This week we’re giving away two of our favorite oils: Napa Valley Organic Lavender Essential Oil and Cypress Hill Extra Virgin Olive Oil… produced by two of our favorite people: Bob and Sharon Kahn.
This gift brings back memories of our life in Firenze…where using all the products from a particular farm was part of our every day life. It gave us a sense of connection…to place, people and product. This sense made our experience with the products more enjoyable…more meaningful. Although we miss that life dearly, we are proud to be able to offer you these two amazing organic products from the Kahn’s Napa Valley Ranch, Cypress Hill. Cypress Hill products bring the same sense of connection as they are produced with the same amount of love and care…so I suppose it’s not about place but more about people…and the Kahn’s…well they are my kind of people!
Napa Valley Organic Lavender Essential Oil The lavender varietal, Angustifolia, is grown in the Western hillside of the Napa Valley by the Kahn Family. The lavender was harvested in July of 2010 and distilled immediately on the property. The stems are cut high so the distillation comes mainly from the flowers. The flowers are only distilled once to ensure the highest grade of essential oil and hydrosol is achieved. This production is very limited. Our yield this year was approximately 20 gallons in total.
Cypress Hill Extra Virgin Olive Oil The Kahn’s Cypress Hill Farm is home to over 2000 olive trees. All of them are handpicked to produce a luscious full-flavored field blend of unfiltered extra virgin olive oil. To the rustic, bold Italian Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino, and Moraiolo olives and the more fruity Spanish Mission and Manzanillos, they have added the mild, delicate flavor of their French Picholines — The best of all worlds!
You can enter the giveaway by answering the question below in the comment section of this post. Double your chances by commenting on our FB page too! Our giveaway will be live through Sunday. Monday morning we will pick a winner at random and announce it here on our blog and on our FB page.
Question: The slightest hint of a scent can bring back a powerful memory. What scent connects you to a happy memory?
This week we have the cutest giveaway ever — a set of three mini bath products!
Pink Himalayan Bath Salts Himalayan Salt is over 250 million years old, so it has developed quite a track record for its healing properties. For centuries it has been used in folk remedies for a variety of health issues including stimulating circulation, lowering blood pressure, and removing toxins such as heavy metals from the body.
Lavender Bath Milk We combine equal parts Dead Sea Salt and Organic Buttermilk Powder. The salt will detoxify your body and relax your muscles. The buttermilk powder is high in fat, and will leave your skin feeling very soft.
Bath Tea This bath tea combines several herbs that are known for their healing properties: Chamomile and Calendula cleanse and soften the skin, Rose petals sooth and calm dry sensitive skin, Lavender flowers help calm the nerves.
Our signature Organic Lavender Essential Oil has been added to all three of these products to bring calm and peace to your mind.
Don’t really take baths, or just don’t have one? No worries! The bath tea doubles as potpourri, and the bath salts or bath milk can be added to a basin of steamy water for a relaxing and therapeutic foot bath.
You can enter the giveaway by answering the question below in the comment section of this post. Double your chances by commenting on our FB page too! Our giveaway will be live through Sunday. Monday morning we will pick a winner at random and announce it here on our blog and on our FB page.
Question: What is your favorite quote?
Spring is officially here, and It’s time to chase away the winter dryness! Today we’re giving away two of our very favorite products. Exfoliate your skin to a healthy glow with our Sea Salt Scrub, and lock in the moisture with our Lavender Lotion.
You can enter the giveaway by answering the question below in the comment section of this post. Double your chances by commenting on our FB page too! Our giveaway will be live through Sunday. Monday morning we will pick a winner at random and announce it here on our blog and on our FB page.
Question: If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
Applying self-tanner – in theory – sounds like a fantastic alternative to baking under the UV dangers of a hot sun.
For the snow-sensitive among us (this winter totaled about 4 feet in my neck of the woods!), sun in a bottle is an alluring, over-the-counter temptation for countering the pasty-face blues.
But a recent reality check from my favorite green beauty author, Julie Gabriel (the green beauty guide), revealed that bronzer – not self-tanner – is the healthiest way to get your glow on. Here’s why:
• Self-tanners are made with dihydroxyacetone.
• Dihydroxyaceton (DHA) is 180% more prone to attracting free radicals (once-healthy oxygen molecules that are now overactive, unstable, and can damage skin) than untreated skin.
• So while you may be enjoying the immediate gratification of sunless, tanned skin, you’re actually applying an aging property to your face and body. Pass.
The Bronze Age
Gabriel recommends titanium oxide-based bronzers – not talc-based ones – with mica and iron oxides for coloring.
She also recommends blending some mineral or cream bronzer with your body oil or SPF-rated sunscreen lotion to get the safest healthy glow.
If it’s not one cold, it’s another! Even though the cold season is supposed to be nearly over, allergy’s are just around the corner. Here are some all-natural tips to help relieve sinus and chest congestion.
Loyal readers of our Napa Valley Bath blog may remember our lavender-infused sinus cure which combines organic lavender essential oil and steamy hot water resulting in clear-headed bliss.
In addition to lovely lavender, there are other all-natural aromatherapeutic blends that help relieve sinus and cough congestion with nary a prescription or co-payment in sight. Using essential oils and herbs for therapeutic use elevates them from simple perfume applications to powerful healing treatments.
Best of all, these are products you buy over the counter at your local grocer – far, far away from the pharmacy. They include:
Eucalyptus: a natural decongestant and expectorant
Rosemary: used for respiratory issues…but it fresh in the produce department and then use the rest on a rosemary organic chicken…another great cure-all!
Thyme: a natural antibacterial
There’s nothing fancy to using these herbs to help you breathe better. Simply boil some water, add one or more herbs (you can blend them or use them separately) and allow the steam to flow into your nasal passages. The essential oil versions of the herbs work as well.
Do you have any all-natural recommendations for relieving sinus or chest congestion? We’d love to hear about them!
