Move Over, Essential Oils. Floral Essences Are Gonna Be Your New Obsession
Dry brushing, green tea, organic makeup, menstrual cups and coconut oil: We’ve got natural remedies for our physical wellness on lock. But our emotional and mental wellbeing deserves some all-natural love too! We’ve recently come across a new-to-us natural remedy that caught our eye: floral essences. To get the full scoop on floral essences, we spoke to fashion tech entrepreneur-turned-floral essence guru Alisa Gould-Simon.
In February 2015, after selling Pose, the fashion app she co-founded in 2012, Gould-Simon took an extended sabbatical to the Costa Rican jungle. It was there she made her first floral essence and “fell in love with the process.”
After she returned to Los Angeles, Gould-Simon began gifting her essences to friends and soon found herself in the pages of Vogue, catapulting her passion project into a legit business: Flora Luna. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the natural practice.
What are floral essences?
If you don’t know what floral essences are, you’re not alone! Floral essences are ingestible tinctures made with distilled water that have been infused with the flowering part of a plant, usually with brandy or vegetable glycerin added as a natural preservative. Gould-Simon differentiates floral essences from another popular wellness mix — essential oils — by saying that essential oils are mostly used topically and for physical relief, like misting a pillow with lavender oil for a restful night’s sleep. In contrast, floral essences are tinctures meant to be ingested to aid in a person’s emotional and mental well-being.
“Each flower has a different purpose,” Gould-Simon says, “and helps shift something inside you,” whether you’re seeking clarity, stress-relief, focus or even love. For example, she likes to use rose as a means to instill confidence and calm. She recommends “4-6 drops” directly onto your tongue three times a day, as often as needed.
Which floral essence is right for you?
If you’re interested in trying one but don’t know which floral essence is right for you, Gould-Simon says that passion flower is her favorite flower to work with. Gould-Simon likes to recommend her “purpose” essence, meant to calm your mind and “reduce mental chatter.” Her “passion” essence is another customer favorite. The hibiscus-based essence is meant to awaken sexual energy — her friends have been known to use it in cocktails at a party!
Gould-Simon makes her essences under a full moon with uncut flowers, when possible. She soaks the flower in distilled water while it’s still on its stem, and then puts the essence in a ceramic bowl outside under the full moon’s “vibrational healing realm.” She explains that the moonlight activates the water, allowing it to better soak up the flower’s healing properties. How cosmically cool is that?
Will you try floral essences? Tweet us @BritandCo and let us know!
(Photos via Getty)
