Shared Secrets

My mother and grandmother are the most beautiful women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Growing up and even now they both have a copy of Back to Eden which is full of natural and holistic remedies for the body and life. I have always thought of them as glamorous hippies with their cherry hued smiles and silk dressed telling me what each plant and herb does for the body and mind.

I received Secrets Of Gorgeous by Esther Blum as a gift from a friend this Christmas who knows I love fashion and reading. Its title and bright pink cover had me convinced it was another "pink" book about being a bad ass, thinner, smarter, happier, sexier while drywalling your new addition in your Christian Louboutins with out burning the roast or faking an orgasm. Well, I was in for a shock. I skipped the intro. C'mon it's a pink book and I knew the secret was going to be about learning to survive with grace and beauty in the eye of the Apocalypse. I WAS WRONG WRONG WRONG!!! The first thing my eyes fall on is a page entitled, NATURAL FACE-LIFT. I read on...

• Eat Wild Alaskan salmon three times a week
• Avocado (good thing I have a massive tree), raw nuts, and seeds to moisturize your skin from the inside. *Remember that 1990's Keri lotion commercial with the girl eating an apple and the voice over says "Good things inside, Keri outside"? That's the idea. Good things inside.*
• Blueberries and Cantaloupe to plump skin and protect skin cells.
• Lots of water and green teas. I assume green tea because its high in antioxidants and good for the metabolism.

After that I was hooked. Here was a cute and modern book that catered to my health lifestyle. Many amazing chemical free, paraben free, cyanide, free remedies. Vitamin/mineral/herbal combos to thwart environmental toxins from attacking your body, assisting your bodies defense in a herpes outbreak, vaginal dryness, hangover, insomnia, Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome, limp hair, and if your man hasn't been in the mood lately slip him a little zinc to perk things up.

I cant wait to put some of these concoctions to good use! Go get this book your body and the environment will thank you.

Here's my homemade Body scrub recipe.

You'll need just sugar and olive oil.

If you like an essential oils for fragrance is nice.

Take 1 cup of sugar and slowly mix in olive oil until the sugar has a pudding like consistency. It should NOT be runny or soupy. You should be able to scoop it out of a container.

BE CAREFUL when you are using it in the shower its slippery and wash your shower out immediately.