Diffusing essential oils has dramatically grown in popularity over the past few years. What's behind this popularity? Essential oils offer a wide variety of benefits and can be used in a multitude of ways. Diffusing essential oils is a simple and easy way to feel these benefits. In this blog we'll discuss the best way to diffuse essential oils, what kind of benefits diffusing can bring, and some exciting new announcements about Secret Garden essential oils!

Trying to find the cosmetic products that are a good fit for your skin can be challenging and, at times, frustrating! At the Secret Garden, we know the importance of finding that perfect product and being an informed buyer. One of our goals is to educate our customers on the benefits of the natural ingredients we offer in our products to help them make the best decision for their skin. Concluding our three part series on uncovering the truth behind some of the industry's most mysterious marketing ploys, this month we'll share the secrets behind "cruelty-free" and "vegan" products!

Have you ever been standing in the health and beauty section of the store, looking at all your options, trying to figure out which brand will actually be the best for you? I know I have and it can be really overwhelming and frustrating! This month, we will be continuing our journey to uncover the secrets hidden in those cosmetic labels and sharing all details about gluten and soy. Check out last month's blog on parabens! Seeing things like "gluten-free" and "soy-free" on a cosmetic label can be confusing. Aren't those words on labels for food allergies? Well, yes and no! We want you in the know so you can make the best decision for your body!

 We've all been there - standing in the cosmetic aisle of the grocery store, reading labels and wondering what all those ingredients and fancy words and promises really mean. Skin care companies hire excellent marketing firms to create product descriptions that make their products sound amazing. This can make it so hard to know what products are really safe for your skin, unless you actually educate yourself. Here at the Secret Garden, we don't want to keep secrets from our customers! One of the most common beauty product claims is "Paraben Free". But what does that mean?? Look no further, we've got the answers to your questions!

 If you've been able to visit us this summer, you may have noticed a little something new in our gift shop! We have expanded our "Liquid Gold" Essential Oil line to include not only Secret Garden grown Lavender, but Peppermint and Sage as well! Last summer, we added almost 1,000 peppermint and sage plants to our garden to give visitors the chance to cut their own herbs and to give us fresh and wholesome ingredients for our essential oils, teas and more. So much hard work and planning went into each of these little bottles and we are so grateful that it finally came together for us to share with you! Here we will cover all your burning questions about essential oils; what they are, how they're made, what their benefits are and more!

Over the past five months, we have explored a variety of different colors and the roles they play in our daily lives. If I have learned anything from my time researching color psychology, it's that these feelings we perceive are highly personal. How we feel about a color when we walk into a room can be dependent on our past experiences, our personality type, what we enjoy doing and so much more. This month's color is a great example of this concept. Blue can be found everywhere from our lakes and oceans to the summer sky and it can trigger a wide range of emotions in people. We will explore this idea and more below! Check out our past blogs here: RED, YELLOW, GREEN.

It's interesting to think about how we subconsciously build on the idea of color, assigning it emotions or associating it with times of year. It's easy to do when you think about where we see certain colors in the world. These past couple of months we've looked at how color affects our environment, our mood and our homes. This May, we will continue to address this and the other associations we make with color. This month, our focus will be on GREEN and how it can connect us to the natural world, how it can increase our productivity and the vital role it plays in our diets. Click here for January's blog on YELLOW. Click here for February's blog on RED. 

If you've had the pleasure of visiting our gardens in the peak of summer, you've experienced the surreal colors that nature can display. The vibrant purples, brilliant yellows, bold greens and beaming reds that make up our beautiful landscape, play a significant role in the healing therapy that they can provide. Over the next several months, we will be exploring some of these colors, along with their role in our garden, their psychological effects, some exciting decor and recipe ideas and some of our favorite Secret Garden products that incorporate this month's color! January's color is yellow!

We all enjoy a good soak in the tub from time to time and adding bath salts can make it even more enjoyable. But should we be taking baths more often? Well, tub-lovers, we have good news for you! There are several benefits of taking a hot soak and even more if you add in bath salts!