Beauty and the Buzzzzzz

I love honey in beauty products. Little bees gift us with one of the most delicious ingredients known in nature.Honey is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate.It also contains vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 all of which change according to the qualities of the nectar and pollen. Besides the above, copper, iodine, and zinc exist in it in small quantities in honey. Several kinds of hormones are also present in it. Approximately one half of the human diet is derived directly or indirectly from crops pollinated by bees. Today honeybees are an essential part of a healthy agricultural economy.

Honey can also be good for your skin. It has the ability to attract water and is safe for sensitive skin. You can use it as a good and easy straight from the cupboard moisturizing mask for your skin as well as your hair. To use it as a conditioner, mix the honey with olive oil. Be sure to wash your hair thoroughly before you go outside.

Famous Historical Honey Beauty Secrets:

* Madame du Barry, the infamous last mistress of Louis XV, used honey as a form of facial mask, lying down for a rest while the honey did its work.
* Cleopatra of Egypt regularly took honey and milk baths to maintain her youthful appearance.
* It was said that Queen Anne of England used a honey and oil concoction to keep her long hair lustrous, thick and shiny.
* It was claimed that another famous Englishwoman, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, used her own secret recipe for a honey water to keep her hair beautiful.
* Chinese women have a tradition of using a blend of honey and ground orange seeds to keep their skin blemish-free.

There are several beauty products available in the market that contain honey and that I am currently loving:



L'Occitane en Provence Honey and Lemon Delightful Cream. $36.00



Lush Cosmetics Honey Trap Lip Balm. Honey vanilla buttercream frosting to moisturize miserably dry lips. $6.95 and



Honey Bee Bath Bomb. Toffee and honey help calm and nourish skin
Sensitive skin not feeling so nice? "Oh, bother!" as Winnie-the-Pooh would say. Perhaps a Honey Bee bath bomb can help. With rich, nourishing Rhassoul mud from the Atlas mountains, healing aloe vera, toning sweet orange oil and soothing honey, it has you saying "all better" in no time. $6.15, both available at Lush stores worldwide and online.



Softsoap Elements Milk Protein & Honey Moisturizing Hand Soap 7.5 oz. $2.59 at grocery and drugstores nationwide.



MAC Naked Honey Moisturizing Body Wash. $19.50 at Nordstrom's

and




Africanimal Fragrance. Africanimal starts with ‘warm’ intense honey, citrus and a light floral accord; there is also an undertone of ‘spice’ (well-blended) and sheer unidentifiable ‘wood’. Honey is the star of Africanimal. Africanimal is “sweet” (not gourmand) but it’s not too sweet. As the fragrance dries down, there’s a lovely iced-oolong-tea-sweetened-with-honey phase and then Africanimal reverts to pure, piquant honey. $25.00. At MAC retailers nationwide and online at maccosmetics.com

All of this honey talk makes me think of Winnie-the-Pooh: