Category Archives: beauty

Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater Eye Mask, a delight for sore eyes

Posted in beauty, Skincare, Spa & Self-care by
Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater Eye Mask

Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater Eye Mask

I’ve not written a post for a few days, quite honestly this is because there have been a few late nights, combined with the summer heat, contact lenses and staring at a computer screen, my eyes feel sore. I mean really sore, the kind that feels as if you have sharp sandpaper in your eyes and are on fire.

By the time I got home last night, I needed something to help soothe my eyes. I’ve used cucumber slices before and they do help, but I needed something that would be potent and act quickly to relieve the sore tight feeling in my eyes.

I thought about this on the commute all the way home and I decided the best way to get results would be to mash up cucumber slices so that all the juice from both the flesh and the skin could be used.

I had recently purchased a bottle of Witch Hazel to try and make a Rosewater and Witch Hazel toner that was featured in Janis Natural’s blog. She’s got some great tips about natural beauty.

This was a good combination I thought. Witch Hazel is a natural astringent and is good for helping to soothe bruised skin. (It lists this as one of it’s many uses for Witch Hazel on the bottle I bought) Cucumber has lots of health benefits that is widely known and written about.

So here’s what I made:

Cut 4 thin slices of cucumber and chopped them up thinly. In a pestle and mortar, I mashed the cucumber up as much as I could.

Sliced Cucumber

Sliced Cucumber

Into the mortar a poured some Witch Hazel and added some Rosewater.

I combined this with the cucumber and let it sit until the cucumber, witch hazel and rosewater had infused and mixed with one another. I poured this mix into a small bowl over a small sieve so that all the solid bits of cucumber were removed. The remaining liquid was a lovely cool green colour and had a lovely cucumber scent.

Cucumber with Witch Hazel & Rosewater liquid

Sieved Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater

Using a couple of cotton wool pads I dipped them into the mix and squeezed out the liquid so it would not drip into my eyes.

I put these pads over my eyes once I’d removed my make-up and contact lenses and let them do their work for about 10 minutes – basically, I was so tired yesterday, I fell asleep in my daughter’s bedroom with the pads on my eyes as they were so lovely and cool.

When I awoke, my sore eyes felt much, much better.

There’s enough mix for a couple of days. Which is about right as I don’t think it can keep any longer than this, as it’s the freshness of the cucumber that I think makes it so powerful at combating sore and puffy eyes.

Do let me know, if you have a remedy for tired sore eyes, I’d love to find out about other ways to help de-puff sore eyes.

(BTW apologies for the slightly blurry, wonky photo in this post – I didn’t have my glasses or contact lenses in, which means I was as blind as a bat, when I took the picture.)

Lavender, lemon and Rosemary foot scrub and soak in one

Posted in beauty, Fragrance, Skincare by
Lavender and Lemon essential oil, with Dead Sea salt foot scrub

Lavender and Lemon foot scrub and soak in one.

Summer has finally and at last arrived. As I was sitting outside on the terrace at work, I thought how lovely everyone looked in their sandals walking about on the lawn.

My feet though felt hot and uncomfortable in the shoes I had been wearing, by the time I got home they were puffy and sore and all I wanted to do was plunge them in cold water.

So yesterday evening, I made this quick no fuss foot scrub and soak in one, which was inspired by a blog post by Emily Jefford about a sugar and coconut oil scrub she uses to clean her hands with after painting with oils, you can read it by visiting here.

I have major art envy, her paintings are exquisite and I have fallen in love with her summer collection, so am figuring out what I can do to save up for the set.

If you’d like to try out this version, which uses just coarse salt, so that you can use it as a soak for tired feet. (I wasn’t sure what soaking with sugar might do) The foot scrub couldn’t be easier to make. All of it is made with ingredients which most people should have in their cupboards:

Coarse salt

Essential oils

Fresh or dried herbs

Oil – either sweet almond or coconut

Lavender and Lemon essential oil with Rosemary and Dead Sea Salt foot scrub

Dead Sea Salt foot scrub

The one I made is with Dead Sea salt which you can get in a chemist or online. As I wanted it to be refreshing with the scent and a pick me up for hot tired feet after work, I used Lavender and Lemon essential oil. To exfoliate the skin, I mixed the Dead Sea Salt roughly with some dried Rosemary and a dash of sweet almond oil, along with a squirt of lemon juice (don’t use this if you have broken skin as it might sting).

Once all the ingredients have been combined, I sat down and rubbed my feet over a bowl of warm water. The coarseness of the Dead Sea Salt acted like a pumice and took the dry skin off.

Any flakes of salt or dried herbs that fell went into the bowl of warm water beneath. I poured the remaining salt mix into the bowl and let my feet soak for about 10-15 minutes.

Dead Sea Salt has many therapeutic benefits. In fact, I managed to snag a bargain as the bag I purchased had a big sign with an extra 25 percent included.

Here’s what it said on the back of the pack: Dead Sea Salt have a unique ability to attract and retain moisture. For dry skin conditions and aching joints, Soak for 20 minutes. This reminds me, I  will need to find an air tight container for the salt as it has a habit of turning to liquid though it’s still good to use in this state.

Bliss. My feet are literally tingling and feel like new. I think I’ll be wearing sandals tomorrow now that they have had a bit of TLC. My kids were a bit sceptical, they took one look at the mix and left me to it.  Just wait, once they’re older they will appreciate this recipe and I’ll be gloating with the Mum knows best smile!

Rosewater and Glycerine toner

Posted in beauty, Skincare, Wellbeing by
Rosewater and Glycerin toner

Rosewater and Glycerin toner

I love the floral scent of Rosewater. It is one of the most versatile ingredients to use both in beauty and in food.

Sometime ago, my daughter’s sensitive skin had a rash and as I was discussing this at work with a friend, he took me to one of the many shops along the Edgware Road that sells Middle Eastern ingredients for the local community that lived in the area.

He explained that his wife used Rosewater to soothe mild skin rashes for their children and it always worked. He showed me in the store where to find it, amongst the herbs and spices and explained that using the type of rosewater that is for cooking was better for the skin.

The bottle looked beautiful and I offered to pay him, but he said it was his gift. I took it home and that night applied it gently over the rash that was on her arm. After about a week the rash was gone.

Since then there is always a bottle of Rosewater in the bathroom, to use as a skin toner, refresher and of course as a tonic for irritated skin.

This is one of the simplest recipes for an all purpose toner and moisturiser in one, using just two ingredients.

Rosewater and glycerin. Both of which have properties that will make skin feel silky soft and refreshed.

I don’t really measure out the quantities, I fill up a 30ml bottle to nearly full and then add a small squirt of the glycerin into the bottle and shake well before use. I tend to use a cotton wool pad to apply, as the mixture is a liquid, like a toner.

If you have dry skin, add more glycerin. Your skin should not feel taught after using the toner and it has dried on your skin.

Making it in smaller quantities means it stays fresh and keeping it in the fridge, will make it extra cool and refreshing when you are feeling hot.
Embed from Getty Images

Peppermint & Citrus room spray

Posted in At Home, Fragrance by
Peppermint & Citrus room spray

Peppermint & Citrus essential oil room deodoriser

A few years ago, we had a downstairs cloakroom installed. It has been essential, in a house with young children. However, whilst useful, it does not have any windows, as it’s located beneath the stairs, a tiny room that was created from the broom/meter cupboard.

At times the air as you can imagine gets a little stale, even with the extractor fan on full!

There are a great many room scents available, but in a small enclosed space, I find the scent can be a little cloying, especially ones that are commercially made and created with synthetic fragrance.

If you have a spare 10 minutes and want to make your own, this is a very simple, but effective room scent receipe I have made from essential oils. It freshens without being overpowering.

Mitcham Peppermint oil is becoming a real favourite, the minty smell is both sweet and sharp. It really is like inhaling a peppermint sweet.

Mixing this with the citrusy scents of Bergamot and Lemon creates a refreshing scent that combats any whiffiness.

Ingredients:

100ml spray bottle – either new or one that has been cleaned out.

20ml vodka (used for dispersing/mixing the oils)

10ml vegetable glycerine (optional) used to help the oils disperse in water

70ml of distiller water

20 drops of Peppermint essential oil

20 drops of Lemon essential oil

10 drops of Bergamot essential oil

Put all the ingredients into the spray bottle, put the lid on and shake vigorously. That’s it.

The scent takes a couple of days to mature, if you think it isn’t strong enough or think it’s too peppermint or citrus, you can adjust it by adding in a few more drops of oil, whichever you want to get the scent you are after.

Jasmine and tea drinking

Posted in Food, Fragrance by

 

As far back as I can remember we drank Jasmine tea at our parents house. Even after setting up our own home, tea infused with Jasmine is my go to drink, especially late at night.

The lovely delicate scent of Jasmine seems so relaxing and familiar. I’ve tried lots of other teas, but always return to Jasmine.

I have often wondered why the beautiful little flowers are left in the loose tea.

Apparently, good quality tea that is infused with Jasmine flowers, goes through a time honored tradition of harvesting the Jasmine flowers late in the evening, just before the flowers open, so that when the flowers to open up and the scent is able to perfume the air, it is captured in layers of tea.

In China, Jasmine is used widely to scent a variety of teas, green, white as well as dark leaf tea. Traditions for tea drinking amongst the Chinese vary, but it is an important part of any social gathering or occasion.

The plant originated in Persia and was brought to China around 300AD and has been used in tea, but also used as perfume, in incense and traditional Chinese herbal remedies for improving liver function and for stress and anxiety.

I think that’s why it’s a favourite of mine. Occasionally, it is great to make a full pot of Jasmine tea, using the loose leaf type and let the steaming tea sit for while before drinking and although it takes a bit more effort to make and to clean up afterwards, it is worth taking the time out to enjoy the simple ritual of drinking tea. Most of the time, however, for convenience, though, I drink the green tea variety that comes in a bag.

The loose leaf variety can be found in most supermarkets, sometimes though I like to indulge and seek out a special blend which make the occasion of drinking the tea all the more special. I keep the tea in a small caddy from Whittards of Chelsea that was given to me as a gift one Christmas.

Mitcham Peppermint

Posted in At Home, Fragrance, Wellbeing by

Mint and Serendipity
Embed from Getty Images
A few weeks ago I decided to try and make home made skin cream. Embarking on this project was sparked by the idea for a family blog. If you are interested, it can be found here.

So having decided to make the skin cream, I ordered the ingredients I needed online. Since I had some peppermint essential oil, I discovered in a cupboard, I thought I would try making peppermint foot salve. You’ll find the recipe on the family blog if you are interested in making it.

The problem was that the peppermint oil was, well, past its shelf life. In fact the date on the bottle read 2008 and though it didn’t smell bad, I decided not to chance it and once again turned to Google to search online to find some peppermint oil.

The search resulted in a link to an intriguing description of Mitcham Peppermint essential oil.

Well, that was it, I had to order. Less than 3 miles from my house is the town of Mitcham.

When we moved to this area, we found out Lavender was farmed as a crop in nearby Carshalton. Apparently, the area isn’t just known for Lavender but Mitcham Peppermint. According to history books and information I found online, Mitcham and Peppermint goes way back, in fact back in time to a reference in a book written by Daniel Lysons called The Environs of London, written in 1792.

Wow, what a great bit of history about the area that I’ve discovered.

I’ve been using the footsalve for about 2 weeks now and all I can say is that it the texture feels indulgent and decadent. Best of all, the essential oils in the salve not only smell lovely, it has the effect of making my feet tingle. The sensation and scent of peppermint makes me smile, I look forward to kicking off my shoes and smoothing on the salve after a long commute home from work. History and indulgence, is this serendipity?

 

 

Hello world!

Posted in About, At Home, Family & Life, Fragrance by

Hello World

This is the first post from the Scented Abode, which is all about fragrance, aromas, anything really that provides inspiration for a home and life enjoyed through scents found in everyday things.

When people ask, “what’s your earliest memory?” 

All I could think of was that it was a sense of something, whilst it was very vivid to me, I found it impossible to describe, it was more of a sensation, a feeling that I remember as a very young child.

It wasn’t until much later, probably in my teens that I realised that it wasn’t a sensation or feeling, it was a scent that I associated with my home.

Outside the first house that I remember as a child, was a plant with white flowers. It climbed up the front of the house, I can’t remember exactly if it was a porch or just the drainpipe, but the flowery scent was so strong, it filled the air as I played outside.

Much later, while drinking a cup of Chinese leaf tea, it dawned on me, as I looked at the little white flowers bobbing in the mug, the scent took me back to the memory of playing outside our house.

It brought back the smell of the green plant with white flowers and I realised it must be Jasmine. It is and always will be a scent that brings familiarity and a sense of belonging to me.

Does that make sense? Perhaps I’m crazy. I’m hoping that there are a few people that can relate to what I’m writing about.

Please visit often. I hope to share different scents, discovered and enjoyed from childhood through to present day. Scents that have made a difference to me, my home, my kids and my family, whether they are small or significantly something that has changed my outlook, mood or simply something that’s just, well amazing.

I look forward to seeing you here.