As well as being an adoptee myself I am also the 51 year old late blooming mother of a beautiful, much wanted and hoped for adopted three year old son. Adopting my son was the conclusion of a long, deeply meaningful and epic journey and a new beginning. Finally becoming a mother has brought me complete untold joy.

Whilst I have blossomed into this new journey of motherhood, I have also faced another ending and a new beginning, that of passing through menopause, the end of fertility and entering into a new stage of my life. My blog therefore is really not just about being a late-blooming mama but what it means to be a woman blossoming into my ‘wise woman’ years. Learning for myself how to embrace it not as a time of fear and endings but of truly coming into the full ripeness of myself as a woman.

With my professional background in Aromatherapy, Natural Skin Care, Health and Holistic Therapies and with my own superficial fears of looking like ‘grandma’ at the school gates (!), I want to explore and ultimately celebrate a more positive vision of timeless, naturally glowing, radiant late- blooming beauty, which has less to do with the wrinkles on your face and more to do with a twinkle in your eye! Also to explore how I can achieve the boundless energy and shining health I will need to enjoy every moment of my son growing up, live as long and as I can as an older mother and achieve other dreams I have for myself moving forward.

Most important though my aim is to inspire myself and other wonderful late-blooming women (of which there are many) to look positively at this next stage of our lives and see it as a time of blossoming into our most vibrant, beautiful, creative, authentic, 'wise woman' selves.




Tuesday 29 May 2012

Frankincense the magic elixir to rejuvenate body and soul ♥


Boswellia Carterii or Frankincense Tree is a small tree which grows to a height of three to seven metres and has abundant narrow leaves and white or pale pink flowers. It is native to the middle east and North Africa. Incisions are made in the trunk to allow the milky white oleo resin to seep out. This resin then hardens into an orange brown gum and is then steam distilled for its essential oil.

Hello there, my blooming gorgeous ones!

My apologies for such a long gap but I have been focusing on launching my new NYR business and preparing for my first parties, as you know. The parties went well with some lovely feedback and I was very proud of overcoming my fear of public speaking, even if it was only to a small group of lovely supportive people! Yep, I know, ridiculous for someone who was prepared to stand naked on a stage in Tunbridge Wells in 'The Graduate'....but there you go, such are the mysteries of the Comfort mind!

Ommmmmmmmm............
Interestingly with reference to anxiety, that does launch me very nicely into the subject  for this blog, which is about the many wonderful uses of Frankincense Essential oil. Although I would like to look mainly at the healing, rejuvenating and preserving properties it has on the luscious skin of our late blossoming bloomers :) , Frankincense is also a very useful oil to have in your 'Essential Oil Kit' for many other reasons. One being it is the perfect remedy to have handy when you are in stressful situations.

Anxiety can bring up those awful feelings of tightness in the throat, a quickened heart rate and shallow breathing.  So simply grab your Frankincense oil, find a hanky or tissue and put a couple of drops on it and inhale.....slowly and deeply. Frankincense works by slowing down the breathing and increasing the bodies ability to breathe deeply and freely and relieves tightness in the chest. It also helps to calm the mind.


In fact for any respiratory difficulties such as asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis and laryngitis its anticatarrhal, expectorant, anti infectious and soothing properties can prove very useful. I would suggest a few drops in a bowl of hot water in a room, as an inhalation (not for asthmatics) or again inhaling from a hanky. Another way to apply it .....my own invention.....is to grab a tube of Aloe Vera (has a multitude of uses!), squeeze a blob into your hand and then add a couple of drops of Frankincense or one of Eucalyptus and one of Frankincense and rub the ointment over your chest and neck.A   handy oil for your medicine chest!


Frankincense Oil is actually probably one of the most important incense ingredients since history began. It has been burnt on alters and in temples since early antiquity. The use actually probably goes further back than the earliest written records and is perpetuated in the current practises of many religions. The English name is derived from the medieval French word Franc meaning " Pure" or "Free" and the Latin incensium meaning "to smoke". It played a role in the religious and domestic life of the Ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Hebrews, Greeks and Roman Civilisations. The gum is also mentioned 22 times within the bible and was offered as a gift for the newly born Jesus by the Magi. It has been discovered that burning Frankincense produces a psycho- active substance trahydrocannabinole which helps to expand consciousness. In meditation practise it is used to calm and centre the mind and stop the ceaseless chatter. To deepen the breath. To calm and elevate.

So pop a couple of drops in your burner before your daily meditation and yoga practise ;)

The Utchat or Sacred Eye.

'Frankincense, like Chamomile was employed in the worship of the Egyptian sun god Ra, a primordial symbol for whom was the Utchat or "All Seeing"- the sacred eye that burned with judgement. Frankincense rekindles the inner light of the mind' Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit by Gabriel Mojay.






For skin care it is an extremely important oil and one used in many of NYR's beauty preparations. It was used by the Egyptians for embalming to preserve the bodies. It has what is known as cytophalactic properties which means it stimulates skin renewal and had been shown to work in improving slackening on the skin and slowing down the appearance of wrinkles. It may even work on existing wrinkles that have already formed too....hurrah!
Elixir of youth in a bottle
I often use it in blends I make for the skin particularly if I am wanting to work on assisting the skin to rejuvenate and heal. I love to blend it with a Rosehip oil and Grapeseed oil base and then add Lavender, Rose and Geranium and maybe a drop of Mandarin or Orange to lift the fragrance of the blend.

Here's my own secret recipe for beautiful skin! (You will need a little measuring jug and a small glass bottle)

Base 
50ml Grapeseed Oil (Half a bottle of 100ml NYR Grapeseed Oil)
5ml Rosehip Oil

Aromatherapy Oil
2 drops Frankincense
2 drops Lavender
2 drops Rose
2 drops Geranium
3 drops Mandarin (to lift fragrance)

You can play around a little with adding or subtracting a drop of each oil until you are happy with the fragrance but I wouldn't exceed about 15 drops in total.

Beautiful and a wonderful nightly treatment for the skin......delicious!
Award winning Cream

If blending your own is not for you Rejuvenating Frankincense Facial Oil has been proven to moisturise the skin in clinical trial or up to 12 hours, would be a great alternative.

NYR do a fabulous award winning Frankincense Range which contain a wealth of organic, wild crafted and natural ingredients. The range include their multi award winning Frankincense Nourishing Cream and Frankincense Hydrating Cream which were pitted against leading high street and luxury moisturisers and came out top in customer trials.
Rejuvenating Frankincense Serum




They also have the fabulous Frankincense Serum which is designed to penetrate the skin layers and really deliver those important ingredients to the deepest layers of your skin. Add a couple of drops to your skin after cleansing and before moisturising. You will also find that your need for moisturiser becomes much reduced.



NEW! Frankincense Cleanser


Also announcing their Rejuvenating Frankincense Cleanser. This two step cleanser is getting rave reviews  from everyone and is definitely on  my 'to try' list!
Step 1 - Cleanses
Step 2 - Smoothes and Refines.
It can also be used wet with a hand hot damp muslin cloth or wiped off dry.




To check out any of these go to my website and if you fancy giving them a try please get in contact at https://uk.nyrorganic.com/shop/SamanthaComfort


So definitely one to keep in your medicine chest and used in your daily beauty regime.

Rejuvenating for Body and Soul!!

Speak soon my gorgeous bloomers :) xxx

3 comments:

  1. Hello Sweetpea! You will probably nod in amusement at this weird synchronicity; I recently (two weeks ago) bought a locally made moisturizer from a tiny little shop in our village. I was intrigued by the list of ingredients and the price was right, so I bought a jar. My skin is looking and feeling so good!

    You guessed it: it contains Frankincense, Geranium, Neroli,organic green avocado oil, Wheatgerm, Sesame oil and CoEnzeme Q10 amongst others... Now, thanks to your timely post, I know why it's working such wonders! : )

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    Replies
    1. Hello lovely Leila Fanner,
      The moisturiser you have purchased sounds luscious and certainly packed with sumptuous rejuvenating and balancing ingredients too! Glad to hear it is having the desired effect on your skin.....although I have to say you always look the picture of health and vitality anyway! Pity you don't live closer so we could share our enthusiasm for essential oils and our pots of goodies. xxx

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  2. Your post has those facts which are not accessible from anywhere else. It’s my humble request to u please keep writing such remarkable articles natural breeze

    ReplyDelete