Earlier this month, I have had the utmost pleasure of joining a Botanical Skincare Retreat in the mountains of Portugal, a few kilometers off of Porto. This was organized by experts in the field, Vivienne Campbell and Lise Andersen, with the bonus of attending the retreat with DIY Skincare guru, Marie Rayma. I am a huge fan of her Youtube Channel, and was so thrilled to have had the chance to have a chat with her on how I could improve my DIY body lotion that I have brought with me at the retreat. She was so nice!!!
It was an absolute delight geeking out over skin and hair care topics with a close-knit group of fellow skincare enthusiasts. Vivienne and Lise shared an incredible wealth of knowledge on creating herbal extracts, covering a wide range of extraction media and methods. We made different kinds of extracts, self-preserving all-natural gel base for hand sanitizer, hydrosols, natural mosquito repellent, shampoo bars, enfleurage (by Marju Kivi), etc. I most especially enjoyed creating my own Purple Sweet Potato shampoo, which was one of the ingredient options to choose from many. We got to formulate and craft our own unique products! This takes me back to all those times at Chemistry lab in my college days, which I absolutely loved! And now, I know why I weirdly had so many units in Chemistry back then while I was actually taking up a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science! 😀
All these while being surrounded by the mountains, the huge garden with beautiful and fragrant flowers, herbs (for tea time as well!), fruit-bearing trees, and veggies, which were picked right on the day when they cooked and served our delicious meals.
In such a short time, I gained an incredible amount of knowledge. I will definitely cherish every moment of this experience. The engaging classes, serene surroundings, nourishing vegetarian meals, and delightful company made it truly unforgettable. 🙂
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