About GOOW

Thanks for stopping by! I'm Shelly Hokanson, owner of Geek Out of Water LLC. I make simple, sustainable, pro-longevity skin care products. I'm also the GOOW YouTube beauty non-guru, cosmetic formulator, graphic tee designer, and tie dye aficionado, as well as the production, packing, shipping, photography, web design, sales, and marketing departments. 🤣 Yes, it's a one-woman show around here, and I'm having a blast!

My GOOW journey began February 19, 2016, when I decided to start the Geek Out of Water YouTube channel. At the time, I was in my 40s and was frustrated that there weren't many people around my age reviewing skin care and makeup products. The younger creators were fun to watch, but their experiences with foundation in particular did not at all represent what happened when I put the same products on my aging face. I thought, there had to be others out in the world like me who wanted to see how things worked on maturing skin. So GOOW was born, and I started buying beauty products and reviewing them on YouTube. I had no idea that nearly a decade later, I'd still be here, making videos and so much more! 

In 2020, with the world on lockdown and more time on my hands while working from home, I taught myself how to make cold-process soap with my friend Judy. We started a handcrafted soap company that fall, and in the 2 years we worked together, expanded into other handcrafted items under our Quirky Creators brand. Unfortunately, life threw some wrenches into the works, and we closed down the QC brand in late 2022 (though we both still aspire to work together again in the future, with dreams of having a brick-and-mortar retail shop. Someday!) 

By that time, though, the formulation spark had been ignited in me. I moved the few products I had formulated over to my GOOW brand and continued writing and testing skin care formulas (with some winners and some failures!) By 2024, I knew this was something I wanted to get serious about. I enrolled in the Formula Botanica International Organic Skincare Entrepreneur program that spring, a 5-course program based on formulating 100% natural skincare products in adherence with the strict European Union standards. I completed the 5-course program in August 2024, and have since completed several additional certificates with various specialties through Formula Botanica, including: 

  • Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation
    • Distinction in Formulation Skills
    • Distinction in Cosmetic Compliance
  • Advanced Diploma in Cosmetic Science
    • Distinction in Advanced Formulation Techniques
  • Certificate in Cosmetic Stability Testing
  • Certificate in Natural Cosmetic Preservation
  • Diploma in Beauty Brand Business Management
    • Distinction in Beauty Branding
    • Distinction in Beauty Brand Financing
  • Certificate in Facial Masque Therapy
  • Certificates in Lab Completion
    • Centella Asiatica
    • CBD and Hemp
    • Circadian Beauty
    • Menopause Beauty
    • Natural Exfoliation
    • Oleogels

I've spent all of 2024 working on formulas for my GOOW skin care line, adding body lotion and body butters, a 7-skins toner, a tattoo care and maintenance balm, a foot repair balm, and more to my flagship bakuchiol cream formula and the soaps and shampoo bars I was already formulating. As I write this, I'm finishing up testing on a cleanser and rejuvenating serum that will likely be finished by the time you read this! 

These are exciting times for sure as I work to grow my skin care business with simple, effective, cruelty free formulas - mostly natural and mostly vegan. My goal is to help people build personal care habits that inspire confidence with products that are clean on the skin and sustainable for the environment. I make good-for-us products that keep the planet in mind to empower each of us to be ourselves, love ourselves, and take care of each other. 

Stay tuned as I continue building the GOOW skin care line with simple, sustainable, pro-longevity skin care.

GOOW is GOOD: for you, for the animals, for the planet.