Soothing Herbal Potions

• 2 cups mineral water
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 8 drops lavender essential oil
• Glass bottles with stoppers

Splash on this refreshing herbal water or give it as a gift.

1. Mix the ingredients in a glass measuring cup.

2. Pour the blend into clean bottles. Refrigerate and use within a week. If desired, substitute rose essential oil for the lavender.

Pour 4 cups of boiling water over 4 tablespoons of fresh herbs; cover and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and use.

Your tired feet will enjoy this refreshing soak.

Enjoy your own at-home spa treatments.

• Liquid soap
• Fresh rosemary
• Marbles

1. Mix warm water, a few drops of liquid soap, fresh rosemary, and marbles in a low container.

2. Massage your feet on the marbles while the warm water releases the soothing scent of rosemary.

As another option, treat your face to an invigorating cleansing.

• Rosemary or lavender
• Boiling water
• Towel

1. Add a handful of rosemary or lavender to a pan of boiling water, and then turn off the stove.

2. Tent a towel over your head and the pan of steaming water, holding your face about a foot above the water for five minutes.

• Large glass containers
• Your favorite herbs

Use large containers to capture the long-lasting scent of herbs.

1. Pick plant materials at their peak, in the early morning, and place them in glass containers large enough to keep the material from touching the bottom of the glass. Seal tightly and set the jars in the sun for three days.

2. Strain the fluids that collect at the bottom of the bottles. Use the liquid within a day or two by dabbing it on your face.

Scented geranium leaves add a delicate fragrance.

Herb baths have been soothing tired bodies for centuries. Chamomile, calendula, rose geranium leaves, jasmine, and lavender are among herbs long known for their soothing aromas. Used in a bath, other herbs, including basil, lemon verbena, marjoram, rosemary, and fennel, stimulate the senses, too.

Loose herbs in the bath may stop up the drain and cling to your skin, so use one of the methods described here to add herbs to your bath water.

• 4 cups of boiling water
• 4 tablespoons of fresh or dried herbs

1. Combine and steep for 30 minutes.

2. Strain and add to bath water.

• Muslin or cheesecloth
• Fresh herbs
• Fine oatmeal or powdered milk, if desired
• Ribbon

1. Cut a circle from a muslin or cheesecloth and place fresh herbs in the center. Add fine oatmeal or powdered milk as a skin softener, if desired. Gather the muslin into a bundle and tie it tightly with ribbon.

2. Hang the bag from a faucet so the running water releases its fragrance, or dangle it in the water for the duration of your soothing soak.