fresh from your kitchen: pineapple enzyme exfoliating mask

This easy but effective mask takes minutes to make, will renew your dull or sallow looking complexion (and leaves you with a juicy pineapple to much on!) All ingredients are easy to find organic at your local health food store or market. Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup pineapple, cubed
1 T ground oatmeal (pulse in coffee grinder to make powder)
1 tsp almond flour

DIRECTIONS:

Cube 1/2 cup pineapple and mush with a fork or chop in food processor. Stir in oatmeal and almond flour, adding a bit more almond flour if you want to thicken the mask. Apply mixture to clean face and neck. Relax for 15 minutes and rinse off.

What it Does...
PINEAPPLE naturally contains multiple enzymes, such as bromelain and papain, that respectively break down dead skin cells while cleaning and calm skin while delivering rich vitamin A.

OATMEAL is a natural, soothing exfoliant known for it's calming and anti-inflammatory properties. It also has astringent qualities but is gentle enough for sensitive skin. It helps to draw oil and impurities out of the skin.

ALMOND are rich in vitamins A, B & E and often used in skin care for sensitive skin for its strong emollient and gentle softening properties. Almond meal is a flour made from the nuts; it's easy to find at Trader Joe's or your local health food store.

The Grapeseed Co. Cali Harvest Serum

Follow this enzyme mask with The Grapeseed Co. 
soothing Lavender Rose Toner and Cali Harvest Serum for 
an amazing, DIY facial with spa quality results!

Green Skin Care Blog brings simple spa delights to your home with Fresh From Your Kitchen: DIY skin care recipes & treatments you can create with a trip to the grocer or health food store. Direct from the creator of The Grapeseed Company's personal stash of fresh beauty creations and concoctions.   

it's almost harvest time. . .

As we come to the end of summer, we roll right into another 
"favorite season" here in California -- harvest season! 

This is the time of year that vintners start to pick grapes and determining when to pick is a fine art in the wine making process. This is also the time of year we start gearing up to gather our grapeseeds.

Scenery in front, back and both sides on the back roads between Sonoma and Napa Valley... Grapes as far as the eye can see! 

Here at The Grapeseed Company, we have taken what's recently been coined as the "farm to table" concept to our handmade bath & body products since 2004. We create unique, antioxidant rich "vineyard to skin care" from our local resource here in California wine country. As we've grown, one of the biggest challenges has been projecting out growth and making sure we have enough seeds to get through the production year. We source red wine varietal grape seeds throughout California and Oregon to make our botanical beauty products. Pete and I recently visited many other wine country regions to expand our sourcing in California. Our trek to Napa, Sonoma, Russian River, Dry Creek Valley and some lesser known AVAs was educational on the different grape varietals we include in Grapeseed Co. products. While most of our products contain mixes of different grape varietals, certain products highlight the specific wine varietal...

 

syrah grapes, ripe for the pickin' which starts next week! 
find it in: 

harvest crush syrah wine bar organic soap

 

merlot grapes, these will stay on the vine longer before harvest. Much bigger clusters on merlot vines!
find it in: 

Vino Gel Foaming Facial Cleanser

 

Pinot noir gapes a few weeks away from harvest. Grapes taste slightly sweet with big crunchy seeds- what we love here at Grapeseed Co.
find it in: 

Vino Lux Pinot Dreams Lotion with argan, avocado + grapeseed

Savignon Blanc grapes, growing overhead on a pergola. This varietal is also picked early in the harvest season.
find it in:  

Spa'vignon Blanc whipped body butter

Stay tuned as we share more of our grape sourcing throughout the 

2013 harvest season!

 

Fresh From Your Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Facial

Ever wonder what to do with that can of pumpkin after opening it for your holiday recipes? Never fear, natural beauty treatments from Green Skin Care Blog are here! This indulgent facial mask will leave you looking fresh, radiant and take care of your leftovers! Enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie Facial

 

ingredients

2 T mashed pumpkin pulp (you can use canned pumpkin)
1 T honey
2 T sour cream, plain or vanilla yogurt*
*for the sweet, pie like aroma, use the vanilla yogurt or add a few drops of pure vanilla extract to the plain yogurt or sour cream
*this is an easy one to make organic- all of the ingredients are readily available in organic form

directions
~Wash your face with a gentle cleanser like green tea & grapes creme cleanser
~Mash ingredients above together and apply to face and neck area
~Relax for 15-20 min
~Rinse off with warm water and towels
~Apply a nourishing treatment like rose & grape serum or try our new rich night time vinotherapy moisturizer, Cali Vine Decadently Rich Facial Cream 

what it does
pumpkin is a member of the squash family, rich in many antioxidants like beta-carotene, zinc and natural alpha-hydroxy acids which can help even skin tone and reduce the signs of aging. Plus, pumpkin contains vitamins A & C- both great for maintaining a healthy complexion!
honey this sweet treat helps attract dirt, oil and clean skin with breakouts. Bees release a glucose enzyme when creating honey that is a natural antiseptic and has antibacterial properties. When applied topically, it draws body fluids and nutrients to the area assisting in cell growth and scar prevention.
cream & yogurt contain a naturally occurring alpha-hydroxy acid from lactic acid that exfoliates and renews the cellular surface of the skin
vanilla is known in aromatherapy to have comforting and relaxing effects and has a history of use in sensual/aphrodisiac blends.

This is a fabulous natural anti-aging seasonal spa treatment you can whip up right in your own kitchen. Gather the ladies and relax with a facial after Turkey Day!

Green Skin Care Blog brings simple spa delights to you with Fresh From Your Kitchen: DIY recipes & treatments you can create at home with a trip to the grocer or health food store. 
{Direct from the creator of The Grapeseed Company's personal stash of fresh beauty concoctions!}

study links grapes to preventing sun damaged skin

I've written many times before about all of the amazing beauty benefits of grapes and grapeseeds. Recently, I've been reasearching more claims about the antioxidant rich fruit, including that it is a beneficial ingredient sun care and after sun products. The naturally occurring antioxidants in grapes may aid in preventing long term sun damage.


CosmeticDesign.com reported today on a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry on this very subject... check out what the team of scientists in Spain found out about the flavanoids in grapes and how the reduce damage in long term UVA and UVB exposed skin here.

read more on the benefits of grapes here:
Grapeseeds are an Anitoxidant Powerhouse
Grapeseed Benefits: The Quality of a Byproduct
Benefits of Red Wine for the Skin

4 daily skin care steps for a glowing complexion

I can't tell you how many times I hear comments like these from customers: "I don't do a lot of products" "I just am not that high maintenance" or "I'm lucky if I wash my makeup off before I go to bed." This often is followed by a comment I've been hearing constantly since we opened the store, "What do you use? Your skin looks great." There is no ONE miracle product folks.... here's my best, honest advice. Yes, I formulate and sell skin care products, but that is not why my skin looks good (most of the time... I definitely suffer from the occasional adult breakout :) It's a combo of what I use on my skin and what I put into my body...

Skin care does not have to be complicated. 

It doesn't have to take an additional 15 minutes 
and 8 products in your morning or evening routine. 

It can be simple, efficient and effective 
with a few of the right products and lifestyle choices.

1. Start with the basics, drink plenty of water and eat properly. Salmon, walnut oil and a variety of colorful fruits and veggies should work their way into your diet regularly. The high omegas in salmon and walnut oil will do more for your skin health than any topical product alone will. Check out the book The Perricone Promise if you are interested in learning more here. Eat his recipes for 2 weeks and you will see what I mean- your complexion will be glowing!

2. Wash your face with a gentle cleanser. Contrary to popular belief, bubbles do not equal clean. Your cleanser doesn't have to lather up into a bubble fest to actually clean your skin; usually if it foams like crazy that's a good sign there are sulfates or other lathering agents in the formulation. The most gentle and most effective cleansers (for all skin types) are creme cleansers. Our Green Tea & Grapes Creme Cleanser is formulated with antioxidant rich green tea and grapeseed extracts as well as rose and Roman chamomile to soothe your skin as it cleans, without bubbles. It's free of essential oils or fragrances to cleanse even the most sensitive skin without irritation.

3. Don't skip the toner! It hydrates your skin, delivering balancing botanical extracts to your pores and doesn't take more than a few seconds to spritz on your face. Our Lavender Rose Toner is a beautiful blend of lavender and rose distillates and essential oils that refresh and hydrate, perfectly prepping your skin for step 4...

4. Treatment: our skin needs moisture to look fresh and hydrated. This comes from a combo of what you drink (lots of water is key) and what you apply to your skin. Anyone that know me well knows my two favorite beverages in the world are coffee and red wine. While they do have some positive health benefits (that's for another post :) they also are dehydrating, especially if imbibed in excess (that goes for either or both.) Balance dehydrating beverages out with lots of water and herbal tea throughout the day. Don't forget topical hydration either, your skin needs some type of moisturizer, serum or oil to stay moist and glowing. The Rose & Grape Serum is my product of choice, morning and evening. If it's super dry or I've been out surfing and in the sun, I layer the Chamomile Grapefruit Moisturizer on top of the serum for maximum hydrating benefits.

So there you have it, my secrets to a great complexion! The skin care steps take 3 products and about 90 seconds... Even you low maintenance gals (and guys) can handle that, right?!

feature ingredient: acai~ an ecologically sound antioxidant

Acai (INCI name: Euterpe Olerace) is a dark purplish hued berry that is native to South America. It's produced by a species of palm tree commonly found in Brazil. Acai is considered a superfruit due to its high antioxidant content, particularly for the flavanoids which help prevent oxidation caused by free radicals. Acai is touted for having even higher antioxidant content than many other superfruits like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or cranberries. It's popping up in everything from drinks to energy bars to (you guessed it) skin care!

In addition to being rich in antioxidants, acai is an ecologically sound ingredient and renewable resource, much like the grape seed. Greenpeace states that harvesting acai berries is an "alternative to logging" and has produced multi-millions per year in revenue for the Amazon rainforest without chopping down trees.

I've been experimenting with acai in our formulations for a few years. It's a perfect compliment to our namesake grape seed to boost antioxidant levels even higher in formulations.

find it in:
whipped grapeseed & shea body butters
vine eyes anti-aging cream with eyebright

other ways to use acai:
~create your own facial treatment with acai with our Fresh from your Kitchen DIY beauty recipe
~check out Acai: eco beauty in a bracelet to see alternative ways the ecologically sound berry is being used.

Health Magazine: Toast to Bubbly's Big Benefits

Health magazine has a great feature called "secret natural ingredient" in each issue. In the spirit of the holidays, champagne was the choice for December! We were contacted to discuss the benefits of grape seeds. I also provided this indulgent Fresh From your Kitchen beauty recipe to be included in the article. Check out #2 Skin Salve... thanks for including us!

fresh from your kitchen: toning tomato facial

We have loads of tomatoes ripe right now, so I've been putting them in everything lately! Tomatoes are terrific for your health, and have been linked to cancer and heart disease prevention. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins C & A, as well as lycopene, a potent antioxidant that gives the tomato a rich, red color.

tomatoes are not only great to eat, but also fabulous to tone, clarify and revive dull or oily skin! Try this simple facial treatment at home.

toning tomato facial

mash 1 tomato
1T honey
1T plain yogurt or sour cream

Mix ingredients in small food processor or blender.
Place a warm, damp towel over your face for a few minutes.
Apply mask and leave on skin for 15 min
Wash off and follow with applying 100% pure grapeseed oil with a facial fan brush

honey helps attract dirt, oil and clean skin with breakouts. Bees release a glucose enzyme when creating honey that is a natural antiseptic and has antibacterial properties. When applied topically, it draws body fluids and nutrients to the area assisting in cell growth and scar prevention. Learn more here.

yogurt & sour cream contain a naturally occurring alpha-hydroxy acid from lactic acid that exfoliates and renews the cellular surface of the skin.

Green Skin Care Blog brings simple spa delights to your home with Fresh From Your Kitchen: DIY skin care recipes & treatments you can create with a trip to the grocer or health food store. Direct from the creator of The Grapeseed Company's personal stash of fresh beauty creations and concoctions.

Grandma's Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

This week, I'm sharing a yummy dessert recipe from my grandma that brings me back to childhood. I grew up spending my summers at Squam Lake in NH. Depending on your age, you may remember the movie "On Golden Pond" which was filmed here. My grandparents built a house here when I was a young child. I have not had the chance to spend a full week up here in over a decade, so my siblings and cousins have been on a throw-back to childhood kick, from going on our favorite hikes, to making delish recipes we grew up on.

Yesterday, my mom, sister, husband and I took our boat over to Blueberry Island (not the real name of the island, but what we've always called it) so we could pick native blueberries and make a favorite summer dessert, appropriately named Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

I ate my fair share of berries during the picking process! My mom by far out-picked the rest of us (look at that technique!) We came back with a couple pounds of sweet, ripe blueberries to whip up this recipe for dessert. While I usually do not eat much dessert, blueberries are a superfood chock full of antioxidants and vitamins- justification enough for dessert on vacation! It's so delicious, I ended up having a little for breakfast too! Grandma and grandpa arrive this afternoon, so we saved a few slices for them :)

Grandma's Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake
1 1/2 C flour
1t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 C milk
2 eggs, separated
1/2 C shortening
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 C blueberries
sprinkles of cinnamon & sugar mixed

Cream shortening with sugar. Add beaten yolks. Add alternately sifted dry ingredients, then milk. Fold in beaten egg whites, vanilla, then lightly floured blueberries. Bake 30-40 min at 350. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar before baking.

Enjoy!

beauty foods: grilled salmon on lemon lentils & arugula

Beauty Foods are delicious, nutrient rich recipes to eat your way to healthy skin. Beauty Foods is a spin off on Fresh From Your Kitchen, bringing you the same format from our delectable DIY spa recipes to delicious food recipes that will lead to glowing, healthy skin from the inside out!

This delicious, easy recipe incorporates 2 of my favorite foods that are staples on our shopping list, salmon and arugula. They just happen to be full of rich antioxidants and vitamins for healthy skin too!

ingredients ~ serves 2
3/4 to 1 lb salmon cut into 2 fillets
1/2 cup dry lentils or 1/2 can cooked lentils
1 bunch arugula, rinsed and torn
2 T red wine vinegar
2T chopped onion
2t dijon mustard
1 lemon (for zest and juice)
olive oil
S&P

simple steps
Rub salmon with olive oil, S&P and grill.

Cook the lentils as directed if using dry lentils. If using canned lentils, zap them in the microwave to heat 45 seconds to 1 min.

Make the salad dressing: combine vinegar, 2T olive oil, mustard & onion. Add lemon zest, S&P to taste. Toss warm lentils and arugula in vinaigrette. Spread on plate. Place grilled salmon on top and garnish with lemon wedge. Enjoy!

Why it's healthy for your skin and body

Salmon is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which does wonders for your skin, not to mention your heart and are known as an anti-inflammatory. Try to select wild salmon, the pinker the better. Some farm raised salmon add color, so do not be fooled by this. Alaskan, sockeye and coho salmon are usually good bets if they are available. These are said to contain the highest amounts of essential fatty acids.

Lentils are a great dried bean to get started with, because they cook much quicker than other dried beans. They are high in iron, fiber, B vitamins and minerals. There have been medical studies that show benefits of consuming lentils for heart health. You can read more about it here.

Arugula, along with many other dark greens, is rich in vitamin A & C, magnesium, folic acid, calcium and phytochemicals, which are a great antioxidant source. These help detoxify the body and skin. The delicious peppery taste is a welcome surprise, giving a much different flavor than other leafy greens. We grow arugula in our urban garden because I love it so much. It's also an easy staple to pick up at your local farmer's market.

Benefits of Red Wine for the Skin

Dr. Oz has a great article on his blog this morning called "Cheers To Red Wine". While many health professionals and media people like Barbara Walters have done features on the health benefits of red wine, I was particularly pleased to see Dr. Oz mention the great effects red wine and products made from grape seeds can have on the skin!

Dr. Oz says skin benefits come from "Polyphenols (that) protect the skin from UV light and keep it elastic. It also strengthens the cross-linking of collagen, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Studies also show that people who drink red wine have fewer cancerous skin lesions. If you cannot consume alcohol, you can get these same benefits from a grapeseed oil scrub made from the seeds/skins of red wine grapes."

You can checkout the full article on Dr. Oz's blog and read more about the skin benefits here. If you're interested in learning more about the health benefits of red wine and grape seeds, I highly recommend reading The Longevity Factor: How Resveratrol and Red Wine Activate Genes for a Longer and Healthier Life by Dr. Joseph Maroon. We also posted a series of videos about a year ago on health benefits of wine, here are the links to check them out.
Resveratrol: Barbara Walters Investigates
The Science Behind Resveratrol: part 1
Resveratrol: Can You Intervene the Aging Process? (part 2)

I want to give a quick shout out to a twitter friend and customer who sent me this link today; thanks @erinstoupe for thinking of me! I know how I'm planning on unwinding this evening, a nice glass of Santa Barbara syrah and maybe even a custom vinotherapy mask to go along with it.... Have a fabulous Friday!

cheers,

beauty foods: walnut rainbow chard saute

Beauty Foods are delicious, nutrient rich recipes to eat your way to healthy skin. Beauty Foods is a spin off on Fresh From Your Kitchen, bringing you the same format from our delectable DIY spa recipes to delicious food recipes that will lead to glowing, healthy skin from the inside out!

We made this over the weekend with the first pick of fresh rainbow chard from our urban garden! It makes a beautiful side dish- it's also mighty tasty on veggie burgers, calzones, sandwiches... get creative! Easy, rich in vitamins and SO DELISH! 
 Enjoy,

walnut rainbow chard saute
ingredients
 1 bunch rainbow chard per 2 adults (believe me on this one, it really cooks down)
1 large clove garlic
1T dry white wine
walnut oil
S&P

simple steps

1. prepare chard by washing like lettuce, trim ends and chop into 3-4 in strips, it really cooks down so don't worry too much about chopping!
2. Coat a pan with walnut oil, toss in chard and chopped garlic, saute over medium heat.
3. When the chard has reduced to about 1/2 size, add white wine and saute for about 2 min. longer.
4. Season with S&P.

Why it's healthy for your skin and body
Rainbow chard is in the rich leafy greens family with relatives such as spinach, kale, mustard or collard greens. It's chock full of vitamin K, A, C, E, multiple B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, iron, fiber! The plentiful vitamins and antioxidants are recommended for promoting skin, bone, lung, cardiovascular, colon health and more.

Walnuts are chock full of those amazing omega 3s and are a staple in the heart and skin healthy Mediterranean diet. We're lucky in Santa Barbara, there's this guy at the farmer's market that makes the most insanely delicious walnut oil. You should be able to find roasted walnut oil in specialty/health grocers.

beauty foods: spinach walnut salad

Beauty Foods are delicious, nutrient rich recipes to eat your way to healthy skin. Beauty Foods is a spin off on Fresh From Your Kitchen, bringing you the same format from our delectable DIY spa recipes to delicious food recipes that will lead to glowing, healthy skin from the inside out!

spinach walnut salad
ingredients
organic baby spinach
1 crisp pear
1/3 C walnuts, broken into pieces
1/4 C crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
1T roasted walnut oil
1T champagne vinegar
S&P

directions
~put 2 clean handfuls of spinach in a salad bowl
~add chopped apple or pear, cheese and broken walnuts
~toss with roasted walnut oil, champagne vinegar and S & P

makes 2 salads

Why it's healthy for your skin and body
Spinach is full of phytonutrients and flavinoids that have been linked in medical research to prevent and treat cancer cells. It's loaded with antioxidants and vitamins B, K,E, A & C, these vitamins are all known to help keep your skin and hair healthy. Learn more about the health benefits of spinach here.
Pears are rich in copper which helps fight free radical damage.
Walnuts are chock full of those amazing omega 3s and are a staple in the heart and skin healthy Mediterranean diet. We're lucky in Santa Barbara, there's this guy at the farmer's market that makes the most insanely delicious walnut oil. You should be able to find roasted walnut oil in specialty/health grocers.

A healthy complexion isn't rocket science. It comes from
a combination of what you put in your body
and what you put on your body.

Check out:
Fresh From Your Kitchen: DIY Spa Recipes feature here
Previous Beauty Foods features:
Creamy Tomato Bisque

Beauty Foods: Creamy Tomato Bisque

Fresh From Your Kitchen, my features on green DIY spa recipes you can easily whip up right at home, put GreenSkincareBlog.com on the map & gained popularity for it's usefulness, educational value and results. Beauty Foods is a spin off on Fresh From Your Kitchen, bringing you the same format to delicious food recipes that will lead to glowing, healthy skin from the inside out!

Beauty Foods: CREAMY TOMATO BISQUE
This is a recipe I adapted that my friend Patti gave to me a few years back. I absolutely adore the creamy, rich texture the tofu and rice brings to the bisque without the heaviness of a cream, plus the added protein that makes it a real meal.

ingredients
2T EVOO
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
20 oz free range/organic chicken broth (veggies can use veggie broth instead)
2 C water
2 x 28 oz can crushed or diced organic tomatoes- roasted ones give it a fabulous flavor
1/2 softer texture organic tofu, cubed
1/4 C basmati rice
1 T rice vinegar

directions
Heat oil in large soup pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and stir about 3-5 min.
Stir in broth, water and rice, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, stir occasionally until rice is tender 15-20 min.
stir in tomatoes, tofu & vinegar. Remove from heat and puree in batches in blender. Be careful pureeing hot liquids, do not overfill!
Return soup to pot and reheat over medium high- season with salt & pepper if desired.

I like to top mine off with a wholegrain crostini and melted mozzarella or Parmesan

Why it's healthy for your skin and body
Tomatoes are a powerful superfood that contain cancer fighting lycopene. Garlic is packed with antioxidants like Vitamin E and coenzyme Q10, which help halt damaging effects of free radicals. Tofu provides protein and is important to look for organic or non-GMO tofu... it's worth the extra $0.40-.50! Here's a list of non-GMO soy product companies

A healthy complexion isn't rocket science. It comes from a combination of what you put in your body and what you put on your body. Check out the most recent Fresh From Your Kitchen: DIY Spa Recipes feature here.