Tea at Trianon: A New Project

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

A New Project

Announcing the opening of my Etsy shop, Trianon Bouquet, where I will be selling homemade, all natural face creams. Both the night treatment Midnight Bouquet and the day treatment Morning Bouquet are offered. The beauty creams were created for women over thirty-five. The restorative formula is designed to help diminish signs of aging, as well as revive the skin's suppleness and softness, with regular use. The essential oils of orange blossom, rosemary, lavender and rose are reminiscent of the gardens of Trianon. Midnight Bouquet may also be used as skin therapy for dry elbows, knees, and feet, and as a hair masque to repair split ends. Trianon Bouquet Beauty Creams are inspired by Queen Marie-Antoinette, who loved her gardens at Petit Trianon, and was known to have beauty products made from her own herbs and flowers.

After traveling to the Far East, I fell in love with coconut oil, a time-proven beauty product of women in South East Asia. I decided to combine it with olive oil and other oils traditionally used in the West, to make an effective facial treatment for busy, stressed-out modern women. In the meantime, I was inspired to use the herbal and floral fragrances that Marie-Antoinette would have had in her gardens. I remembered how the Queen was fascinated by other cultures, and so would have appreciated the exotic touch of coconut oil as well as the wonders of African shea butter.

Please visit my shop HERE.