Gaia Essential's Weblog

Save Money & your Sanity this Year when Shopping

gaiaessentials — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:05:39 +0000

Save money and your sanity when shopping with due diligence and a clear focused head. Marketing hype is at its strongest this time of the year as everyone is hawking their wares and hoping to get you to buy. Large companies pour millions of dollars in advertising, even pay high profile celebrities to say “this (insert product) is on my favorites list”, expecting us to buy into the myth that it adds validity to the marketed product. Celebrities are PAID to endorse products, lots of money in fact.

Last month a very well known celebrity came to our little Farmers Market and purchased quite a few items from my little booth. As I respect the privacy of all my customers, I will not use this fact for advertising purposes. I suppose mentioning it kinda advertises it, however my point is she does not appear to use what she is paid to advertise, but is simply a conscientious consumer who knows to read the actual ingredients and not buy into the hype herself.

I covered briefly the ways we are duped by labeling marketing strategies here:
Deceptive Practices inside Marketing Hype and how we get Duped

Both of these are the most successful of the marketing strategies out there, so they are used the most. Just know the money spent on these strategic ads is usually taken away from actually development and quality of ingredients. Read your labels, think, understand all the hype is put in front of you to entice you to buy. Save money and your sanity. Think for yourself.

The Johnston House Holiday Emporium

gaiaessentials — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:34:53 +0000

The Johnston House Holiday Emporium
November 5, 6, 12, and 13th
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Johnston House Foundation fundraising event of the year is the annual Holiday House. Although funds are raised through grant writing this is the big focus.

This is a great event for touring the wonderful pioneer home of the Johnston family and a great place to shop for holiday gifts. The Holiday Emporium takes place the first two weekends in November each year.

The Holiday Emporium is filled with decorated Christmas trees in every room, wonderful holiday wreaths, gourmet food, hand-crafted jewelry and arts and crafts by many local and regional artists as well as merchandise from Half Moon Bay stores and boutiques.

There is a self-guided tour of the house for visitors to take advantage of as they shop. Signs are posted in each room near the doorway. It’s a wonderful way to learn about this extraordinary house while shopping for holiday gifts.

All proceeds benefit The Johnston House Foundation.

Admission & Parking are free. Park in the lot below the house or on Higgins Purisima Road. A shuttle bus takes attendees from the parking lot to the house and back again, usually with their arms full of presents for the holidays.

The Johnston House is located just south of the City of Half Moon Bay on the east side of Highway 1 at Higgins-Purisima Road. From Highway 101 or Interstate 280 take Highway 92 west to the coast and turn left on Main Street or Highway 1 to approximately 1 mile to Higgins-Purisima.

Personalized Skincare is my Specialty

gaiaessentials — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:14:50 +0000

Over the years of being a Skincare Product Artisan it has become apparent we are all unique. Our skin, which is our first line of defense, is truly our own and we should take care of it accordingly. Not just Dry, Medium or Oily, but know your preference towards your skincare products. Does it flourish better with the nutrition of Shea, or perhaps Cocoa, maybe even Coconut… the list goes on and on.
When creating my formula’s I meticulously research the vitamins, minerals, amino fatty acids & lipids of all the ingredients and combine them accordingly for maximum nourishment. Once the food grade base is established, additional Exotic Oils, Botanical Essential Oils and hand ground Herbs boost the overall effect of the product. My ingredients include some of the most highly beneficial undiluted organic oils available. (Argan, Neem, Emu, Tamanu, Macadamia)

While the current selection of Gaia Essentials products are perfectly effective for most, sometimes you may need a boost that is special just for your skin. Need help with a patch of Psoriasis, Eczema, Rosacea or Skin Tags? We can do that, it is easy to tweak a personalized formula when everything is hand-made from scratch. Consultation is free, just ask, and lets see what we can do.

Effective Natural Botanical Deodorant Cream

gaiaessentials — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:05:56 +0000

You asked for it and here it is. For years the Effective Botanical Deodorant Stick has been making people happy, a handmade Gaia Essential formula that works by killing the bacteria that cause body odor. Following that handmade deodorant recipe and utilizing the same pure Essential Oil combination, this deodorant is now available in an easy to apply cream. The aroma from the essential oils is the same refreshing Citrus Blend with a hint of Basil.

Natural Botanical Deodorant Cream; The Organic Coconut Cream base smooths on gently to apply layers of pure Botanicals with known anti-bacterial properties that keep odors away. This is a handmade natural deodorant, not an antiperspirant. This product contain no aluminum.

Businesses Happily Supporting the Local Economy

gaiaessentials — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:46:50 +0000

Isn’t it wonderful to walk into a local shop and actually find locally made products for sale? Five years ago a friend and I took an afternoon to walk all down our Main St. in search of locally made merchandise and we were sorely disappointed at the choices. Locally made products were far and few between. Most of the inventory was mass manufactured and foreign in origin. Not at all what one looks for when trying to support the local economy.

I revisited those quaint little Main St. Shops a couple weeks ago as well as the new Harbor area Shops and let’s just say the improvement has been slow in developing, why is that? When I go looking for items it is locally made that I search for. At the least, USA produced. When asking the store clerks “What do you have that is locally made” all they could offer were a few pieces of jewelry they claimed were made by a local artisan (they were nice), and in another shop a couple paintings that you would expect to find at an art gallery.

Kudos to the shops that do stock locally made inventory! Take Harbor Books & Gallery for example with the largest selection of locally produced goods I could find, Pottery, Jewelry, Soap, Skincare, Photography, Cards, Art, ect. Thank You Carol.

Also in the Harbor Area the Princeton Maritime Salon offers locally handmade Hair & Skincare Products as well as hand poured Essential Oil Soy Candles.

The Half Moon Bay Inn supports locally produced amenities, from the roasted Coffee to all the Bath Products, Soy Candles & Spritzers. (which they offer for retail in the reception area)

Further down Main St. at the Bamboo Hair & Body Salon, Yasmin stocks locally produced Soap, Lotions & Body Oils made with complex Essential Oil blends that her customers love.

And up the road at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica, you can find locally handmade skincare products for children at Generations.

It is a wonderful thing when local businesses actually offer locally produced products!

A Handmade Pasta & Ravioli Afternoon

gaiaessentials — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:30:23 +0000

First off, this is not a precise recipe, there are lots of those to choose from already available. This is a documented experience My husband gave me all the tools as a birthday present and I decided to dive right into making some yummy Portabella Mushroom Ravioli!

I roasted 3 beautiful Portabella’s with a few Shitaki, Oyster and crimini mushrooms and a bulb of garlic tossed on the rack. When done I minced them together with some Ricotta, Mozzarella & seasoning.

Then I proceeded to make the pasta and let it rest.

Next was rolling out the sheets.

Then filling, drying and trimming.

The only thing left…..almost forgot to take the picture.

rubs tummy

Where is the wonderful aroma coming from?

gaiaessentials — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:01:26 +0000

This is asked quite often, much to my pleasure. And usually leads to a discussion of scents, aroma’s and fragrances. What causes the wonderful smells? Why do they smell different from time to time? What are the different types of products that produce smells? Are they natural?

There are 3 different base types of aroma’s used widely in skincare production;

Certified Botanical Essential Oils are the purest form for not only aroma, but also taste and activity as they possess a medicinal value. These will vary with season & crop, just like wine does. This explains why the scent of the essential oil can be different per batch. The aroma tends to be more subtle and richly deeper.

Botanical Extracts are a less expensive natural aroma source. However I tend to steer clear from these due to the process and alcohol content they possess. Very drying to skin as confirmed by using products containing them. You are able to taste the actual extracted plant (think vanilla extract).

Synthetic Fragrances are just that, lab made smells. Sharper with no depth, aggressive to the point of some being offensive. No taste or medicinal value from them, therefore I do not use them.

Due to the demand for purer ingredients and to counter the cost of them, suppliers offer a combination of essential oils and synthetics so that producers can advertise that they use essential oils for marketing purposes. I find this shamefully deceptive. To avoid these products look for a 100% pure essential oil disclaimer seal. The word “fragrance” in the ingredient deck is another clue that it is synthetic in source.

Apprenticeship with Gaia Essentials

gaiaessentials — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:20:22 +0000

Gaia Essentials is seeking an Apprentice. This offers the opportunity to receive an in depth education in the proper use of Botanicals for Skincare & Aromatherapy. Including the professional methods of production with access to private recipes. Also you will learn the multi facets of creating and running a small “cottage industry” business. Included is a market based stipend.

In exchange you will provide “hands” to help with said production and marketing. This includes creations at the workshop as well as the retailing at the markets. You must be physical able to lift up to 65 lbs (weight of a tent), have a valid drivers license and a customer oriented personality as we work directly with our clients.

Gaia Essentials is located in Moss Beach, CA.

2011 Coastside Farmer Markets Kick Off

gaiaessentials — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:05:24 +0000

This year the Coastside Farmer Markets kick off on Wed. the 4th at Rockaway Beach, Pacifica 2:30 – 6:30, then every Wed thru Dec.

On Sat. the 7th, the HMB Market kicks off at Shoreline Station 9:00 – 1:00, then every Sat thru Dec.

With the assistance of my daughter Ann, Gaia Essentials products will be available there. Please enjoy the fresh bounty offered!

Let’s discuss the Calming Skin Balm

gaiaessentials — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:23:38 +0000

With Summer right around the corner we will all be exposing ourselves more to the Sun and it’s time to consider our Skin protection arsenal. This luscious balm was created a few years ago for self preservation. See, due to my Scots/Irish heritage my skin is seriously fragile to UV exposure so even though I religiously use the Facial Sunblock when out for more then a couple hours, like at a Farmers Market, my skin will feel burnt. The Calming Skin Balm soothes, calms and reduces inflammation while boosting hydrated healing.

Being a Balm there is no water content, just pure goodness. Unrefined Shea Butter Based with Grapeseed, Emu, Hemp and Tamanu Oils. With ground Herbs of Chamomile & Milkthistle and a blend of eight Botanical Essential Oils this Calming Balm is a must have after Sun exposure. Some Customers claim it extends the life of their tanning which I can believe due to the nature of the nutrition value of the ingredients.