It is so wonderful to discover all the bounties nature provides, from nutritious foods to give us optimum health, to roots and herbs created to heal our bodies when we are injured, in discomfort or suffering from dis-ease. We have been blessed with an added bonus from the thoughtful creator of thousands of organics and minerals which give us the ingredients for a special form of maintaining great health on the outside as well as within…

 Natural Beauty Products. It only makes sense to care for ourselves on the outside with the same consideration of health consciousness as we give to the care of our bodies on the inside. Our skin is like a giant sponge, and by now we should understand there is a very good reason our ancestors relied so strongly upon Nature to provide everything we need in this aspect. I just love it when I find new places dedicated to natural beauty, and am especially impressed when I discover they never test on animals, as these are the only beauty products I will consider. Even though I have a good supply of home-made soaps and such, it is always fun to supplement this with delightful organics from different places around the world. Each of us is different in our own special way, and it is so sweet to be able to let the Beauty of Nature shine through.

Shall we venture into one of my most favorite subjects surrounding natural health and aromatherapy? I can honestly say how healthy and alive I feel at the wonderful young age of 45, due to my passion of setting examples of a healthy lifestyle, so that those I encounter are encouraged to do the same. When it comes to vitamin nutrition, I am an avid student, striving to learn all I can to live a long, healthy and fruitful life.

Incorporating aromatherapy and finding the highest quality of essential oils to maintain physical, emotional and spiritual balance is essential. Those who know me, can attest to my love of the scent and many beneficial uses of my favourite herb, lavender.

Lavender Highland is an evergreen, woody shrub that grows about 3 feet high. It has pale green, narrow leaves and beautiful, violet-blue flowers. The entire plant is highly aromatic. Lavendula vera is also known as Lavendula officinalis and Lavendula angustifolia. All these names indicate a true lavender. The essential oil from a true lavender is prized for its ester content. (Esters provide a relaxing quality with a sweet aroma.) The best Lavender in the world, with the highest ester content, comes from the high-mountain region of Provence, France. This is Oshadhi’s Highland Lavender. No other Lavender compares to its exquisite aroma and unsurpassed therapeutic qualites for skin care, first aid, and stress.

Another favourite is Geranium Rose Organic. There are many species of Geranium and hundreds of varieties. Amongst them, there are a group that are used for their essential oil. The most common are Pelargonium graveolens, asperum, roseum, odorantisimum, and radens. Geranium is a perennial shrub with serrated leaves and small flowers, growing from one to three feet high. The entire plant is aromatic. As a group, the Geraniums have been ever-popular, once believed to be a great healing plant. The essential oil is one of the most versatile and seems to be particularly good for women.

As always, I am impressed with the selection of these great essential oils, along with organic skin and personal care, vitamins, minerals and much more, as can be found at Choice Nutritionals.

As a woman, I have found so many places that focus on our natural skin care. Some of these places offer a small selection of products for the males in our lives, almost as an afterthought. Yet is is rare that we find a place that has a focus solely on men’s skin care. I am not entirely certain why this is, and I suppose it never truly struck me until this moment how totally unfair to the masculine population this neglect is. I believe the males in my life would very much appreciate a greater selection and choice when it comes to caring for themselves in a good way. Trust me when I say this is something I am going to investigate further, and see for myself how my male friends and family feel about this. Our men deserve to be pampered and cared for just as much as women do, whether they will admit to it or not!

I would like to share a great place to start with a line of men’s skin care that left me a bit impressed to say the least. From shaving gels, creams and balms, to an absolutely delicious array of shampoos, conditioners and body essentials, with some wonderful natural ingredients designed to create an excellent array of choices for all types of male preferences… Anthony Logistics for Men is definately worth looking into.

Not only will you find some of natures finest ingredients, you will also find that a percentage of Anthony For Men proceeds is donated to charities in support of the fight against prostate cancer. One in six men are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in America, and is the most common non-skin cancer in America, with a new case diagnosed every three minutes. Every day, 101 men lose their lives to this disease. In the last decade alone, 350,000 men have died of prostate cancer. About an equal number of deaths were caused by Breast Cancer and this number represents more than three times the number of deaths from AIDS).

Well then, I am certainly willing to add Anthony’s to my list of favourites and let people know what I think of a line of products with the male population in mind. Any thoughts and/or comments on this are most welcome!

This would be so perfect! My daughter and I have been  lucky to find some quite lovely natural and homemade soaps, lip and face balms, as well as bath salts through family giveaways during Ceremony. Yet we have seriously considered learning how to make our own. We have several family members who can teach us, and one thing I had wondered about was where to find the best place to purchase supplies.

And now I have found one such place! Elements Bath & Body soap making & toiletry supplies company was created in 2001, and is family owned. Some of the items they carry include waterproof vinyl labels, lip balm tubes, twist-up tubes, organza bags, beeswax, disposable pipettes, cloth bags, lavender buds and flax seed. When you’re formulating your own soap, body lotion, lip balm, bath salts, or perhaps a special flax seed pillow, it is wise to find a place with wholesale prices.

My daughter has especially dry lips, and we are always seeking natural balms to keep them moisturized. If we can make our own, with a nice supply of lip balm containers, we can make some for our own personal use, as well as stocking up as a great gift idea.

Imagine how much fun we can have creating our own natural bath soaps, lotions, balms, and herbal spritz’s with giveaways in mind as well. What a lovely idea!

There is nothing like a delicious and highly nutritious cup of tea. Amongst my favourite herbal delights, drinking tea has got to be my top form of consuming natures finest. Not only for the wonderful aroma, which brings it’s own pleasure, yet the feeling tea gives me when I truly need a few moments of relaxation. Of course I have my own personal preferences, which include the lovely flavors of peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, chamomile, lemon grass, tila flowers, catnip, and hops, just to name a few. My daughter also has her own favourite… Madagascar Vanilla Red, which is made with rooibos and vanilla bean.

My family knows that I am quite enthusiastic when I recieve tea gift baskets. This is a form of giving that shows how much one cares, as it is a gift meant to pamper the person recieving the gift.

So, whether tea is offered and consumed in the form of ceremony or for the simple pleasure, remember that special person with a wonderful and lovely selection of tea gift baskets available for our own choosing.

The internet is a fabulous place to discover unusual items and unique gifts. It simply amazes me how much smaller the World seems, yet how much more is available than one could have ever imagined. I am definately one who looks for things that are extraordinary or different, and I do believe the Teaposy Tea Set most certainly falls into this category.

The Teaposy Blooming Tea Gift Set is a tea set where the tea is actually contained within dehydrated flowers. This flowering tea set also comes with six vacuum-sealed, handcrafted, natural herb flowers that are ready to blossom when immersed in hot water. This sweet little teaset brings an artful fusing of aesthetics and some of the world’s finest white needle tea, rich in antioxidants, and infused with Jasmine. Wow, now this is totally cool, absolutely and fabulously natural, and truly something I am going to put on my wish list!

Winter is a time when we enjoy the safe and warm comfort of staying inside our homes. It is the time of year when we may start to feel lethargic, depressed, or irritable. Even though winter brings special holidays that make us want to feel festive and optimistic and you can feel spring coming, we become affected by the lack of sunshine in our lives. To combat the winter blues, we love to surround ourselves with pleasant scents.

Essential oils may bring balance to our hearts and peace to our minds. They may help to cleanse, release, and balance our thoughts. Let the aromatherapy shine. Scent has a great effect on our emotions. Scientists are increasingly interested in the connection between fragrance and memory triggers in the limbic brain. They are also researching pheromones – fragrant substances that may influence physical attraction. Personal attraction or aversion is influenced by odor. Without the ability to smell, there would be very little attraction. Our body has special glands that produce a very personal perfume that changes according to our mood or state of health. Fragrance may create well-being or discomfort. If you have difficulty adapting to a new situation, or letting go of the past, a new fragrance may help create a fresh mood. It may help you change your attitude or find a new positive reaction. A pure essential oil will not create an aggressive feeling; rather it will have a positive, balancing effect.

We each have our own personal reaction to every scent. Smells, moods, and short and long term memories are all stored in the limbic part of our brain. Dangerous or negative odors set our subconscious in the awareness stage. Positive smells like our babies’ skin or our mothers’ fragrance will bring a pleasant reminder of a positive experience for decades.

Helping our body and psyche with scent has a history stretching back for many centuries. The very beginning of the practice of medicine has been connected with mythical rituals, magic, or religion. We may say that the history of scent began with incense burners and has continued through experience with aromas and essential oils up to the present day. The methods of treatment were based on philosophical ideas that looked at a direct connection between man and nature. In ancient civilizations, medicinal herbs were evaluated by their taste and smell. An interesting example from the history of essential oils is thyme. The name “Thyme” is derived from the Greek word Thymiama (incense) and means courage, health, or sacrifice. It was a sign of high respect in ancient Greece to say to someone that he “smells of thyme”. Roman soldiers often added thyme to their baths to give themselves strength, health, and courage.

Rosemary played an important part in the Roman tradition of eliminating evil spirits. In the Middle Ages, it was a part of Hungarian water, a distillate of rosemary, lavender, and turpentine. According to alchemistic understanding, this was the first water of life. Many preserving properties were attributed to Carmelite water, a distillate of lemon balm, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

The seductive power of scent has always been known. The sense of smell may help create love and desire. Smell influences us much more than we think. The natural scent of flowers, essential oils, and compositions in the form of perfume, are more than just a pleasant smell. They can promote relaxation, sensuality, or spiritual depth. According to research on flowers by P. Jellinek, “esters of phenylacetic acids, fatty aldehydes, and alcohols are responsible for the aphrodisiac effect of various flower scents (jasmine, neroli).”

Extensive studies by occupational psychologists have shown that lemon or rosemary scent may help with concentration, nutmeg may reduce stress, and lavender, interestingly, promotes a desire to buy things. Large Japanese companies are using scent throughout their employees’ workstations to help improve their performance – lemon in the morning for pick-me-up feelings, rose at lunch time for relaxation, and wood scents in the evening for stimulation and refreshment.

Another interesting discussion would focus on stress levels in our civilization. More and more studies are being done to prove that essential oils interact well with the receptors of the psychosomatic network and they may, in a soft and gentle way, restore harmony in our systems.

Aromatherapy is using the knowledge of the effect of scents on the body and mind. With the help of the purest essential oils we may influence our stage of mood or form of somatic anomalies. Compared with synthetic products, aromatherapy has a much higher risk-free profile.

My most favourite scent is Lavender. I use the oil as well as the flowers. I burn the flowers to cleanse the rooms in my house and bring in good energy. I also like to crumble the flowers into a tub of hot water for a soothing foot bath… what a delight! It is no small wonder that this Magical plant is such a favourite in my home and to scent my body. As I have always associated this intoxicating scent with all that is wild and pure in Mother Earths garden, I will be most happy to share a bit more about this extraordinary gift of Nature…

Lavender and its Magical Properties…

You all know the pretty plant that is lavender. But did you know that lavender has magical properties? Well, maybe not quite fully certified magical, but close. Lavender essential oil is my absolute favourite essential oil. It has so many uses that it is always necessary to have it on hand. Not only does it smell great, it has important curative powers. Here are some of the ways that I have used lavender essential oil.

Burns or scalds~
This works best if applied neat (undiluted) to the area affected by the burn or scald. The skin should be intact, use your judgment. It takes away the pain quickly and the skin heals with almost no sign of damage. This includes sunburns. If you are sensitive to the oil in its pure form, dilute it accordingly in a small clean spray bottle with water. This is quite soothing and refreshing.

Pimples~
Your adolescent will love you for this remedy. Because lavender oil is antibacterial, it destroys pimples and the associated bacteria quickly and easily. Apply it neat as soon as you feel a pimple developing and the pimple is banished shortly. If you didn’t catch it in time, it makes pimples come to a head faster and it helps with the swelling and redness.

Sleep & relaxation~
Just a drop or 2 to a cotton ball or tissue placed beneath the pillowcase under your head at night makes you sleep more soundly and more quickly. Lavender has amazing relaxation properties that will leave you refreshed in the morning.

Migraines or Headaches~
Apply a drop to your temples or the back of your neck and massage into the skin. This helps with both tension headaches as well as migraines. For some people with migraines, the smell may be too strong during the acute stage of a migraine. During this time you can apply the lavender oil to the muscled area between your thumb and forefinger on the backside of your hand (both hands). This is an acupressure point associated with headaches.

Insect repellent and insect bites~
Just like citronella, lavender has the ability to ward off mosquitos and flies. Additionally, it can help calm the itching of an insect bite. I can really attest to this one as I am the world’s number one mosquito attractor.

**A word of caution. Those with sensitive skin cannot always tolerate direct application of lavender oil to the skin. If that is the case for you, you can dilute the oil with a carrier oil such as almond oil or jojoba oil. European made essential oils are the best for now unless you know the source that you are getting the oil from is organically grown. Europe has standards for the production of essential oils, the United States does not. Because of the extreme concentration of essential oils, they should always be organically grown. As always, be wise and use your own best judgement!

As long as I can remember, I have chosen to feed my body those vitamins and herbs which represent the most that is pure in Nature. I prefer natural cures for that which ails myself, my children and my loved ones. I always recommend seeking that which can be found in nature, in it’s most pure and whole form, as a first defense against illness as well as in healing ourselves once we are in the midst of an ailment.

Prevention is half the battle, so if we feed our bodies that which nature so generously provides, through taking nutrition supplements & nutrition supplement as a part of our daily regimine, I truly believe we can live longer, healthier lives. Granted, one must choose wisely when it comes to eating foods which are as natural as possible as well. Knowing what is in our food is so very important as well. Read those labels! Seek only the most natural and fresh foods whenever possible. Be wary of foods which are loaded full of preservatives and ingredients in which you do not know what they are. It is important to educate yourself, and your family, and give our bodies the foods in which the Creator so generously has provided us in Nature.

I am pleased when I find a new source of natural vitamins and herbs. I have found a great place to add to my natural supplimental arsenal called Choice Nutritionals. As quoted from their site…

“Garden of Life believes food is the best source of nutrition. This is why we circle the globe searching for the richest and purest whole foods (raw fruits, vegetables and herbs) available to make our products. We accept only the finest whole foods, grown in rare, nutrient-rich soil beds to create formulations of the highest quality. From the cereal grasses and vegetable juice powders in our Perfect Food® supplement to the whole fruit juice powders in Fruits of Life™ and Radical Fruits® supplements, we strive to pack as much whole food nutrition as possible into each and every Garden of Life™ product.

Each whole food we gather is fermented using our proprietary Poten-Zyme™ process to enhance its nutritional value and make it easier to digest and absorb. This process results in powerful whole food nutrition optimized for your body’s unique needs. It’s convenient nutrition you can use to achieve better health.”

 

 

When seeking those most pure in the world of vitamins, minerals and herbs, remember your options. I shall definately consider adding Choice Nutritionals to my list of places worthy of utilizing to stock up on my supply of natures finest.