Wishing You a Wonderful Season

Prima Fleur Essential Oils: Our Nepal Palmarosa program makes Pulse magazine

Pulse magazine, the official publication of iSpa, recently featured our program in Nepal, mentioned here on this blog. See the article on page 21 of the December 2013 issue, in the Giving Back column. Click here to read the full magazine: Pulse December 2013

 

For information on our essential oils, please visit our website.

Prima Fleur Premier Product: VANILLE DU VANUATU SUGAR SCRUB

Our NEW body scrub, Vanille du Vanuatu Sugar Scrub [No. 1124] is spotlighted in the December 2013 American Spa In the Mix column, and the article offers great information about the use of sugar in spa products. We blend fine baker's sugar into all of our body exfoliators with sugar, because it provides such a gentle scrubbing effect, it's safe for even sensitive skins. The aroma of the Vanille du Vanuatu Sugar Scrub is warming and tropical, combining delicious Bourbon vanilla with earthy ylang ylang and ho wood oils. Bisabolol or candeia provides anti-inflammatory effects. Exotic oils and butters of coconut, kukui, and foraha are also featured.

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com.

An Interview with Owner and Formulator Marianne Griffeth

The Asia-Pacific installment of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit for this year begins today in Hong Kong. We're flashing back to an interview with our owner and formulator Marianne Griffeth from the 2011 conference in New York City. She shares the origins behind the company and our approach to developing products with natural ingredients.

Prima Fleur creates and manufactures exclusive products for some of the world's most prestigious personal care brands. For more information on custom formulation and manufacture with any of these ingredients or other exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please visit our website or email our Sales team.

Unique Oils ~ Distinctive Products

The origins of kendi oil

Between traditional carrier oils and more concentrated aromatic essential oils lies a unique category of vegetable oils that can boost the benefits of products even when used in small amounts. These oils contain higher levels of antioxidants and additional phytonutrients, and often even have scent and color like essential oils. They have been added to our inventory for special uses, such as in luxury facial and body oils or for boosting products used in treatments.

In formulation terms, vegetable oils are often referred to as "fixed oils" because their large molecules don't evaporate, or volatilize, as essential oils do. They can be extracted with heat or solvents, expeller-pressed, or cold-pressed. But this group of rare fixed oils is special: They are expeller or cold-pressed, so there's no exposure to high heat that can reduce the efficacy of beneficial compounds. Many come from fair-trade and organic sources. Often the plant material from which they derive is literally tough to crack ~ think tiny seeds and thick-skinned nuts ~ making them best for more selective use.

Take organic Cranberry Seed Oil [Prima Fleur No. 444], which is naturally UV-protective, anti-inflammatory, and rich in antioxidants and alpha-linolenic and linoleic acids. Highly stable due to its content of phenolic compounds, it may help prevent rancidity when used with other more delicate oils, such as evening primrose, flaxseed, and borage seed. From Madagascar comes Ecocert and NOP certified organic Calophyllum inophyllum Oil [No. 401], featured in many of our Premier Products, including our Rejuvenating Crème Cleanser. Consider also Indonesian Kendi Oil [No. 432], which contains 25% omega-3 fatty acids and is produced via a fair-trade and organic program, and our organic Rose Hip Seed Oil [No. 433] and Carrot Seed Oil [No. 435].
 
For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.

Prima Fleur Carrier Oil: CRANBERRY SEED OIL

Antioxidant-rich and very stable, Prima Fleur Cranberry Seed Oil [No. 444] Vaccinium macrocarpon is naturally anti-inflammatory and UV-protective on the broad spectrum, making it ideal in personal care for the skin and hair, including lip balms, face masques, moisturizers, and conditioners. When used in products, its natural phenolic compounds, tocotrienols, and tocopherols may help prevent rancidity for other more delicate oils with skin benefits, such as evening primrose, flaxseed, and borage seed. Cranberry seed oil is extracted through a cold-press process, without the use of chemicals or solvents. It is an excellent source of alpha-linolenic (23% to 35%) and linoleic acids (35% to 44.5%) and has a high ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6. The greenish gold oil has a fruity odor and a pH of 5.

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com.

GLOBAL VIEW: Palmarosa Cultivation in Nepal



Palmarosa seeds ready to be sowed

The essential oil from the leaves and flower tops of palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii var. motia) has a sweet, slightly citrus scent that calls to mind both geranium and rose. A native grass, palmarosa grows wild from the southern subtropical slopes of Nepal to the serene Himalaya Mountains. Nepal is where we find the farmer’s cooperative that produces our Palmarosa Essential Oil [Prima Fleur No. 208]. After the seeds are sowed, the fields are flooded. The resulting grasses are ready to harvest between October and December, after the plants begin to bud. To obtain the highest yield of oil with the best quality, they distill from the leaves and the upper third of the stems. Below, a slideshow of the cultivation process for our palmarosa in Nepal.


Inspecting the oil after distillation

Produced by steam distillation of the fresh or dried grass, palmarosa may be a lesser known essential oil, but it is superlative for skin care, offering cell regenerative and antiseptic properties beneficial to dry, mature, and problem skin types. While palmarosa soothes the skin, it is also uplifting to the spirit, reducing nervous tension and stress, clearing the mind, and calming the senses. Excellent for use in diffusers, palmarosa is high in geraniol, a terpene alcohol that is anti-bacterial, toning, and stimulating to the immune system. Palmarosa’s pleasing odor and its properties against bacteria make it ideal for disinfecting stale rooms. 



The Nepalese name the plant Motiya, and have capitalized on its benefits to create economic opportunities. By providing a guaranteed market for cultivated and wild-collected plants, cooperative programs help small-scale local farmers continue to work the fields, as well as promote the protection of open space for business purposes by leasing privately owned and community lands. Cultivation and harvest are organic and sustainable: What remains from the distillation process is composted and returned to the lands to encourage fertile soil. Micro-financing is available to help local people begin to farm and to provide them with the knowledge to properly cultivate and harvest the plants. Not only can plants like bountiful palmarosa provide therapeutic benefits to people worldwide, they also offer rural residents consistent employment and cash earnings, thereby raising quality of life.

For information on our Essential Oils and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to place an order, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.