Imagine ancient, beautiful flowers that you can drink as a golden elixir and massage on your face for perfect skin. Sound too good to be true?

Meet Chrysanthemum.

Tiny little flower buds that have been used in Chinese Medicine for viruses, headaches, fevers, liver detoxification, respiratory problems, digestion…

And most importantly…

Skin.

They taste like flowers should taste: aromatic and dreamy. They turn your hot water golden no matter how many times you steep it. It also costs about $3 a pot in China Town.

AND

You can use it as a face-mask.

Yeah, health does come from the inside, but you can also do physical stuff to feel really radiant and sexy on the outside too. A lot of the time, skin problems are due to excess heat, and lucky for us, Chrysanthemum is prized in TCM for its cooling properties.

Say goodbye to red, irritated, rough skin and blemishes… and hello to your glow.

Chrysanthemum and raw honey are like the perfect duo – for your body and for your face regime. Raw honey in your tea will make the flavor that much more soothing and florally sweet. Honey also has an intestine-lubricating effect, so this in a warm tea is a great detox first thing in the morning to get everything going…

And adding it to your face-mask will, well, make the face-mask possible (as a binding agent). AND not to mention, super-powered – or more specifically: hydrating, exfoliating, pore cleansing, and anti-acne (antibacterial) all at the same time. Honey has also been scientifically confirmed to speed up wound, scab and scar healing. Nature really does provide it all!

Face Mask Recipe:

(Do a skin test on your arm first to make sure you are not allergic to the flower)

Rinse the buds. Dry them off. Then break them up into smaller pieces

Mix about a tbsp of flowers per 2 tbsps of honey – adjust depending on how runny your honey is

Mush the flowers into the honey

Leave on for a minimum of 10 minutes as you drink your tea

Slowly massage face to exfoliate before washing off

Use at least once a week and enjoy chrysanthemum as part of your health and beauty regimes!

Isabella Gucci-Ruffalo