The Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group I host is a diverse, huge collection of lovers of natural aromatics from around the world. Recently, a member from South Africa wrote about a resin that is collected by the women of the Himba tribe of Namibia that shows promise in perfumery. The Himba collect the resin of Commiphora wildii - common name Omumbibi - to make body perfumes for themselves from this lovely fragrance material. It's related to myrrh, but has a lighter, fresher scent. The Himba mix the resin with fat, a process we can equate with an unguent, much like those known in ancient Egypt.

In one word- yes. Organic beauty ingredients are derivatives from the Earth and do not contain the chemicals, colors or harmful elements that other well-known beauty companies include in their products. Often, there are as many as 5,000 chemicals used in beauty products according to a report by CBS News in 2003 that can be harmful to your overall health after years of constant exposure. For this reason, checking labels is the best practice to determine whether or not the products you are using are actually organic and natural.

New York retailer, Henri Bendel has announced that it will hold an exhibit: Living Perfume: The Natural Alchemy of Mandy Aftel April 18 – May 11, 2009, featuring the perfume, the craft, and the collection of natural perfumer, Mandy Aftel.  Henri Bendel is the exclusive retailer of Aftel’s Aftelier line of hand-blended scents which are created from the world’s finest natural ingredients.

There are many antioxidants and immune helpers in the herbal remedies market, but some stand out…way out among the rest as the superheros of immune boosting. These are the must-have botanicals for any natural health medicine cabinet and a good place to begin your anti-aging supplementation.

Diane Paulson, president, owner, CEO, and chief bottle-washer of Cascade Peak Spirits, has opened a distillery in Ashland brewing vodka.

"We started brewing over cocktails in the summer of 2006," Paulson said. "In September of 2007, we were developing a business plan, going to workshops and researching the whole distilling industry."

Paulson and her partner, David Eliasen, looked at the growing organic food industry and decided, "If I can eat organic food, why wouldn't I want to have organic booze?"