Stephanie Tourles

I have been a fan of Ms. Tourles for a long time. I've been receiving her newsletter for several years. They are full of healthy recipes to feed the body as well as DIY skincare recipes. It's called "Hello Glow" I highly recommend it.
This book is perfect, I've been a fan of Aromatherapy for years, I took a class back in the late 80's. I remember coming home with a Hummingbird diffuser, it was the only type they made back then. There wasn't a lot of information out regarding Essential oils at that time but I was hooked.
One of the many things I like about this book is the way she described each oil its benefits, plus this is what I learned in my class I took, the benefits of dry brushing, many people have never heard of that and believe me it works. I dry brush every time before I get into the shower. It makes a huge difference for sure. Not only does your skin feel better it helps with your circulation and gives your body a boost as well.
I've made several skin care products and they seem expensive to get all the ingredients you need but they are cost-effective in the long run. But once you have all the things you need you'll have them on hand a little bit goes a long way.
One of the recipes that I use is her Lemon Refresher Toner, it's great. Another one I've made and use is her Rosy Red Balancing Clay Mask. These are both inexpensive to make and during the summer the Lemon Refresher Toner is a great spritzer to use during the day.
I love her facial steams as well, I save all my rose's petals so I can use them in my steams or other products. I dry them out and they keep for a long time. I do the same with my lavender blooms as well.
Needless to say, this is a great book, I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an alternative to high-cost skin care. I'll be purchasing this book for several people for Christmas, it's fun to make your own skin care items. I also recommend signing up for her great newsletter, she doesn't push high priced oils on you like some other books I've read. She has a list of Resources in the back of the book her book that is beneficial and also a list of recommended reading.
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this e-galley in exchange for my honest opinion, the opinions I expressed above are my own.… (more)

I've made four recipes from this, the Aloe and Calendula Cleansing Cream, the Fennel Soother, the Smooth-as-Velvet Vanilla Toner, and the "Out Damn Spot" Antiblemish Elixir. I've not tried the vanilla one yet because it's still got a week and a half to steep until it's ready, but I've been using the others for the past several days.

The cleansing cream is an incredible moisturizer. My husband has eczema on his hands, and this is just wiping it out. It's taken a little getting used to as a facial cleanser since it's more like a cold cream than I'm used to, but I think it will be great for winter.

The soother feels wonderful after a shower, and the antiblemish elixir seems to do a fairly good job of wiping out small pimples.

I love the way all of this stuff smells. I love to just stick my nose into the jar with the cleansing cream and breathe in the rosemary fragrance.

It was a bit of an investment to acquire all of the ingredients (including more obscure essential oils) and storage containers, but I can see my family using the recipes I've made with them. In the end, I think it will cost less than the natural skin care products in the stores, and I have complete control over what goes in them.

Oh, and if I start making this stuff regularly, I might invest in an inexpensive blender just for this purpose. The cleansing cream (which contains beeswax and lanolin) was a beast to get out of my VitaMix.

Update: I've stopped using the cleansing cream on my face; it was just too heavy and left my skin looking greasy. But I still use it as a hand lotion and on my decollete. And the anti-blemish elixir is still pretty awesome. Photos of a couple of the things I made are on my blog in the post entitled "Potions Class."… (more)

I enjoyed all the tidbits and helpful advice in this handy book. There is a trend toward holistic medicine and this book fits the bill. Glad to have all this information in an easy to access reference book.I absolutely love this book, and I consult it for any concerns I have for my family and friends.

This book is chocked full of remedies that are easy to use, cheap to make and above all don't require an Rx. I am convinced that we need to return to more homeopathic and natural remedies like this, rather than run to the doctors for pills.
It is well organized; even color codes different sections, and has great pictures / illustrations. If I had to eliminate all but one book in my library on health remedies and treatment, this would be the one I would keep.

I was given this book from NetGalley.… (more)