Our July Venue Dates...

Here are just a few dates for your diaries...we would love to see you and these are great days out for all the family too!

Friday to Sunday         4th - 6th July        Wildlife Game Fair at Scone Palace
Saturday & Sunday     12th & 13th July    Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Rally
Sunday                      13th July               Highland Liliums Garden Centre
Friday & Saturday       18th & 19th July    Loch Lomond Highland Games
Saturday                    26th July              Speyfest, Fochabers
Saturday                    26th July               Nairn Show

A Must For Cleansing Sensitive Skin

For those with sensitive skin, particularly prone to problems such as eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis it can be difficult to trust soaps not to further irritate.

Commercial soaps, even the ones that promote themselves as ideal for sensitive skin are full of chemicals that aren't present in those that are handmade and organic.  All our soaps are made with organic oils and butters that are picked for their benefits to your skin such as Olive Oil (for its mildness) or Cocoa Butter (with its extra moisturising).  

We also make them in small batches of 24 large bars and 24 small bars, this is to give you the freshest soaps we can and to give you peace of mind too!  We offer sample packs of our small soaps for those not sure which soap is best for them, including our popular Goat's Milk and Honey & Oatmeal Soaps.

In our range of organic soaps we have something for everyone, from teenagers (Honey & Lemon Soap), to gardener's (Patchouli & Lemongrass or our new scrubby Kitchen Soap), to those who are prone to dermatitis (Bergamot & Patchouli Soap)

Benefits of Avocado Oil

Avocado is often overlooked by many when looking for an effective and moisturising oil for their skincare.  It's great for not only softening the skin but those with acne prone or mature skin with it's high levels of vitamins B6, C, D, E, K as well as folic acid and potassium.

 

Avocado oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, it also has high levels of anti-oxidants (useful for healing sun-damaged skin during these summer months).  

We use avocado because it's easily absorbed into your skin (even though it's a medium weight oil), making it ideal for that dry, itchy skin prone to eczema and psoriasis, acne prone and mature skin! 

Avocado Oil is in our organic Bergamot & Patchouli Soap and our organic Chamomile & Geranium Body Butter, keep an eye out for more information about the other ingredients we use.

Progress in the garden...

With us so busy getting ready for the summer in the workshop, the garden has been slightly neglected - but we still have some strawberries, unless the birds get them first!  See the progress our poor wee plants have...

Coriander for carrot soup...

Home grown carrots are the best...

I don't know about you, I just love home made carrot soup with lots of fresh coriander...great hot or cold in the summer!







In the greenhouse there is an abundance of tomatoes for salads and soups, we also have tasty courgettes...

Heaps of tomatoes...

Tasty courgettes too!

Grab these before the birds!

Sometimes it's a fight to get the strawberries first (the birds always seem to get them), and I can't wait till my apples and blueberries are ready too!

Scrumptiously good apples...

It's Bath Bombs in the Workshop today!

With summer well on its way, we have been busy in the workshop today making a variety of our large bath bombs which are great for giving your skin some loving care...

Although our bath bombs are made with just baking soda and citric acid, they can be a little temperamental putting them together - they tend to split or crumble when we don't pay them proper attention!  These beauties will be on their way to Kishorn along with some of our Highland Midge Lotion to keep the locals bite free, just love making the bombs because the workshop smells truly divine.

We have Lavender with Calendula to help you get a good night's sleep, Geranium with Rose to give you a little relaxing and pampering, Ylang Ylang to soothe and calm and finally Tea Tree and Peppermint to revitalise and refresh after a long day.

Highland Midge Lotion

No matter where we are when we go to our venues we are always asked how good our Highland Midge Lotion actually is...

We tend to have samples out on the table for everyone to try and they  are pleasantly surprised at how nice it smells, it's not too overpowering but still extremely effective at keeping pesky insects at bay!   

There has been times where we think we are safe from getting bitten only to find out a little later on it's not the case (usually when the itching starts), our lotion stops the midges biting, it is soothing to the skin too!


When we formulated this lotion, we were wanting not only to stop the insects biting but care for your skin whilst doing so.   

To do this we started researching effective natural ingredients and found some interesting information about Neem Oil - it's a natural insect repellent and all round good at healing too (it has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-septic and anti-fungal properties).  

We also balanced this up with proven to work essential oils - Bog Myrtle and Lemongrass - tried and tested!  We also have Aloe Vera, Mango Butter and Jojoba Oil to moisturise, and soothe the bites you have.  

Here is just some of the benefits of this lotion...

• natural insecticide/insect repellent
• non-greasy, quickly absorbed, easy to apply and suitable for everyone
• has a pleasant citrus-earthy scent (not too strong either)
• 99% effective against mosquitoes, midges, horse flies, ants, ticks...and lots more!
• soothes your skin after bites, relieves the itch and redness too
• kind to the environment (recyclable packaging, handy sized bottle too
• can be taken with you on holiday, home & abroad (non-aerosol bottle)

If you like taking long walks through the woods, golfing, fishing or anything outdoors, this lotion is a must to have!  I would love to hear your stories about your encounters with our native pest...please leave your feedback below.

Benefits of Macadamia Nut Oil

The beauty of this oil is its naturally high levels of your skins building blocks, omega 7 (palmitic fatty acid) as well as regeneration and moisturising properties from the omega 9 (oleic fatty acid)!

Macadamia Nut Oil is particularly suited to those with dry, mature skin with the omega 6 (linoleic fatty acid) present which reduces water loss from your skin...perfect for parched, dehydrated skin!

Overall Macadamia Nut Oil is light weight, non-greasy and helps to reduce itchiness, inflammation and protective (aiding in your skins recovery if damaged).  

One of the reasons why we have it in our Lavender Body Butter, Tea Tree & Peppermint Body Butter and Strawberry Lip Balm is to pass these benefits onto our customers, with the bonus of the other ingredients too!

Tell us what you wish to know more about next by leaving your feedback in the comments below.

Home Remedies for Sunburn

We all look forward to the summer when we can cast of our winter woollies and into summer clothes, and we think nothing of spending all day outside in the sun whether it be in the garden, away on holiday or just relaxing. 

While sunburn is very common, severe cases can leave you very uncomfortable and sore and if left untreated can lead to skin cancer.  Here are some great ways to treat sunburn at home; honey is an excellent emollient and healing salve applying this to sunburn skin not only helps to soothe the injury but the natural microbials helps to stave off infection and hasten the healing process.  

Honey by itself might prove to be a bit messy though, why not use our Honey & Oatmeal Soap instead?.

Peppermint will soothe and cool the skin and like honey it's natural anti-microbial properties  help to prevent infections and aid healing it's analgesic propeties will help with the discomfort.  

Relax after a full day in the sun with our Tea Tree & Peppermint Bath Bombs, we have our mini's in bags of 20!

Yoghurt helps provide relief for moderate to severe sunburn as the lactose found in yogurt will not only nourish the skin but quicken the healing process.  The microbes will also help prevent any infection.

We would love to hear how you relieve your sunburn, leave your comments below...

A Kick Start To Our Season...

After a super weekend, we are happy to be busy in the workshop now making some more of our Highland Midge Lotion along with some more of our creams...had a fabulous sunny day for Taste of Grampian and the Cairngorm Farmers Market, sadly for mum it rained most of the day at Strathmore Highland Games.

 

We had a lovely time at Taste of Grampian at Inverurie meeting old and new customers, who had fun trying samples of our products.  Everyone was pleasantly surprised at how nicely scented the Highland Midge Lotion was (we almost sold out!) and at how well everything absorbed into their skin - non-greasy, particularly the body butters...

We also had a good turnout for the Cairngorm Farmers Market at Grantown with the sun shining all day (with just a light shower of rain in the afternoon). 

Have a look at where we are next on this post...remember to leave your comments below.

Why should we use face masks?

To get the best possible result of any skincare routine, you should always make time for facial masks...these will take the impurities from your skin that regular cleansing can't.

 

Applying facial masks helps remove dead skin and unclogs pores, they also help stimulate blood circulation and leaves your skin feeling smooth.

 
Any facial masks that you use will only need to be applied twice a week for normal/oily skin and once a week for sensitive skin.

We have a mild, gentle mask for those with sensitive skin.  It has buttermilk, banana powder and kaolin clay to provide the best detox we can that extra gentle too.

For normal/combination skin, we have apricot, mango and honey to provide balance to your skin.

We also have a deep cleansing mask for those who suffer from oily/acne prone skin.  It has Bentonite and Fullers Earth for detox as well as raspberry seed powder to cleanse.

All you have to do with any of our masks is to add liquid (such as water, milk or even some fruit/vegetable puree) to about a teaspoon of the powder, make into a paste and then apply to your face (avoiding your eyes).  

Leave to dry then rinse off when the mask has changed colour...don't leave it to go completely dry (flaking/peeling) as this will strip too much of your skins natural oils away.

I would love to hear your stories about how you have gotten on with our facial masks, please leave comments below.

Benefits of Borage Oil

What do you know about Borage? See here why we use it?

Borage oil is great for conditioning your skin with its high levels of Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA), although we can't produce ourselves it is something our bodies need.  

It will regulate the moisture levels in skin so that it doensn't dry out so quick, and it's also prized for its anti-inflammatory properties (making it ideal for skin problems such as eczema).  It's quickly asborbed into the skin increasing flexibility and suppleness.

This is just one of the many ingredients that we put into our Vitamin Rich Body Cream which is why it is so good for your skin.

I will be highlighting more ingredients soon, but I in the mean time if there is anything you would like to know about our ingredients please leave a comment below.

Thoughts for Summer...

I think everyone loves the summer when we start thinking of barbecues and picnics...inviting friends over and just having fun!  I have come across some recipes that will go down a treat with all your family and friends, kids included!

For the adults, this tea will help with the over-indulgence and can be prepared in advance with enough left to give as gifts afterwards too!

Zest of 2 lemons, zest of 2 oranges, 3 inches of ginger (peeled and finely chopped), ½ small fennel bulb (trimmed and finely chopped), 1 cup of mint leaves, 1 cup dried apricots (chopped). 


Preheat oven to 250F, toss the zest, ginger and fennel together onto a greaseproof paper lined baking tray. Scatter the mind onto a second greaseproof paper lined tray and bake, rotating trays and stirring occasionally, until both are dried out. It'll take 10-15 minutes for the mint and about 40 minutes for the fruit mixture. Set aside to cool. 


Crumble the mint into a medium bowl, then add the fruit mixture, the dried fruit and toss. Steep 2 tablespoons of the mixture together with 1 cup hot water for 3 to 5 minutes per serving. Strain and serve.  This mixture can be stored in an air-tight tin before use.  Here are more recipes like this...wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes

For the perfect home made Lemonade:

1 cup sugar (can be reduced to ¾ cup)

1 cup water (for the sugar syrup)

1 cup lemon juice

3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

1. Make the sugar syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. 
2. Whilst the sugar is dissolving, juice 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice. 
3. Add the juice and the sugar syrup to a jug. Add the rest of the water, more or less to the desired strength. Refridgerate for an hour. If the lemonade is a little sweet, add a little more straight lemon juice to it. 
4. Serve with ice and sliced lemons.

Have a look here for more inspiration...