Tundra-based skincare products

Alaska Native sisters launch a skincare line that features the bounty of the tundraThe tundra of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is studded with botanical gifts: plump, dark crowberries, hot-pink fireweed, wormwood plants and blackberries found in the region have all been used for kitchen-made balms and salves by the Native people who have inhabited the area for thousands of years.

Now, three sisters from Bethel are launching a high-end skincare line that features the tundra's bounty. Triplets Michelle, Cika and Amy Sparck plan to take the antioxidant-rich raw botanicals of Arctic Alaska to boutiques across the country, and in doing so, start what they hope will be a new, green gathering economy in Western Alaska. They held a party for their Arxotica line on Friday, Oct. 23 in Anchorage.

Their debut product is an anti-aging facial serum called Quyunglii, which means "the potent one" in the Cu'pik language. It's made with tundra crowberries, fireweed, Arctic sage (the Cu'pik name for that translates to "nothing bad about it") and is fortified with Alaskan glacier water and omega oil from salmon. They expect it to wholesale for more than $170 per ounce.Comment:  For more on related products, see Native-Themed Spas.