It's Summer (or an approximation of Summer in Harris) and time to sort your daytime skincare routine into something light and easy. In the morning, the Cleansing Mask is especially wonderful, just apply it to your skin, massage in a little and hop into the shower. After washing your body, rinse the Mask off and that's your skin soft, conditioned and bright and ready for a Mist.
Mists are so important in the summer to ensure that your skin is really well hydrated. Spritzing with a Mist before applying a moisturiser makes such a difference to the effectiveness of the moisturiser.
We have 3 Mists to choose from, all of them lovely and distilled from our own plants.
The Isle Mist is the combination of 3 separate distillations from the Mountain, Machair and Sea. One of our customers described it as smelling like walking through a meadow, I really like that. When I spritz it I can smell the Roses, Heather and Meadowsweet and then the Blackcurrant leaves and Bog Myrtle and finally just a tiny hint of the Sea from the Fucus. There is something utterly lovely about distilling a place and all the therapeutics it so delicately carries within its plants.
Roses are incredible flowers, they both cool and calm whilst also strengthening, firming and building connective tissue and elasticity within the skin's structure. Heather, just like Roses contains flavanols, catechins, and phenolic acids, all of which can improve the skin's texture and appearance. Meadowsweet is a brilliant flower to treat heat and inflammation. The final plant in the second distillation are the Blackcurrant leaves which offer a blast of skin brightening Vitamin C and the most gorgeous earthy, fruity note. This part of the Isle Mist is for structure and connection.
The Bog Myrtle and Spruce in the second distillation offer anti-septic and anti-bacterial activity so are excellent for breakouts, eczema and rosacea. Bog Myrtle is also a potent toner so great for firming and lifting the skin.
The final distillation is the sea, with alginate rich Fucus offering so many skin benefits, especially the prevention of water loss and the promotion of repair, condititioning and tone.
And then there are the Bush and Findhorn Essences for confidence and protection which feel so important for all women.
The Harris Rose Mist is truly lovely - it's made from our Roses, 10 different varieties plus the Rosa rugosa that we planted on our Croft and the wild roses at the border of the machair. It has all the attributes that each of those Roses bring, in one small but powerful little bottle. The scent is quiet but beautiful. To make the Rose Mist I double distil it, so I take the distillate from one distillation and use it to create a second. It ensures that every last bit of goodness is extracted from the Roses adding to their benefits.
The third Mist we make is Harris Geranium and Witchazel. The Rose Geraniums came from Cyprus originally when we moved back to the UK. I had loved them in Cyprus where they were rampant and always covered in butterflies and bees. In Sussex they were content, bit in Harris they have found that same Cypriot exuberance in the greenhouse. Walking through the greenhouse from late Spring is a riot of leaves tumbling over the edges of the raised beds with small pink clusters of flowers full of fragrance. Interestingly I discovered that neither the greenfly nor the aphids like the scent and that the Roses that were underplanted with the Geraniums were far less affected.
A few years ago, I met a perfumer in Cyprus, he was a follower of Sheikh Nazim, he wore flowing gowns and a lot of kohl eye liner and his hair was swept up into a turban. He was quite a dashing figure, his name was AbdeSalaam Attar - you can read about him in the New York Times He talked to me for hours about Rose Geranium, maintaining that it was the plant to help women of all ages, the very essence of woman, to support women with anxiety, depression, self doubt and stress. I know it can help to balance the hormones, that it is brilliant for skin prone to breakouts and that the scent is joyful. It's definitely less refined than Roses, more playful almost.
In our Mist, the Harris grown Rose Geranium is utterly lovely and the addition of the Witchazel makes it perfect for reactive skin. It's also brilliant for teenage skin.
Mists are great after Cleansing and whilst still damp, apply your moisturiser of choice to allow the oils to really work on your skin. In the day choose from Face Cream #3 if you're planning on applying make up, the Unblushing cream if your skin is sensitive or prone to redness or rosacea, The Blemish Resolve if your skin is prone to breakouts or the Wild Beauty Balm if you want a layer of protection and that beautiful dewy glow. At night the Timeless Beauty Serum works beautifully with any of the Mists.
When it's really hot, I like to keep the Mist in the fridge spritzing it on my face to cool my skin and calm my mind. Everywhere I go I take a Mist. If I've got a meeting that I think might be challenging I always carry the Isle Mist for the scent of home and those protective essences.
If you haven't tried our Mists, there's no time like the present to start and treat your skin to proper hydration all summer long.