Lavanda

My favorite Croatian word is Lavanda. It means lavender. I'm absolutely obsessed with lavender, I just love the way it smells, I love the way the Croatian word is pronounced, and I love the wonders it does with my skin! If I was ever to become a pop singer or rock star, my stage name would definitely be Lavanda!

It's perfect because Croatia is one of the largest producers of lavender! Due to the ideal climate and good soil it mostly grows on the hills and rocky slopes of the mid-Dalmatian island of Hvar. Luckily, one of Tomislav's best friends comes from the island of Hvar so we have had the hook up of some fantastic lavender. You can buy it in little satchels all over the country but the lavender from Hvar is the real deal.

 A lavender bush at a rest stop along the drive to Dubrovnik - amazing!

 Fresh lavender smells sooooooooooo good

 Ah, driving along the Croatian coast is gorgeous!

I'm holding a sprig of lavender :)

Tomislav's friend got us lavender (which T brought to the States then!) so we could throw lavender (instead of rice or seeds) at my sister and her husband after they got married last year!

So, my sister, (the inspiration behind all good things) makes these amazing face cleansers and toners using all natural ingredients that she found on Crunchy Betty, this fantastic blog about healthy and natural living. I read about the benefits of cleansing your skin with lavender oil so I've been trying it out for the last week and I already see and feel an amazing difference! Now, it may not be winter over on the East Coast but here in Zagreb, it's winter, so my skin gets really dry. The lavender oil leaves it so smooth and soft and it smells amazing! Even hours later, T still notices how nice my skin smells :)



Here's what I do -

First, I gently wash my face and exfoliate. Then, I boil water on the stove and when it's hot, I (carefully) put my face over the pot to steam my entire face for a minute or two so it opens up all of my pores. Be really careful if you're doing this so you don't burn yourself, and don't put your face TOO close to the water, just keep it at a safe distance so you can feel the steam on your face.

After the steam, I take a washcloth and wet it with hot water and add a couple of drops of the lavender oil to the wash cloth and use that to wash my skin. It's amazing how clean your skin feels afterwards, it's so soft and it smells so good! You can read all about the Oil Cleansing Method on Crunchy Betty's site. Beautiful and glowy!