The Ethics of Unadorned Essentials

If you have enjoyed the sweet aroma of the rose, the invigorating scent of peppermint, or the verdancy of coriander, then you know essential oils.

Essential oils are a liquid concentrate of the unadorned aromatic molecules of a plant. These oils have the distinctive aroma and flavor of the plant of origin. This nourishing liquid enthusiastically absorbs through the membrane of our skin to bless mood, mind, and body. Sincere, generous, and immeasurable plant life! 

Purity

All Libations' botanicals are authentic and pure and distilled only from the named plant matter. We call our essential oils Hi-Fi oils due to the distillers' faithful and accurate adherence to the master plant. All of our Hi-Fi oils are distilled from either wild crafted or organically grown plants. Our wild crafted plant matter is collected from the plants' natural habitat in lieu of a farm. We avoid offering botanicals from rare or threatened species of plants growing in the wild to discourage their disruption and disappearance. Our organic oils originate from plants cultivated without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides.  

To amplify the potency of the aromatic essence in the plant being distilled, our harvesters gather the part of the plant needed for the oil at the ideal time of day for each plant. An ancient and artful distillation method further ensures that the maximum amount of compounds and trace elements are captured in every drop. Most of our oils are distilled with nothing more than pure water.

Our ‘absolute’ oils are a unique type of extraction used required by a few plants that that need a solvent to liberate the aromatic molecules from the plant’s cellulose. The solvent is cleanly removed after distillation.

Singles, Carriers and DIY Advice

Some people prefer to blend their own botanicals, and we offer single note essences and carrier oils to empower creative mixing. We are happy to offer good-mixing tips and encourage wise experimentation. Most of our Libation bottles and lids can easily be washed and reused to contain your own creations before they are recycled. 

Better than Good: Libations’ Manufacturing Quality Assurance

The FDA maintains a quality assurance recommendations check-list for the food, drug, and cosmetics industries called the Good Manufacturing Practice. The GMP check-list includes guidance on all areas of business: record keeping and controls, manufacturing facility suitability, equipment appropriateness, personnel and training, processing standards, laboratory hygiene, the storage and handling of products and ingredients, and customer service administration. Participation in the GMP is voluntary, and Living Libations adheres to its industry recommendations and our quality control exceeds the recommendations.

Living Libations' Legitimate Labeling

We practice legitimate labeling, and we put the ingredients list right on the front of the bottle as an invitation to be read. We make each formula with care and attention, and we want Libations lovers to easily find and understand what is in each product.

Free from artificial and synthetic colors, preservatives, fragrances, and petrochemicals, every component of a Libation is an active ingredient. We preserve purity, space, and resources by offering full potency products without fillers or diluters. Our essential oils and supercritical extracts are highly concentrated, and with some of our botanicals, a whole plant is required to create a single drop of oil.

As a family and as the creators of Libations, we are totally gluten free.  All Libations are gluten-free. Oat straw (Avena sativa) is also known as milky oats. Our certified gluten-free oat straw is an herbal infusion of the green, unripe stem or straw of the oat plant, and the seeds, which are the cereal grain, are not included in the infusion.

Our Libations creations are as raw as possible. All of our fatty oils are cold pressed and completely unheated. There is no such thing as a raw essential oil because they are produced by steam distilling plant matter.  Libations’ oils are produced using a long and slow distillation at the lowest temperature possible. 

Discern What's Real

All essential oils are not equal. Due diligence is needed if you want only really pure and authentic botanical oils. Many distributers and marketers use terms such as “Grade A,” “therapeutic grade,” and “aroma-therapeutic grade” to describe their oils. Yet, these are words without meaning. No organization, association, or commission monitors the purity or quality of essential oils, and there is no universal essential oil grading system in place. Be aware.

Each essential oil has specific components that make it distinctive and authentic, and there are published standards defining these profiles. Various countries, including the US, have published pharmacopoeias that outline exacting chemical and physical standards for hundreds of botanical oils. There is also a universal standard for most botanicals maintained by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

The ISO and the pharmacopoeias are not regulating bodies or purity-police. No one holds distillers or distributers to the published standards or monitors for quality. It is very important to know your source.

Global Responsibility is a popular marketing trend and for this we are deeply grateful. Living Libations' rigorous standard of purity honors the health and preservation of forests, lakes and rivers, farms, the people who cultivate and distill for us, our families, our neighbors, and our clients.

For over 20 years we have nurtured personal relationships with artisan distillers and family farmers around the globe so that we may secure authentic oils and extracts that are purely and fairly produced. Many of the highest quality plants and flowers used in plant oils are indigenous to the developing world, and the people native to those regions learned from their families the ancient craft of distillation. We can track the source of our oils from the plant growing in the field to the oil arriving on our doorway. It is our pleasure to observe fair trade practices so that our skilled farmers, harvesters, and distillers are safe and earn a fair wage for their labor and goods.

Essential oil yields vary from year to year depending on weather patterns, plant growth and health, and even political stability in some regions. As with wine, some years are just better than others. All of these factors influence the availability and the price of the botanicals we use.

Animal Attraction

Almost all Libations are vegan. There are a few products that include ethically harvested and produced beeswax: the lip glosses and balms, the perfume balms, Maidenfern Blushing Balm, and Jai Baby Balm. Sundew Transdermal Vitamin D Crème contains vitamin D from lanolin, which occurs naturally on the wool of woolly animals, such as sheep. 

Animal Testing is and always has been a non-issue for Libations creations. Botanical oils have blessed and benefited humans for all of recorded history, and this is copious proof of their safety and effectiveness.

Our Living Ethic of Nature, Beauty, and Being

Beauty is everyone’s birthright as a blessing of nature. It is the effervescent insignia of the divinity in our souls. Beauty endures with time. It cannot be pursued, purchased, or put on. Tending to Beauty is simple; step into it and liberate it from vogue inclinations, marketing madness, and artificial facades.

Every Libations creation presents itself to reignite one’s being. Our creations kaleidoscope nature’s essence from a web wider than wonder and invite the cosmic intelligence of botanicals into an outpouring of delight.  

Our Libations proclaim, "Let light pour through the door of every parched and perked pore. Engage with the pure plant poetry that sparks your cellular effervescence. 

Revivified, our cells dance diamonds on a sunlit lake.

Attentive awareness grew our creations, mixed with a dash of play! Libations is here to enchant: to enhance the ambiance, to flora the aura, and to mist, bathe, infuse, diffuse, amuse, and shower sweet-selves with blessings bestowed from rhythms of nature. Nature knows divine.

• Jojoba: Boasting a hearty 96% ceramides, vital for hydration, balancing sebum production, and locking in moisture with its ceramide-rich composition, packed with peptides, lipids, phenolic compounds, antioxidants, and soluble forms of vitamin E.
• Raspberry Seed: Provides sumptuous hydration and super-smoothing benefits with twice the regenerative sterols and higher levels of antioxidants, such as ellagic acid, rich in phospholipids, alpha and gamma tocopherols (vitamin E), pro-vitamin A, carotenoids, and omega-3, offering stability and nourishment to the skin.
• Immortelle: Renowned for multifaceted skincare benefits, aids in reducing the appearance of scars, spots, melasma, redness, and fine lines, uplifting the spirit with its emotionally uplifting aroma, wild-crafted on the island of Corsica.
• Tigray Frankincense: Transcendently tonifying, exudes a hearty scent of caramel and amber, complemented by the honeyed warmth of Immortelle, superb for both skin and spirit.
• Geranium: Gentle giant firms, fortifies, and diminishes the appearance of scars and stretch marks, clarifying and preventing acne, leaving the skin rejuvenated and radiant.
• Ylang: Tightens, tones, and soothes the skin with its cheerful floral fragrance, inviting radiant beauty to shine through with its molecular grace.
• Palmarosa: Formidable skin rejuvenator rich in monoterpenols, emollient esters, linalool, and geraniols, balancing pores and skin tone, smoothing and bringing balance to blemish-prone and dry skin.
• Lavender: Sweet yet potent skin tonic, relaxing redness, cooling heat, improving the appearance of scars, cleansing acne-prone skin, and balancing sebum levels.
• Turmeric: Through supercritical extraction, offers a golden tonic of goodness for the skin, rich in aromatic volatile oils, lipids, and pigments, treasured for its skin benefits.

Usage Instructions:

• When opening a new bottle, prime the pump with a firm press or two to initiate the flow of the fluid.
• Best Skin Evers are versatile and can be used as a cleanser, exfoliator, and moisturizer, making them ideal for a variety of skincare needs.
• They effectively remove makeup and bless both the face and body from head to toe, providing soothing hydration, especially beneficial after sun exposure or as an aftershave.
• For a personalized skincare experience, mix with other serums, elixirs, or essential oils to create your own unique blend.
• Gentle enough for children and suitable for all skin types, including acne-prone skin.

How to Use Best Skin Evers: Best Skin Evers offer a rejuvenating experience for the face and body, combining cleansing, moisturizing, and nourishing properties. Crafted to harmonize all skin types, they renew the skin's vitality with grace and simplicity.

The practice of washing the face with pure pressed plant oils dates back to ancient Ayurvedic traditions and has been cherished for its gentle yet effective cleansing and exfoliating benefits. Originally rooted in the arid regions of antiquity, where skin required special care, this method was later introduced to central and southern Europe by nomadic Roma women from northern India in the 14th or 15th century.

Nadine Artemis designed the Best Skin Ever range to serve as your ultimate bathing and beauty companion, harnessing the power of oils, water, and a cloth to cleanse, exfoliate, hydrate, and beautify.

Directions for Washing/Cleansing Your Face with Best Skin Ever:

1. Wet a small portion of a cloth with water.
2. Apply one to two squirts of any Best Skin Ever variant to the dampened area of the face cloth.
3. Gently massage the face, neck, and back of the neck with the moistened cloth. Adjust the intensity of massage for a gentle cleanse or deeper exfoliation. Rinsing the face is optional.
4. For additional moisture, apply another squirt or two of any Best Skin Ever or Libations Serum (Rose Glow, Soothsayer, Royal Rose, Sandalwood, Chocolate Karat, or Open Sky) to your fingertips and massage into the face and neck. For extra hydration, consider using a Libations Crème (Sundew, Rose Glow, All Seeing, or Maverick).

Directions for Using Best Skin Ever on Your Body after a Bath or Shower:

1. Leave the body wet after bathing or showering.
2. Wet a washcloth and squeeze out excess water.
3. Apply a few squirts of any Best Skin Ever variant onto the wet washcloth.
4. Massage the entire body, from head to toe, using the cloth. Increase pressure for deeper exfoliation if desired.