I sat down with my friend Dannielle from @soundhealingwithdanielle
But there has also been so many fun side hustles that just begged to be born within me like teaching yoga, making and selling art, (I currently have a strong calling to return to this!) Writing a blog about life called Follow The Love, curating and creating a life-changing art show called The Portrait Assignment with 21 artists and me on speaking your truth. I had a line of baby clothes when my sons were toddlers that were all hand-made by me. Way back in the day my friend and I had a catering company when we lived in LA, and long before I went to culinary school, called Two Chicks and Sauce Pan..we just both loved food and we were good at it and it showed! Hollywood loved hiring us! I guess my point is, for me there never was a “5-year plan”. In fact, when I was asked that question as a teenager who was supposed to making one, I’m sure my head turned sideways like a confused puppy..it simply made no sense to me. My unconventional path is not for everyone but it has been an incredible ride for me so far and I am not done reinventing by any means!!
Danielle speaks with Mariska...
I became curious about Mariska Nicholson of Olive + M and was excited when the opportunity came for us to have coffee. I love learning about people's paths, the way they think - as it truly helps to expand my own way of thinking.
I asked if I could interview her - I love to interview people - and wanted to share some of the insights gained from our conversation. My hope is they strike a chord with you and give a better insight into this powerhouse of a woman who has created such beautiful, thoughtful products.
Mariska is a bright light. An entrepreneur who has successfully changed careers, a couple of times. Her career began as a wardrobe stylist for several years, then as a chef turned catering director, and now the founder of Olive + M, an INCREDIBLE skincare line (her products are AMAZING) that she started as a single mother.
Here are highlights from our conversation.
On Opportunity, Unfolding
I am very much a believer in being in the flow, being in the nonresistant place, asking the universe for what you want, and then stepping back and being awake and aware of the opportunities coming your way. You’ve got to be ready to catch the ball, and you have to be dialed in enough to see the ball when it is right in front of you. Right? I meditate. I do Reiki and practice yoga off and on the mat and go to sound baths. I try to eat high vibe foods and really just keep my body vibrating at a high frequency so all the other high-frequency stuff can come in contact with me. When you're vibrating at a low frequency, then that's what you're going to get. I have seen that at work in my daily life. When I'm on a low vibe, it's everything around me, it all looks and feels low, and when I'm in a high vibe flow im levitating ... it's all a choice.
On Olive + M
All the formulas came to be because I was solving problems for myself. The face oil was the first to be born. I wanted to create an effective luxurious formula that a single mom could afford. At the time all the face oils on the market were way out of my price range as a single mother myself. I was on a mission to solve this riddle for all of us single mommies and so I did! After that one was born It was just a natural succession of me saying "what else do I need in my routine that I can make?” I have dry skin. I don't want to wash my face with something that's going to strip the oils off my skin. So the cleansing oil was born. Next, I have dry skin all over my body, so the body oil was born. I love body scrubs, but after I use them, 30 minutes later, I feel like all the silkiness is gone, so the body polish was born, and so on.
I never set out to be in the beauty industry. If I would've known what being in the clean beauty industry is like 10 years ago, I probably wouldn't have opted in. It's definitely grown into something it was not when I started this 10 years ago. It's a very competitive space now, but that's how Olive + M was born so here we are! I say that she wanted to be born and she chose me as her person because it all unfolded so organically and naturally. It was just happening right before my eyes. Have you read Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic?” She talks about ideas being sort of things, beings that will come and whisper in your ear, and if you don't birth them, then they will go and find someone else. When I read that book, I was like, "That's what happened to me. This is the Olive + M story!
On What She Loves Most About Olive + M
The people, the community, changing women's skin and consequently changing their lives. When they use the face oil and they're like, "I've had psoriasis or eczema and that's all gone.” Or, “I'm aging and my skin just feels dry and wrinkly. Now I'm using the face oil and it just feels glowing and plumped”. My husband said, "Oh my God, your skin looks beautiful. What are you doing?'" If I just get one of those stories a day, then it's a successful day, because we all know what that feels like when you put on a dress and you go, "I feel so pretty in this dress." Or you're having a good hair day and you're like, "I'm having a good hair day." I want to go out everywhere. Or your skin looks great. It's the power of self-confidence that resides in all of us. Sometimes it just gets a little buried under all the muck and I so I love to help people uncover it. When I can help people achieve that or go there then, I mean, that's why I do what I do.
On Life from the 20,000 Foot View
I am very clear there is a plan that I don't know anything about for me and for everyone. I believe that if I get up every morning and do my part, and I'm in service, I'm kind, I'm thoughtful and show up and do all of the things I know how to do and do them to the best of my human being ability, and I am a loving person to myself, my friends, my family and the planet, that life will unfold and reveal all the juicy bits it has in store for me.
Sometimes I don't really know where the path is taking me and sometimes it can get a bit scary, true story, but I have to trust that there is something greater at work here than my little ole self and that it's going to be awesome.
Ok, there you have it. An afternoon on the couch talking about life with my new friend Danielle. I hope you enjoyed the read. Maybe you even gleaned a nugget of inspiration or a spark of confidence peaked through you didn’t know was there waiting for you to discover.
If you would like to learn more about my amazing friend Danielle and experience a 20-minute healing sound bath meditation she created for our community + a DIY mask recipe we created for you to nourish your skin while you sound bathe, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our landing page at www.oliveandm.com. It will be arriving in your inbox in a just few days!
xo- M.