Really excited to be reviewing this as I have been talking with Fiona Tutte owner, founder and Alchemist for a year now…

Fiona has an incredible knowledge of Aromatherapy.  After a very successful private practice and great feedback on her anti-inflammatory blend, which was created for anti-arthritic clients.  The blend was to become the now Calming, Bath & Body Oil

Fiona has sent me samples to try as I do not sell products I do not test and use myself.  I use the Organic Orange Cleansing Oil with the Purifying Facial Spritz.  Now I cannot use Citrus generally on my skin but I trusted Fiona and tried the Cleansing Oil.  I had no problem with this at all it has Organic Mandarin,Sesame,Organic Petitgrain & Vitamin E this can also be used for men shaving, Massage into the beard area, Remove with muslin cloth.
Apply 1 extra pump and use as a shaving oil.  This set also came with an Organic Muslin cloth so you can use the cleanser with this to act as an exfoliator & for City people to really cleanse your skin.

I use this every day as I always wear make-up.  Is fantastic for removing your make-up, I have tried so many oils, hypo-allergenic baby wipes etc, that leave your skin feeling really dry and dehydrated and for me this is the test of a good product as I am very sensitive, nothing leaves my skin feeling soft & cleansed as this does.  The Purifying Facial Spritz was lovely, leaving my skin refreshed and feeling really clean this contains Organic Rosemary – purifying plant to relieve oily skin
Organic Aloe Vera – natures healer refreshes and heals
Vitamin C – antioxidant vitamin to brighten and protect the skin
Nature’s antiseptic – Organically certified wheat grain alcohol helps to protect and purify.

I then finish off my facial routine with Gentle face treatment oil as this is for sensitive skin.  It has German Chamomile, and Calendula as well as rose Otto (my favourite).  I used this whilst I was recovering from Dermatitis and was very nourishing and cleansing for my skin.

Finally I asked Fiona for an exfoliator so I could get the whole experience of using the Pure Lochside products.  Fiona sent me Organic Orange Skin Refiner with good old Organic Scottish Oats smells wonderful.  I did not expect this to be dry, I expected it to be in oil but you just use the wee spoon in the tub to mix up with water as an exfoliator or make into a paste for a face mask (as Fiona recommended) it’s lovely and not rough as many ex-foliating products can be and does not leave the skin feeling taught and dried out.  You can also add the Cleansing oil to this mix in the face mask, a little goes a long way.

There is not  anything I don’t like about this product.  They use Recycled card for packaging using vegetable based inks, the packaging is reduced by using Hessian which keeps it safe and leak free in your over night bag.  You will not find parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, petrochemicals or silicones in any of our products. The same applies to PEGS, propylene glycol, TEA, DEA, phthalates or anything else other than plants or naturally occurring elements.

Pure Lochside believes you should feed your skin from the outside as well as the inside and that’s why our unique, organic products are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, pure botanicals and therapeutic grade essential oils. Each aromatic formula is made in small batches to ensure freshness and potency……………….hear hear!

Pure Lochside use entirely natural ingredients derived only from plants and our essential oils are all of therapeutic grade which intensifies their overall results. All our ingredients are considerate to nature and kind to you.

This is my favourite bit as I believe OIL is the only way to go in order to work in harmony with your bodies natural oils,

Pure Plant Oils

All Pure Lochside products are oil based which enables the active ingredients to penetrate into the deep layers of the skin rather than sitting on the surface like cream based products. Plant oils work in harmony with the skin and the finest, luxury plant oils used by Pure Lochside do not clog the pores and help to balance the skin and naturally revitalise. The non heated products retain 100% of their vitamin and mineral content……………..We love this at Go Organic Now*

It does not stop here Ladies and Gents, Pure Lochside also has a range for body and Men’s Grooming…….If that is not all Fiona also offers a Bespoke/Private Label Service, something I am looking forward to doing in 2011……………………

This range will be available this Summer form Go Organic Now, keep looking for updates www.purelochside.com

Organic clothing has really come on over the years but!! it is very,very expensive.  I was looking for Organic Cotton clothing for Summer as I do suffer from Prickly heat and have very sensitive skin.

I was pleased to see so many great designs and clothes available but dissappointed at the price tags on most of the sites, dresses for £300, come on, when did being aware and concious have a price tag of that amount!

I know in terms of how other cotton is farmed it is a smaller run business and costs can be higher but there are companies out there who are trying! Can we see more of these pleeeeaase

Ironically enough one of the companies I found is based in Cornwall called Seasalt clothing Reasonable priced clothing for all the family.  In 2005 Seasalt became the 1st fashion label to become certified by Soil Association.  Currently they sell 50% of Organic clothing the other percentage is mad up of Oska, white stuff etc…

They are increasing this % and it’s still within budget compared to £100 for a top and £300 for a dress!!!

I also came across Ascension clothing also very reasonably priced clothing, gifts,jewellery,

Well I don’t know about you but Summer s definitely her in Cornwall, has been glorious weather for 3 weeks now and past 4 days 20degrees, Wohoo

My favourite Company that I rely on for Perfect Toe nails and Glorious lengthy Finger nails is Butter London, based in America but you can buy on line

3FREE is NO TOLUENE NO FORMALDEHYDE NO DBP (dibutyl Phthalate),

I have been busy reading and researching my skin condition that has erupted over the past 3 weeks!!!

After 3 visits to the Doc, a Virus, Measles and now Seborrhoeic Dermatitis which I feel is the correct diagnosis.  Burning, Itchy sensation and has slowed down my whole system.  So after asking a Raw food friend and creator of Live Native and consulting my Aromatherapist Face Book friend, I decided to start looking at a programme of Juice Detox and Fasting.

Being a Healer and Teacher myself I can intuitively feel I have been over doing it Emotionally, and after only 4 months since our big move and a huge Financial shift I know it has all caught up with me!

I have 2 Juicing books, one in particular that is very detailed in the Glossary, has a 3 day Juice Diet, a guide to ailments and conditions with easy to follow guide as to what to juice, the effect and the dose………

So I am concentrating on my Liver and also my Immune system, so I looked up Dermatitis and there it was 6 different recipes for Juicing.  On the page with the Juice you will be drinking, it also gives you a “Vital Statistics” which tells you detailed information on on which Vitamins the juice is rich in and a breakdown of what this juice will do for your body, FANTASTIC

Super Juice written by Michael Van Straten who is a Complimentary Medicine therapist, over 100 recipes for health, boosting mental and physical energy, alleviating stress, warding off disease and delaying the ageing process, Wohooo*

Can buy on-line at Octopus books at £10.99 bargain I reckon for your life long health

I love, love, love this cookery book. My wee sis bought it for me Oooh long time ago

I trained with Roux Fine Dining a long time ago as well as working at Gleneagles in Scotland.  Before any of that training I was definitely a frustrated Chef!

I would hold and host the most lavish, opulent banquets of food for parties and friends I loved it and although I gave up catering 8 years ago I still love catering and cooking.  I will have my own wee Cafe in the future here in Cornwall…………

So expect to see some recipes and even perhaps a book of my own,!

Sooo many cookery books sound lush and heavenly but don’t live up to the expectation! recipes hard to follow, quantities wrong and you spend all that time creating and feel let down when it goes erm pear shaped!

When we downsized to move to Edinburgh,then Cornwall I let a lot of cookery books go.  A lot were the old Michelin * books I had outgrown and have no wish to spend that time in the Kitchen any longer.

Too much emphasis on faffy ingredients and hours of preparation that never works unless you have a professional kitchen!

So the Planet Organic cookery book was a must save for me  Easy to follow ingredients that are easy to follow and have ingredients you CAN get outside of London!

From “Roast Pepper, Artichoke & Feta Salad with Arugula” to “Chicken with Herb Goats Cheese” and one of my favourite Quick pasta sauces

This book was written by Renee Elliot,who gave up her job as a Wine writer to pursue her dream and open an Organic an natural food market in Notting Hill in 1995 called “Planet Organic” Yep the Ethical supermarket that changed Organic and Natural buying..

Eric Treuille a French Chef cooking teacher and cookbook author

Available at Amazon starting from £2.75  It really is a great book

The time of year is fast approaching for Holidays…

Living and working in Cornwall  now for the 2nd time I can see a huge surge in people spending there holidays here.  I am Scottish born and also Scotland is a tourist destination but largely from worldwide travellers.

I have noticed this time in Cornwall the masses are spending way more of there holidays in the UK.  Originally St.Ives, Newquay,Padstow etc were the destinations but there is really no where that is not packed with holiday makers in Cornwall, sooo much busier than when we lived here before.

I am really glad to see that people are discovering that the UK has great places to visit.  There was a time I would never have gone on holiday in the UK, I was a child that had the privilege of going to Italy  twice a year and America.  Now though I have to say there are amazing places to go and visit.

It’s better for the UK economy, more Environmental and we learn more about where we live

There are incredible ways to holiday too, Glamping for eg, I have tried to Camp and well lets just say I’m not good at it! I like a bit of luxury if only to be able to stand up!!

I found this amazing site on Glamping which is the new word for Campers, has destinations for UK, Europe, Africa,America and more

Some great finds on this site for UK and abroad.

I also came across a few sites for Ethical Travelling.  When my husband and I lived in Edinburgh we saw an Ethical Travel company just around the corner from us OJM they are predominately for travelling responsibly to the Himalayas but it got us thinking about other Ethical travelling companies, here is what I found

http://www.tribes.co.uk/responsible_travel?gclid=CILc1eS4i6ICFdpo4wod3BjsUQ

http://www.greentraveller.co.uk/category/blog-categories/ethical-travel

http://www.travel-quest.co.uk/tqeco.htm

There are a lot more on Google but these 3 appealed to me the most.  When we do go away we are always conscious of being in the community as much as possible.  I love hotels but they are a bit cold at times and for longer periods would much prefer to stay in a Boutique B&B and find out the local places to go, hotels push the “Tourist thing” and I’ve never been much of a follower a Pioneer and explorer much more, perhaps that is a result of only staying in 5* hotels with parents and not talking to the local people, but we get much more info from the locals than a receptionist in a hotel who is hardly ever from there

http://www.uniquehomestays.com/luxury-accommodation.asp

Or if you prefer to stay Organic this website is also one I use Organic Places to Stay you can even buy the book

So all in all loads of ideas for Homely Holidays away or at Home…

It is getting close to my favourite dreamy time of the year My Birthday, Yeah!*

I had the most beautiful Organic Birthday Cake for my 40th Birthday, the Patisserie cake shop in Forres Moray specialised in Wedding cakes and he did me proud as I explained my exacting requirements for my Birthday cake, it had to be Organic, it had to be like my favourite cake shop in London Soho, Amato In fact it was even better.

So now coming up for another Birthday I was looking for an Organic Cake Company and came across one in Bristol called The Organic Chocolate Cake Company.

Established for the last 23 years, The Organic Chocolate Cake Company has been, and still is the only chocolate cake company in the whole of the UK who can claim to be 100% organic – certified by the Organic Standard Soil Association, now that is impressive…

Go on spoil yourself or someone you Love to a wonderful Cake or for that most memorable day

http://www.toccc.co.uk/birth/index.html

I first became aware of Equal Exchange when I worked in Harvest Wholefoods in Bath some 15 years ago.  I was a buyer of new lines.

Harvest like Equal Exchange is a Co-operative I loved working in Harvest and is where I really learn’t a lot about ingredients and labelling.

Equal Exchange are based in Edinburgh since 1979.  Three volunteers worked on Aid projects in  various parts of Africa.  Initially starting with buying instant coffee from Bukoba, on Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

It did not stop there, with bigger campaigns,more education and more products reaching not only Wholefood market,Delicatessen, they were also in Supermarkets.

I love the name and Equal Exchange for the wonderful products they support and sell, knowing the workers are paid Equally and fairly for there work.

Equal Exchange products also include, Tea, Honey, Nuts & Butters, Fairtrade Oils

One of my favourite Companies and not just because there Edinburgh based, Honest!

Support Fairtrade products and produce…