Rituals in the Dark: Grief, Glow, and the Power of Showing Up Softly

Finding grounding through skincare when everything feels heavy

There are seasons when glowing feels impossible.

When I lost my mother, time stood still—but the world didn’t. Emails kept coming. Deadlines lingered. My body still needed rest, nourishment… care. But the desire to tend to myself vanished. Why exfoliate when everything is confusing? Why moisturize when you can barely focus?

And yet… something in me knew I needed a ritual.

Not to fix the grief. Not to rush healing. But to mark time. To create one small act of grounding. To say, “I am still here and I'm still the version of me that I've always known.”

That’s what Lumithéa has always been about. And in this season, I learned it all over again.

✨ The Ritual Becomes the Root

When grief knocks the wind out of you, you don’t need pressure—you need softness. A simple 3-step ritual. A sponge and some warm water. A serum applied slowly, like a whisper to your skin: I’ve got you.

Ritual becomes more than beauty. It becomes proof of life. A rhythm. A gentle pulse in the midst of emotional stillness.

It says:

• I may not be okay, but I am here.

• I am not performing—I am preserving.

• My glow today might not be bright, but it is still sacred.

🌿 Presence Over Perfection

Grieving changed how I show up. Not just as a founder, but as a sister, a woman, a human being. And it reminded me: skincare doesn’t have to be glamorous to be powerful.

You don’t need to “do it all.” You need to stay connected to yourself in whatever way feels real.

Some days that’s a full ritual. Some days it’s a spritz of toner and going back to bed. Both count.

🕯️ To the One You Miss

If you're reading this and grieving—whether freshly or quietly, years later—I want to offer you this:

Let your ritual be the space where your grief is welcome.
Let it be the place you whisper their name.
Let it be how you come home to yourself, even when the world feels unrecognizable.

Even in the midst of this experience—this loss, this deep personal reckoning—my mind has continued to do what it always does: look for meaning, and ask how I can turn my own healing into something that empowers others.

That’s the spirit behind our upcoming collection:
“I Don’t Look Like What I’ve Been Through.”

It’s a tribute to people who lead and grieve. Who carry their glow quietly, without needing to explain the storms they’ve survived. It’s for anyone who’s had to hold it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside—and still found a way to show up.

These days, I’m making space for healing in every form it takes—through ritual, through therapy, and through the quiet discipline of continuing to build something meaningful. Some days I’m strong. Some days I’m just present. Either way, I’m still here.

You’ll hear more about the collection soon. But know this:
Your ritual is allowed to be messy. Your glow doesn’t have to be loud. And your softness is not weakness—it’s evidence of survival.

I created Lumithéa for many reasons. But today, I’m holding space for one of the most unexpected:
To remind us that tending to yourself is not selfish—it’s how we keep going when everything else stands still.

In memory of my mother - Cheryl Smith "Mama" Miles.
In honor of anyone you’ve loved and lost.
And in celebration of the power in your softness, even now.

With love and presence,
Sandra
Founder, Lumithéa

Follow the journey "Behind the Glow" for periodic updates, stories, and more.