More recently, I got to try some teas from America. From a shop called Teavana. First of all, when I open the teas, the scent almost explodes into the kitchen. And then when brewed…the tea just really make you go hmmmmmmm. I got the youthberry wild orange blossom, Strawberry bliss blend, and one migraine mix/blend.
I checked if they deliver to Ireland and it seems they do international deliveries. Could be quite pricey though.

Very recently, I visited a cafe called wall and Keogh right here in Dublin and after a pleasant afternoon there, I bought their Orange Chai which is absolutely gorgeous. On days as cold as we’ve had, it’s really warming to drink a cup of chai blend tea. In Wall and Keogh, they served the tea in these little dinky chinese teacups and teapots.and we were down in the basement, it was sooooo cosy, especially as on the day went it was raining outside…not unusual I suppose:-) . To round it all off, given how rare good customer service is in this town, the staff who served us were so pleasant, it is definitely worth a trip out of my way. Their website does not seem to be working today but here’s is a link to their facebook page

Too tired to upload pics now, but will update later…sometime:-)
Have a fabulous weekend!

The researchers tested the effect of thyme, marigold and myrrh tinctures on the bacterium that causes acne and found that while all preparations were able to kill the bacterium. A tincture is prepared by steeping the plant material which could be root, leaves, etc, in alcohol for weeks to draw out active components from the plants. The thyme tincture proved to have the best antibacterial effect…and was even better than benzoyl peroxide which is the active ingredient in most anti-acne creams. To ensure that their results were not just due to the alcohol in which the tincture was prepared, the team measured the effects of the tinctures against an alcohol control.
Of course further experimentation will need to be carried out, but it is looking promising for the use of thyme as an alternative to prescription.

Thyme has being used in aromatherapy for treatment of acne for a good while. It is always great to see “formal science” such as this research lend further credence to herbal medicine.

The use of thyme in aromatherapy for acne, abscess, etc, has been indicated in the encyclopedia of essential oil by Julia Lawless . Also, while the volume 1 of Plants in Cosmetics (published by the Council of Europe in 2006 with the collaboration of Dr Franco Patri and Prof Vittorio Silano) does not specifically mention it is antibacterial, it does state that intended cosmetic effects include “purifying product for greasy acneic and toneless skin” and also antiseptic.

Anyhow, there is this “African bread” we get from the African shop here…back home in Nigeria it is called “Agege bread”. It is is YUMMY!!! BUT it is as my darlyn friend Flo says…a killer if you are trying to loose weight. It is white bread.

So, I am not much into diets as I like food far too much but I did want to get back into my summer wardrobe…and I had a bet with my husband so I started this “healthy eating regime” which comprises of trying to have breakfast. I am awful for not eating brekkie before I leave for work…very bad. I have at least a fruit or take one or two to work. I don’t often have a work lunch but have now been trying to take something however small.

I found that many recipes I come across in the healthy eating cookbooks do not really appeal to my tastes. I love food with bold flavours and body. Foods that you smell and savour even before you eat them! While these books have some nice ones…I miss my African cuisine some times more than others.

Flo (despite her reservations) made me a huge pot of Efo Riro with just fish and prawns:-) and no oil. There was no funny meat in it either as I don’t eat “assor” ! Flo makes a mean Efo Riro and this one was no exception:-)

Efo Riro is a Nigerian soup made with spinach.
Throw  onions, bell peppers, bonnet peppers and tomatoes in blender

I have since had this with boiled plantain, yam, pounded yam, rice, and on it’s own.

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Many thanks and keep looking after your skin, remember your suncream, the summer is gonna be roasting:-)

I’ve learned that naughty kids got charoal in their socks instead of a pressie.  While looking for an expanation of this who coal-in socks thing, I came across a comment by “twiggy” on another blog

“It seems the original stocking were hung with care, but by three daughters of a widower….dowries were expected by suitors, so Santa left the sisters a bag of gold for each in their stockings. We all wanted gold so we began hanging stockings, alas it was a tradition born. Perhaps Santa in his right mind decided to leave coal, from which inside is a diamond, not to say good or bad, but to say sadly that with hard work a piece of coal will wrought a diamond.I mean really the season of peace and joy is magical, not judgmental of ones behavior, and maybe not only believing, but seeing is the delight we were meant to receive.” 
These pieces of coal won’t become diamond but they are a fab luxurious soap made with sheabutter, ricebran oil,  and others as well as activated charcoal, essential oils of spearmint, orange,patchouli.

I can’t sew but I had a pair of shoes I liked but had frayed a bit so It was a good opportunity to recycle a bag and shoe…with the asoebi.

Below are the results…

Anyway here goes and hope it helps a bit.
Try to keep things simple.

A Gentle Cleanser such as Oatmeal powder…mix into a paste to use. Store this as powder and mix with water when you want to use.

For moisturising,aloe vera gel, also sheabutter, virgin coconut oil.

Licorice extract  or specifically one of it’s components-  glycyrrhizinic acid is helpful in calming inflammation. This can be drying so use with your aloe vera, or sheabutter, or virgin coconut oil.Because it can be drying you only want to use this when you want to calm a flare up…not longterm.
Salicylic acid is supposed to help as well …some people use the aspirin mask to improve skin texture and reduce redness instead of  medication.

I read on the rosacea forum that some people with seborrheic dermatitis -a condition which can exist alongside rosacea have had favourable results using raw honey and virgin coconut oil. check the rosacea forum

Tumeric as an oral supplement has helped in some cases and is documented in some research.
Online Forum well worth visiting:

http://www.rosaceagroup.org

Very best of luck and if you get good results, do come share! And don’t forget your sunscreen!!