The Angel's Share came out of the box!

Just taken delivery of my latest order of whisky soaps - wow, what a fantastic smell of malt whisky (or whiskey if you are North American!) - this works so well in these soaps - a really blokey product - but a really gentle and natural glycerine soap too - and one of my best sellers! The angel's share is now floating about NaturalBeautyScotland.com's workroom!

2 pots of Organic Arnica Body Treatment Balm to be won for 2 lucky winners (worth £37 each!)

Organic Arnica Body Treatment Balm to be won by 2 lucky winners (worth £37 each!)

Organic Arnica Body Treatment Balm with organic black pepper, peppermint and orange. A rich, therapeutic blend designed to ease aching muscles and joints with the analgesic properties of organic arnica, high altitude lavender and Scottish Highland Pine. Enriched with Vitamin E, organic shea butter, cocoa butter and beeswax – it melts easily into the skin to provide long-lasting moisture. Created on the west coast of Scotland.

All you have to do is :

1. Correctly answer these 4 questions - (clue – the answers are in my website!)

• Name one of the organisations that uses Mozzy Off?
• What is Scotland’s version of tea tree oil called?
• Who brought some types of mint to the UK?
• What is our terrier called?

Email the answers to: Johanna@naturalbeautyscotland.com

2. And sign up to Natural Beauty Scotland if you haven’t already – click on this link

You will receive special offers, exclusive discounts and news.

The 2 lucky winners will be announced at the end of July 09.

Good luck – and thanks for entering!

Johanna

Wear a hat - elegant sun protection

If you look at old photos you'll notice that everyone wore a hat. Certainly you never see a late 19th century photo without seeing people wearing a hat or a cap. Social change after WW2 maybe led to less hat wearing - after all, your hat symbolised your social class - but after the last war, society changed and the influence of USA and cinema surely affected the fashion for going hatless too?

Here is my grandmother Flora Macdonald wearing a beautiful hat - she is sitting on a west Highland beach - at Arisaig, where she grew up. I guess this is early 1920s.



But in hot sunshine a hat is ideal - my husband wears a Tilly Hat in all weathers. It keeps the rain away from his glasses too! Tilley Hats have been certified to block 98 percent of harmful UVA/UVB radiation and deliver an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 50+, the maximum rating given.




Suncream, sunglasses, suitable clothes, stay out of midday sun - these are all sensible measures - but remember your hat - protect your skin, delay skin ageing - and be stylish all at the same time!

And if you do need to soothe your skin if it gets a little too much exposure - try Shetland Rescue Cream . This gentle soothing, antiseptic and healing formula contains a complex blend of 31 emollients and can help treat a variety of skin problems such as sun and windburn, cracked or chapped skin, insect bites, minor cuts, burns, rashes or eczema. The word is spreading about the effectiveness of this powerful yet natural cream. Perfect to take away on holiday. Can be used on the face and body.

BOG MYRTLE - SCOTLAND'S TEA TREE OIL

Right now it’s May and it’s bog myrtle weather. Yes, it’s raining again. As you probably worked out from its name, bog myrtle (Myrica gale) likes it wet and it grows in great swathes on the spongy, peaty soils of the north and west.

It’s such a common yet fairly low profile plant in Highland Scotland that you hardly notice it in its shrubby twiggy winter state.

Lots of bog myrtle here – the brownish colour in the foreground. Photographed at the top of Glen Ogle, near Killin. (Pic 1)




In late spring it coves itself in little reddish catkins. Cleverly, these appear ahead of the leaves, to allow unimpeded pollination by wind. (Pic 2)

In Scotland, there has been a bit of a flurry of interest in it in recent times, and it sometimes gets called ‘Scotland’s tea tree oil’ because of its healing and soothing properties. It’s especially associated with caring for sensitive skins and is also said to help with acne.





(Pic 3, below right: near Enard Bay, north of Ullapool, last June)

Traditionally, it’s also used for keeping midges away. However, the chances are that if you are in a place where bog myrtle thrives, then you are probably deep into midge territory as well, given their preference for wet places. Continuing the Highland theme, it’s also the plant badge of the Clan Campbell. (As that’s my family name, I feel duty bound to point this out.)


Finally, it also happens to have a great scent – the very essence of those summer holidays in the Highlands. More on bog myrtle products here.

PR Success for Natural Beauty Scotland!

I was delighted to have been included in The Scotsman Magazine Best Buys section last Saturday. Just a wee reminder to all customers - Until the end of May, you will get a free soap bar (worth £3) with every order – choose from seaweed and aloe vera or lavender oats and honey. While stocks last. Plus, new customers can also get 10% off, just type in the code "NBSnew10%" at the online checkout - offer valid until 31 May.

Benet's Balm - a super Scottish beeswax balm

Featured product of the month
Benets Balm

Maybe some products somehow become imbued with the ambience of the place in which they are made. On the other hand, maybe that’s a bit fanciful.

Yet if a ‘balm’ was going to be made anywhere, then it seems right that the word, with its soothing and peaceful overtones, should be associated with this sheltered part of Moray, east of Inverness in the north of Scotland.

Benets Balm is made at Pluscarden Abbey. We took these pictures on a bright but cool May morning, from the protecting wooded hills that lie to the north of it. There are miles of walks and trails here, all within easy reach of Elgin. The original abbey was founded as long ago as 1230 and the buildings were damaged by the English king Edward during his invasion of Scotland in 1303. So it wasn’t always so peaceful - as the place was also burned by the renegade Alexander Stewart (aka the Wolf of Badenoch) in 1390.

In common with other monasteries in Scotland, it fell into disuse after the Reformation. However, it was re-activated by Benedictines (from Prinknash in Gloucestershire, England) in 1948 and restoration work got under way. It’s now an active religious community and a centre for spiritual retreat. And, if you visit on a sunny day when the spring flowers are out, you’ll hear not just the peaceful, sleepy song of willow warblers and chiffchaffs but also the continuous hum of bees – a reminder of the beeswax basis for Benets Balm.

Better than a midgie hood!

Now it's April and the days are getting a bit warmer - in a while the insects will start to emerge - in Scotland we have the midge
(Culicoides impunctatus) - tiny but it leaves a nasty itchy bite. Worse on the west coast of Scotland, especially near rivers and lochs - not that a midge would ever put me off visiting these amazing locations!


Gilbert and I went to Knoydart a while ago - http://www.road-to-the-isles.org.uk/knoydart.html - known as the last great wilderness of Scotland. You can only get there by walking or mailboat - even though it is part of the Scottish mainland. It has fantastic mountains, seascapes and an excellent pub with the freshest seafood plus dolphins in the bay - and, of course, midges! - so we went prepared! These midge hoods are effective but not so handy when trying to eat langoustines or drink a glass of Scottish beer - but now we have discovered Mozzy Off! - all natural and 86% effective in clinical trials - used by Trossachs Mountain Rescue even!
http://www.naturalbeautyscotland.com/department/midges_beware_/