Article: Botanical Skincare from a Connecticut Farm: How Rising Iris Grows What's in the Bottle
Botanical Skincare from a Connecticut Farm: How Rising Iris Grows What's in the Bottle
A farm-to-face skincare line, made on 4 acres in Easton, Connecticut.
This week we sowed cosmos, and a bumblebee followed us around for two days.
He wasn't passing through. He was with us. Hovering over the row, watching the trays, going home at dusk and coming back the next morning. By day two it felt like he was checking on the project. When are these going to bloom? When can I start?
I told him soon.
That bee is the easiest answer I have to the question I get most often, which is: what is Rising Iris, exactly?
Rising Iris is a small flower and botanical farm in Easton, Connecticut. We grow the plants. We dry them, infuse them, and turn them into a small line of skincare. The bee is part of it. So is the cosmos seedling that hasn't sprouted yet, the calendula bed that was planted a month ago, and the jojoba oil that's been sitting in a glass jar on my counter for six weeks, slowly turning gold as it pulls out everything the plants have to offer.
This is what farm-to-face actually means.
What's blooming right now
Late April in Easton looks like this: narcissus everywhere, spirea just starting, lilacs three days from open. Snowdrops are nearly done. The crabapple trees are thinking about it. The cherry blossoms are just starting to drop.
I tell you this because I want you to understand the seasonality of what I make. The skincare you'd buy from me in October is not the same as what I'm packing in July. The calendula in the body butter you order in January was harvested last summer, dried in the apothecary, and infused into oil over weeks. The yarrow in the Apothecary Garden Serum came out of the same beds my CSA flowers come from.
Walk into the apothecary right now and it smells the way the garden feels on a late summer morning. Fresh. Cozy. Full. Vibrant, floral, resinous, bright. There are jars of infused oils on every shelf and the air is doing something I can't quite describe except to say that it feels like the inside of the season.
Why infused, why anhydrous
The whole skincare line is built around one method: slowly infusing whole plants into oil.
That's it. That's the differentiator.
Most skincare you can buy is built around water. Water-based formulas with botanical extracts added in small percentages. Water means preservatives. Preservatives mean a longer ingredient list and a more industrial product. There's nothing wrong with that approach, but it's not the one I wanted to take.
Rising Iris is anhydrous. No water. Which means no preservatives, no fillers, and no manipulation.Farm-grown plants, infused into oils that hold them well and deliver them to your skin.
The way I think about it: this is a home-cooked meal with real ingredients. The Apothecary Garden Serum has calendula, indigo, and yarrow grown in my beds. The Evening Repair Serum is built on jojoba slow-infused with four farm-grown botanicals over weeks. The Earth + Sea mask uses oat powder and mineral clay, no fillers. The Flora Body Butter has my own calendula-infused jojoba folded into kokum butter.
These products aren't trying to fix your skin. They're trying to give it something good. The way a slow-cooked meal gives your body something a snack can't.
The moment it felt real
The fourth time someone came back for more.
The first reorder was exciting. The second was a thrill. The third I told myself was probably just luck. But the fourth. The fourth was someone telling me the thing I had made with my whole heart had become part of their life. They wanted to experience it again.
That's when it became a business in my head, not just on paper. Not the first sale, not the press feature, not the milestone numbers. The fourth reorder.
Most of what I now think about is how to keep making things worth coming back for. The product line stays small on purpose. I'd rather have nine things I can stand behind than thirty I'm trying to manage.
What's in the line right now
The current Rising Iris apothecary lineup, all anhydrous, all built on farm-grown botanicals:
Apothecary Garden Serum — the daytime serum. Lightweight, calming, plumping. Calendula, indigo, yarrow.
Evening Repair Serum — overnight repair with bakuchiol and squalane on a base of slow-infused jojoba.
Earth + Sea Renewal Mask — a creamy weekly balm mask with mineral clays and oat powder.
Flora Body Butter — whipped, breathable, kokum butter and farm-infused jojoba.
Flora Rescue Balm — a pocket-sized balm stick for chapped hands and weather-worn skin.
Rooted Balance Body Serum — for chest, back, and bare-skin moments.
The Apothecary Mini Set — the easiest way to meet the line. Travel-sized trio.
The Apothecary Collection — the full-size routine. Saves $44.
If you're new here and not sure where to start, I'd start with the Apothecary Mini Set or the Apothecary Garden Serum on its own.
Why this matters
Rising Iris exists as a connection point. To nature, first. And to the community that grows out of being near it.
I'm not running this farm to scale. I'm running it to make something I can stand behind, from a place I love.
If you're in Connecticut and want to come pick up a summer flower CSA, you're welcome. If you're anywhere and want to try the skincare, that works too. If you just want to follow along and see what blooms next, welcome!
Rising Iris Farm is a small botanical farm in Easton, Connecticut, growing flowers for a summer CSA and botanicals for a small anhydrous skincare line. Rachael Kemery, the founder, is an expert contributor to Martha Stewart and a regenerative grower. Find the apothecary here and the flower CSA here.
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