Meet Celeste O’Reilly | Owner and Maker, The Pampered Sloth

We had the good fortune of connecting with Celeste O’Reilly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Celeste, how do you think about risk?
I have always been a risk-taker, even when I was young, though I didn’t know why it was important back then. I think when I was younger, it was more the excitement that comes from the unknown…going into a haunted house as a child, being a singer and going on stage as a teen and into college, changing my major to Law Enforcement and being a Police Officer in my 20’s. Taking risks has always been an undercurrent in my life. I felt ALIVE when I was forcing myself out of my comfort zone and into situations that may or may not actually be dangerous! I stopped doing that after my son was born in 2002, and I fell into a rut without even realizing it. Sort of like the story of the frog who sits in water as the temperature slowly rises to a boil…it doesn’t realize that it needs to jump out of the pot!

In 2018, events were set in motion that forced me to jump out of that pot. I can honestly say that 2019 was the WORST year of my adult life and I was borderline depressed, but it gave me introspection that I never had as I searched for a way out of the “mess” that I thought I had created for myself. I took a HUGE risk by generating 100% of my income that year, and while 2019 didn’t pan out as I’d hoped, I gained such valuable insight!

Armed with a new-found confidence in myself, I started 2020 with a fresh outlook. And even when everything shut down, I was still determined to take risks. It was during the pandemic that I started The Pampered Sloth, which has grown beyond my wildest expectations…and I’m not done yet!!

Bottom line?? You don’t change by playing it safe. You don’t grow by not challenging yourself. You don’t know what your limits are unless you take risks to find them. And what I learned in 2019, is that the ONLY limit I have is the one that I place on myself! And that’s when it occurred to me…I took risks as a child because I was too inexperienced to even THINK there might be limits! We all take knocks during the course of our lives that cause us to build walls to keep us safe. But guess what? When you build walls, you may be keeping yourself safe from the outside, but you’re also trapping yourself on the inside!! So I say knock down those walls!!! Believe in YOURSELF and take the chance to find what waits for you outside of those walls 🙂

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I LOVE to be creative! It’s my happy place! If I had to choose just one item, though, that makes me the most proud, it would definitely be The Pampered Sloth’s Natural Deodorant Lotion.

It actually has a funny (and somewhat inappropriate) backstory, so I’ll just give you the PG-rated version and say that I’d originally set out to make a product for male parts that tend to get sticky during the summer. The guy I was dating at that time told me this was a huge problem, and my adult son agreed. We all know Arizona’s climate is brutal…not only for our scorching summer temperatures, but the arid nature of the climate leaves us dry and parched all year long. Because of this, I wanted my product to not only prevent and stop chafing, but it also had to be rich in moisturizing power, too. However, lotions tend to be sticky or greasy, and that COMPLETELY went against what I was trying to do with smooth and non-chafing.

Many years back when my kids were infants, I’d used a lotion on them that went on smooth like a liquid but dried to a powder. The powder finish was extreme, though, and left visible residue. THIS is what I wanted my lotion to do, but without the visible powder residue. And so I started my research and development. After 19 different versions of a basic lotion recipe, I produced something that I was happy with, but now I had to test it to see if it actually worked! I recruited my son and his friends and the results were overwhelmingly positive!!

I’d also decided that if it works that great on guys, shouldn’t women have it, too? I mean we get sticky areas, too (hello Chub Rub and bra rash!!), so if it worked for guys, it should work for women! So, I kept the basic recipe and just changed the scent, and handed that out to test. Again, overwhelmingly positive! I added a “neutral” scent and started selling the lotion at the Farmer’s Market that I was doing. IT. TOOK. OFF!

It was around that time that I started researching Natural Deodorant ingredients and realized that I WAS ALREADY MAKING IT!!! Everything that I had used in the original formulation for chafing ends up being exactly what is needed for a natural deodorant! So, I started testing it from that angle…again, overwhelmingly positive!!! I was blown away!!!

I added a few more scents to the lineup, and I currently have 8. There is something for everyone…I even have one without added fragrance for those who don’t like scented items! I also started selling wholesale to boutiques across the country and The Pampered Sloth Natural Deodorant Lotion is now on “pits and parts” across the country!!!

What did I learn? To not give up!! I was ready to scrap the idea on version 12, but I figured I was deep into it and still had ingredients, so I may as well keep trying until I ran out. Fortunately, I figured it out before that happened. I also learned to not pigeonhole an idea. I started this lotion with a specific purpose in mind, but it ended up being SO much broader! There are many different angles to it from a marketing standpoint, but in the end, the proof is in the fact that it works!

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.
Phoenix is full of some pretty awesome stuff! Some of my favorite places for things to do are:

– Wildlife World Zoo or the Phoenix Zoo…they are different experiences but both are great places to visit.
– Mystery Castle – not many people know about it but it’s a cool place with a slightly tragic backstory. Definitely uniquely Phoenix!
– The Museum of Natural History in Mesa…there’s actually a waterfall inside!
– South Mountain and hiking to Fat Man’s Pass. Nighttime hikes are particularly neat, too! Or check out Dobbins Lookout and watch the sunset.
– Check out some of the Community/Farmer’s Markets and grab some one-of-a-kind items from great local vendors!
– Go to one of the weekend festivals (if it’s not summer!). There’s ALWAYS something going on 🙂
– Downtown Chandler is more my speed for nightlife these days, though I’m always happy to relive the 90’s with some dancing!
– Copper Blues in DTPHX for live band karaoke!!! So much fun 🙂

And where would I eat? Hmmmm…that’s tough…I love food!! LOL That being said, my favorite Mexican Restaurant is Los Dos Molinos on Central (I’m a SoPHX girl!!), Italian would be Mimi’s in Laveen, for Sushi I love Harumi in DTPHX, Lolo’s for some breakfast, and The Yard for a milkshake that is bigger than your head!!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give the shout-out to my daughter, Aislinn. If she hadn’t been so enthralled with slime, I never would have searched for something else that she could make. After 100’s of dollars spent in glue, saline solution, and Tupperware, I had nothing to show for it other than containers and containers of slime sitting around my house. For those not familiar with the slime-making trend, there is NO practical purpose whatsoever for slime, except maybe ruining all of the aforementioned Tupperware in the house.

It was because of this, that I set her in motion to make sugar scrubs instead, Something useful!!! This led to me wondering how to make them a little more “extra”, which led to an Etsy shop, which led to research for more products, etc, etc. The Pampered Sloth is now a recognized brand name (at least in a small circle) and it’s still growing! I’m amazed and grateful every day that I get to touch people’s lives with the products that I make. It especially makes me happy when I hear that the products have made a difference in their skincare routine!

Hmmm…maybe I should be giving the shout-out to the slime…

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