Sometimes just the simple memory of a fragrance is enough to lift our spirits; at other times, it takes something a little more substantial. You can create a daily "spa experience" for yourself if you have a supply of fragrant herbal mists in your refrigerator, ready for a cooling spritz made of a therapeutic hydrosol, or flower water. Hydrosols are produced from herbal material by a steam-distillation process and preserve many of the healing qualities of the herb or flower. An inexpensive facial and body splash, hydrosols are moisturizing, fragrant, and cooling. What.s more, you can use them as a base to create your own fragrances.
You can spritz with the flower water alone, or add aloe vera juice (the juice, not the gel) as an additional moisturizer. Here are a couple of easy formulas to help you get started; experiment by adding a few drops of essential oil until you have created a personal favorite. Hydrosols are available from many herb shops, or online. (Be sure you are purchasing genuine distilled hydrosol, and not just essential oil added to water.) Aloe vera juice is available at the drugstore.
Luscious Lemony Mist (light-hearted, lively)
½ cup lemon verbena hydrosol
2 teaspoons aloe vera juice
5 drops lemongrass essential oil
Invigorating Meadow Mist (try this on hot, tired feet at the end of a long day)
½ cup rosemary hydrosol
2 teaspoons aloe vera juice
4 drops orange essential oil
2 drops grapefruit essential oil
Pour into a 4-ounce glass spray bottle and shake vigorously. Refrigerate. To use, shake, then spray skin lightly, avoiding the eyes.
Read more about ways you can use herbs to create the "spa experience" at home:
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To take away freckles: Distil Elder Leaves in June and
wash with a Spunge with this Liquor Morning and Evening.
—The Receipt Book of Charles Carter, Cook to the Duke of Argyll, 1732
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