Raspberry Moon Skin Therapy

A Sassy, Saucy Skincare & Waxing Studio in Greenville, SC

864.271.2710

1211D Laurens Road Greenville, SC 29607

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The Nightmare Before Christmas MoonLight Market is November 6th

Our 2016 MoonLight Market is November 6th

Mark your calendars now for our MoonLight Market on Sunday, November 6th from 11:00am to 3:00pm!

We’re doing a Nightmare Before Christmas theme so don’t put your Halloween costumes up just yet. Come in costume & receive a little sercie. We might even have a contest!

The market will be in our parking lot at 1211D Laurens Road in Greenville. (The same parking lot as Palmetto Fine Foods – they’re closed on Sunday so we’re taking over the whole lot!)

We’ll have lots of handcrafted goodies and gift ideas from local, woman-owned businesses: Photography, Jewelry, Herbal Teas & Candles, Painted Glass, Crocheted Items, Recycled Art, and more!

Here’s a partial list of vendors:

Jennifer Wynn Gilman with Fleur’s Refaire – crocheted accessories, sewn purses, decorated coffee mugs & much more

Virginia Turley Kirwan with EarthAngel Garden will have handcrafted candles and teas

Jaidra DuRant with Niad – silk paintings, jewelry

Jessica Wilson with Anthropoloca Jewelry – Jess’ jewelry treasures change based on where she has been but they are always unique and beautifully done.

Stephanie Hobbs with Pixel & Paper Designs – Photography pieces with some breathtaking pics of Alaska in addition to local sites

Melinda Walker Dement – beautiful paintings

Rays Mobile BBQ will be there with their food truck selling yummy items for lunch. (No, Ray is not a woman-owned business but he’s feeding us so he’s allowed, lol.)

Also the Turkish ladies will be here selling yummy vegan and vegetarian options. Thank you to Christina with the Istanbul Cultural Center for helping us with this!

Also on hand will be some yummy local food trucks. More info coming soon on those guys, so keep an eye on this post or on our Facebook page for all the details.

We’ll have discounts, door prizes and other goodies so bring your friends, buy local, and get all your holiday shopping done before Thanksgiving!

Please help us spread the word! Download our market flyer, display it at your business and email it to all your friends!The Nightmare Before Christmas MoonLight Market

Honey in Your at Home Facial Routine

Add a little Sweetness to your at Home Facial Treatment by using honey.

Benefits of Honey:

  • A clean face is important first stepIt is a humectant, which means it will attract and keep moisture inside your skin
  • It has anti-oxidant properties which play an important role in protecting your skin against damage from UV (ultra violet) sun light
  • It is effective in treating wounds – it accelerates healing, reduces redness and inflammation and can help to treat bacterial infections
  • It may also be effective in helping with eye infections/conjunctivitis – reducing discharge and swelling and helps speed up the healing process
  • It is a great alternative for healing minor burns

Facial Mask Recipes By Skin Type:

For Sensitive Skin

  • 1 tsp Aloe
  • 2 tsp Honey

For Dry SkinAdd honey to your skincare routine

  • 2 tsp Honey
  • 2 tsp Yogurt
  • 2 tsp Avocado

Skin Brightener and Hydrator

  • 1 Tbsp of Chickpea Flour
  • 1 tsp of Tumeric
  • 2 Tbsp of Milk or Yogurt (optional) (if using powdered milk use about 1 tsp, add enough water or rosewater to make a lovely paste)
  • 1-2 tsp Honey

Directions

Simply blend all ingredients well by hand or you can even use a small food processor. If they are the consistence of yogurt they will spread well.

Apply with a facial brush or your fingers.

Relax for 15 minutes.

Rinse and apply your serums and creams.

Enjoy your beautiful skin!

 

All About the Bees

Our last Ladies Lunch and Learn was all about the Bees, Monarchs and Honey in your Skincare. Susan from The Carolina Honey Bee graciously talked about bees and all the goodness that they do for us. Bees are the best of the pollinators and are such busy little guys.

Bees have been on the decline for several reason:

  • Pesticides like Neonicotinoids
  • Varroa Mites –  is a type of tick that compresses the immune system of the bee.
  • Long Travel pollinating only 1 crop at any given time.

Poor bees have a hard job pollinating on commercial farms. Every year thousands of bees are transported by the tractor trailer loads to pollinate almonds in California. Can you imagine eating the same food for days and weeks at a time? Well that’s what happens to bees on the journey. All they have for acres and acres are almonds. It would greatly help if the almond growers planted wildflowers or something else so that the bees have some variety.

After the almonds they will travel to Washington State to pollinate the apples and will eventually go to Maine to pollinate the blueberries. This is very hard on the bees but is a very lucrative business for the bee keepers. They receive about $200/ hive and there are about 400 hives/tractor trailer load.

Dandelions are bees first food!

What are some things that we can do to help support bees:

  • Leave those dandelions, clover and golden rod in your yard.
  • Avoid Pesticides like neonicotinoid and even Seven Dust

Neonics are systemic pesticides. Unlike contact pesticides, which remain on the surface of the treated foliage, systemics are taken up by the plant and transported to all the tissues (leaves, flowers, roots and stems, as well as pollen and nectar).

  • Plant native plants that attract pollinators – here is a list of plants  recommended by the Master Gardener Program. To purchase plants, check out their Annual Plant Sale  on Saturday, April 30, 2016.
  • Learn how to attract native pollinators at Xerces.
  • Plant a Bee Garden. Honeybee Conservancy has some great info!
3 Generations of Bee Keepers! Courtesy of The Carolina Honey Bee.
  • Become a Hobby Bee Keeper. If you want to learn more about bee keeping be sure to check out Susan with Carolina Honeybee.
  • And most importantly BUY LOCAL HONEY!  Local honey is raw and still has good stuff in it. Grocery store honey has been pasteurized to make it shelf stable.

Be sure to check out the blog post about the Monarchs and Honey in Your Skincare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monarch Butterflies and All Their Glory

I love butterflies and was so excited when Polly, a graduate from The Clemson Master Garden Program came to speak to my February Ladies Lunch at Learn about Monarchs, their plight and what we can do to help.

 

Flight path of the Monarchs

Monarch Butterflies have such an interesting life cycle.  As we were having our Lunch and Learn in February, the Monarchs were already starting the journey North from the oyamel fir forest in Michoacan, Mexico.  This is the only place that the Monarchs wait over the winter and after they reproduce, they will be begin a 3,000+ mile trek North.

 

They will lay their eggs on their way North in the Midwest and then will die 2 to 6 weeks later. The only plant the female will lay her eggs are in milk weed plants! A butterfly can lay up to 400 eggs or more in 1 day. There is a severe shortage of milkweed plants and once the larvae hatch if they don’t have enough milkweed they will die. The larvae will then form a chrysalis and will emerge as a butterfly less than 1 month from the time their mom laid her eggs. The moms may live between 2-6 weeks longer before they die. In 30 days these eggs will have turned into butterflies and will begin the next leg of their journey North. There will be 3 generations born and the 4th generation will be the butterflies that make their way ALL the way back to Mexico! How crazy is that? They have a wicked GPS system!

Monarch Life Cycle

The life span of the Monarch depends on when it is born and if they will be the migratory butterfly that will eventually fly back to Mexico. The Monarchs will end up back in Mexico right around the time of Dia de los Muertos. “According to local legend, the Monarch butterflies arriving in Mexico at this time of the year are believed to be the souls of the deceased returning to earth.”

 

Threats to the Monarchs:

  • Not enough milkweed to lay their eggs on. There are 2 kinds of milkweed: Common Milkweed which is very invasive and Swap Milkweed which is easier to maintain. There is a push to turn America’s Roadsides into pollinator heaven! I think this is a fabulous idea! It would cut down on mowing and it will allow our pollinators and other a natures beautiful species to flourish. There are approximately 17 MILLION ACRES of roadsides in the US. Why not take do something productive with it!?
  • Pesticides
  • Extreme Weather
  • Crop Monocultures – the planting of the same species for acres. (Same issue that our bees have)
  • Illegal Logging in Mexico – Thankfully illegal logging is on the decline.  According to SciDev.Net, due to “decade-long financial support from Mexican and international philanthropists and businesses to create local alternative income generation and employment”, it says. Schemes such as community tree nurseries, the growing ecotourism sector and community surveillance of illegal logging have generated new sources of income for local people.
Oyamel fir forest in Michoacan, Mexico

Thankfully there has been a rise in the number of monarchs but we still have a ways to go:

  • 2012 to 2013 there were only about 1.4 acres of Monarch!
  • 2014 there were 2.8 acres
  • 2015 10 acres!

What can you do to help? Glad you asked! ;)

  • Plant Milkweed – The Fish and Wildlife entered into a partnership with two private conservation groups, the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to grow milkweed like crazy across the country in the hopes of saving as many monarchs as possible. The plan is to make the plant widely available at nurseries. Here is a great link about how individuals can help by receiving free milkweed plants as well as a grant that can be earned for larger spaces! There is also a program for schools and nonprofits. Don’t have a yard? No problem, here are some great container ideas. There are several types of milkweed, check out Joyful Butterfly for some great ideas.

 

Monarch caterpillar on milkweed
  • Create a Wildlife Habitat in your own yard – this doesn’t have to be complicated nor does it have to be a large space. Just be mindful of what you are doing. Plant flowers for all stages of Monarch (and other pollinator) life span. Some great options are Lantana, Mexican Sunflowers, Zinna, Coneflowers, Phlox, and Butterfly Bush just to name a few.
  • Stop using pesticides
  • Encourage your friends, neighbors, schools, NGOs and parks to get on board

 

Great Websites to check out:

Monarch Watch 

Monarch Butterfly Gardening

Annual Cycle

Learn About Monarchs

Eco-Exchange

South Carolina Wildlife Federation

 

Great resources for Teachers:

Monarch Butterfly Journey North

Forest Service

MonarchLive

University of Minnesota

MonarchWatch

 

New Product Announcement: COOLA Organic Sunscreen

I have been asked about a great sunscreen to use since Colorescience no longer makes the body applicator. Well here it is! COOLA products are made with up to 97% certified organic ingredients, sourced with a Farm to Face® philosophy. Formulated with Plant Protection® and plant phyto-protectors, COOLA sunscreens contain up to 85% fewer actives than competitors.

Read our June newsletter for the full line of COOLA products we’ll be carrying and a limited-time offer!

COOLA is Eco-Cool

Shop Local This Holiday Season

(We got this in an email, and have tried to find out the author with no luck. So if you know who wrote it, please tell us so we can give credit!)

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods — merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.

This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift-giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in ashirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Hire your local hard working fishing guide. ;)

Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American-owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about a half-dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater?

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand foreign-made lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or delivery person and babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets and seeing our hard-earned wages go outside the country. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition. Enjoy family get togethers, church services, caroling, as in past Christmases but put more emphasis on the REASON FOR THE SEASON and less on material gifts.

This is a revolution of caring about each other and isn’t that what Christmas is about?