La Vie En Rose And More: Organic European Spa Products Come Home

Lavinia Borcau - her name invokes luxurious European spa treatments while snow falls on the Alps. As if that isn’t enough, Borcau’s background in natural skin care is combined with new scientific insights into increasing skin’s resilience and packaged in beautiful bottles. While you can get the full experience of her expertise by visiting the salon in Boston, you can save the trip and have some of her best products, sold as LaVie Organique, shipped directly to your door. When using the skin creams and body lotions, imagine yourself with a life as interesting as Lavinia’s: studying economics in Romania, becoming a national rock climbing champion, and receiving a CIDESCO certificate in skin care from the Swiss institute. Now Borcau’s salon incorporates isometric exercises, a European exercise style called barre, vinyasa yoga, and of course, these wonderful organic products for a lifetime regime of skin health. Massages, pedicures, and manicures are all available on site. LaVie Organique is serious about science as well as nature: the spa and product website contains an A to Z encyclopedia of cosmetics, herbs, minerals, and all the terminology, products, and ingredients used in the full Borcau skin regimen. Balance is the key to good health, sustainable living, and excellent skin care. Borcau’s approach encourages that skin care be a practice, just like yoga or other healthful approaches to wellness. She has created a line of seven revitalizing formulas that work together to extend skin’s suppleness at every layer. The products are based both on Borcau’s Swiss scientific training and generational knowledge passed down from her grandmother. Recently Borcau has expanded her knowledge to include Asian tea therapies. The teas and herbs are made from certified organic plants grown in Siberia, Japan, and of course, Romania. They are certified by the Natural Product Association as cruelty-free, organic, and sustainable (in fact, they exceed the guidelines). The daily regimen includes cleanser, toner, eye cream, and day cream, while evening adds a protective serum.   The Face Mask sounds as delicious as it does rejuvenating: Borcau designed it to restore elasticity and lessen the appearance of fine wrinkles and other signs of aging. Made with organic apples and organic quince, Hungarian chili peppers, white willow bark, and ground walnuts, it exfoliates and firms the skin.  Just imagine the penetrating heat, the cool willow and apple, with the spark of quince and pumice of walnut. Your skin will look good enough to eat. Available at Lavinia Borcau Skin Care, 29 Harvard Street, Brookline (617-734-5523); online at lavie-organique.com.

Organic Shea Butter: A Must Have Eco-Friendly Skin Care Product

Whether it’s freckled, tanned, sensitive, mocha or olive – our skin is the only skin we will ever have. It’s natural that we’d want to take care of it and keep it looking young and fresh. The cosmetics and beauty industry soaks up about 65 billion dollars a year – from lotions that diminish wrinkles to foundations that cover blemishes and more. It’s interesting to note that most products which promise to care for our skin are filled with dangerous chemicals that actually damage that skin! This post will show you how you can dump most of the contents of your cosmetic bag and bathroom vanity – and replace them with one eco-friendly skin care product. Organic Shea Butter This is NOT the Shea butter that is supposedly included in your favorite shampoo or lotion – I’m talking about pure, unrefined and totally natural Shea butter. The refining process destroys the beneficial and healing properties of Shea butter, which comes from the Karite nut tree. In fact, this tree is often called ‘the tree of life’ by the African women who create the Shea butter. Why? Because natural Shea butter is like a miracle product and can be used for many different things, including: • Lip Balm • Anti-Aging Facial Cream • Natural Sunscreen • Rashes and Acne • Dandruff • Eczema • Heated Massage Oil • And so much more! The Shea nuts are harvested by African women, who use a lengthy process to create this miracle butter. Purely Shea, a 100% pure, completely organic and unrefined brand of Shea butter is not only wonderful for the skin – but the company participates in the fair trade act. This allows those African women who create the butter to receive fair wages and employment opportunities for their work. A Few Ways to Use Shea Butter This elegant, silky butter melts at the touch of your skin, so it always glides on perfectly – wherever you need it. However, there are a few purely luxurious ways to use the Shea Butter; including heating it until just warm – be careful that it doesn’t get too hot! This makes an amazing massage treatment for tired muscles and aching joints. You can even add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to include aromatherapy benefits. Another wonderful way to use it is in your hair. For a deep conditioning treatment, generously apply the Shea Butter to your head, saturating every strand of hair. Leave it on for about 45 minutes before rinsing and shampooing in your usual way. The vitamins and nutrients in organic Shea Butter are wonderful for your scalp and will heal damaged hair – making it smoother, shinier and healthier. Shave with Shea Butter to increase the closeness of the shave, protect the skin and prevent razor bumps and burn. You can heat it or simply rub it on like a cream before shaving. Shea butter is one of the best eco-friendly beauty products available. It is absolutely wonderful for just about everything and will not damage and age your skin the way processed and chemical-laden products will. By replacing some of your cosmetic products with organic, unrefined Shea butter, you will be doing something wonderful for your skin and the environment. Photos Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons