When Cat Ianelli set about creating FaceWhip, the luxurious, triple-milled, hand-whipped face cream that is the signature item in her Farm Couture line of products, she began by sourcing the main ingredient, goat’s milk, from an organic farmer in Oregon. “Goat’s milk is naturally skin-brightening and anti-aging,” says Ianelli, former resident aesthetician at the Bedford Post Inn.
Goat’s milk is also a natural hydroxy acid, allergen-free, and rich in lactic acid, which stimulates collagen. Plus, it’s nutrient-dense—Mahatma Ghandi drank it as a rejuvenating liquid after extended periods of fasting—loaded with riboflavin, phosphorous, protein, potassium, lipids, and vitamin B12.
Before developing her roster of celebrity clients as an aesthetician, Ianelli got her start working in the City for global beauty corporations. Frustrated by her search for the perfect skin-rejuvenating product, she began whipping up batches of her own invention in her kitchen.
The resulting moisturizer has a frothy consistency remarkably similar to fresh whipped cream—and just a dab will do, scooped up with the tiny accompanying spoon. The recipe contains avocado, grape-seed oil, organic aloe juice, and vitamin E, but no mineral oil, perfumes, parabens, or synthetic fragrances. Ianelli introduced her unscented, all-natural cream at Connecticut’s Westport Farmers’ Market three years ago.
While lauded by the likes of Vanity Fair and (now defunct) Daily Candy, FaceWhip has grown in popularity primarily by word of mouth. “So far, it’s been an insider secret, and that’s the way I like it,” says Ianelli, who ships the product all over the country from North Salem and still personally bottles, labels, and packages it. Find FaceWhip at KD Studio in Katonah and at www.farmcouture.com.
