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Last Sunday, on my way to my Farmer’s Market I stopped for coffee.  When I got back in the car I complimented myself. “I’m so “flipping” proud of you- this has been a rough stretch but you haven’t given up.  Way to go.”

Then I noticed the oil light was on! My first thought- why now?  I’ve been trying to work on changing my mental behaviors.  I come from a long line of worriers- and I have carried on the tradition and passed it along to Carly.  And I know my thought patterns increase my worry, anxiety and add to stress.  But it is a fierce battle!

There is part of me that expects disaster.  Maybe a part that believes happiness is for the birds.  But I also strongly believe in energy, especially the power of positive energy.  When I looked at the bad oil light I realized I had a choice.  First, I had a job to do.  I needed to focus enough to make my market worthwhile.  I couldn’t be distracted and anxious- my vibes alone would scare people away!  Next, I needed a plan. I found a place nearby that was open on Sundays, made an appointment, got some oil and made it home safely.  

I realize many of us struggle with our inner thoughts- often letting them overtake and dictate not just how we think but how we react and ultimately how happy and at peace we feel.  We need to "Bee nice- especially to ourselves".

Emily Caswell has some great tips on helping to keep the negitive chatter quite on her blog-

Three Things I learned When I lost My Mantra.  

“Back when I was saying the mantra every day, my life was far from perfect. But my focus was on the things that were going right. The underlying feeling about life was always positive, and that was partly because of the story I was telling myself.

The words you use to talk to yourself and about yourself have a big impact.”

A great resource is 7 Calming Quotes to Remind You to Let Go

"You know my definition of true happiness? Inner peace.

You know my definition of true success? Inner peace.

You know what I’d love you to feel right now? Inner peace."

Finally, one of my favorite books is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

"One rainy afternoon, while riding a city bus, Gretchen Rubin asked herself, “What do I want from life, anyway?” She answered, “I want to be happy”—yet she spent no time thinking about her happiness. In a flash, she decided to dedicate a year to a happiness project. The result? One of the most thoughtful and engaging works on happiness to have emerged from the recent explosion of interest in the subject. “

I’ve read and reread and it was a great book club book.  Lots of us did simple things to make our lives better.  Sharron started daily yoga, I stopped feeling guilty about my expensive gym membership and LaT started decluttering her house.

We can’t buy happiness but we do have the power to make choices that bring us contentment and joy.

At Dulse and Rugosa we have never used Palm Oil in our soap or in any product.  When our business first started, we formulated soaps based on oils that made sense to our Maine farm brand.  We loved our soap but realized as we moved from experimenting to growing a business that many soaps contain Palm Oil.  The reason for this is a combination of price and quality.

The controversy around Palm oil comes from the destruction of the rainforest in Indonesia.  Natural rainforest habitat is being turned into Palm oil plantations.  In economic terms, Palm oil makes good sense.  High yields on little land make Palm oil so attractive.  Currently, around 85% of the global Palm market is supplied by Indonesia and Malaysia, home to Orangutans- the great apes of Asia.  For orangutans the loss of their homes means they are forced to move closer to villages and towns.  Where they are considered pests and  nuisances and are often killed. Sadly, Orangutans may be extinct in just a few years.

Palm oil is used in soaps because it makes a long lasting bar with a nice lather.  It’s also a reasonably priced oil.  Many natural, earth friendly companies use Palm oil in their soap.  That’s why label reading is so important.

Can you guess who’s soap this is?

Saponified Organic Coconut, Palm, Olive Oils ([Organic] with Retained Glycerin), Water, Hemp Oil (Organic), Jojoba Oil (Organic), Salt, Vitamin E

It’s not just soap that uses Palm oil, it’s everywhere.

Here’s the ingredient list from some delicious organic cookies-

Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Powdered Sugar (Organic Sugar, Organic Corn Starch), Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Organic Sugar, Molasses, Ground Ginger, Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate (leavening), Soy Lecithin (an emulsifier), Spice, Monocalcium Phosphate (leavening), Natural Flavor.

I love the World Wildlife Foundation’s “Peel Back the Label”  activity.  It’s a great visual way to understand how ubiquitous Palm oil is.

http://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil

And even if you read the labels you might not recognize how Palm oil is labeled.

Here is a handy guide from WWF.

INGREDIENTS: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol

All words for Palm oil

It’s easy to think as an individual or a tiny company that your choices don’t really affect the planet.  

For more info in saying NO to Palm oil, check out these blogs and websites.

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php

http://backporchsoap.blogspot.com/2012/02/palm-oil-in-cosmetics-series-part-one.html

Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered who that person was?  I know the process of aging takes time but somewhere in our 30’s to 40’s our skin- especially our face starts to change.  Our ability to produce natural oil decreases and our face after cleaning can often feel crackly and dry.  

My nightly ritual involves giving myself a gentle and cleansing facial with our Sweet Island Oil.  There are many benefits of using oil over a mainstream face cleaner.  The first thing I notice is how my face doesn’t have that dry, crackly feeling after washing.  In fact, I don’t exactly wash my face, rather I steam clean.  

Here’s my technique for a clean, fresh ready for bed face.

For a nightly spa treatment (and stress reliever) pour a small amount of oil (about dime sized) onto your palms.  Warm the oil by gently rubbing your hands together.  Massage the oil into your face using upward strokes.  Rinse a washcloth under hot water (as hot as you can stand), ringing out excess water.  Gently lay the cloth over your face.  Close your eyes, breath deeply, think of something wonderful and beautiful as the cloth cools down to room temperature.  For a truly relaxing experience, warm the washcloth again and place over your face.  Sweet dreams!

At Dulse & Rugosa, we begin the process of creating our powerful yet pampering oil by infusing virgin olive oil with hand harvested Maine rose hips.  Rose hips are the fruit of the rose plant and our rose hips begin to ripen in Autumn.  We love rose hips because they nourish and protect our skin and work to tone and soften our face.  We love olive oil because it is rich in antioxidants and doesn't clog up pores.  

 We also use rose hip oil, which is made from the hips.  This is one of the best oils for our skin, especially as we get older.  It’s high in essential fatty acids.  These essential nutrients help rejuvenate, regenerate and reduce inflammation.  Basically helping to keep our skin hydrated and supple.

Finally, we blend in a small  amount of Castor Oil.  This is an essential oil for cleansing the skin.  With Castor, a little goes a long way.  It’s a thick, rich oil that blends beautifully to create a powerful, hydrating botanically rich oil.  

It’s best to give yourself an oil cleansing facial before bed.  There is no need to deep clean in the morning- you want to get rid of the day’s stress and debris as well as begin to relax.  If your skin is feeling especially dry as you start your day, massage a few drops on your face and wait a few minutes before applying sunscreen or makeup.  

We’re having a BOGO Sale on our Solid Perfumes.  Our sale ends Aug 1st and quantities are limited.

Shop here for solid perfumes.

Designed to be aromatherapy for you not the room, solid perfumes are an effective way to “escape” if only temporarily.  I find they are an easy tool in my daily stress management kit.  Perfect for pulse points, I also use directly under my nose when I want help in taking a deep, calming yoga breath.  I keep one in the car, one on my purse and one by my bed.  A friend rubs a dab in her hair when she needs a lift.  And with two for the price of one- you can too!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS- for each tin of solid perfume you order we will ship two of exactly the same scent.  If you want to mix it up, send a message via the contact us page or email us at dulseandrugosa@gmail.com.

Don’t you love when a colleague brings in donuts, cake or muffins?  Except for the calories and the willpower needed to resist a second helping.  Why not take in an assortment of solid perfume instead?  Put them in an attractive platter right next to the coffee and spread some joy.

Solid perfumes also make great stocking stuffers.  I love to stockpile goodies all year.  It’s important to have a special storage area because you want to find them again.  It’s such a joy to unpack my goodie box and see all my special treats.  It also helps cut down on the stress of last minute gift giving. Our Lilac solid perfume in particular is a lovely treat for a New Englander who has moved South.  They have the sun and short winters but they miss, miss, miss the fresh, sweet scent of spring in New England.

Solid perfumes also make wonderful thank you gifts.  Brighten someone’s day by leaving a tin as a thank you token.  The tins are wonderful for teachers, health care professionals or just leave on a desk or in a mailbox.  Especially thoughtful if someone is going through a stressful event.