Meet Laura Santiago-Moyer | Owner of The Conscious Glow Boutique

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Santiago-Moyer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, why did you pursue a creative career?
I chose a creative & artistic career, because it is what I’ve always been good at & found joy in. My entire life I’ve always been a creative, artistic person, from drawing & painting as a kid, to doing professional make-up & hair as an adult. I figured why not stick to a career path that allows me to use my gifts & talents, & make a living doing it.

What should our readers know about your business?
The Conscious Glow Boutique is a Non-toxic & Eco-conscious beauty & wellness boutique. We retail products that are better for you, & better for the environment! Meaning, all products retailed in our boutique are made with ingredients that are non-toxic, ethical, sustainable, vegan, & cruelty-free. Many of our brands/products are made with minimal &/or zero-waste packaging as well. We have cosmetics, skincare, wellness products & more!

We are a bit different from other “clean” or Non-toxic type beauty/wellness shops because ALL of our brands & products are completely non-toxic, vegan, cruelty-free, ethical, & sustainable. (Not just 1 or the other)

I ended up where I am today with The Conscious Glow Boutique after going on a heath journey, due to auto immune disease diagnosis. I was in the conventional beauty space for about 10 years, starting as a hair stylist, doing skincare & professional makeup, & ending my career with lash extensions. I ended up getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, ended up going back to school for Holistic Health & Wellness, & becoming a certified Holistic Health & Wellness coach. I started to miss the “beauty” world & was trying to figure out how I could combine all of my educational + experience into a new career.

I decided I wanted to open a boutique with beauty & wellness products that were all more safe for human use (compared to conventional beauty/wellness products) as well as animals & the environment. (I’m a huge animal lover too.) So, I started to search for brands with beauty & wellness products that were all made with high quality, non-toxic ingredients, that were also ethically & sustainably sourced, as well as vegan & cruelty-free! Eventually I had a good list of brands/products to launch Consciousglowboutique.com about 2.5 years ago, & that was the start of the boutique!

Opening the boutique was not “Easy”, but it’s been a learning experience, & every day I continue to learn new things to help grow & flourish as a small business.

Some of my best advice I can give is to stay consistent, ask for help when you need it, & don’t be afraid to talk about your business- post about it, share it, ALL the time!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are SO many amazing places to hang out & eat in South FL, I could go on forever! I live in Wilton Manors (which is basically Fort Lauderdale) I love the beach so Fort Lauderdale beach is a must- if you want a more lively scene check out “beach place” which is still Fort Lauderdale beach, but it’s where most of the restaurants, bars, etc. are.
Las Olas is a must, with its beautiful historic spanish-style buildings, with shops, bars, & restaurants. A few favorite spots of mine are ‘The Wilder’, lively, chic, hidden gem for small plates & drinks during weekend brunch or a night out. I also love Ann’s florist & Coffee Bar, it’s got the cutest aesthetic & the other half of the coffee shop is a little shop with antiques & flowers for sale. (A brand-turned friend who also lives in the area showed me this place and I love it!)

On the weekends there’s a huge farmers market unlike any other, called ‘Yellow Green’ Farmers Market. (It’s actually voted one of the best in the US, if not the best! -I can’t remember if it was voted #1) It’s an indoor-outdoor space, with tons of vendors, with lots of amazing food, multiple bars, music, produce, plants & more! It’s a must-do if your’e here on a weekend.

I personally live in Wilton Manors which is a VERY LGBTQ-Friendly area with lots of LGBTQ Owned/friendly shops & restaurants. Wilton Drive is a really cute street with lots of small businesses like Wilton Creamery (the BEST ice cream shop, with lots of plant-based options which I love), PAC pastries, a pastry shop with lots of vegan & gluten-free baked-goods & desserts.

I could go on forever because there’s SO much to do & see in the Fort Lauderdale area, but those are just a few of my favorites.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I don’t think there’s any person or book that I can really give credit to, to be honest. I think life has lots of lessons, & we can choose to stay the same, or learn from life to grow & evolve. I’ve always been a risk-taker & whenever I felt stuck in any situation, I just jump or “go for it”, whatever that may be. (From moving down to FL. or opening my business, I never let anyone hold me back or let me doubt myself, & I chase whatever I want to because no one is going to chase your dreams or do the work for you!)

Website: Consciousglowboutique.com

Instagram: @Consciousglow_boutique

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Theconsciousglowboutique/