Ingredient Spotlight: Rose

"Amber Flush" hybrid rose  Source: Wikipedia

Everything's coming up roses!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Stop and smell the roses...

Roses are almost mythical in their sensuality, fragrance, symbolism, and romance.  These characteristics are well deserved and earn roses a place in many Miessence products.

Some fun facts about roses...

Most roses that we in the States are familiar with are hybrid roses, not bred before 1867.  These roses were bred for their beautiful flowers, and roses from varieties known pre-1867 are known as "old" roses, heritage roses, antique roses, and various other names indicating age.  One particular type of old rose is the Damask rose.

Damask Roses  Source: Wikipedia

Damask roses tend to be a little rangier, but more than make up for it with their strongly scented flowers.  These are the flowers that are used to make rose essential oil.

So we know roses are fragrant, but did you know they've been used to unite a divided people?  The
war of the roses wasn't just an interesting movie, but also a series of wars fought over the throne of England?  The house of Lancaster was represented by the red rose, the house of York by the white, and they fought for the throne in spurts between 1455 and 1485.  Eventually, Henry Tudor won it for the Lancasters when he defeated King Richard III and married Elizabeth of York, and the Tudor Rose was created, blending the two houses.

Not an egg in the middle: the Tudor Rose  Source: Wikipedia

Nobody has ever managed to actually breed a Tudor Rose, but nonetheless the rose's place in history is cemented as a symbol of peace and unity.

So we know about the rose's epic fragrance and visual beauty. but what about the taste?  Yes, taste!  Those of you unfamiliar with Middle Eastern cuisine might not know that roses feature prominently.  Persian desserts are often flavored with rose water, and spice shops around the Middle East traditionally offer their own proprietary blend of herbs and spices known as Ras el hanout, which often includes rosebuds.

Not to be outdone, Mexican cuisine also has a delicacy called Quail in Rose Petal Sauce, featured in Laura Esquivel's Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water For Chocolate) and the film of the same name.  In this story, the roses contain all of Tita's forbidden passion for Pedro, and everyone at the table (including her mother!) is, shall we say, overcome.  The end result was Tita's sister Gertrudis catching the ranch shower on fire from her heat, being rescued by a revolutionary soldier, and going on to become an officer in the army herself.  I can't promise the same results, but you can sure try by making it yourself!

Quail in Rose Petal Sauce  Source: Cooking with the Movies

So we have sight, smell, taste...how about touch?  Roses have a multitude of benefits for the skin (why we're talking about it in the first place!), including offering soothing relief to sunburn, and being good for both dry and oily skin.  Rose oil is very nourishing and moisturizing for dry skin, while having a mild astringent quality to tone oily skin.  The antibacterial properties of roses also make it an effective treatment for acne.

WOW!  What can't this beautiful flower do?

Just some of the gorgeous Miessence products that contain roses in some form or another...

Nourishing Hand Cream

Rejuvenessence Facial Serum for tired, stressed, or aging skin

Translucent Powder to set your makeup

All the Miessence foundations

Rejuvenating Moisturizer

Rejuvenating Skin Conditioner (my favorite product!)

And the obvious choice: Rose Monsoon Hydrating Mist

So that's all for now!  I hope you learned something new about roses and are excited to try one of these lovely rosy products!

Ingredient Spotlight: Aloe Vera

Welcome to a new series spotlighting ingredients you might find in natural organic personal care products!  It's a pretty straightforward concept so let's jump right in, shall we?

I became familiar with the healing properties of aloe vera at a very young age, and that was not a good thing.  I possessed the unholy trifecta of fair skin (with red hair, no less), a residence in sunny Southern California, and an absolute hatred of sunblock.  My parents bought aloe vera gel in large quantities.  The thick green stuff provided such relief even while leaving the skin feel so sticky that you dare not actually touch anything, including clothing.  Then we discovered the thick blue stuff, which was the thick green stuff but with lidocaine for extra painkilling power, and without any pesky questions about the color change--what color do you add to green to get blue when supposedly blue is composed of green and yellow?

What I'm getting at here is that the stuff we normally think of as aloe vera, if it doesn't come straight from the plant, is really hardly aloe vera at all.

Check out this ingredient list of a national chain's store-brand aloe vera gel (the green version): Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice , Water , SD Alcohol 40 , Glycerin , Polysorbate 20 , Carbomer , Triethanolamine , Methylparaben , Benzophenone-4 , Imidazolidinyl Urea , Fragrance , Yellow 5 , Blue 1

Yeesh!  What IS all that??  You know, nevermind...you probably don't want to know.

But we got here from a good idea: aloe barbadensis leaf juice aka aloe vera juice is seriously good stuff!  It forms the basis of many Miessence products, and with good reason.

Aloe is also amazingly easy to come by.  The plants themselves grow like mad with enough sunshine and neglect (i.e. not overwatering), and kindly regenerate when you break off a limb to rub the oozing juice on your stinging, painful skin.  It also has beautiful flowers.

Aloe Vera Plant w/  Flower Detail Source: Wikipedia

Real, actual, pure aloe vera juice can be found easily at most stores that stock even remotely natural body care products.  It is quite a bit more expensive, at about $6 for a small bottle of the real deal vs. maybe $1.50 for 2-3 times as much goopy gel stuff, but it's hardly going to break the bank.  It's also not likely to make you feel like you need to walk around naked for reasons other than it being hot!

Aloe's skin healing properties were known to ancients ranging from Cleopatra to Marco Polo to Christopher Columbus.  It is antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, with additional healing properties gained from vitamins C and E.

Aloe is also used internally in many parts of the world, as a digestive aid and flavoring.  (Note: please don't do this with the gel)  Sometimes it is treated as a vegetable and added to curries.  Many Japanese beverages include aloe, often as the primary flavor.

There is even some preliminary research showing that aloe may be an effective treatment for diabetes!

With all of this going for it, is it any wonder it plays a starring role in so many Miessence products?

The facial moisturizers might make sense to you as items containing aloe, but that's not the only category where you'll find it!  Here are some other products that may surprise you as containing this amazing ingredient.

Shape Styling Gel-Medium Body and Hold for Most Hair Types

Mint Toothpaste (also available in Lemon and Anise)

All our liquid Translucent Foundations

Ancient Spice Roll-On Deodorant (also available in Tahitian Breeze and Aroma Free)

Sunflower Body Wash

There are others, too!  I'm going to leave it at this list because otherwise this post would be about a mile long, and I'm sure we all have other things to do.  As always, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you may have about Miessence products and I will do my darnedest to answer them!