KEY POINTS:
Using botanical extracts and things from the garden for beautification and fragrance purposes has been going on for centuries. And we're still at it, although now we've got science on our side to ensure even more efficacious preparations. Cleopatra - who was fond of perfuming the sails on
her barge with clouds of fragrance - would approve.
1. Trilogy Aromatic Body Treatment Oil
$34.90 for 100ml
Another home-grown range that believes in making paraben, mineral oil and fragrance-free products. Believers in the power of rosehip oil, Trilogy blends this and six other pure plant oils including avocado and evening primrose with orange blossom, vanilla and sweet orange to make an easily absorbed body oil that doses skin with vitamins, antioxidants and essential fatty acids. Skin is nourished and soothed. Good stuff.
From selected department stores, pharmacies and health stores.
2. Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Cologne
$98 for 30ml
This is the latest from the company that gave us the inspired blend of lime, basil and mandarin. There's more than a touch of Arabian Nights to this, with notes of pomegranate, frankincense, patchouli, raspberry and plum. Heady and rather seductive.
From Jo Malone Chancery.
3. Dr Andrew Weil for Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushrooom Treatment Lotion
$75 for 200ml
This toner - with a longer name than one of Paula Yates' children - is part of a range of products Origins has collaborated on with integrative health authority Dr Andrew Weil. He believes in helping skin look as healthy as possible through calming and soothing skin, thereby addressing dryness, redness, hyperpigmentation, lines and wrinkles. This gentle toning lotion calls on the power of special mushrooms, ginger, tumeric and basil to hydrate and optimise skin's defences.
From selected department stores and pharmacies.
4. Living Nature Ultra Nourishing Mask
$59 for 50ml
Living Nature uses no synthetic preservatives or parabens, preferring New Zealand plants, honey and clay. This new mask is a rich, creamy concoction using shea butter, mango butter, avocado, rosehip, manuka and tea tree oils alongside cocoa butter, manuka honey and totara extract to boost the moisture levels of dry and mature skin.
From selected department stores, pharmacies, health stores and beauty therapists.
5. The Body Shop Rich Plum Soap
$9.50 for 100g
Plums and Christmas go way back, what with plum pudding being the traditional dessert. Now, you can go one step further and get clean with this festive season limited edition plum-smelling soap. Plum extract, Community Trade soy oil and glycerine do a thoroughly acceptable job of cleansing.
From The Body Shop.