Introducing...Natroma Bathing!

We're delighted to introduce a new range to Natroma, with the addition of our new bathing collection! With Natroma Bathing we've splurged on the most luxurious natural skincare ingredients to create a really indulgent range of goat's milk soaps and bathing products.

The goat's milk soap contains a decadent blend of organic botanical oils and Fair Trade butters, enriched with real goat's milk. We've then added the gorgeously scented Monoi de Tahiti, to create a top of the range soap with a lather that feels even more moisturising and creamy. We've co-ordinated these soaps to our Natroma skincare fragrances, so we've been able to use many of the very expensive essential oils that you do not usually see in handmade soaps. The initial fragrance choice is Chamomile, Rose and Orange Blossom. Each bar is handwrapped in a pure muslin cloth and decorated with a stylish organza ribbon, and we'd suggest that these natural wrappings are re-cycled as facial cloths so there's no waste. More of these luxurious soaps will follow during 2009, so watch this space!

We're also very pleased to introduce our Fizzing Bath Melt range. These are lovely little bathing beauties which really do look good enough to eat! We wouldn't recommend it though, since our new cup-cake range is designed to gently fizz in the bath and release lots of Fair Trade Cocoa and Shea butters into the bath water. They feature some lovely new blends of essential oils, and are naturally coloured with petals and other natural ingredients. Available on their own, or in a pretty ribbon decorated ballotin box, these are already proving to be very popular with our Studio customers. More fragrances will be released during the year, since these make lovely small gifts and are sure to be popular at Christmas.

Please visit: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d24-natroma-bathing/ for more information.

Hydrolats, Hydrosols, Flower Waters

This is the first in a series of articles covering our cosmetic ingredients. This week, we're focussing upon hydrolats (sometimes called hydrosols or flower waters).

Hydrolats are a by-product from the production of essential oils from botanical materials, via a steam distillation process. During distillation the essential oil is separated from the water or condensed steam. This pure water is collected and contains the water soluble parts of the plant. Many hydrolats have a light aroma and are mild and cooling, making them ideal to use as ingredients in cosmetic products or as natural skin toners or compresses. The most well-known one is traditional rose water, but there are a great many hydrolats available. They each have their own charicteristics, but all are soothing, refreshing and help to balance the skin.

We have carefully selected a small range of organic hydrolats (from a Soil Association accredited producer) and they smell gorgeous! It took us a while to find these lovely floral waters, since a great many have added preservatives and are not produced organically. You'll find them in all of our Natroma cream products, and they alone provide the subtle aroma in our Facial Cleansers and Rhassoul Clay Masks.

Our Chamomile variety has a very subtle fragrance so is perfect for sensitive skin. Rose has a rich, sweet note and is great on all skin-types. Orange Blossom comes from the distillation of neroli essential oil, and has a light, sophisticated note (and is definitely our favorite!) After finding such a lovely product we thought they deserved special packaging, so we chose some elegant violet glass bottles. This special heavy glass looks almost black and protects them from daylight so they do not need any added preservative. These bottles have a fabulous spray attachment which produces the finest of mists - so you can spray them directly onto the face. Our tip is to keep a bottle in the fridge during hot weather, and use it to spritz the neck when you're feeling too warm. This also works wonderfully, for anyone suffering from hot flushes.

We love organic hydrolats, and would definitely recommend using them as a natural alternative to commercial toner products. They leave the skin feeling soft and hydrated and are an essential part of our skincare range. More information can be found on the Natroma website: http://www.natroma.co.uk/store/d2-hydrolat-skin-toners/