Articles

Unleash your primal instinct by putting nature's bounty on your skin.

Models adorned and painted in lavish offerings from nature, it was ethnic and African influences that speared the spring/summer 2009 fashion shows this year. A trend originating a long way from the catwalks of London or Paris, but deep in the earthy and lush depths of Africa, North America, South America, and Australasia, "Tribal glam" borrowed from the richness of indigenous cultures around the world is being embraced and hawked by designers around the globe. Leading make-up companies such as MAC cosmetics are also reveling in this cultural vibrancy, with their spectacular palette of colour intended to be worn as paint - generous strokes of colour banded across the eyes, or spotted around the cheeks, as opposed to the usual light and minimal strokes of the typical modern aesthetic.

In the age of technology, it may seem confounding that one of the most challenging tasks for chemists is to keep a cosmetic formulation as natural as the plant the ingredients came from. But capturing the simple purity of nature in a modern formulation without resorting to any manmade chemicals, according to Cosmetic Chemist, is not an easy task. "The modern day consumer isn't partial to the crude formulations of yesteryear" he says, referring to the time where toners were plants steeped in alcohol and applied straight to the skin, and moisturizers were nothing more than greasy unguents infused with herbs and plants.

You know organic, but do you really know the difference between Certified Organic and just Organic?

You're not alone if you don't. Most of us these days are aware of the need to buy food and personal products that are good for us as well as being good to the environment. But while our awareness has grown and there is considerably more new products available on our supermarket shelves, many of us still don't know the important difference that makes Certified Organic better to use, every time.

It has been said, "If you are from this land, you are of this land", and for many people simply saying the name Australia is enough to conjure feelings of awe and inspiration for this majestic country. It's not just the dramatic geographic diversity and unique raw beauty that moves us, but it's also the mysterious and ancient cultural history of our indigenous inhabitants, the Australian Aborigines.

Herbal medicine is an ancient and traditional practice, used in many Eastern and Western countries. In many cultures it is part of main stream living and it is the preferred source of alleviating and preventing dis-ease. For many years the medicinal properties of plants have been documented and used worldwide.

Antioxidants are vital to help combat the damaging effects of free radicals and protect our skin and bodies cells. Free radical damage is caused by the effects of the suns harmful rays, pollution, cigarette smoke, unhealthy diets, medications and other external environmental factors. We consume antioxidants through certain foods but our skin also needs extra protection via topical applications as the skin is often the last to receive the benefits of antioxidants consumed orally.

In today's society we tend to live stressful lifestyles with little time for ourselves. Stress can be a catalyst to many discomforts to our physical being. Aromatherapy can help relieve many common physical ailments as well as help us maintain emotional stability. Here are some suggested ways of introducing essential oils to our everyday life.

Fragrance compounds in perfumes will degrade or break down if improperly stored in the presence of:

• Heat Light
• Oxygen
• Extraneous organic materials

Perfume oils usually contain tens to hundreds of ingredients and these are typically organized in a perfume for the specific role they will play. These ingredients can be roughly grouped into four groups:

Fragrance Wheel

The Fragrance wheel is a relatively new classification method that is widely used in retail and in the fragrance industry. The method was created in 1983 by Michael Edwards, a consultant in the perfume industry, who designed his own scheme of fragrance classification. The new scheme was created in order to simplify fragrance classification and naming scheme, as well as to show the relationships between each individual classes.