In this Issue:

  • New and Back in Stock products

  • Special Sale Days

  • Get ready for Summer Savings

  • Blog Updates

  • Formulas and Blends

  • Our Clients Say

  • Quote of the Month

 

Back in Stock and NEW

A stunning new Neroli oil from Morocco, so impressive we put our remaining Tunisian Neroli on clearance. Exotic Ylang Ylang Extra, organic certified from Madagascar. Also from Madagascar a vibrant organic Ginger Root. Freshly distilled Canadian Black Spruce.

New hydrosols – Organic Carrot Seed and White Sage, both from our favorite Canadian distiller. And for your summer moisturizing, new and restocked facial and body oils – exotic Kalahari Melon Seed, longlasting Meadowfoam, and healing Cherry Kernel. See these, and more on our new and special page. We have also sourced more Beeswax beads, both certified organic and all natural, both from the USA. We’ve restocked our glass eyedroppers for precise by the drop measuring, and finally have restocked our most effective nebulizing diffuser, the Deluxe Professional. Also, because some of you requested them, we have made available the same white PET jars that we use for our one ounce and four ounce creams and whipped butters. See them on our Bottles and Jars page.

Special Sale Days

Friday the 13th – we’ll avoid the bad luck that is traditional on Friday the 13th by holding tight to a four leaf clover. And on Friday the 13th enter the promo code “clover” (without the quotation marks) and save 13% on all retail size essential oils, absolutes, and aromatic CO2 extracts. The discounted products are found here. Please note, our shopping cart is located in California, USA, so the time of the sale is from midnight until midnight Pacific time. You should see the discount reflected on screen when you apply the promo code. If you do NOT see the code, please don’t submit your order; we will not be able to apply it retroactively.

Saturday, June 21st is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the traditional “midsummer’s day.” Help us celebrate by using the promo code “solstice” and save 10 to 12% on all of our regularly discountable products. Almost every retail size product is included in the sale. We exclude bulk sizes, kits, special books, clearance items, and any other product marked “no other discount may apply.” We also can never give free shipping on orders that are otherwise discounted.

Get Ready for Summer Savings

Save on our favorite summer protectors for outdoor fun and outdoor hazards. Save 10% on all forms of SkeeterBeater, After the Bite, and Sunburn Soother. Celebrate the Summer Solstice with our Summer Sunshine, again, at 10% off.

Blog Updates

We’ve not had time to write much over the last months.

In May we shared a lovely article about Jasmine, written by author and perfumista, J R Lankford. She had some delightful comments about our Jasmine absolutes.

My friend and client, Mikki Melinda Anderson of StressBusters Spa in Laguna Hills CA, has spoken out against dangerous practices in the Massage and Spa industry. Read her editorial about Raindrop and AromaTouch therapy here.

Another blog article by J R Lankford, An Exploration of Roses.

And in May, feedback about an amazing healing story, featuring our MERCY line of products. A story a grateful mother asked that we share, so that others might be helped.

Formulas and Blends

Since we just restocked beeswax beads this month we thought a refresher on making salves would be good. Why make a salve instead of just using an infused oil, or diluted essential oil? Because sometimes a solid salve is just EASIER than a spillable liquid.

In every case, melt oils and beeswax beads in a double boiler, or a bowl (or measuring cup), set in a pan of simmering water.

Solid Perfume Base
1/2 oz. beeswax
1 oz. jojoba oil or meadowfoam oil.
Melt together in a pyrex measuring cup set in a pan of simmering water.
Remove mixture from heat, stir gently. As mixture cools and is starting to thicken, add your chosen essential oil or blend of oils.
For a solid perfume we like to use between a 10% to a 20% dilution. For this amount of base, we would use 4.5 to 9 mls of essential oil.

Solid Perfume 2
3 parts sweet almond or jojoba
2 parts white beeswax
1 part scent

Melt all over double boiler, pour into containers.
This makes a firmer base, suitable for pouring into lip balm sticks to create perfume sticks. Remember that the lip balm tubes hold only about.15 oz so you don’t have to make much to fill a lot of tubes.

Healing Salves

A basic salve starts with:
2 oz. Beeswax
8 oz. Oil of your choice. (We recommend jojoba or meadowfoam because of their extended shelf life.)
EO of your choice (for this amount of ingredients @1-1/2%, it would be 90 drops)

You can infuse your oils with herbs if you wish. (See our Trauma salve, below.)

Melt all ingredients together, when melted, blend thoroughly, let cool to about lukewarm, add EO’s and then cool completely. Your personal choice of oils will determine the end product (For dry flaky skin, oily skin, damaged skin, normal skin, etc.,)

To check for texture, dribble a spoonful of the melted blend onto a plate and put in the freezer for just a few minutes, to cool quickly. Check the texture of the chilled salve. If it is still too soft, add a bit more beeswax and melt in. If too hard, add a bit more oil.

Trauma Salve
4 oz Nature’s Gift Trauma Oil
1/2 oz Jojoba or Meadowfoam Oil
1 oz Beeswax Beads (hint: use a postage scale to weigh out the beeswax)

Combine the beeswax and jojoba/meadowfoam in a 2 cup measuring cup or bowl. Heat in simmering water until beeswax beads are melted. Stir together.

While still in the hot water bath, gradually add the Trauma Oil, stirring to gently warm and incorporate. As soon as all of the Trauma Oil is incorporated, remove from heat, pour into a 4 ounce jar and let stand loosely covered until solidified.

This formula may have your choice of essential oils added at from 1 to 5%, depending on the use and the recipient. I plan to add some Helichrysum italicuum and a few drops of Kunzea to use as a pain relief blend when muscle cramps wake me up in the middle of the night. (This would make a great healing salve for bumps and bruises, as well.)

Our Clients Say

Skincare:

Fenil Shaw pays horrific international shipping rates to use our products in Canada. She recently wrote (and gave permission to share):

“Btw, the CO2s I ordered last time (Rosehip pulp, Sea Buckthorn berry, German Chamomile and Calendula) have worked amazingly well for me! I tried one of the formula that you have on your website and see a huge and awesome difference in the texture and overall appearance of my facial skin. Prior to using these oils, I had dry, red and very sensitive skin and dull and sallow looking complexion. Nothing helped; anything and everything I used made me break out and it was awful. Plus I have bad environmental allergies. This time, I have ordered Frankincense CO2 and hydrosol, cistus hydrosol and Pomegranate CO2 and hopefully they will help me further combat all the past years of damage.

Oh and I would also like to mention one more thing here. Before ordering, I had read Kathy Keville, Donna Maria, Suzanne Catty, etc.’s books. Yours was the name that consistently came up along with one more. I found yours to be so much more personal and warm and not like some big professional corporation dealing with and in everything. So I decided to go with you guys and am super happy with that decision. Thank you so much!”

(We’re happy with that decision, too!)

And, because men need skincare help too, John Parks from New York recently wrote:

“It is great to meet you even if by email only. I have become a swift, avid fan of your products. They are doing wonders for my good old rosacea-prone skin. I am 55 and people are now commenting on how good I look. Wow!

I had a quick question on hydrosols: can they be mixed for ease of use or is it best to continue to store them separately? I find my standards are becoming helichrysum, rose geranium, chamomile, and lavender. I truly value your input.

Again, thank you for your commitment and products – just awesome!”

(And of course I told him that hydrosols could be mixed, or layered, to taste!)

Speaking of Rosacea, Melanie Justice recently commented (while ordering more):

“After using the samples of the gel & cleanser you enclosed with my last order for three days, I woke up this morning for the first time in ages pleased with how my skin looked! Even my husband could tell, and that’s saying a lot! Thanks for formulating such healing products. I really felt like I was never going to be able to use any kind of face wash again.”

When I asked if we could quote her she added:

“I definitely wanted to let you know how much it impacted my skin! My husband commented again when he got home from work. You may certainly quote me; customer feedback is so helpful when deciding on products!”

Cellulitus:
From the Mayo Clinic: Cellulitis (sel-u-LI-tis) is a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection. Cellulitis appears as a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot and tender, and it may spread rapidly. Skin on lower legs is most commonly affected, though cellulitis can occur anywhere on your body or face. Cellulitis may affect only your skin’s surface, or cellulitis may also affect tissues underlying your skin and can spread to your lymph nodes and bloodstream. Left untreated, the spreading infection may rapidly turn life-threatening. That’s why it’s important to seek immediate medical attention if cellulitis symptoms occur.

In mid-March Brenda Richardson wrote that her mother was struggling with cellulitis on her legs. The infection was not responding to the oral antibiotics her mother was taking, and Brenda, as a nurse, knew how difficult cellulitis can be to treat. She wondered about using the MERCY body wash prior to applying the prescribed antibiotic ointment. Then she mused about adding Benchmark Thyme to the body wash. In Mid-April she wrote:

Thought you would like to know that i made a 1% dilution with the benchmark thyme and liquid castile soap for my mom. She has had cellulitis in both legs. She washes with it twice a day before doing her ace wraps and feels like it has really helped to clear up the infection. She wondered if she could use it in place of mercy soap for the perineal area she loves it so much. Is 1% dilution good for that? She loves the smell which is funny because she doesn’t love many smells. I am very excited to hear her legs are getting better. So wish i had thought to have her take before and after pics. She has also taken an antibiotic but in my experiences with cellulitis patients, it does not resolve quickly.

To which I replied:

And the only answer I can give is “I don’t know”… it’s a lower dilution.. my intinct says “try it and see…” The MERCY has been keeping her clear of UTI’s, right? Two thoughts… we will only know that it is NOT working if she gets another infection… I hate that…but there is truly no way to test it that I have access to. (In Europe they could culture, to an “aromatogram” and see specificially what bacteria and what oils… I can’t do that.
So… either try it and see..
Am thinking you could split the difference??? Blend = amts of the benchmark 1% in castile with the MERCY cleanser.. that would 1/2 the strength of EACH… but would give you some synergistic benefits.
Or… try just the benchmark blend… if infections start again… try the second option???
Sorry…but this is just beyond me, so I’m just tossing out suggestions.

In Mid-May Brenda wrote:

So this is my thought….
If cellulitis keeps coming back and you have to keep taking antibiotics etc what do we have to lose trying the mercy gel twice a day to tackle the problem? If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work. My only question for you is could this SAFELY be applied twice a day, allowed to dry and then her ace wraps on top? I am assuming its like a 3% dilution. Could I safely add in another 1/2 cc per 100 ml of benchmark thyme?
I gotta try something to break the cycle. Antibacterial oils make more sense than steroid cream!

To which I replied that I didn’t KNOW…my concern would be irritating the already damaged skin. Her mother had been through major surgeries, has had a LOT of medical issues this year and this cellulitus, while not as immediately life threatening as some of her other issues was an ongoing challenge.

Today, June 4th Brenda emailed:

I have to tell you the best news….. The mercy gel did the trick. My mom said it helped more with her cellulitis than anything she tried (steroid cream prescribed) and now she is not wrapping her legs or wearing support hose. It was worth the gamble. I will be spreading the word in my home health world!!! She put in on twice a day (after washing with mercy soap) let it dry a few minutes and wrapped her legs with ace bandages. She said the healing was amazing. She is going to continue using soap and gel twice daily since cellulitis tends to keep coming back. And yes you can quote me and share this testimonial. I ordered the gel in desperation when she told me she finished oral antibiotics with no change.

Thank you for such awesome products!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of Brenda’s tenacity and ingenuity, it worked.

There is nothing in the world as rewarding as knowing that our products have truly made a difference in someone’s life and wellbeing!

More Feedback:

This was an anonymous review, so I couldn’t thank whoever left it. but the phrasing just delighted me: “Everything is always wonderful and a little treasure trove of goodies when they arrive.” A little treasure trove. Thank you, Anonymous, you made my evening!

 

Quotes of the Month

I question not if thrushes sing,
If roses load the air;
Beyond my heart I need not reach
When all is summer there.
—John Vance Cheney

When I was a boy, I thought scent was contained
in dewdrops on flowers and if I got up very early in
the morning, I could collect it and make perfume.
—Oscar De La Renta

Have a joyous June everyone!

 

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