A fresh bouquet of
Flowers can brighten your day, but did you k**w that some
Flowers can, among other things, brighten your skin? That's right: pretty blooms can do much more than serve as weeklong
desk decor. Flower petals, seed extracts, and oils are popping up in everything from intensive
Beauty treatments and luxurious spa services to entire skincare lines, and you don't need to be an botanist to incorporate favorites like rose, lavender, and hibiscus into your
Beauty and relaxation routine.
While botanical-inspired
Beauty goodies are trendy right **w, the use of
Flowers for their
Beauty and health benefits is far from a new concept. The calendula, the yellow-orange perennial also k**wn as the pot marigold, was made famous by the Romans and is potent on the skin while
packing major anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. Orchid extract is used in the
battle against fine lines. The sausage tree, a tree found throughout Southern Africa that produces crimson-hued
Flowers and fruit that resembles salami,
is being researched for its ability to even out hyperpigmentation. The wellness benefits of lavender have been studied for centuries, and some of the earliest research came courtesy of Hildegard Von Bingen, a 12th-century theologian who observed that lavender could be used for sleeping and mi*****e relief. Then there's Cleopatra, the grand dame of all
Beauty trends, who is said to have bathed her royal feet in orange flower water and used
rose water as a facial toner.
"In Elizabethan England, they believed that roses evened out skin blemishes," says
Jennifer Hirsch, a UK-based beauty botanist for The Body Shop and one of the world's leading figures in eth**botany (AKA, the study of how groups of people use plants within their culture). Hirsch doubts that roses can live up to that task - "roses don't have that kind of chemistry," she says - but they do have their own unique
Beauty benefits including skin hydration, plumping, and brightening. Roses are in demand for use in
Beauty products, and The Body Shop has been putting petals in its
British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask and
Exfoliating Gel Body Scrub since last year, sourcing fresh, organic roses from a British farm for the line.
The blue lotus, a precious water lily dating back to ancient Egypt, is the core
Ingredient in skincare line
Pur-lisse, a collection of rejuvenating products featuring masks, moisturizers, and eye serum. Pur-lisse founder Jennifer Yen developed the idea for the skincare line based on her grandmother's traditions using the flower and white tea. "For beauty, blue lotus is very soothing and super hydrating," says Yen. "It's an antioxidant, so it helps fight free radicals, but overall, it's a beautiful
Ingredient that works well with other ingredients without overpowering them."
Florist-turned-megafamous perfumer Eric Buterbagh is getting in on the blooms-meets-beauty trend, too. After two decades as a floral artist, he launched the
EB Florals perfume line. **w, he's turning the Sultry Rose scent from his uni*** line into a ****** of ***** & Roses spa treatments available exclusively at the Ritz Carlton in Los Angeles. During the ***** & Roses Body Polish treatment, rose oil is used to tone and revitalize the skin after an exfoliating scrub, while heated rose oil aids in loosening tense muscles during the full-body massage. "When the scent of
Flowers mixes with your body chemistry, the scent goes a different way," says Buterbagh.
The city of Carlsbad, CA, is taking the blooming
Beauty trend one step further, with a 10-day celebration of floral wellness. Select hotel spas will offer a slew of botanical-themed renewal treatments and aromatherapy classes during the event, called
Petal to Plate, at the end of April. Flowers, specifically hibiscus, will be used in everything from facials to foot scrubs, while aromatherapy classes will teach attendees about the benefits of floral-infused
essential oils.
So what's next for the flower-fueled
Beauty trend? According to Hirsch, chamomile essential oil and extract are poised to become the next hot ingredients thanks to
their calming and anti-inflammatory properties. A**ther
Ingredient to watch is love-in-a-mist seed oil, a**ther Cleopatra favorite, which is packed with antioxidants. As Hirsch sees it, any interest in plant-based
Beauty is ultimately a win. "I just want people to be excited by plants," says Hirsch. "I think people forget how closely our lives are tied to them."
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