Monthly Archives: August 2015

Sunday Spa Feature – Balancing Almond Face Mask

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, Skin Care, Skincare, Wellbeing by

Home Made Balancing Face MaskWe’ve been away on holiday soaking up the last rays of the summer sun before we head into Autumn.

As my skin care routine usually goes out along with any thoughts of beauty and cosmetics when we are away, the most I do is to put a face moisturizer on and some protective sunscreen during the day.

I have returned home to find that the skin on my face is shiny and I feel as if I’ve returned to teenage days with blemishes about to erupt.

Looking in my cupboard, which has few fresh ingredients to hand, I can make this simple face mask recipe to help soothe and re-balance my skin.

Ground Almonds (a soft flour that we keep for baking purposes) is the perfect base.

As almonds are a highly nutritional, they are a rich source of vitamin E, calcium, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. In terms of diet, they  also contains zinc, selenium, copper and niacin and make a great healthy snack between meal-times.

In baking, we like to use Ground Almonds in certain cake recipes and always keep a bag in the cupboard to whip up an Orange and Almond cake.

Used in a face mask, the vitamin E part of the ground almonds can improve wrinkles. It also good way to brighten the complexion and reduce age spots and other blemishes on the skin.

As I also have some Sweet Almond oil, I have chosen to combine this with the ground almonds as it will act as a great moisturizer and will increase the potent effects of the Almonds.

Essential Oils of bergamot, Geranium and Sweet Almond OilGeranium Oil – is known to help balance skin, it has toning properties that will help tighten skin and prevent breakouts.

Orange Blossom Honey

Apparently, using honey in a face mask will help destroy bacteria and clear the pores.

With high concentrations of glucose, it kills bacteria and is the reason why honey does not need any preservatives and can be kept out of the fridge.

The antibacterial qualities can help prevent bacteria from re-forming in pores so that any skin that’s prone to acne will benefit from this ingredient. With all the glucose, it works like glycerine in that it acts by attracting moisture to the skin.

As I have Orange Blossom honey, this will work well combined with Orange Blossom Water, since this floral water acts as a mild astringent is also useful for oily and acne prone skin. It’s also great for mature skins as it works to promote healthy new skin cells.

Bergamot Essential Oil, is known for its stress relieving properties, it is a lovely natural sweet-smelling essential oil that works to help protect skin from infection and reduce hyper-pigmentation, fades scars, stretch marks and promotes even skin tone. Orange Blossom Honey and Ground Almonds

Ingredients

2 tablespoon of Almond Flour

1 teaspoon of Orange Blossom Honey

1 teaspoon Sweet Almond Oil

2 drops Geranium Essential Oil

2 drops Bergamot Essential Oil

1 tablespoon of Orange Blossom Water

How to make:

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together to form a paste. Add more orange flower water or honey to make the paste into your preferred consistency.

Smooth onto clean face with gentle circular motion to stimulate as you work the mask into your skin and leave for 15 minutes.

Relax in a bath soak with the scent of oranges, whilst the facemask gets to work, if you want to make the spa experience more indulgent – simply splash Orange Blossom Floral Water, along with oatmeal in a muslin bag tied to the taps for a moisturising batch soak.

Wash off the face mask with a towel with warm water after 15 minutes and use the Orange Flower water as a toner and apply your usual facial moisturizer.

Ahh I’m in orange heaven

Sunday Spa feature – A luscious lip remedy

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, Skin Care, Skincare, Wellbeing by

LEMON BALM lip salve

Lipsalve mix starting to solidify
Lipsalve mix starting to solidify
Finished Lipsalve containing lemon balm oil, with sweet almond, coconut and honey

Luscious Lemon Balm and Honey Lip Salve

We recently brought home some lemon balm to plant in our garden. Since this is a herb that is new to me, I looked up all the things you can do with it for natural skin care as well as in food.

It works great as an alternative to mint added to Iced Tea, and as a herb to add into salads, it is a great herb with medicinal properties that include helping to calm down anxiety and sleeplessness and as an aid for digestive health.

I’ve also read that it is a great herbal remedy for cold sores, which gave me an idea to find a way to incorporate it into a lip salve.

To get the herb into the lip salve, I created an oil infusion, so that the goodness of the lemon balm can be transferred into the carrier oil. It is simple to make and the process of infusing oils with different herbs and flavours can be used for other purposes – such as creating a lovely lemon oil to use in salads. I picked a small amount of the leaves of the lemon balm, which I then bruised in a pestle and mortar so that all the goodness of the plant can be transferred into the carrier oil.

To keep things simple, I’ve used Sweet Almond Oil as it’s a good carrier oil for aromatherapy massage therapies.  As I have no patience (if you want you can use dried herbs and leave in the oil to infuse over 4-6 weeks, leaving the mixture in a dark place)  to speed up the process for the infusion, I have gently heated the oil with the lemon balm and transferred this into a clean jam jar and left it to sit on the windowsill for a few days.

Once the colour of the oil has taken the colour from the leaves, the oil is ready to be used.

For the lip salve recipe, I’ve used the following combination:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of beeswax

1 tablespoon Lemon Balm infused oil

1 tablespoon of Coconut Oil (organic cold pressed)

2 teaspoon of honey

4 drops lemon essential oil, 4 drop Peppermint essential Oil

The amounts above makes 60ml of lip salve mixture, which would fit into 2 x 30 ml pots shown in the picture.

Making the lip salve is very easy. In a simmering pan of water, put a glass jug into the water, add the beeswax and wait for this to melt. I use the beeswax pellets as this is much easier to use than the large blocks of beeswax.

Beeswax melting with sweet almond oil and coconut oil

Beeswax melting with sweet almond oil and coconut oil

Add the lemon balm infused oil along with the coconut oil and wait until this is all melted into the beeswax.

Add the honey and take the mixture off the heat.

Add the essential oils (I’ve chosen Lemon and Mitcham Peppermint essential oils to intensify the scent of the lip salve).

Pour into the pots of your choice and wait for the mixture to solidify before use.

As the lip salve is made with natural ingredients, I am keeping the quantities made up small so that it can be used straight away. It should keep for around 4-6 weeks, and is a great way to keep lips soft.

For a beauty ritual that helps to maintain the condition of your lips, gently exfoliate lips to remove any dry or flaky skin (I use a toothbrush with soft bristles to do this, but you can also try using a muslin cloth) before applying the lipsalve at night before bedtime.

Red colour pork Chinese style with braised vegetables

Posted in At home, Food, Home, inspiration, lifestyle by
Red Pork Chinese Style

Red Pork Chinese Style

This one is a favourite dish of ours. Whenever we cook this, it is with guilty pleasure as the belly pork isn’t something that is exactly good for those who are health conscious.

I think though a little indulgence sometimes is also good for the soul.

We tend to cook this dish when the kids are staying with their grandparents. (My eldest insists that she does not like Chinese food and so far nothing has worked to persuade her otherwise. It is one of my disappointment, so we don’t cook this one very often).

The dish is actually called Hung Shao Pork, and if you were to say this in Chinese, the translation would be equivalent to Red casseroled pork. The red being the colour that the pork takes on as it slowly cooks and releases its flavour in the glutenous streaky fat running through the meat.

Chinese red pork casserole

Chinese Red pork casserole

Once the onions, garlic and freshly sliced ginger have been gently fried in some oil (sunflower is best as this is odourless) small batons of the belly pork that have been cut into smallish pieces and lightly salted (the size is approximately your little finger) is added and gently fried with the onions, garlic and ginger.

At this point, whilst it is sizzling away, dark soy sauce is added so that the rich dark flavour of the sauce will infuse and work its way into the pork. Add a splash of water and a splash of Chinese wine (if you have this to hand, If not, then some sweet sherry will also work in this dish). Honey added to sweeten the dish along with the saltiness of the Soy Sauce and Star Anise will make this dish rock.

You can use a saucepan or a casserole dish that can be used directly on the cooker, so no need for a wok if you don’t have one.

When the pork has been fried, turn down the heat to the lowest setting and then leave to simmer away for about 30-40 minutes, with the lid on, turning 2-3 times during the cooking time. The goal is to get the lovely pieces of pork to be slightly crispy, but also tender and juicy with the luscious red sauce coating it and making it sticky and oh so yummy to taste.

To balance the richness of the pork, we tend to cook some simple chinese vegetables – Pak Choi with some sugar snap peas, the crunchy sweetness of the sugar snaps are a great compliment to the pork. In fact any Chinese greens if these are available or in season. If not, then fresh brocoli or spinach also works well with this dish. The greens are gently braised in some water, lightly seasoned with salt, with the water not covering the vegetables completely, but as if you are using the liquid to fry the vegetables in.

Braised Chinese Vegetables

Braised Chinese Vegetables

Once the vegetables are just cooked, they can be just on the verge of being cooked, take off the heat and add a very small splash of sesame oil and soy sauce to taste, if you like (seasme seeds sprinkled over the vegetable at this stage will also be a tasty addition.

All of which is simply served with some fragrant Jasmine and wild rice.

Enjoyed with some light sparkling white wine as a balance to the richness of the pork.

Ingredients: 

1 pound of lean belly pork, including skin (bought as a whole large piece, cut into small pieces)

Approx 4 tablespoons of dark soy sauce

Approx 1 tablespoon of water

Fresh Ginger (small amount – roughly equal amount to the onion)

1 small onion

1 Star Anise

1 spoonful of honey (sweetness to taste – add more if you prefer)

Approx 3 tablespoons of Chinese wine (sherry if not available – taste and add more if you need to)

Sunday Spa feature – Luxury Shea Butter St Clements Hand Cream

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, lifestyle, Scent, Skin Care, Skincare by

ST CLEMENTS HAND CREAM (7)

Orange Blossom Water mixed together with Shea Butter, with Acetic Acid and Emlusifying wax
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream
Jar of St Clements Hand Cream

This is a simple way to enjoy the enriching benefits of Shea Butter in a hand cream, with a lovely light non-greasy mousse like texture.

Making this hand cream couldn’t be easier.

Shea Butter comes from the Shea Tree and is helpful for many skin conditions, especially dry skin. It contains vitamins A and E as well as fatty acids, plant sterols that are good for you. You can read more about it’s amazing qualities at the American Shea Butter institute.unrefined raw organic Shea Butter

I discovered the benefits of Shea Butter in a hand cream made by L’Occitane, it was given to me as a gift which I used every time I washed my hands after every nappy change, and because there were quite a few of these, my hands became very dry. The L’Occitane handcream was the only hand cream that helped. I love this cream and have the smaller sized version in my desk at work, and in my bag to use everywhere I go.

But since, I also like to make my own skincare, I’ve been experimenting to see if I can create one that has all natural ingredients without any commercial chemical preservatives that are necessary to extend the shelf life of the products.

I’ve chosen to use orange blossom water to use with the Shea Butter, as this too is great for skin, it is a mild astringent with antiseptic properties, it can be used as a toner for combination, oily and skin that’s prone to break-outs. (I’ve switched to using it as a facial toner during the summer) It’s also great because it helps regenerate skin and has relaxing and calming properties, mostly though I love the lovely floral citrus scent it leaves on the skin.

As I’ve added Lemon and Bergamot essential oils, to intensify the scent, I’ve called this mixture a St Clements Hand Cream.

The mixture is very light and is instantly absorbed into the skin and leaves a wonderfully fragrant orange and lemon scent (please note that since citrus can be photosensitive, it’s best not to use this if going out in direct sunlight. If you are trying this for the first time, do a patch test first).

Making the mixture, is very simple, it forms a creamy texture, so best to put it into a glass jar, than in a pump bottle as it turns into a lovely light mousse like texture.

To make the hand cream, simply put the shea butter, along with the emulsifying wax into a glass jug (it needs to be heat proof), in a pan of water that’s simmering, to melt the shea butter and wax together, once this has been melted, add the orange blossom water along with the acetic acid. Sift in Corn flour (I’ve added this to lighten the texture.

Don’t worry if it looks very runny at this stage, as it will solidify when it cools down to room temperature.

At this stage, whisk  (use an electric whisk for this part) to get air into the mix, you can carry on doing this until the mixture has cooled down, watch it turn into a white mouse like texture and then transfer into the glass jar of your choice.

Since this mixture is all natural, it contains no artificial preservatives, so I have kept the mix small and should last about 2-3 weeks.

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon stearic acid*

1 teaspoon of Emulsifying wax*

1 teaspoon of Beeswax*

7 tablespoons of Orange Blossom Water

2 heaped tablespoon of Shea butter*

10 drops Lemon Essential Oil

5 drops Bergamot Essential Oil

2 drops Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

1 teaspoon of corn flour

1x 100-150 ml glass Jar

Hmm I think I’m going to enjoy this as part of the Spa experience with the Indulgent Orange Blossom Hand Mask.

*I have included the product links here to where you can order the ingredients which you may find useful:

Stearic Acid for UK, Stearic Acid for the US

Emulsifying Wax for UK, Emulsifying Wax for the US

Beeswax Beads  for UK, Bees Wax Beads for the US

Organic Shea Butter Unrefined for UK

Organic Shea Butter Unrefined for US.

* Affliate links

Easy open chicken pie supper

Posted in At home, baking, Food, Uncategorized by
Chicken and shortcrust pastry bake

Open pie bake chicken slice

 

My hubby is such a creative cook.

This evening we were treated to this fab tasting open chicken pastry slice. He had originally bought all the ingredients to make a traditional chicken pie, but the warm weather meant it was going to be a bit too heavy for everyone to enjoy.

Instead, he laid out the pastry on a baking sheet and blind baked it for 5-6 minutes so that the base would not go soggy. (The pastry is one of those pre-made sheets you can get from any supermarket, so it’s really quick to make)

On top of the pastry, chicken fillet slices that had covered liberally with Pesto sauce was laid across the pastry sheet.

Easy chicken bake

Easy chicken bake

Over this,  were laid some lovely tender vegetables. As we had some spinach left over from last weeks organic veg box, we used these along with some colourful red and orange baby peppers and some baby tomatoes which were freshly bought from the supermarket that day.

They were drizzled with some olive oil, so that they would not burn in the oven and baked for 25 minutes on a temperature setting of 200 degrees c, we checked 5 mins before to see if it’s cooked.

Once baked, it was cut into 4 large slices and served with some French fries and French beans. (It can serve 6, but we were hungry)

And as usual there was no need to announce supper, the kids and our cats were hovering round the kitchen once the smell of the chicken baking in the pastry started to fill the house with its wonderful aroma.

Delicious!

 

 

 

 

Sunday Spa feature – Indulgent Hand Mask

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, Skin Care, Skincare, Wellbeing by

Orange Blossom Water

Since all the gardening and washing up have taken their toll on my hands, this is the perfect indulgent treatment to bring some much-needed moisture back to them.

This indulgent hand mask is so simple and quick to make.

As I have some Rolled Oats in the cupboard, this made the base for the moisturising hand mask.

I have simply added a tablespoon of lavender flowers to 3 tablespoons of the rolled oats and blended them together with the electric hand whisk to produce a fine powdery mix.

Rolled Oats & dried lavender flowers

Rolled Oats & dried lavender flowers

If you don’t have an electric hand whisk, then grinding the oats and lavender flowers together using a Pestle and Mortar will also release the lovely lavender scent and infuse it with the oats.

Oats are known to help sooth and heal the skin, reducing inflammation and soften skin. They have been clinically shown to help heal dry itchy skin.  Together with the calming scent of lavender along with its healing properties, the blend can be stored as a dry mix to use whenever you need it.

To create the hand mask, I have added to the mix some Orange Blossom Honey, together with some Orange Blossom Water. The mix should be fairly thick so that it spreads over your hands and forms the mask to cover your hands completely.

As I wanted to make this a luxurious spa experience, to begin the treatment, I splashed some Orange Blossom Water into a bowl of chilled water to wash my hands.

With the mixture ready, this was applied over my hands.

Orange Blossom Honey and Orange Blossom WaterLeaving the mask on my hands for 10-15 minutes, I sat in a bath soak whilst waiting for the mask to do their magic.

As I rinsed the mask away, I rubbed the mixture so that it gently exfoliated the skin on my hands at the same time, leaving them feeling wonderfully soft and silky.

I have not used any hand lotion, just patted my hands dry on a soft towel. My hands have been left silky smooth, with the orange blossoms and lavender making them smell fragrant, refreshed and well, revived.

Hmmm heaven.

Home Made Cuticle Oil

Posted in beauty, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

Sweet Almond Oil for home made Cuticle Oil

This week, I took the opportunity of doing some gardening with my kids and planted some lovely herbs. The combination of this and the broken dishwasher has meant my hands have taken a battering.

Since I have all the ingredients to make a home-made Cuticle Oil, I thought I would share this with readers of this blog.

Lavender and Lemon Essential OilIt’s so simple that it really requires very little effort and saves a great deal since I no longer purchase commercial cuticle creams or oils to condition my nails.

If you have some Sweet Almond Oil* or Olive Oil, these can be used as the base, both are perfect oils for conditioning and softening nails. Other oils to try are Coconut, Grape Seed, Jojoba oils.

The oils will nourish, add moisture and soften the cuticles.

I’ve used an empty essential oil bottle which I’ve washed out – but really you don’t need to do this if you are pressed for time as the one I’m using contained Tea Tree Oil,  any residue in the bottle will simply mix with the carrier oil.

Into this 10ml bottle, I have added just one drop of Lavender Essential Oil, along with Lemon Essential Oil. Sweet Almond Oil for making Cuticle Oil

Both the essential oils have been chosen for their cleansing, rejuvenating and healing properties. (Lemon is also antibacterial, used along with Tea Tree Oil, will combat against the threat of any infections.)

Mixed thoroughly, I have then applied this mixture using a cotton wool bud all over my nails covering the cuticles as well.

Left on overnight, my nails and cuticles feel stronger and the rough cuticles have been smoothed out. I didn’t even need to use a cuticle stick to push them back which I normally resort to.

Simple!

 

*If you would like to order the Sweet Almond Oil in the UK, the link will take you through to the product page on Amazon.

*If you would like to order the Sweet Almond Oil in  the US, the link will take you through to the product page on Amazon.

*These are affiliate links, which if you order through, a small commission is earned. Thanks in advance for using the links – any money earned will go towards maintaining the blog.

St Clements with Orange Blossom Water

Posted in At home, Drink by

St Clements & Orange Blossom Water

St Clements is the quintessential  English drink for the summer, made with equal parts of oranges and lemons.

I love squeezing the fresh oranges into a jug with a wooden Citrus Reamer.* There is something therapeutic about using this wooden utensil. Since all the juice gets squeezed through the pulp, I think the oils from the fruit are released with the juices as you squeeze, so that the air is filled with the smell of oranges and lemons and is just the best way to cheer up a dull rainy day.

It’s like sunshine in a drink.

I hold a sieve over the jug so that it catches the pulp bits to keep the juice clear.

The recipe couldn’t be any simpler – Oranges and Lemons in equal amounts, squeezed into a jug – about 3 large oranges and 3 un-waxed lemons.

Once you have squeezed the juice into the jug, add ice and water.

If the oranges are very sweet, then there’s really no need to add sugar. But if you are using the bitter variety or just want some sweetness, I think it goes really well with Honey.

For a Mediterranean feel, a splash of Orange Blossom Water will lift this drink. It’s difficult to describe, but if you like the scent of orange blossoms combined with citrus notes, then this is the perfect combination . It’s delicious with just a hint splashed in at the end with some fresh mint.

Of course, this is one of the many ways that Orange Blossom water can be used at home. It is a hydrolat, collected from the making of essential oil.

Bitter-orange blossoms are collected, washed and then crushed to release their scent into distilled water, gently steamed, so that the essential oil can be collected, what’s left is the scented water which is the hydrolat that can be used both in food and in  skin care and can also be used as a room scent, or even as a linen water.

In Morocco, Orange Blossom Water in a bowl of water is presented to guests so that they can refresh their hands when they enter the host’s home. I think this is such a lovely tradition, which has given me an idea for making an Orange Blossom Water hand wash and lotion.

But first, back to that St Clements….

*affiliate link

“Let the memory live again” – Cats the musical

Posted in inspiration, Musicals, Perfume by

Cats - the musical, Memories the song

 

Looking back to a time when I was at school, there is one memory that stands out that could be described as terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

If you were to visit the school on a regular basis you would soon realise that our Music teacher was the one that ran the school. She didn’t hold the official title of Headmistress or anything like that. She was a force to be reckoned with, no one ever spoke badly or her. Every one, whether you were a student or a teacher was slightly intimidated by her.

She reminded me of, well I didn’t know her personally, but Mrs Thatcher, a person who was strong-willed and determined to get things done, but with the quiet dignity of her generation.

I didn’t appreciate her, or what she helped me to achieve until much later. So going back to this particular moment in time, I was about 13 maybe 14 and she announced that everyone who was studying a musical instrument had to perform at the school concert. There was no reprieve, no excuses.

Since I was studying both piano and voice at the time, I was told that I should use the opportunity to sing.

With the song chosen, the day arrived. I was terrified as I stepped onto the stage, I don’t remember much about what happened next, except that it felt like the longest time passed between the first chords of the piano accompanying me starting and the final chord finishing the song.

There seemed to be the longest pause between that and the audience beginning to clap. I couldn’t see very well because the stage lights were blinding me, and as I heard the claps from the audience, my face started to turn blotchy and red with embarrassment. It was over finally and I could step down from the stage.

The choice of song could not have been less appropriate for a girl of 13, but the melancholy melody was spell binding. I had never been to see the musical, let alone read all of the poetry of T.S. Elliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Cats, so knew very little about the musical or the song.

But as my singing teacher played me the melody on the piano to me and I read the lyrics, I was hooked. It was beautiful and even though I didn’t appreciate their true meaning at the time, I liked the song.

Now, many, many years later, as I read the lyrics again, the words are now a poignant reminder of my memories as I watch my kids grow older with each day that passes by.

It reminds me that I too am growing older with more days to look back on, whilst my children have the days that stretch ahead of them to look forward to.

I understand the lyrics better and their meaning of a life well lived.

“Burnt out ends of smoky days
The stale, cold smell of morning
The street lamp dies in the cold air
Another night is over
Another day is dawning”

Grizella is the cat that sings this song, and if I could describe her personality through these lyrics as a perfume, then I think of Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, a rich decadent oriental scent that was powerful but feminine to the core. I remember the advertising, Linda Evangelista at the time representing everything I thought to be glamorous and powerful, it’s not for the faint of heart. I’ve wanted to wear this on many occasions, each time I pass by the Yves Saint Laurent beauty counter, I stop myself just short of getting it, largely because, it’s a heady scent and I think it would only be for very special and rare occasions that, well are too few and infrequent to justify at the moment.

The perfume’s potent message hasn’t changed, even with the latest advertising campaign featuring Emily Blunt:

This article was written for Wednesday’s On that Song feature on Chow Kim Wan’s blog about Musicals and various aspects of the shows. Wednesday’s feature is for other bloggers to share their song choices.

Sunday Spa feature – Home Made Lavender, Ylang Ylang Bath soak

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, inspiration, Wellbeing by

Dead Sea Salt and Lavender flowers

This is the first feature of many I hope to write about the lovely ingredients to try out to create a home spa experience.

As these lovely buds from the drying lavender looked so pretty, I have simply added them to the Dead Sea bath salts* that I have been using as a foot scrub/soak in one. If you are interested in making this you can find the post here.Dea Sea bath salts

For the bath soak, I have used the lovely flowers which were collected from the fresh lavender we picked last weekend, they have been slowly falling off the lavender stems as the bunches of lavender begin to dry out.

With a pestle and mortar, the lovely buds were mixed into the Dead Sea Salt granules. If you don’t have dead sea salt to hand, a coarse salt will also make a wonderful bath soak as it will soften the water.

I don’t usually make up more than a cupful at a time as the Dead Sea Salt* is a wonderful ingredient in that it attracts and retains moisture, so will turn to liquid if left exposed to the air.

To make this mix luxuriously moisturising, I have added some organic sweet almond oil, together with a few drops of the Carshalton Lavender Essential Oil to intensify the aroma.

There is no need to measure out the ingredients exactly. I’ve used a rice bowl to scoop out the Dead Sea Salt and added a handful of Lavender flowers, along with about a tablespoon of Sweet Almond Oil.

The only thing to be careful about is the amount of essential oils to add to the mix, for bathing, about 20-30 drops in a cup full of bath salts with the oil. will provide a sumptuous aroma that will fill the bathroom with scent. (As a precaution, it is always best to carry out a patch test if you have never tried any essential oils before – you can find out more about this in this article from Aromaweb.

I find that different scents evoke different memories or sensations, for relaxing, rejuvenating or calming, you can vary the essential oils based on your preference and the mood you want to create.

Ylang Ylang and Lemon essential oilsAs I wanted to recreate a lovely rejuvenating and relaxing experience, I have also added to the lavender mix a scent which always reminds me of the beautiful spa in Mauritius where we spent two idyllic weeks on our honeymoon.

Just a few drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil has conjured up the soft golden sands and the sound of gentle lapping waves of the Indian Ocean.

We discovered the Ylang Ylang plantation on Mauritius which we visited while we were there.

This beautiful scent comes from the Ylang Ylang tree, once the flowers from the tree have been harvested, the oil is distilled by forcing steam through the flowers to create the essential oil.

It was widely used by aromatherapists and while we were on the island, the aromatherapist explained that it is used as a spa treatment because of its many therapeutic benefits. Mostly, I think on the idyllic island setting it was chosen by the aromatherapist as it enhances the feelings of hope and joy. (It’s a bit of a cliché, to go on honeymoon in Mauritius, I know, but as it was a once in a lifetime experience, we took advantage of all the island had to offer).

I have also added some lemon essential oil which I find has a lovely refreshing scent of lemon groves which is perfect for this indulgent experience.

Once the mixture has been combined, a small handful of the bath salts were sprinkled into the warm water of the bath. As the mix can also be used as an exfoliation scrub, it can be applied over the skin and massaged gently for glowing skin.

I loved seeing the little lavender blooms bob around in the water, it was so lovely to waft in the scent of lavender and ylang ylang this morning.

Hmmm lovely.

*If you would like to order the in the UK, the Dead Sea Bath Salts link will take you through to the product page on Amazon.

*If you would like to order the  in  the US, Dead Sea Bath Salt the the link will take you through to the product page on Amazon.

*These are affliate links, which if you order through, a small commission is earned. Thanks in advance for using the links – any money earned will go towards maintaining the blog.