The Return of Truth Serum

"Truth Serum is the BEST, most effective deodorant I've ever worn. Nothing I've tried before or since comes close to both smell and effectiveness."

When I started making this product I had no idea it would change my life. But I was destined to create and share Truth Serum - the natural deodorant spray (that actually works!)

Picture, if you will, a young white queer, happily laboring in gorgeous remote locations, and sweating - with no promise of a shower at the end of long days. And folks I did not glisten - I sweat! I needed a natural solution, and nothing on the market came even close to holding up to a day of hard labor.

Not work, but definitely sweating here!

So, after years of formulating and testing, I ended up with what we now know as Truth Serum. It worked so well and smelled so good that my friends and family wanted it too, and I gladly obliged. When a severe spinal injury in 2015 stopped my life as I knew it, I reviewed my options and realized I had a gem to share with the world. Before I knew it, I had an Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/LuckyAFclub) and was shipping this deodorant to destinations all around the world.

My customers are THE MOST INCREDIBLE people. The support, loyalty and care they've shown me over the years is not something I can put into words. I am so, so grateful. It's one of the reasons we're called the LuckyAF Club. What a world we live in that a person can create a little something special, find like-minded people to share it with, and build such an incredible community!

Community is everything.

Everything sounds pretty great, right? So, why am I here, asking for money?

During the lock-down years, something went wrong with the Truth Serum formula. I'm not sure why, but it was suddenly waay less effective. For me, and customers too. Truth Serum is made with incredibly nuanced alchemy. One drop of oil over or under and it doesn’t work but I had that formula down to a science so this change was really frustrating. There are a number of factors that could have caused the problem, including possible changes in the oils I purchase from trusted distributors.

But regardless of "WHY" it wasn't working right, the "WHEN" it happened couldn't have been worse. At nearly the same time as the Truth Serum formula became less effective, my health took a terrible dive. Many of you are aware that I have multiple chronic health issues, but I make it work. Unfortunately, this time, both my body and my brain shut down, to the point where I was struggling with language cognition on top of a devastating loss of physical functionality. I'm happy to share more details about what was going on and will do so in another post, but for now, here’s how it affected my business.

Sometimes a furry bestie is the best medicine.

Given my inability to either "think" or "do", I had no way of dealing with why Truth Serum wasn't working and I couldn't continue to fulfill orders. I did try but my efforts were so limited by my illness that I couldn't make any real progress. And even if I had been well, there's no way I could have continued to send out a product that didn't work. So, I paused the Etsy store (with a weirdly written note because, well, words weren't really working for me at that point) and I set about to get better. And, inch by blessed inch, I did! I am unavoidably disabled, with chronic illnesses, and every day is still a journey, but I'm strong enough that I'm feeling ready to take on the reformulation of Truth Serum and, hopefully, reopen the shop! On a selfish note, I really freaking need my deodorant back, y'all! And believe me, I have heard you, when you said the same.

The goal of this GoFundMe is to provide the money needed to purchase the oils, ingredients, supplies and equipment needed to reformulate Truth Serum and to ensure that my business will be able to relaunch once that's been achieved. A breakdown of what the money will be used for is below.

An amazing LuckyAF Club member I’ve never even met has been helping me get all this off the ground (we started with a customer survey which many of you have taken, thank you!) asking if folks wanted Truth Serum back. And what came back was an overwhelming, resounding, collective YES, PLEASE!!!

The vast majority of folks were unsatisfied with their current deodorant and Truth Serum was rated a 4.87 out of 5. I mean, come on!! I am blown away that people feel this way about something I made.

Here are a few of the messages that people sent about their experience with Truth Serum:

Needless to say, I think it's really important to get Truth Serum fixed and back to you, the loyal, lovely customers who are still willing to support me, even after being without their deodorant for so long. So... here we go! Truth Serum 2.0!! Let's make it happen.

What You Can Expect: You'll be part of the process! While I work on this reformulation, you'll get regular updates on what I'm doing and how it's going. And everyone who donates will receive a free bottle Truth Serum 2.0 as a thank-you gift if I'm successful. Of course, there's no guarantee of success so, if you contribute, please understand that you are helping me fund research and testing that may or may not result in a product I can sell. And the money that will be spent on business expenses is to ensure that, if the research is successful, we can relaunch the store immediately. It will also cover necessary business insurance.

Goal: Reformulate Truth Serum and relaunch the LuckyAF Club store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/LuckyAFclub)

Timing: Up to 6 months

GoFund Me Budget Breakdown:

$4000 for supplies necessary for testing and reformulation

$500 for business insurance (covers both product and customers)

$400 for legal expenses to incorporate the business

$300 for office supplies