The boyfriend’s mum made a jar of organic Rosella confit for me.

It was supposed to be super healthy (and made with love) so I googled to see what properties it has -

Rosella Flowers
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How the confit looks like (Looks like some mashed up dragonfly)
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Organic rosella flowers are super fruits and  chockful with antioxidants. The levels eclipse the usual antioxidant fruits like blueberries, cherries and cranberries.

Rosella has certain therapeutic properties. Using it internally has been reported to have the following benefits:-

(a) soothes colds

(b) opens blocked nose

(c) clears up mucous

(d) astringent

(e) promotes proper kidney function

(f) helps digestion (good for weight loss)

(g) general tonic

(h) diuretic

(i) helps reduce fever

(j) anti-cancer agent

I feel the lurve

The Poster girl for Ayurvedic beauty

Recently I have discovered a perfect place to land great ayurvedic beauty buys - Mustafa at Little India, the 24 hour shopping haven for night birds like me.

The best thing is - they are all less than S$10 each and to my utter surprise, performed beyond my expectations.

One of them is a herbal face pack (Jothi Face Pack S$6.90) which is chockful of natural goodies like:

1. Sandalwood powder - protects from uv rays. Pleasant aroma.
2. Turmeric powder - lightening and antibacterial properties.
3. Licorice powder - refreshes and restructures uv damaged skin. Anti-ageing properties.
4. Rose powder - moisturizes and nourishes skin. Anti-ageing properties and pleasant aroma.
5. Manjistha - removes freckles and discolouration on skin. Anti oxidant properties.
6. Lentil flour - works with the other ingredients to remove blemishes and scars. Helps to improve skin texture while cleansing and removing impurities from within.

I added Cucumber powder for additional cleansing and skin tightening properties and Australian blue clay powder (leave this out if you have normal/ dry skin) - to regulate sebum.

Sidenote: Aishwarya Rai uses milk, yogurt and tumeric in her beauty regime too.

Usage:

• For normal skin, add 1 teaspoon of mask powder, 1 teaspoon of milk and 1 teaspoon of a hydrosol of your choice. A good hydrosol for normal skin includes elderflower, lavender, rose geranium, calendula, helichrysum and witch hazel.

• For dry skin, add 1 teaspoon of mask powder, 1 teaspoon of yogurt and 1 teaspoon of a hydrosol of your choice. A good hydrosol for dry skin includes carrot seed, rose, cornflower and sandalwood.

• For oily skin, add 1 teaspoon of mask powder, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of a hydrosol of your choice. A good hydrosol for oily skin includes lemon balm, neroli, basil, clary sage, chamomile german and yarrow.

Apply paste on face till completely dry. Wash off with cold water.