindness

Have you ever noticed how hard things seem to hit all at the same time? You lose your job and break up with your partner in the space of a few weeks. You lose multiple people who matter deeply to you in one season. It sometimes feels like all the hard parts of life gather together into one giant rain cloud that unexpectedly lets loose in a life-storm of difficulty. I've certainly experienced my share of painful seasons. A few years ago my husband and I battled infertility and then a miscarriage while he was working extremely long and stressful hours at work. We lost two grandparents in the space of six weeks while I was in my third trimester with one of our daughters. Another time my then-4 year old had her tonsils out the same day my youngest was almost hospitalized with bronchitis. (I have a lot of children so it seems my struggles regularly coincide with something child or pregnancy related. I now refer to some memories as "that year when I was pregnant with somebody." Clearly, I live in a zoo of small humans.) 

Here is what I have found to be true about these difficult times: When your life feels like it is literally falling apart at the seams, people show up. It might not be the people you thought it would be, but there is always someone who brings kindness right when you need it most. When my husband and I lost his grandparents, his boss sent me flowers and a few friends made us dinner. When I miscarried while my husband was out of town, a friend drove me to the hospital. Another friend simply sat on my couch with me while I cried. Last year when I had two very sick children, a friend brought milkshakes and stayed with one child while I took the other to the doctor. Even in the darkest seasons, there are people in your life who truly care about you, and who will cross oceans, literally or metaphorically, to offer kindness in your times of greatest need.

I hope each of these stories inspires you to spread kindness to those around you in small and big ways. Happy World Kindness Week!

Hand sanitizer has become a hot commodity this year. It's in every store, on the shelves and in dispensers. We're all using a whole lot more of it than we did last year. Did you know Distilled Bath and Body sells hand sanitizer too? But we think our Hand Liquor is a cut above the rest, and we're here to tell you why.

Methanol

Ever had a truly terrible hangover the morning after drinking? This might come as a surprise, but there's a reason for this that doesn't have anything to do with you drinking too much. Fasten your seatbelts, friends, it's time for a little lesson in how alcohol is made.

When alcohol is distilled, it sits in large containers for a period of time to let the alcohol settle. As it settles, the methanol alcohol rises to the top and the ethanol alcohol floats to the bottom. Ethanol alcohol is what's in your drink, and what your body can process. Methanol, on the other hand, cannot be processed as easily and is toxic, even deadly. To remove the toxic methanol, companies perform a process called "cutting" that siphons out all or most of the methanol, leaving the ethanol behind. The higher quality your liquor, the deeper it was cut.

Now these liquor companies who cut off their methanol are left with large quantities of un-sellable methanol alcohol. What to do with it? Why, make it into hand sanitizer of course!

Hand Sanitizers

Now let's be clear, not every hand sanitizer is made with methanol. The FDA has recently created new policies around methanol and issued warnings about it. But some methanol hand sanitizers are still sold, and this is where the "toxic hand sanitizer" claims originate. Additionally, even hand sanitizers without methanol can be unhealthy. Companies are not required to disclose where their alcohol comes from, meaning some use petroleum based alcohol or other chemical-laden products.

A Cut Above

Unlike other hand sanitizer, our Hand Liquor is made with grain-neutral, quality spirits that are made for drinking. Literally, you could drink our clean hand sanitizer with natural ingredients and be completely fine (although we don't recommend it!). The food-grade vodka and whiskey in Hand Liquor kills bacteria, but is safe to put on your body. And even though hand sanitizer is made from alcohol, we promise it's safe for little hands too. We purposely make our Hand Liquor taste bitter to deter children from drinking it. And because all our ingredients are food-grade, you can sanitize little hands before eating and have no fear for your child's health. And not only is our Hand Liquor clean & natural hand sanitizer good for your body, it's good for the environment too! You can use our glass bottles and enjoy the organic ingredients know you're taking care of yourself and our world.

Razor burn is the worst. It makes you feel uncomfortable, and often comes with an unsightly rash. It seems like one of those terrible but inevitable parts of shaving. But we're here to tell you it doesn't have to be.

Men have been making use of razor burn solutions for decades, using after-shave balms that are mostly alcohol, a known bacteria-killer. But women? We are way behind the curve. Pit Liquor aims to change that.

How exactly does razor burn happen? Glad you asked. 

You shave your face, pits, legs, or, you know, other areas. While you're just there to shave, your razor indiscriminately opens hair follicles in addition to getting rid of those pesky hairs. The razor itself brings bacteria into those now-open follicles, injecting bacteria into any open area because your razor has old hair, skin cells, and general bathroom germs trapped within its blades. The bacteria goes all the way into the base of the hair follicle because the hair protecting this is now gone. Then the bacteria has a big ole party reproducing until your armpits become one giant rash.

So sure, spraying alcohol deodorant to prevent razor burn on your pits post-shave might sting, but it also kills off all that bacteria trying to leach into your pores. It means no razor burn, and we think that's worth celebrating. Here's how to stop razor burn with Pit Liquor:

A few tips:

Really feeling the burn? Try applying your Pit Liquor 5-10 minutes after your shower instead of right away. You'll still reap the rewards but lessen your sting.

Don't want to get too burned? Be sure to absolutely, positively, never spray down there. Trust us. It's a choice you don't want to make.

Razor burn still hitting a day later? Try reapplying 12-24 hours after you shave for a second time to keep your pits fresh and burn free.

We want to leave our planet a better place that we found it. 

And as a company, we at Distilled Bath & Body see that our actions have larger ripples because of the scale of our impact. We want to do our part to make sure each of our choices makes the world a better, brighter place. A big way we hope to accomplish this is by seeing less plastic in our home and in yours too.

Reduce.

We can all agree plastics are not beneficial to our planet, and Pit Liquor is dedicated to reducing plastic dependency. Plastic clutters our streets, overwhelms our landfills, and leaches chemicals into our food. Unlike plastic, glass does not affect our food, is recyclable, and can be broken down. So no more throwing away plastic shells when your deodorant runs out! We use glass bottles for all of our products, helping you ditch plastic a little more easily. 

Click here to learn more about our own journey to zero waste!

ReFILL

Refill is the new recycle, and one way we reduce our impact is by offering reFILL bottles (in glass bottles of course!). Our reFILL bottles will refill our 100ml spray bottles 3.69 times, and will refill our 50ml roll-on bottles 7.5 times. Not only does this save you money, but it allows you to reuse your Pit Liquor bottles over and over. 

Recycle