Rituals and Why They Matter

There is a security in rituals, they can be comforting and reassuring when times are difficult. They can anchor you within the day offering respite from the hurly burly of days ever busier. They can take many forms, from the cup you choose for your coffee, to the way you drink your tea, the nightly bedtime story for your kids or grandchildren, the casting off of uncomfortable clothes at the end of the working day, the skincare routine you use to start and finish your day. All of them quietly creating the rhythm of life, the moments of calm.

For me, living on this little island, the rituals of life are so much fewer than they were but somehow they have come to feel ever more important. I love coffee, I love everything about it, choosing the beans ( it's the Hebridean Blend just now), setting the grinder, filling the hopper with exactly the right amount of beans, hearing the burrs grind it to perfection and that smell of ground coffee. I don't have an espresso machine at home because the one at work is the second treat I look forward to every morning, instead I start my days at home with a cafetiere. I put a lot of coffee in my cafetiere, I like it really strong and heretically with lots of warm milk. 

Method here is critical, with such a lot of ground coffee in the cafetiere, it is essential to add the just boiled water and then leave it for a crust to form. The rookie error I see in hotels especially, is not to wait, but instead to plunge immediately sending a savagely hot plume over the top and up the arm. Patience here is a virtue. When the crust has formed (about 2 minutes) swirl the pot to break the crust and keep swirling until the crema appears on top. Then wait again for about a minute and then plunging is effortless and the result delicious every time. 

I mention this to save your wrists from a proper scalding but also because the right product and the correct method make all the difference to the end result.

In terms of skincare, getting the right ritual for your skin is so important and that can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. As important as the products is taking the time, just for you, with no interruptions, locked in the bathroom if needs be. It is often called pampering which makes me unreasonably irritated. It's not pampering with its self indulgent, judgemental overtones. No, it is cutting yourself some slack, finding your centre, helping yourself to feel better and balanced. 

I had a comment on a post recently from Claudia. It was about the new Wild Gorse & Bee Pollen Exfoliating Grains, which we recommend using with the Cleansing Multi-Mask. Claudia commented " I thought nothing could top this Mask but with the Gorse & Bee Pollen it's unbeatable! The skin felt so soft. After using the mask I added a few drops of the Timeless Beauty Serum and a little of the Unblushing Cream and woke up with the softest, smoothest skin ever" 

The beauty of our products is that they stand alone for a simple but incredibly good daily routine - Cleansing Multi Mask as a Cleanser. Isle Mist, one of our Face Creams or Wild Beauty Balm and then out the door. With this routine your skin is cleansed, hydrated, moisturised and protected. 

At night time, Harmonising Cleansing Balm because it is so good at removing makeup and the grime of the day, Isle Mist or Harris Rose Mist or Rose Geranium & Witch-hazel Mist, then the choice is yours, The Timeless Beauty Serum or the Wild Beauty Balm or a Face Cream.

Both these rituals are really beautiful but part of the pleasure of these products is to be able to play, to let yourself engage in a little home alchemy, just as Claudia does. Put the products on the bathroom shelf and see what you're drawn to, let your instinct guide you, even if it's just at weekends every now and again.

When you cleanse, you can mix the Cleansing Balm with Cleansing oil for a more nourishing version, you can add the Gorse & Pollen to the Balm or the Cleansing oil or the Mask, each will yield a slightly different effect. Each scent profile will subtly shift, each texture will vary. Your skin will respond differently to each.

When you hydrate, you can layer it, Isle Mist then Rose for a super soothing blend.

And then for moisturising there are endless possibilities - A Face Cream plus a drop or two of Serum for an extra rich night cream, The Serum with a couple of spritzes of Mist to make an instant hydrating emulsion, the Unblushing Cream mixed with Face Cream #3 for a more intense day cream, The Wild Beauty Balm with a drop of the Serum for a super restorative lift. 

If you're feeling very keen, grow some Calendula - it literally grows anywhere, in anything - pick off the heads, leave them to dry for a couple of days then pop them in really good quality extra virgin olive oil. Forget about them, then a few weeks later when you remember, strain them and use that gloriously healing oil drop by drop added to the Face Creams, the Serum, the Cleansing Balm and the Mask.

In these horribly uncertain times with carnage and political upheaval all around, finding the time to create a ritual that makes you feel held is so important. It's a moment to check in on yourself.

I remember a woman years ago, when I had just made the Cleansing oil #5 telling me that the first thing she did when she walked in the door from work was to go to the bathroom, lock the door, open the Cleansing oil drop a few precious drops onto her fingertips, rub them together, inhale the scent, feel her shoulders drop, the tension slide away and then she applied the oil to her face. When she was done, she rinsed it away and with it all the stress of the day. It took 5 minutes. She emerged feeling better every time.

It's so interesting what we do to mark changes in the day, for many it's a glass of wine to delineate the day from the evening, to actively decompress, or as I'm now delighted to hear, a glass of Wild Eve and Soda where those adaptogenic and nervine herbs really show their worth.

Sometimes we need a particular action to keep us steady, for example when I've seen a patient, I always go and wash my hands - I especially like the bar soaps, the bubbles are so pleasing and they don't dry my skin. As I wash them, I watch the bubbles appear, listen keenly to the water and let all the things I've heard wash away so that I don't carry them into the next consultation or into my home. Then I spritz the room with the Isle Mist because I love the scent and I need the Bush and Findhorn Essences to gather myself and I'm ready to listen to the next person with full undivided attention. 

Whatever rituals you create to make yourself better, to help you get through challenging days, even if its just a particular cup for your morning coffee, I hope it continues to work. Meantime I'll be up here in Harris thinking of more things to add a little peace to your daily life.