While donning our cool weather wear and warming up in wools, we may also be thinking about the coming holiday season. And gift giving. Perhaps a felted soap, homemade in a coat of Merino or Alpaca wool. Merino comes from the Merino sheep and Alpaca from the Alpaca. Alpaca may be slightly softer, while Merino may perhaps be slightly sturdier, but their properties are very similar. Both are renowned for their exquisite features and are considered among the best wools in the world. Consider a felted soap gift for yourself, family, friend, partner. Felt is unconditional love.…

Is there a connection between wearing lipstick and smoking cigarettes?More than one answer is plausible but we are thinking carbon black.  Carbon Black aka: D&C Black, acetylene black, thermal black, furnace black, channel black, lamp black and Black No.2 Found in: films, inks, adhesives, paints, plastics, cosmetics. Your car tire alone may contain 4 pounds of it. But we are interested in the cosmetic angle: mascara, lipstick, rouge, nail polish, brush-on brow eyeshadow, blushers makeup and foundation.   Carbon black is a natural carbon, but when altered it is no…

White, yellow, red or black, skin is skin and needy of good nutrition. The dry, oily, aging, unevenly toned, sun damaged or clogged pores affect all of us.  Advise on how to achieve healthy skin can be baffling at times.  We are told to avoid bar soap? I believe they mean for us to avoid the old fashioned ‘lye’ based soaps from the past. Ads and info sites advise to use instead, gentle liquid cleansers’, or if selecting a bar, use one with added moisturizing cream.  Our advice: DO use real bar soaps, not the detergent bars with the ‘additives’. Lye soaps are not the enemy. They…

The year was 2006. Arielle was only 17 when fate played its hand. She was young, spirited and full of energy. As an accomplished cross-country runner and like many dedicated athletes, Arielle experienced sore muscles after exercise. An over the counter medicine seemed like a good solution and she applied it regularly all over her legs. In addition, she used adhesive pads which, like her over the counter cream, also carried the anti-inflammatory drug, methyl salicylate. Had Arielle known the proper application, she would still be running. Instead of applying it sparingly and for no more…

"This Neem Salve is a LIFESAVER." Says Sabina, one of our valued customers. It saved her from a recurring rash on her face. She is one of many that have fallen in love with our salve. "Your neem salve has changed my life. No more breakouts." Says J.Smitty from Ontario. We hear... "Phenomenal" Or simply just, "Wow." Personally, I cannot get enough of the smell. Call me weird because not everyone loves the earthy natural scent of neem, and I didn't always. Perhaps it's an acquired sense, but after running out of x-cream for my dry hands (these 20 seconds washes have that tendency…

Masking is a challenge  To be effective, the mask needs to be snuggly placed across the bridge of the nose, flattened against the cheeks and secured under the chin. But all too often, we are witnessing on others, or perhaps ourselves, a mask that is too big or too small.  Masks that are so tight we feel the suffocation, so loose we hear the wind tunnelling, so misshaped it cannot even find the chin. But the worst is the mask that pops the nose.  In this scenario, the mask has dropped completely off the nose, still hiding the mouth but exposing the nostrils. This…

Back in the peak of the Black Death (1348-1350) when everyone was dying left right and centre, a quartet of thieves were captured and threatened with being burned alive for their crimes against the plaque victims. Let’s ask the thieves how they stayed safe. “Why,” implored the judge, “can you go about committing such horrific theft crimes against the ill and the dead and yet remain immune to this horrible plague? Tell me your secret and be spared the fire of death.”  The story goes that the four thieves, who were previously spice and perfume merchants, had lost their jobs due to the…

Dear Cosmetic World,  It’s all about the toner. We mostly love you, but true to form, you confuse us once again. What is the difference between a toner and an astringent and should we care? I think yes, but let’s read on.  A toner is water based. An astringent is alcohol based. At least it should be. Or used to be. There is the danger of drying out the skin with too much alcohol so astringents are mainly recommended for the oilier skin types. But caution is advised. When people cleaned with regular bar soaps and heavy cold cream, residues on the skin were a huge issue. Cold…