By Natural Home & Garden Pack these multipurpose herbal remedies for minor illnesses, scrapes and irritations that can threaten to derail vacation enjoyment. Whether you’re sampling the local f…

Excerpt:
A dram: A dram is basically 1/16 of a fluid ounce. Really, the total amount isn’t all that important here, as we know we need to use equal parts of both things. So, technically, you can just ignore the “dram” part. If you have to know, though, 1 fluid dram is just about equal to 1/4 of a tablespoon.

Honey of Roses: This one took some digging, and was a bit confusing. Is honey of roses just honey that’s made by bees feasting on roses? Or is it roses steeped in honey? Or what? Well, it turns out, it’s basically a steeped, filtered rose tea with honey added to it. I couldn’t find an exact recipe for it, so we’re going to improvise:

• Boil 1/2 c. of water (preferably distilled)
• Steep 3 Tbsp rose petals or rosebuds in the boiling water for 5 minutes
• Strain the roses from the rose water
• Add 1/2 c. honey and stir
• Voila: Our new-fangled honey of roses

Oil of Tartar:  Again, this wasn’t easy to figure out. In fact, no one actually sells oil of tartar. It seems to be because there’s no such actual oil. The only recipe I could find was rather tricky and very old-fashioned (mainly because it used tartar directly from old wine barrels in the quantity of several pounds). So here’s our updated version, to be more conducive to a fun old-fashioned beauty party.

• Fill a small spice bag with 1-2 Tbsp cream of tartar
• Place it in 1 c. of boiling (preferably distilled) water
• Boil until the water is reduced by about one-third
• Remove the sack of cream of tartar
• You now have a new version of Oil of Tartar

From the link above that told us how they made oil of tartar, here’s a fun quote: “…on the skin, it removed dark marks or freckles, and it will make the skin lustrous and clear and stretch out every wrinkle. It will make you appear younger than you are.”

Most interestingly, oil of tartar was also used to remove stains on cloth and clean paintings.Anyone want to give that a try?

Rye Meal: For this, you can just ignore the “meal” and substitute the word “flour.” They’re basically the exact same thing. Rye meal, back in the day, might have been a bit less powdery than the rye flour we have at our disposal today, but it’s so similar there really is no difference. You can find it just about anywhere. Just check your local grocery store. Or, in a pinch, garbanzo bean flour or rice flour would do the same duty.

The Cloth: If I were doing this, I’d cut out nose holes in a piece of cheesecloth and spread the masque over that, and then apply it to my face. You, however, can do this any way that feels comfortable to you. I would not, however, cut out breast holes. (Because I won’t be putting this on my decolletage.) But, honestly, I don’t see any reason why you can’t just spread the paste on your face (or chest or hands) and leave it on like we would a normal mask. You do what feels right to you! Want to be historically accurate? Use the cloth!

The Lemon Juice: I’m pretty sure you don’t need me to define this for you. Except I will add this: I probably wouldn’t rinse my face with pure lemon juice (ouchie dryness). Instead, I’d put about a tablespoon of lemon juice in 3 cups of water and rinse that way. Either way, please do not forget that lemon juice makes your skin photosensitive, so steer clear of the sun for a few hours after doing this.