To me, summer is synonymous with the bright, cheery disposition of citrus fruits. Tangy, juicy and tastes great as a cold drink (who doesn’t think of lemonade or orange ice pops?), citrus fruits are best enjoyed on a hot day. I always keep a bottle of sweet orange essential oil for the very purpose of cheering me up!
And, as you probably know, they also work great as DIY beauty treatments! Try these 10 easy to make DIY beauty treatments at home using various citrus fruits, and chill out this summer!
Vanilla Orange Body Scrub
Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural sea salt
1/2 cup white or brown sugar
1/2 to 1 cup olive oil
Zest of one orange
2-3 drops orange essential oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and salt using a spatula.
Zest the orange, then finely chop the zest. Set aside.
Add the oil a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Add enough oil to make a spreadable paste that will easily glide over your skin.
Add the zest, then the essential oil and stir. Add the vanilla extract last and stir again.
Use the scrub all over except on sensitive areas such as face, freshly shaved legs, etc. If you use it before your shave, it gives you a smoother shave. Massage your entire body gently allowing the oil to soak in. Pay special attention to knees, elbows and feet.
2 tablespoons baking soda
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon mild shampoo
*Yields 2 ounces — enough for one treatment
Directions: Mix together all the ingredients until well blended. Wet hair and massage the mixture onto your hair and scalp, making sure hair ends are coated. Cover hair with a plastic bag or shower cap and leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse hair well and shampoo as usual.
Combine the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes. If you notice that there are large chunks of almonds left then blend again. It may help to crush the almonds pre-blending!
Wash your face with your normal cleanser and pat dry. Apply a generous amount of the mixture to your face and spread it evenly. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes or until it has hardened. Rinse with warm water. Make sure you remove everything. Splash your face with cold water to tighten pores and then gently pat dry.
Grab a bowl and mix the pulp of the two fruits with honey. The fine paste should be applied on your complexion and neck. Leave at least 15 minutes, then rinse it off with lukewarm water.
Place oats in a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender. Blend/grind until oats become a powder. Place cornmeal, ground oats, and salt in a bowl. Mix together to blend. Then add essential oil and stir to distribute throughout. Place a ½ cup of scrub into a bowl and add water a little at a time (and stir),until a grainy paste forms. Rub paste onto feet, paying extra attention to any rough areas. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Finish by applying moisturizer or body oil to your feet. Rinse tub immediately to be sure the cornmeal doesn’t swell and clog up the drain.
Mix the two ingredients thoroughly. Put the mixture in your hair and let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. If you can, sit outside in the sun to help lighten the hair.
Make the rose or lavender water by placing a small handful of dried organic rose petals or lavender in a pint mason jar and adding boiling water to cover. Let steep overnight, then thoroughly strain. Combine the remaining ingredients in a glass jar and shake to blend. Dab some on your fingers or a cotton ball and massage into your skin. Keep toner stored in the refrigerator for no more than two weeks.
Just mix it all together and put into a container. If you want easier mixing, melt the coconut oil first and then let harden before using.
Lemon and Brown Sugar Lip Scrub
One tablespoon of raw cane sugar or any kind of coarse brown sugar
One tablespoon of a base like petroleum jelly, Smith’s Rosebud Salve, or Waxelene
Five drops of lemon essential oil (or orange, lavender, etc. if you want to get creative with it)
A mixing bowl, measuring spoons, and a teaspoon for mixing
Combine one tablespoon of base with the lemon oil, and mix the two until they’re uniform. Then, pour a tablespoon of cane sugar into the mix, and stir until the consistency is even. When you’re done, the scrub should have a thick texture that makes it hard to get off the spoon. Because the mixing process heated up all the oils in it, you’ll probably want to toss it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to get it back to its normal state
Leeona (blue shirt) and Ariel (red top) Emerald, Delizioso Skincare founders and sisters!
Today, I’m very excited to present you, my lovely readers, with an exclusive natural beauty interview from the founders of Delizioso Skincare, one of Canada’s most prestigious spa quality and truly natural beauty businesses in the world! They’re like a diamond in the rough, a refreshing, fun change to the stoic, sometimes too serious and “earthy” organic beauty companies out there.
For those who like flower, fruity and food inspired scents (along with their respective skin and hair benefits!) in fun, colorful packaging and super quality, pure ingredients, Delizioso Skincare’s definitely your answer.
ATL INTERNATIONAL, Delizioso Skincare’s parent company, was founded in 1996, and is headed by Dr. Mila Emerald, Ph.D., Dr. Sc. The company supplies natural raw ingredients all over the world to large, high-end cosmetic companies and small ones alike. ATL INTERNATIONAL has over 5,000 items in stock, including analytically tested essential oils and natural raw supply.
Around six years ago, Dr. Emerald’s daughters Ariel and Leeona Emerald started to blend and mix around skincare products on their own. While they did receive some initial guidance, they ultimately had to learn how to formulate and develop on their own.
That became the founding footsteps of Delizioso Skincare, which is highly successful today and quickly expanding at retail stores in Canada and all over the web!
Ariel and Leeona also have their own natural beauty retail shop featuring their many brands at The Natural Beauty Store, and will be opening their own natural beauty deluxe sample subscription service, The Natural Beauty Box! Get ready – it’s going to be FANTASTIC!
Delizioso means delicious in Italian. It definitely fits the theme of the brand’s yummy scents and blends! But what exactly inspired you to call it “delicious”, and why in Italian?
Ariel & Leeona: Delizioso does in fact stand for delicious in Italian, and the name was just out of the blue. In around 2007, we began to delve into formulation of skincare and cosmetics and it was tough. Especially natural skincare. Let’s just say that we spent A LOT of material testing and experimenting.
At the time, our first skincare project was called AL Natural Cosmetics, the A standing for Ariel and the L for Leeona. We were just on the brink of launching some products to market test when we came out with a three item toner kit. It was fruity, colorful and fun, and didn’t fit into the collection or vibe of AL Natural Cosmetics.
We were still at the experimental stages of development, so we thought, Hmmm…These are really delicious, maybe we should start a new line or brand, focusing on fruity and yummy products. We came up with a name, Simply Delicious, but decided it didn’t sound right. That was the moment our greatest partner in this venture, our Mom, said “Delizioso” and it felt perfect.
Was there a life-defining moment that made your minds click and decide “This is the day I’m going to start a successful natural and organic skin care company!”? I love finding out the reasons why founders decide to pursue such an endeavor.
Ariel & Leeona: Like we previously said, it all started with the inspiration we were brought up with and of course dwelling into skincare took a lot of experimentation. We were always researching the nasty ingredients on labels and trying to do DIY at home formulations to avoid them. We truly believe natural and Certified Organic IS much better for skin. Studies even show the proof of how potent antioxidants help skin in many ways, including aging. We love health, and life is only once, so one day we decided to start and stuck to it.
Another thing was that we love(!) art, and anything creative, so we design all the labeling, packaging and make the product ideas ourselves. That whole aspect, and providing consumers with top quality products was as exciting as ever.
Ariel: Yeah, Leeona is awesome with photo retouching! That’s her expertise.
Is there any reason you chose the specific fruits and plant scents that you did for the brand, such as Chocolaty Strawberry and Basil? Personal favorites of yours, inspiration from last night’s dessert, or trying to fill a niche of scents no one else likes to cover? Would you consider expanding with new scents?
Ariel & Leeona: Well, we definitely started with less scents than we now have. The scents did evolve through customer requests and opinions and yes, inspirations to have an ideal scent for different preferences.
Ariel:Chocolaty Strawberries came from the idea of chocolaty dipped strawberries, yum! You don’t see much scents like that around. (Editor’s Note: Indeed! It’s one of my favorite scents at Delizioso!)
Leeona: And we did add two new flavors to our collection in the fall of 2011, Coconut Melon and Tropical Pomelo, which has now become my favorite.
Ariel: We are open to scent ideas and do want to expand the scent range, but bit by bit as we don’t want to end up with hundreds, and it takes a bit of work to launch a scent.
Your Natural Antioxidant Preservative blend is very intriguing and mysterious – and super effective. Can you reveal the basics behind it and why it contributes to a relatively long shelf life, or is that a secret?
A little more info about the preservative:
The technology that is used for creating this preservative is using essential oils and botanical derivates to protect products from spoiling. Not only does the preservative which uses the highest level ORAC antioxidants protect the product but it also adds benefits to the use of our products. The preservative mainly consists of: Raspberry Extract, Rice Bran derived Vitamin E, Elderberry Extract, Blueberry Extract, Burdock Root Extract, Mango Extract, Green Tea Extract, Nettle Extract, Grape Fruit Extract, Tea Tree Leaf Extracts, and Barberries.
Ariel & Leeona: The preservative formula wasn’t formulated by just us two…It’s something ATL INTERNATIONAL made on a scientific basis, and we are so glad to have it at specific ratios that have been tested with gram negative and positive bacteria, as well as fungi. It is a patent pending formula and has been tested by ATL’s analytical tests. The whole aspect of Delizioso Skincare is being full of antioxidants and totally delicious. Having a choke full of antioxidant extracts in the formula not only helps skin, it preserves the formula. But another big fact is that instead of using water we use hydrosols and aloe.
Tell me more about you. What did you do before starting Delizioso? What do you like to do in your spare time? Does the whole family help out with the business?
Ariel & Leeona: We’ll go separate ways on this one. But yeah, we are sisters and were introduced to the industry by our mom (Dr. Mila Emerald).
Ariel: Career wise I was still in school when we began Delizioso Skincare. I actually play competitive tennis, so on court is where you would see me a ton. I enjoy a natural and healthy lifestyle, have to have my daily dose of music, love summer, write YA Fantasy novels, and love to write and play music. During work hours you’ll probably find me on the computer. We also do web design so we have loads of work, but it’s all well worth it. Of course formulating and just having a great time out is awesome.
(Editor’s Note: I used to play recreational tennis with my Mom in Hawaii as well! I’d love to hear your music someday. :)
Leeona: Like Ariel, I also play tons of Tennis. In fact, we always practice together. We have two turtles which I adore, a common snapping turtle and a western painted, as well as beautiful white Akita (dog) and hermit crabs. Overall, I love all animals. I’m just on the verge of starting my book, and I read and edit Ariel’s awesome fantasy novel, as well as give my opinion. I photoshop tons of product pictures, and on our free time, we do sometimes play computer games, but we’re dedicated to what we do and invest tons of time and love into skincare and the natural industry.
(Editor’s Note: Turtles are some of my favorite animals as well, and the Akita are a gorgeous breed of dogs. I’m also a gamer, so I’m curious as to exactly what games you play! :D)
There are lots of natural and organic beauty companies trying to make their unique mark on the industry. In your words, how exactly does Delizioso Skincare stand out with their skin care, bath & body, hair care and cosmetics?
Ariel & Leeona: Not only are we simply 100% natural, free of any lies and toxic chemicals, we also seek innovation in every single product. For example, our Mangosteen & Acai Vita Burst was a fresh take on the industry with the micro burst beads filled with actives and the combination that truly does wonders for skin. We do not water down our products. All our ingredients are tested, so even if we are using Vitamin E, it is non GMO and rice derived. The tough thing about the industry is that sometimes we see natural creams formulated without an emulsifying ingredient and because we formulate products ourselves, we can see how that’s simply impossible, but often, consumers don’t know.
We have a fresh take on cosmetics. For example, the foundation from Delizioso Skincare works not only to create a flawless complexion, but it works as an anti-aging treatment, an anti-infllammatory, it nourishes skin and it is antioxidant rich. We use targeted scientifically proved ingredients in every formula and spend a lot of time on research and analysis. Also, being that we have access to great Natural Raw Supplies, many of our oils come from fields grown for ATL INTERNATIONAL in for example Bulgaria (i.e. the rose oil in the Bulgarian Rose Facial Moisturizer). We also highly focus on variety, so that there is something truly natural for every preference.
Do you think the company will be large enough to open stores in the States or worldwide, or would you rather stay close to home (Canada) for the time being?
Ariel: For sure! Though we did start in 2008, the full range you see now with the design only developed early 2011. Currently, we are settling a deal to have our products carried in NY and they are soon coming to the Beauty Army! As for our store, The Natural Beauty Store, we’ve been open for probably a month so we’ll see how it goes from here.
Leeona: Totally. It’s an exciting time for us now, and we are looking for wholesalers. We have great deals and high quality products that will appeal to consumers.
Are you planning to add more products to the brand? Can you tell us which ones – any hints? :)
Ariel: That’s the problem. We come up with ideas non-stop. To keep it serious, yes, we can give you guys a sneak peak. We’ve just added (and these are coming up on the website) Hand and Body Foams. You can see one in demo in our video about SLS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYOZSbEloIc. They are going to be available in all the scents and you can get a refill for quite the discount and save your pump! Totally eco.
Leeona: That’s not all :) Mid summer, we are coming out with Silky Solid perfumes, possibly a new scent (still looking over requests and thinking on it) and a Nettle & Herb Acne Line.
Ariel: Well, we just came out with a huge amount of cosmetics.
I’ve noticed you folks have started a Youtube channel featuring Delizioso Skincare products. They’re very helpful, and serve as educational how-tos, market the products and show us how they work as an impromptu beauty review – all great things! What’s your ultimate goal with the channel?
Ariel & Leeona: We’ve been thinking about doing this for a while. There are only 24 hrs in a day though, and we thought that if we start this, what we never want is a channel that doesn’t constantly update and keeps their viewers up to date. First of all, we’re glad you like it, Jean! Our ultimate goal is educating everyone about what we know about natural skincare. We have SO many ideas and we DO take requests. We will be doing DIY recipes, reviews, eco tips, cosmetic application, and much more.
This channel is meant for us to share everything we know about what is toxic and what is healthy and the products we recommend. We want to show you guys how natural makeup can be applied, what products are available, what you can do yourself at home, and what we made for you and why. Look out for ingredient spotlights, and we also will be reviewing other green companies and doing tons of giveaways! (Yay, free stuff!)
Where do you see Delizioso in 5 years, and what are your personal goals for the company?
Ariel & Leeona: I see us really developing worldwide and having more and more people get to know Delizioso. I see us expanding as much as we’ll be able to, but the one thing which will never happen is not keeping up with quality. We knew a lady who manufactured lip balms and began to sell to Wal-Mart and the whole formula went just…yeah.
No matter what, Delizioso will always be 100% devoted to the highest of standards and not fully commercialized. We will always have individuals that will be more than happy to advise and assist customers with their skin.
And finally, what is your personal favorite product out of the brand, and why?
Ariel: OMG, I knew this was coming. So hard. I guess this is my fave product to use and I use so many of them. From the Body Care, I would have to say the Cranberry Lemon Body Butter and from the Facial Care, the Cucumber Cooling Facial Moisturizer. I love the sourness of the cranberries and the scent of cucumbers, yum! The must have for me would probably be the foundation, though, and I use in Neutral-Beige. Unlike many other foundations, it doesn’t really look like you are wearing a foundation when you are wearing it, so I love that. I also REALLY LOVE facial oils.
Leeona: Yep, Ariel does love facial oils. We’re in fact having a facial oil application video coming up soon. As for my favorite product, I’d have to say either the Tropical Pomelo Coconut Milk Soap, or the Vanilla Almond Coconut Milk Soap. Those things are just so HUGE and don’t dry out skin like lots of other soaps. There’s not one product from Delizioso Skincare I wouldn’t love using.
Jean: Thank you SO much for the wonderful interview, you two! :) I know how busy you are and taking the time to answer these for Garden of Beauty exclusively is such a treat (pun intended) – I’m so thrilled!
Ariel & Leeona: Thanks so much, Jean, for having us on your blog. We love that you love Delizioso and hope you’ll get to try out more of the products soon! For any of your lovely blog readers, we will give you guys a FREE mini size of the chocolaty strawberry body cream with an order of no minimum, just give us the code: GARDENBEAUTY when you checkout in the order comments section. Stay natural!
WOW! That was extremely generous of Ariel and Leeona – take advantage today and get a free mini size of the scrumptious choocolaty strawberry body cream (my review on it is here) with ANY order size! Remember to include the code above and mention that you got it here at Garden of Beauty. I guarantee you’ll love their natural and organic beauty products. :)
The chamomile is a beautiful and fragrant group of plants and flowers that closely resembles the cheerful daisy. Chamomile has several species – some can be used as the popular herbal tea, while others are not edible and are mainly used for aromatherapy or beauty related purposes.
The wild chamomile variant, or Matricaria recutita, is used for the aforementioned tea. Drinking chamomile tea provides an increase of glycine in urine, which relieves muscle spasms and is widely known as a muscle relaxant. It can also relieve anxiety and insomnia.
The German variant of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla ) has a honey-like scent. Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis ) oils have a fresher and fruitier fragrancethan their German counterparts. Both versions, as well as their essential oils, share many of the same characteristics. They’re antibiotic, antiseptic, analgesic and can lift moods. Chamomile can also help to eliminate acne and purify pores.
Chamomile is a very effective calming agent, as its scent is universally known to be soothing, relaxing and rivals lavender for its calming effects. If you’re feeling tense, stressed or just need to wind down, try these fun DIY chamomile recipes and take a load off!
Boil all the ingredients and let it simmer for 15 mins. Strain out the tea bags and parsley (make sure to remove all of the parsley) and let it sit till room temperature. Poor on to hair over a sink and rinse two or three times.
Chamomile Astringent for Acne
2 cups distilled water
1 tablespoon yarrow
1 tablespoon chamomile flowers
6 drops rosemary essential oil
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the herbs, cover ans steep for 30 minutes. Add the essential oil, stir and drain. Pour finished product into storage containers and shake well. Follow with moisturizer after use. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, then discard.
Use a cotton pad and 1 teaspoon for your face, or more for your shoulders, back or chest blemishes. Avoid the eye area.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Mix the liquid ingredients together in a separate mixing bowl. Package both parts individually, or mix ingredients all together for immediate use.
In a small bowl, mix both powdered extracts with 2 ounces of warm water. Stir well until the powder has dissolved completely. Using a funnel or a very steady hand, pour the water into a clean, sterile, 8 ounce bottle. Next, add 1 ounce of each hydrosol, then 4 ounces of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Close the bottle and shake well.
What’s the easiest, fastest way to relax with chamomile, as well as reduce puffy, stressed eyes? Use chamomile tea bags! Pour boiling water over two organic chamomile tea bags, Let them cool, and then chill them in the fridge. When you’re ready to use them, squeeze out the excess water, lie down, and place them over your eyes. Relax for about 15-20 minutes.
Natural Lemon Hair Lightener
