Geranium (Pelargonium) somehow feels something of a back stage beauty star, working its brightening, tightening, hormone-balancing, anti-septic and scar healing magic on skin while rose is busy stealing the spotlight.
But there’s so much to love about this pretty plant which some call “The Ultimate Wildflower”. (And Rose Geranium – or a rose and geranium blend? Wow).
Hardy, humble, comforting and fragrant, geraniums will stay with you after other plants and flowers have bloomed and faded. They can last from spring to late autumn (longer in the Mediterranean) – or, bring them inside and watch them flower year-round.
Australian California-based geranium expert Robin Parer calls them “the supporting cast” of gardens, here, there and everywhere…in the background. Robin has found geraniums in the High Andes, Australian swampland and even “inside the rim of a Hawaiian volcano”.
And what a supporting cast! Blazing their own trail in orange-reds, lipstick reds, sunshine yellows, whites, pinks, even blues.
One of my favourite Tisserand essential oils is ethically harvested GERANIUM (Pelargonium graveolens). “Soft & soothing with a sweet rosy aroma”, it’s such a deliciously-scented nerve soother.
Its sedative, anti-anxiety, anti-depressant effects make it a good alternative to lavender before bed and it’s known to repel insects, including two of summer’s least loved irritants, mosquitoes and flies.
Highly concentrated, geranium oil should be blended with other carrier oils in skincare products, and it’s an intriguing essential oil to experiment with if you’re creating new blends.
Try mixing it with:
Orange (Neal’s Yard do a whole, lovely Geranium & Orange range)
Lavender (like Faith In Nature‘s Lavender & Geranium range)
Rose (as in Tisserand’s Rose & Geranium Leaf range which includes bath, body and hands)
Clary Sage
Other geranium-compatible oils include Bergamot, Cedarwood, Grapefruit, Neroli and Sandalwood.
Like gorse, mimosa and fig, a whiff of geranium is one of summer’s sensorial gifts, and it’s cheering to know that pelargonium’s vibrant colours will still be around after summer leaves us.
If you love Geranium too, here are…
9 GERANIUM-INSPIRED BEAUTY PRODUCTS TO TRY IN JULY
1) ECO BY SONYA INVISIBLE TAN £28.95
A natural self-tanner for medium/olive skin tones (love this Aussie brand – Sonya Driver has nailed the natural tan)
2) DAFNA’S SKINCARE PURIFY CLEANSER Anti-Oxidants Refreshing Fusion £36
Lighter than award-winning Spanish brand Dafna’s original Recovery Cleanser, this Purify Cleanser is an all-round delight. Brightening, light, full of good oils but not oily, it won Best New Launch (Product) in this year’s Beauty Shortlist Awards 2020.
A deep, balancing cleanser that won’t strip the skin (while controlling sebum and hormonal acne) designed to help reduce the signs of photoaging.
I think this is one of the loveliest-smelling and most intelligently, and interestingly, formulated cleansers on the market right now.
It’s beautiful.
Extra points for the natural geranium scent, this morning/night cleanser is a joy to use (pomegranate gives it its deep pink colour), and it might even make you slow down, inhale the scent and tap into a couple of minutes of mindfulness as you massage it in.
Suitable for:
All skin types, and especially good for blemish-prone/combination.
Ingredients include:
Eremanthus Erythropappus Branch/Leaf Oil (Candeia)
Camellia Japonica Seed Oil (Japanese Tsubaki Oil)
Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil (Geranium)
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil (Sweet Orange)
Oxalis Triangularis Oil (Purple Shamrock or Love Plant)
Punica Granatum Fruit Extract (Pomegranate)
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive)
BUY from www.dafnaskincare.com
BUY from LoveLula UK
3) NEAL’S YARD REMEDIES GERANIUM & ORANGE HAND CREAM £10
Much as I like Neal’s Yard’s Garden Mint & Bergamot range, their Geranium & Orange collection feels warm, seductive, more deeply Mediterranean…this duo works together so well.
I’ve used and love this Hand Cream but also really like the Body Lotion (in NYR’s signature tall, slim indigo glass bottle).
If you’re tempted, NYR are giving away a Free Hand Defence Hand Rub 30ml with every order at the moment, too.
4) HAECKELS ALGAE PLUMP + B3*
* Product not tested yet, for information only
Note: all of the other products featured today have been tested and recommended via The Beauty Shortlist Awards except for this one but I’m giving Haeckels a shout-out for the brand’s ethical stance and clean ingredients.
Local, sustainable, seaweed-centric and founded by volunteer beach warden Dom Bridges, Margate-based brand Haeckels’ alternative to Hyaluronic Acid is this very nicely priced water-free hydrator which is also easy on the wallet at just £20/30ml.
It took 3 years to develop this product which helps prevent moisture loss and lock in hydration, yet the list of ingredients is potent and surprisingly minimal:
Alginate Seaweed Extract/Vegan Hyaluronic Acid/Earth Marine Water/Oligofurcellaran (this acts in a similar way to HA and is obtained from red algae)/Vitamin B3/Organic Rose Geranium Water/Preservative ECO.
If you’re an avid geranium fan, check out Haeckels’ Eco Marine Hand Balm (£18) – geranium’s the second ingredient after serrated Bladderwrack Extract and other moisturising elements include glycerin, olive, sea buckthorn, rosemary oil and quite a few more.
5) TISSERAND ROSE & GERANIUM LEAF SOAP £4.50/100g
Soap has never been more important than during “The Year of Handwashing” and with a 100% natural fragrance from pure essential oils, and blended with sweet almond oil, these soaps are so pretty that you don’t have even have to gift wrap them if you’re buying them for a friend.
You might also like…?
Tisserand’s Lavender & White Mint blend with evening primrose oil.
BUY HERE
6) FAITH IN NATURE LAVENDER & GERANIUM BODY WASH
I actually have 3 of the products mentioned in this post at home here as I’m typing this: Faith In Nature’s Lavender & Geranium Body Wash, Dafna’s Purify Cleanser and Tisserand’s Total De-Stress Moodfix Mist.
Currently 20% off 400ml sizes, and fantastic value at £4.63 each (even less at Holland & Barrett – £4.11 each), these body washes are 99% natural.
And while the Lavender & Geranium is rather lovely, it’s gentler than the Grapefruit & Orange and if I had to choose, I’d probably go for the G&O again next time purely because I’m such a citrus fan. The aromatherapy hit is fantastic and so natural for such a reasonable price.
The shampoos and hand washes in this range are also fab. If you like the look of them and haven’t used any of these yet, check out some of the stellar reviews on Holland & Barrett about this range and there are more to try, too, such as the Seaweed & Citrus, Aloe Vera, Wild Rose, Lemon and Tea Tree and (adding to my list!) Dragon Fruit.
Brands like Faith In Nature (launched waaay back in 1974, decades before the “big green uprising”) are solid proof that “natural” can be very affordable.
BUY with 20% OFF HERE
8) BAMFORD ORGANIC GERANIUM, LAVENDER, PEPPERMINT BATH OIL
I sometimes add a drop of mint to my lavender essential oil and Bamford have blended geranium in here, too, for a refreshing, ultra-comforting Friday Night Bath elixir of geranium, lavender and peppermint.
This one’s a splurge, being indulgently priced at £45/250ml but there’s a boxed gift set (£45 for 2 x 250ml, featuring specifically the Hand Wash & Hand Lotion) or if you’re keen to try the blend and Bamford is new to you, there’s also a Geranium, Lavender and Peppermint Hand & Body Wash for £24/250ml.
9) TISSERAND DE-STRESS MOODFIX MIST £10.20
I’m actually using this as a pillow spray at the moment and the De-Stress Blend has become my favourite from Tisserand’s collections – the Geranium, Orange & Nutmeg work beautifully together but they’re not the only essential oils in this product – there are more:
Ingredients
Aqua, Alcohol Denat., Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Polyglyceryl-5 Oleate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Myrocarpus Fastigiatus (Cabreuva) Wood Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Myristica Fragrans (Nutmeg) Kernel Oil, Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage) Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Coriandrum Sativum (Coriander) Seed Oil, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Flower Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower Oil, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Citronellol*, Geraniol*, Limonene*, Linalool*
*Naturally occurring in essential oils
Tisserand’s De-Stress Shower Gel is still up there with my all time favourite shower gels.
There’s also an amber glass jar of Total De-Stress Bath Salts £12.54/350g which would be a kind and lovely gift for someone you know who has a bath in their bathroom and who’s going through a hard time right now…perhaps a friend who is grieving a big loss or grappling with the mental and emotional effects of isolation or anxiety due to the pandemic?
I was talking to a friend the other day about aromatherapy, and how it serves as a grounding/uplifting “touchstone” in life – even more so now. The aromatherapy winners in the Beauty Shortlist & Beauty Shortlist Wellbeing Awards are always some of the most “raved about” when the judging sheets come in, and these Total De-Stress winners by Tisserand are a great example.
I treasure the beautiful aromatherapy products that come in. Frankly, I think aromatherapy is vastly under-used and it can be such a helpful modality, with or without the backdrop of a pandemic.
I keep a Tisserand Peppermint Essential Oil in my bag at all times (perfect for clearing the head/focus/a refresher) while Tisserand’s Grapefruit oil – a particularly deeply fruity almost “pink” grapefruit – not acidic or sharp – doubles as a mini natural perfume to keep in the handbag. I adore sparkling “citrus paradisi” (ahhh the name!) it’s like that sheer happiness of a lovely summer’s morning when you don’t have to work and the promise of a long day of sunshine ahead.
And do try Dafna Skincare’s Purity Cleanser if it resonates for you and you feel like treating yourself.
I could not love that cleanser more.
Happy Geranium July 🙂
Long day, lovely bath…
”Such a morning it is when love leans through geranium windows and calls with a cockerel’s tongue. When red-haired girls scamper like roses over the rain-green grass, and the sun drips honey”
LAURIE LEE
”I like to keep myself wrapped in layers of sleep and wait for the geraniums”
URSULA HEGI