Beauty Rituals

On my birthday this past year, I took a long look in the mirror and barely recognized the face looking back at me. My reflection was one of a woman who was not taking adequate care of herself. Overgrown roots, a tired sallow and puffy complexion, overweight. I wasn't unhappy, just obviously exhausted. I had focused all of my energy on taking care of my family and working long hours for several years. The toll it was taking showed clearly on my face, in my gut health and overall wellness. I decided in that moment that I needed to make some changes.

The easiest change for me has been incorporating beauty rituals into my day. Those 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night, give me a chance to slow down and focus on ME. Most days begin and end with diffusing essential oils or lighting incense. I have become a big fan of oil cleansing for my face and have several oils that I rotate, depending on how I am feeling. I follow that with an application of whatever natural beauty serums, balms and potions that I am currently loving. I then use a smooth piece of jade and glide it over my face to help reduce the puffiness caused by sluggish lymph. 

This practice has provided a renewed vitality to my skin. I have had many people compliment me on how my skin glows.

I don't feel that beauty rituals have to be extravagant or time-consuming. Just mindful, intuitive and intentional.

If you would like to share your beauty rituals, please comment below. :)

Exquisite Self Care

One of my ways of experiencing exquisite self care is incorporating floral absolutes into my beauty rituals. The first aromatherapy book I ever purchased was back in 1995. I was absolutely fascinated by the concept that distillations and extracts of natural aromatics could have an effect on emotions. But what I was even more drawn to was that one could obtain bottles of concentrated essences of flowers----Rose, Jasmine, Neroli and Tuberose. This discovery led me to studying natural perfumery and the creation of bath and body products. These precious drops of perfumed petals nourish your skin and mind like nothing else. They inspire you to slow down and take a more mindful approach to caring for your skin and hair while inhaling their beautiful scents. When women adorn and anoint themselves with petal potions, the result is a greater connection to self and nature, which many of us have lost due to the demands of modern life. Take the time to reconnect to your inner knowing and nurture your wild soul. You are worth it!

Years ago it was not always easy to find these exquisite oils being used in beauty products due to the price. It takes massive amounts of rose petals to produce mere drops of the oil. And the same could be said of the other florals. Of the products I could find locally, Jurlique's Rose Toner was a fave as well as Weleda's Rose range of products. As we have taken a greater interest in clean/green beauty, women created body luxuries have gained wider distribution.

Recently, I have been loving Living Libations and May Lindstrom

What is your favourite floral scent and how do you incorporate it into your beauty routine?