It IS the Season for Beautiful Changes
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It's In the Leaves
There is a reason why this is the number one consumed beverage in the entire world.
Tea! Green tea, black tea, white tea, and oolong... the benefits of drinking tea are endless, and some of the main benefits one may expect from a regular steep and sip is (1) a reduced risk of high blood pressure, (2) increased metabolism which may contribute to weight loss, and (3) studies have shown that because of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actives, it can reduce sun damage and photo aging on the skin's surface. For 8 other benefits, take a quick peek at this quick article.
The number of antioxidants we consume internally can have a direct link to healthy organs, including your largest... your skin. The antioxidants naturally occurring in our enriched serums offer a big benefit in feeding the skin on the outside. A boost in the right direction by consuming a bevy of antioxidants (tea!) reaps rewards that may be both seen and felt as well.
Gotcha Matcha?
We're taking it one step further.
Matcha tea is a full leaf tea that, in traditional Japanese cultures, is often saved for special ceremonies and rituals. Rather than seeping the leaves in warm water and drinking the infused water like we do with other teas, with Matcha, the entire leaf is consumed. This supplies the sipper with 15x the antioxidants that come from traditional green tea. Incredible.
We've been in love with Matcha since the very beginning. We've included this organic, fair-trade green tea in many of our facial and body treatments in generous amounts. Within a matter of seconds, (in about 27 of them,) what you're slathering, rubbing, and applying to your skin is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Like they say... 'garbage in, garbage out.' We'd rather say 'healthy in, healthy out.' Feeding our skin with premium ingredients that our bodies can break down and actually use to become and remain healthy should be an every day occurrence. One of the responsibilities of our skin is to help escort waste and toxins through the skin. The less 'garbage' we feed it, the cleaner the waste process and elimination from our skin will be=better skin.
Our skin is a telltale sign of what's happening on the inside. Sometimes things on the outside come into play, but with so many things happening inside with hormones, digestion, and stress levels, it has to find its way out. Often, these things find their way through the skin. Notice how great we feel when we eat right, when we get enough sleep, when we exercise, when our routines are in balance, and when we're feeling on top of the world? All of these things are little pieces to a bigger puzzle, and feeding our skin with wholesome products is just as important as all of these other puzzle pieces are.
Tea Time and Me Time
Steep. Sit. Relax.
Even if you're not a big tea drinker, just by trying to replace one of your 'usual beverages' with an organic Matcha tea, a green tea, or a similar clean tea that you fancy will allow your body and mind to make a shift. Tulsi teas, chamomile, and valerian root teas are fantastic for helping to unwind and nix the anxiety bug. Eventually your taste buds will come to recognize the different nuances in your cup of tea, and your shift from sugars and sweet things may begin to find its way to more savory, unprocessed tastes. Adding some freshly squeezed lemon and a touch of local honey can take the bite out of the green, grassy flavors of the Matcha. A splash of almond or coconut milk can also do the trick. Matcha latte, anyone?
The importance of a little 'me time' shouldn't be overlooked. Everyone has the same amount of hours in each day, and it's up to us to decide what we do with them. We all have an opportunity to do even a 10 minute stretch or strength move when we wake up. Alternatively, taking a few moments towards the end of the day can help take away any edge or anxiety that's been brewing during the day... and squash it.
That Two Minute Routine ~ One thing that we should all do... every-single-day... is wash the day away before resting for the evening. Wash away the pollution, dust, wind-blown particles, baby goo, puppy smear, makeup, sunscreen, and all the thousands of little impurities that have accumulated on your skin that has been exposed all day long. Taking a shower at night is a great way to wash the day away; additionally, the slight raise in your body temperature is just enough so that when your temperature returns to normal, it coos you into a peaceful night's sleep. Zzzzz So much restoration and healing takes place while we sleep. It's been proven many times just how important getting enough shut-eye is. Not enough sleep causes brain-fog, clarity issues, stress hormones to rise causing the unhealthy fat craving (oh no, the mid section!), and even reaction times and creative and cognitive thinking are compromised. When did getting lesser hours of sleep become cool? Maybe when the surge in stimulants and quick-energy beverages started to increase.
The leisure of summer days has passed, and suddenly the swirl of year-end goals, work traffic, holidays, and school/work/home projects come back into play. Balance it all out. Prioritize your tea time and me time, and practice spending just a few minutes every day doing something that makes you smile and feel soothed.
I drink Matcha tea almost every day. The pink converse? Worn only on special occasions. 
Heading into the Fall
Protecting skin, body, and hair is important as the air gets a little crispness in it and the winds start to shift. You may crave heartier dishes and warmer drinks because of it. Now there are so many healthy and fortifying ways to whip up a satisfying home cooked meal without added glutens or unsaturated fats. This recipe for lentil soup is quick, satisfying, and great for skin and gut health.
Skin can look and feel rougher as the summer humidity diminishes. Does skin require different products throughout the year? It certainly can. Pure, unaltered, plant-based organic serums can quench this. Another way? Even in winter, exfoliating the dead cells away from the surface allows not only your cleansing oil to offer a thorough and softening cleanse, but additionally your moisture won't have to fight its way through a layer of dead skin cells that are hanging on for dear life. A weekly mask that's appropriate for your current skin condition is another way to take your skin from decent to divine in just a few extra minutes a week.
Skin Tip ~ A question we hear often if its necessary to recleanse every morning. The answer lies with your current skin condition. For combination to dry skin... if a proper cleanse and serum hydration is done at night, then a water wash, followed by your toning water and day serum to protect and pH balance will be perfect. If there is congestion trying to find its way to the surface, or a struggle is happening with a hormonal outbreak, then your cleansing oil will help clear the skin and speed-up the healing process a little faster.
Speaking of exfoliation, our exfoliants are wonderful at keeping lips lightly buffed and ready to be protected so they won't crack or get chapped. The Matcha tea in our lip balm is also a wonderful healing aid, and many like to add a layer of balm under a lip pencil or clean lipstick for added hydration. Coconut, shea, olive, Vitamin E, carrot, raspberry - these are just some of the plant derived kissable lip-lovers blended into our lip balm. Many natural lipsticks offer good color but fall short of true moisture. Lips can usually benefit from a quick sweep of our lip balm underneath. Applying our lip balm to lips before bed, and around cuticles on fingernails, ensure that you're feeding your lips with vitamins, nutrients, and softeners all night long.
High Five
Let's Hear it for the Hands
Our hands deserve extra attention, and you could say they deserve an extra helping hand! They're usually exposed just as much as our faces are, and we're washing them over and over, and over!, throughout the day. Many hand soaps are filled with surfactants that strip the skin's surface and try to kill all the good and bad bacteria. They have a long season ahead of them with colder weather, wind exposure, and maybe even car window scraping (we do!) when the flurries start to fly.
We can't mention enough how important it is to moisturize your hands right before slipping under the covers. When else do our hands get a break from working and washing? Our Lavish Serum Salve, even though it is pure, effective, and moisturizing enough to be used every day on delicate areas around the eyes, mouth, neck, and décolleté, it is fantastically effective at nourishing hands and healing cracked fingers. With so many proven, protective elements such as shea, rosehip, argan, cranberry, chamomile, and of course Matcha, no wonder it's become a favorite next to the nightstand of so many. It won a national award as best salve, and it continues to be a favorite for many hands out there... hands down.
Your October Special
It's Simply Beau-Tea-Full
With the change of season upon us, a crisp shift in the wind, and our love of our products that include our beloved organic Matcha tea, we'll be passing on a savings of 10% on all of our ingredients that include this pure leaf. When you see 'tea' on any of our labels, know that we're only using pure, organic, fair-traded Matcha tea.
With the code QETTEAFORME, you'll SAVE 10% on any of our products that include it online or in our skin studio.
LET'S SHOP
If you're new to our site, and you're not yet familiar with the EWG Verified™ logo that you'll see near our products, you can read up on this safe ingredient verification here. The bar for safe beauty has been raised and there are higher standards in the industry. All of the Qet Botanicals products that fall into the Environmental Working Group's categories have been verified. We're extremely proud and honored to be apart of this program. As a consumer, you know that every single drop in our products is safe.
Here are our products that include the celebrity ingredient, Matcha Tea, and are part of our October special:
Antioxidant Mask wtih Cranberry
Restoring Herbal Exfoliant with Tea & Roses
Restoring Clay Exfoliant with Tea & Roses
Hydrating Herbal Exfoliant with Tea & Lavender
Hydrating Clay Exfoliant with Tea & Lavender
Balancing Herbal Exfoliant with Tea & Thyme
Balancing Clay Exfoliant with Tea & Thyme
Lip Balm with Green Tea & Vitamins
In and Around Town
We're gearing up for our 4th annual event at the Madison Women's Expo. It'll be held on November 19th and 20th, and we'll have all of our botanical delights to test, smell, mist, pamper, and purchase. On Sunday at 10:30 a.m., we'll be taking the stage and will highlight a few points about the benefits of using our proven botanical oils as cleansers, moisturizers, and even skin healers. We'll help you find the right treatment for acne, Rosacea, skin sensitivity, tired skin, and wrinkles. Those in attendance will get a 10% discount card to purchase a product at our booth towards any face, body, or hair product. Woo-hoo!
Words to Share
I love the beautiful words that Lisa uses when she describes nature and life, it makes me smile and laugh. I love that I have found a skin product that I will be able to use for a long time. I love the cleansing oil, it feels awesome on my skin and the exfoliation is wonderful, it's not too grainy as I have found a lot are that I have tried. I love the Lavish Serum Salve, I want to use it all over my body. I love the day and night serums - I found them to moisturize unlike anything else I've tried. I love the body polishes, again, they are not to grainy and feel wonderful on my body, my skin is so soft and moisturized. There are products that I have not tried and am excited to try them. After having a liver transplant in October 1989 and having to take a drug to keep my immune system suppressed so I don't reject, on top of taking a chemo drug all these years and counting, I never thought my skin would get enough moisture. With Qet products, I am finally getting the moisturizing I need. No more dry skin. I love that it's all natural!! Keep up the good works." ~ Robin
Some Tea-rrific Quips
Take a cue from your tea kettle... when it's up to its neck in hot water, it still sings.
What does a teapot say to its lover? Oh, dajarling!
"A woman is like a tea bag. It's only when she's in hot water that you realize how strong she is." ~ Nancy Reagan
You're just my cup of tea.
Seriously? Yes. We're not tea-sing. We think you're tea-rrific. Thank YOU.