I’m not much of a flower girl. I love nature and plants, but I hate getting bouquets as gifts. This is because I like useful presents, and I feel like cut flowers are such a waste. This is why I love herb gardens that spice up my food and florals in my beautycare.

One specific fav of mine is Calendula (aka. marigold). This flower is both pretty and functional, as its one of the best remedies for sensitive skin. Calendula strengthens the skin and soothes irritation. It calms down inflamed breakouts and acute reactions, as well as tempers and heals an array of aggravated skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema, heat rash and allergy-prone skin. It is no wonder this golden flower has been used traditionally in many healing medicines both internally and externally as a powerful anti-inflammatory.

The water extacted from calendula brings down facial redness and tones dehydrated skin types. It makes for a calming and hydrating toner and compress that is undiluted by carrier oils, alcohols or water, and does not contain preservatives or additive ingredients. But calendula hydrosol (water) is actually quite a rare find as it is not a bi-product of calendula oil manufacturing.

This is why I’m tickled to introduce Holistic Vanity’s Anti-inflam Calendula Skin Tonic – but alas, it is only seasonally available. This precious plant concentrate is produced with great care and is harvested sustainably in small batches, with its petals being picked weekly to collect it at optimal bloom. These delicate, organic flowers are only harvested once per year at the height of the season, making it only available seasonally. And for you beauty geeks out there (like me), this particular calendula is steam distilled in copper metal equipment because copper has natural anti-bacterial properties. This kills yeast and fungus, purifying the calendula and bringing out its sweet note.

So, if you are a hyper-sensitive skin type looking for some relief – try a lil bit of calendula water. It may be difficult to find, but its worth the search (or just come to my Holistic Vanity Skincare Launch and try out our Anti-inflam Calendula Skin Tonic!).

Ayurveda, like its sister science, yoga, is based on mind-body-spirit balance. So it is no surprise that along with rejuvenating foods and exercises, Ayurvedic Healers also prescribe nourishing thoughts and intentions. Good intentions for more radiant skin? I know, I know, this may seem all too wishy-washy and you’re half expecting me to pull out the crystals and incense, but I assure you, the power of the mind and outlook is not a new age myth. What we think and how we perceive the world has a profound effect on our health and well-being. Just think of how flushed we get when we are angry or embarrassed, or how some of us breakout at times of high stress. Yes, our emotions are interconnected with our physical body so we need to make sure we are as vigilant in caring for consciousness as we are our diet and lifestyle.

But being good to our emotional selves is not only in the form of managing stress or being gentle on our egos. According to Ayurveda there are specific thoughts and behaviors that promote strengthening and restoration of our physical bodies as well as out minds. Below are seven rasayanas (rejuvenating substances and practices) that are said to be the most important practices to stay balanced and keep our tissues healthy.

1. Speak the truth – Vedic literature state that honesty creates ojas in the body, the biochemical correlate of bliss and health, while lying creates negativity, ama (toxins) and impurities. As Ayurvedic physician, Dr. Vasant Lad, always says – our issues are in our tissues. And when we are not truthful with ourselves and others, this is said to manifest in our bodies.

2. Stay free of anger – Anger causes imbalance and inflammation and is also said to be destructive in all capacities. Instead, practicing forgiveness, brings peace to the mind, body and spirit and is the best way to mitigate and prevent anger or resentment.

3. Respect your gurus and elders – It is said to be important to always respect those that impart knowledge and wisdom to you. Since consciousness is the path to enlightenment, an appreciation of teachers and guides through our lives is embedded into Ayurvedic philosophy. And cherishing those that support this promotes love and contentedness.

4. Strive to gain Vedic knowledge – Learning more about Ayurveda is important in this science (duh, right?). The more we understand about Ayurvedic Principles, the more we understand about ourselves. And from here we can better take care of ourselves and balance our bodies. This, and the pursuit of self-evolution itself is said to be very nurturing for our bodies.

5. Practice meditation – Meditation helps relieve stress and sharpen our mind’s focus. It keeps us astute as we age as well as helps us make healthy life decisions through increased mental clarity.

6. Eat saatvic foods – Foods such as milk, ghee, yoghurt, dates, mango, walnuts and almonds convert easily into ojas (fluid of life). They support the physical brain, our sensory organs and help us stay strong and supported.

7. Surround yourself with wise individuals – They say you are the company that you keep. So, according to Ayurveda, it is important to surround yourself with other individuals who are also striving for nirvana and harmony. Choosing like-minded, wellness-focused friends will encourage you to practice good behaviors and be committed to your personal journey. To me, this is one of the most important rasayanas – because it help us practice the other six as well as coincides with the idea of maintaining a positive, cooperative, invigorating community. And what is more nourishing than that? Healthy ties and relationships like these will definitely keep us young and vibrant.

With a name like “Immortelle”, how can this flower not promote beauty? Also called “Everlasting” for is wonderful restorative properties, technical cosmetic geeks (like me) may know it by its INCI name: Helichrysum. I’ve used Helichrysum/Immortelle for years and love how soothing it is for sensitive skin as well as its yummy maple-like scent. I feel as though its sweetness calms down my Pitta heat – and it has a sort of caramelized smell to it that makes we want to drink it. But lets get back to whats important: beauty benefits.

Immortelle is one of the best healing plant remedies for damaged skin tissue. It renews and restores healthy skin, as it is an anti-oxidant that repairs free radical damage and stimulates cellular regeneration. These properties are why Immortelle has been used to mend the skin after damage and scarring – and it is even used after tattooing and body piercing to heal scar tissue and disinfect the area. Its anti-bacterial properties also make it excellent for acne and inflamed blemishes, as it clarifies complexions while reducing redness.

This is why my new line Holistic Vanity Rosacea Care (launching February 1st!) includes a Healing Immortelle Skin Tonic, which is made up of the water extracted from the Immortelle flower. Not only does this soothing tincture, which has been wholly derived by being steam-distilled, act as an alcohol-free toner for sensitive skin, but it also treats rosacea break outs and papules.

So, if your skin needs added support, soothing or purifying, keep your eye out for Immortelle/ Everlasting/ Helichrysum in your skincare. While it goes by a lot of names, this multiple personality flower offers up a ton of different benefits. Plus, does Immortelle by any other name, smell less sweet? Not in this case.

I envy people who love exercise. I unfortunately, do not – and I’ll make an excuse to get out of doing it – usually it plays something to the tune of “I’m sooo busy”. And I am – I work hard, take extra courses, write two columns, a blog, a book, and try to make meals from scratch at home…Though, I’m not too busy to watch Modern Family. But as a holistic practitioner, I know how important exercise is to our longevity, strength and circulation. So I sign up for gym memberships, hire personal trainers and buy packages of yoga classes. And for the first while I’m usually pretty disciplined about it – especially in the summer when the weather invokes activity (and bikini season). But the wintertime is like fitness kryptonite for Kristen. Yes, sub zero temperatures make me so demotivated to leave my heated home that the only way I work out is when I have a trainer come to me. Not only does that spoil my inner brat, but also empties out my bank account quickly.

But I’ve found a great solution: rented fitness equipment! Yes, I have rented a treadmill for my home and have been running everyday since I got it delivered (last Saturday). Hell, both Ben and I fit in a quick job while dinner was in the oven last night. Renting is a great option for those items you can’t commit to (see my post on renting evening gowns). Ben and I considered buying a treadmill, but they run for about $1500 and $600 second-hand off craigslist. This does not really make sense as an investment for people like us who really just want it in the winter and run outside in the summertime.

A rental can cost anywhere from $50 per month to $100. Ours is costing us roughly $75 per month, because we got a top of the line model at great deal from Easy Fitness (who, after calling around was the company that gave me the best customer service). Split between the two of us, its pretty reasonable. And Easy Fitness offers free delivery, unlike other rental companies that charge $100 for this plus set-up – I heart no hidden fees.

One worry of mine is that I would rent and hate the machine I chose (you usually need to sign on for a minimum of one month). What if it was a flimsy machine? Or didn’t work properly? But my treadmill is fantastic, its really substantial and Easy Fitness guaranteed to return my machine if I didn’t like it, taking out any risk factor.

I also love this fitness alternative because I have exercise ADD and the same company we got this treadmill from also rents out elliptical machines, rowers, exercise bikes and vibration plates so I can choose to mix it up. But the biggest advantage for me to rent was that it gives me the freedom of mobility. Ben and I are thinking of moving after we get married, and I have no idea what the space will look like, so renting allows us not to get tied down to an incompatible piece of equipment. And, we get to see what we like and don’t like in a machine by trying it out for months before purchasing (if that’s in our future).

So, if you want a no excuse way to fitness, try renting! Because on a cold winter’s day, home is where the heart (rate) is.

I’m in love with organic Camellia oil! This rich, nurturing oil calms inflammation while comforting and protecting the skin. If camellia oil was a person, I imagine he’d be as dreamy as Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Ryan Gosling…or ahem, my fiance of course.

Because of its soothing and replenishing properties, I am using this oil in my new line: Holistic Vanity Rosacea Care (launching in Pure + Simple stores February 1st). This oil is excellent for rosacea skin types as it promotes wound healing and decreases skin irritation. It is also hypoallergenic, and can be used to nurture even the most reactive complexions.

Camellia oil, also known as “tea oil” as it is the flower that makes up green tea, is actually quite commonly used in Asia for beauty as well as in food preparation. I’ve known about it for quite some time now, as we used to carry it in an organic German skincare brand, and we estheticians at Pure + Simple loved it as we saw first-hand how it nourishes delicate skin and strengthens its protective barrier function. To our dismay, the brand discontinued their camellia product – and I have always planned on introducing something of my own featuring it.

Well, the time has come – and if you are looking for a skin treatment that reduces redness and supports the skin’s nutrition, try using organic camellia oil. The one coming out from Holistic Vanity will also have organic tumeric oil and organic vanilla added to it, making it one of the yummiest products around.

Its Eczema season and we’re flooded as usual with people looking to treat their eczema. And, while I have posted on the various types of eczema with their causes and solutions, I have recently become more intrigued by a more universal root to the skin ailment: our emotions.

Yep, over the holidays I picked up Dr Grossbart’s book “Skin Deep” and he explains the link between our emotions and skin appearance. And before you think it – No, this Harvard lecturer and Psychiatrist is not a new age, crystal lover like me, so its not just crunchy granola sentiments, these are his personal observations from his practice. He says in his book that eczema is caused by emotional turmoil and the repression of our feelings. Dr. Grossbart insists we have to face our emotional issues face on and that a commitment to self-love as well as counseling helps greatly (okay, sounds a little crunchy granola – but I believe it!).

This matches up with what Chi Nei Tsang Master, Khadro has been telling me. I have recently been seeing Khadro for stomach massage, as she works on relieving tension in the abdomen for better digestion as well as stimulating the internal organs through physical manipulation (apparently I have tension and congestion in the liver!). She works a lot with emotions, as we often hold our feelings in our gut and other tissues, leading to organ dysfunction. Khadro insists that every case of eczema she has seen on a client has been coupled with underlying anxiety. But our anxiety isn’t always expressed through worry – she says that anger and a quick temper is also a way of coping and dealing with our anxiety. Hella interesting!

So, if you are suffering from uncomfortable eczema right now, check out my topical and dietary recommendations, but pair this with an examination of your stress levels and anxiety…oh, and a few deep breaths.

I’m so excited to share with you all my first new natural beauty find of the year: coconut vinegar! I discovered this little tincture at a health tradeshow – and it caught my eye because of my love of all things coconut. I use coconut oil in my face oils for its anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties, in my cooking for its low steaming temperature and cholesterol lowering properties, and coconut sugar as a natural sweetener because its low on the glycemic index. So, while the sales person spent time chatting me up about its benefits and features, I was already converted and snapped it up. And what do I do? Not what any normal person would – try it on salads, or in a veggie stir fry (like it is often used in south Asian cuisine). No, I took the bottle right into the shower to test it out as a hair rinse.

Yes, I’ve used apple cider vinegar many a-time as a hair rinse and it clarifies the scalp so well that you actually get a squeaky clean feeling on your hair and in your follicles. I figured that vinegars are vinegars and that they’d work similarly. So, I applied about a cup and a half of it into dry hair, massaging it into my scalp. Then I worked any excess on my hands into my hair and down its ends. If you try this at home – one note: be careful to tip your head back while doing this. Don’t let it seep into your eyes like I did because Yowyzas! it stings. Then I let it sit as I did all my other washing up before rinsing it out of my hair (not shampooing it out).

Well, my hair felt amazing! First its great for clearing out flakes and build up. This is important for those of you with flakiness or dandruff because while you may think you need less cleaning and more moisture, its can be the opposite You need to keep your scalp as clear as possible so that the bacteria from dandruff that feeds on dead skin cells are kept at bay (trust me, its worked for many of my clients). Secondly its fantastic for softening. Coconut vinegar is packed with minerals from the coconut water or coconut sap it is derived from and contains zinc, iron, manganese, potassium, copper and magnesium. Coconut sap also possesses all nine amino acids and these proteins are a wonderful treatment for our hair.

So if you are looking for a quick and simple head and hair revitalizer, try a coconut vinegar rinse. Its a nice holistic vanity debut for the new year!

Its a new year and we have a slew of new, exciting things happening at Holistic Vanity!

1. The introduction of the new Holistic Vanity Rosacea Care Line!

I have been working on a Holistic Vanity skincare brand for some time now, and it will finally be introduced in February. Come February 1st, it will be available in all of our Pure + Simple stores. This new line is going to focus on healing skin ailments such as rosacea, acne and sun-damage. We are only launching the “Rosacea Care” range in Feb, but there will be more product debuts in the future. Keep your eye open for more info on this new, results-oriented line as I will be blogging more details very soon!

2. A Super-fun Launch Party…Amour de Soi: Celebrating Self-love + Soothing With Holistic Vanity Rosacea Care!

If you know me, I’ll take any excuse to throw a party! And my new line is a perfect reason to celebrate. Yes, February 8th we will be having a launch event for the Holistic Vanity Rosacea Care line…and you’re all invited. It will be at the Bata Shoe Museum and I think its the perfect pre-valentines bash devoted to self-love and self-pampering. I will be doing a seminar on healing rosacea holistically, we will be serving anti-inflammatory hors d’oeurves and having a ton of healthy giveaway prizes and swag!

View the Launch Party invite and rsvp HERE.

3. A fresh Website Make-over

Its time this website tried a new look on for size. Coinciding with the Holistic Vanity product launch and party, my blogsite will also be getting some renewal up. Look out for this updated revamp – it’ll be more refreshed than my skin after a sea-salt microdermabrasion.

- Kristen xo

I ended 2011 with a post on bloating and gut health and ringing in 2012 with one on curing constipation. Yes yes yes y’all, bowel health is imperative for beautiful skin, and this was emphasized when I saw a long-time client this week who formerly had majorly congested skin with a clear, glowing complexion (squeal!). She had only been eliminating twice a week and we had her taking some gentle laxative so she started to do so a minimum of once per day. Clarifying the G.I tract really helps clarify the skin. I know, It may sound unorthodox, but as a holistic esthetician, the frequency of bowel movements is usually one of my first inquiries for anyone I see with acne-prone or dehydrated skin – and according to Ayurveda, we should be doing so once to twice a day.

Its so important that we eliminate waste from our bodies so we don’t start pouring out toxins through our skin (which happens to be our largest organ of detoxification), causing clogged pores and blemishes. But its also essential for hydrated skin. When we are constipated, the dry stool sits in the intestines and absorbs the body’s precious water. Conversely, dehydration also leads to constipation as a dry system will make our wastes dry and difficult to move as well… oh how interconnected we are!

So, for my first real tip of the new year, I am outlining my fav bowel moving remedies. Remember, there are no universal cures and we should always tailor what we eat and take to our specific constitution – but here are a few I find have worked for many of my clients. See a natural health practitioner for more information on whats best for you!

Aloe Vera Juice – Aloe juice is a wonderful calming ingredient and also a gentle laxative. You can drink a quarter cup of this diluted in water everyday in short spurts for soothing detoxification. This is excellent for Pitta’s and those of us prone to inflammation, and I particularly like it because it is not dehydrating (like some fibre based laxatives are). Its also good for other cleansing such as that of the liver and blood.

Castor Oil – This is an intense laxative!..and its really hard to get down (gag!). See my post on my own castor oil experience. But its very effective and good for those of us who need immediate, powerful relief. This is only to be done a maximum of once per month in servings of 1-2 tablespoons. Castor oil cleanses are also effective for reducing excess Vata in our bodies and help lubricate our intestines.

Soaked Prunes – Tried and true, we all have heard about prunes as a bowel cleanser and there’s something about longstanding remedies. What I like about prunes is that its a simple fruit that is pretty easy for most of us to find and also safe to take. I would soak them in water so they are less dry, making them even better for dehydrated individuals.

Psyllium- Psyllium seed husks are a laxative that really helps to move and scrape waste off the intestinal walls. This laxative is best for someone who is kapha and has slow moving bowels, but is still very hydrated. We can take this by simply mixing a spoon in water (I’ve added a spoon of EFAs to it too….not the yummiest concoction), or by sprinkling it on oatmeal or other foods. Either way, this is an effective cleansing agent that helps through its high fibre content.

I apologize for the tacky post title, but I wanted to grab your attention as I think this scandal deserves as much buzz as possible. French manufacturer, PIP’s, breast implants have been found to contain fuel additives, and its developed into an issue of womens’ health, government regulation, and of course, female body image. As a person who doesn’t use skincare with parabens, the idea of keeping a foreign object in my chest is pretty daunting. But whether I think that breast implants are bad for our bodies or not, the larger issue is a lack of government regulation. Beauty care is a highly unregulated industry, and I’ve seen its lack of transparency first-hand. And while I am talking about ingredient labels on skincare products, take a look at the Guardian link above to read about the status on cosmetic procedures. Shiver. And, many beauty professionals are saying that the status of Botox will be the next exposed cosmetic scandal. Injectables are classified as a medicine, but you don’t need to be a doctor to administer it.

But lets get back to the story at hand. This scandal has become a global issue as women around the world are recipients of these dangerous implants. While it is said that over 50,000 have received them in surgery, 250 British Women are suing PIP over half of them experienced ruptures and eight cases of cancer were found. But the questions being raised do not stop there; who will be paying for their removal has also become a hot topic. In Venezuela, the government has announced that it will be publicly paid for, while 50 Argentinian women have said they will sue their plastic surgeons if they do not perform reverse surgery for free. I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be to have to carry around something potentially fatal in your body because you could not afford to have them taken out.

But as this blog focuses on an alternative view of beauty, promoting a gentler approach for women and men. And I’m going to assume that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez agrees with me, as he has since criticized the popularity of breast implants saying that women should not be made to feel that large breasts are more attractive. I completely agree (but tell that to the 14 billion dollar porn industry…oh, and those creepy social networking sites where men can sponsor breast implants).

In the meantime, as a gal with small boobs, I think I’ll stick with Shatavari Ghee for a more enhanced bust line.