Two sisters start a small skincare business to empower people to take charge of their well-being. 

Self-care has become a buzzword with an eclectic array of meanings over the past decade. But what does “self-care” actually mean? For Jamie Marshall and Olivia Hatch, founders of the skin care brand Love U Collective, self-care means committing to yourself.  

Sister entrepreneurs of the Love U Collective pose together. Photo Courtesy of Jamie Marshall and Olivia Hatch.

“You have to learn to be with you. You have to learn to make you happy first,” Jamie Marshall said.  For Marshall, happiness started with building a relationship with herself before anyone else. Daily skin care rituals became an integral part of her process.  

Olivia Hatch draws much of her self-care inspiration from her sister’s dedication. She adds that skin care does not have to be done in a hurry. It can be done in a purposeful way that builds a deep connection with yourself. 

The Love U Collective is the two sisters’ manifestation of more intentional self-care in a world of high-speed external validation. 

“It’s hard to be aware in a society that’s generally unaware,” said Marshall. “But we have more autonomy than we give ourselves credit for.” 

The original business was spearheaded by Marshall, with the idea growing out of the COVID-19 pandemic when both sisters were hustling in what they felt were unfulfilling corporate careers. 

“I realized how miserable I was. Everything was always about that next goal,” Marshall said. “The pandemic gave me a moment to stop.”

Skin care rituals became a grounding practice for both sisters. The daily commitment to themselves was a way to take charge of their well-being, and they wanted to empower others to do the same. Given the centrality of homemade beauty products throughout their lives, thanks to their grandma, a skin-care business was a natural choice. 

“We saw this need for us to both share what we do privately more publicly and to use skin care to do that,” said Marshall. 

Their project started with plenty of trial and error. Neither sister had experience in entrepreneurship, nor did they know anyone who did. Everything, from their brand name to the products, was entirely constructed by Marshall and Hatch. 

One of the most complicated tasks was getting the right consistency of the whipped body butter, which feels like a cloud on your skin. 

The Love U Collective “Enlightened Vibes” (third-eye chakra) whipped body butter. Photo Courtesy of Jamie Marshall and Olivia Hatch. 

Hatch recalled going through many Excel sheets, mini journals of calculations and plenty of scratch-outs. 

To master the aromatherapy aspect, Jamie and Olivia spent months conducting popsicle scent tests in their kitchen.

“No one cooks there,” said Hatch as she laughed. It became the “The Love U space.”

The ancient spiritual belief in the chakra system, originally from India, is also an essential part of their self-made business.

When Marshall and Hatch started selling at local markets throughout Chicago, spirituality naturally emerged in conversations with customers as it was deeply integrated into their lives, thanks to the self-care practice of yoga.  

Marshall and Hatch explaining their skincare products to a customer at a market. Photo Courtesy of Jamie Marshall and Olivia Hatch.

As the sisters started selling at more local events, interactions with customers inevitably centered around various chakras. “Chakra” translates to “wheel” in Sanskrit; each section of the body has an energy wheel correlated with particular emotions. The main seven, beginning from the base of your spine to the top of your head, are the root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third-eye chakra and crown chakra. 

A diagram of the seven chakra system. Graph by Lydia Schultz.

For example, if a customer felt their creativity lacking, Hatch would suggest that perhaps their sacral chakra was blocked, but certain scents could help unblock it.  

“Our body has an internal intelligence that we don’t tap into,” said Jamie. “That’s part of what aromatherapy is for me. It’s this way of helping people connect better with what the body naturally knows.”

The Love U Collective now has an array of chakra-based foaming scrubs, body lotions, body oils and even body oil candles, which double as a candle and body oil. Each product has a signature scent created for each chakra. For example, their heart chakra line is infused with a unique aromatherapy blend of rose and bergamot to promote feelings of love and compassion. 

In this sense, the business is not just about skin care products. It is a love letter reminding individuals to connect deeply with parts of themselves that need attention. 

The Love U skincare collection. Photo Courtesy of Jamie Marshall and Olivia Hatch. 

Marshall said that the best part of entrepreneurship is striving toward goals that are meaningful to her, rather than anyone else. Hatch adds that being a part of someone else’s self-love journey is a daily motivator. 

Three years after launching, the Love U Collective is only getting started. In April 2024, all products will be in biodegradable packaging. By summer, they will add a new body wash to their skin care line. The entrepreneurs also plan to sell at local retail stores and host more community self-care events, including sound baths, yoga and chakra readings. 

While they admit the business’s growth is a challenge, it is enjoyable because they are doing what they are passionate about. 

“Learning how to grow but make it more manageable is the issue now,” said Marshall. 

Hatch corrected her sister with a smile, “It’s not an issue. It’s a blessing.” 

“It’s fantastic,” Marshall nodded with a smile in return.  

One of the most common sentiments expressed to Marshall and Hatch is the shock that they are both sisters and business partners — and that they have not killed each other yet. 

“It is a strength for us to be sisters,” Marshall said. “The person that you run a business with, you have to be so close and vulnerable with … and because we’re sisters, we can understand and work around things as opposed to other business partners.” 

Marshall and Hatch laughing together. Photo courtesy of Jamie Marshall and Olivia Hatch. 

The sisters admitted to rarely having arguments despite living together for six consecutive years.

“I remember maybe one argument about a Christmas tree? Lasted maybe a few hours,” said Marshall. 

Though Marshall and Hatch do not claim to be free of struggles. 

While Marshall is learning to balance self-compassion with self-discipline, Hatch is learning how to hold herself more accountable. As she points out, “In the things I struggle with, Jamie doesn’t.”  

Their self-care journeys represent the ever-changing and anti-climatic nature of self-love; ups and downs are inevitable — but through it all, a constant commitment to self-love is necessary. There is no final destination to a self-care journey; there is no peak state of confidence. There is just daily devotion to a deeper connection to yourself; through intentional skin care, The Love U Collective aims to inspire exactly that. 

“I don’t want just to be another company that makes body butter,” said Marshall. “This isn’t just a side hustle. This is my heart to yours.”

Header by Sofi Martinez