iota

Comment “FACE” and I’ll send you our 3 favorite at-home tools for better facial alignment.

Last week, in our conversation with creator and founder of , we talked about what Korean culture knows about recovering the body after birth.

This week: what Korean culture knows about the face.

There’s a place in Seoul called Yakson. Women have been going there for decades — some bring their daughters, some have been coming since before their daughters were born. It’s not a spa in the way we think of spas. There are no extractions, no serums, no menu of add-ons.

Just a therapist. Firm hands. And a technique built on the idea that your face — like your body — can fall out of alignment. And be brought back.

The work happens beneath the skin. At the level of bone and muscle and fascia — the structure your face is built on.

The results clients describe aren’t about glowing skin…they’re structural.

It made me ask the same question I keep coming back to:

What would it look like to care more intelligently?

Full piece — The Korean Facial That Actually Changes Your Face — on Body Intelligence. Link in bio.

Xo, Monique

Comment “seaweed” and I’ll send you the simple Korean seaweed soup recipe for nourishment and recovery.

What if caring for yourself wasn’t about doing more — but caring better?

I sat down with creator and founder of (and soon-to-be ) to talk about Korean wellness culture, pregnancy, skincare overload, and why modern self-care suddenly feels so complicated.

One moment that stayed with me:

Ava shared how different postpartum care can feel in Korea versus the U.S. In Korea, many women spend weeks focusing on restoration — nourishing foods like mineral-rich seaweed soup, massage, rest, and intentional recovery rituals designed to replenish the body after birth.

It raised a bigger question:
When did restorative care become the exception instead of the standard?

Xo,
Monique

Growing up in Asia, skincare was never treated as something surface-level in our home. My Korean grandmother believed skin was deeply connected to overall health — influenced by nourishment, stress, sleep, environment, and the small daily rituals that support the body over time.
That philosophy stayed with me, and ultimately became the foundation for iota.

We built iota differently: treatment-focused bodycare powered by whole, nutrient-dense ingredients, clinically backed actives, and microbiome-conscious formulations designed to support the skin barrier. We believe bodycare can be deeply sensorial and fragrance-led, while still delivering real results with the rigor of facial skincare.

From antioxidant-rich matcha and yuzu to peptides, ferments, stress adaptogens, prebiotics, and vitamin-rich botanicals, every formula is designed to turn daily bodycare into something both effective and meaningful.

Seeing iota on shelf during AAPI Heritage Month feels incredibly full circle — not just as a founder, but as someone shaped by generations of care, tradition, and culture that led here.

Grateful to for spotlighting AAPI founders and the stories behind the brands 🤍

xo, Monique

In Paris, madeleines live on café counters in little wax paper sleeves, still warm from the oven. That specific smell — golden, buttery, just barely sweet — is what we chased when we made the Fresh-Baked Madeleines Hand Cream with Chef .

Powered by shea butter, ceramides, hyaluronic acid and citrus extracts, this indulgent hand cream melts like butter into hands, leaving them softer, brighter and irresistibly touchable.

Available now and .

Behind every beautiful thing is a pair of hands. has built an art form around it. Chef has made it the heartbeat of his craft.

The iota / Dominique Ansel Fresh-Baked Madeleines Brightening Hand Cream is a limited-edition collaboration that nourishes the hands that make the magic. Barrier repair, deep hydration, renewed radiance — and a scent that smells like golden butter and warm cake. The ritual your hands have always deserved.

Proust made the madeleine iconic. We made it into a hand cream.

Chef ’s madeleines are baked to order for one reason: their magic lives in the moment they’re broken open — that final breath of warm steam, fleeting and irreplaceable.

That breath became our collaboration. The iota / Dominique Ansel Fresh-Baked Madeleines Brightening Hand Cream — warm butter, soft citrus zest, and the sweetness of cake just out of the oven. For hands that deserve a little magic, too.