Coconut Oil.

After weeks of mostly rain, hail and storms (What the hell was that? The great deluge or what?!) it looks like summer finally arrives here in Northern California and nobody could be happier than me!

My lovely friend Julia currently asks on her blog: "Which beauty products remind you of summer?" and I cannot help myself but thinking that my beauty essential number 1 might have helped me to get a slight tan although I normally have pretty fair skin and problems to get tan at all (I have a reputation for being the girl who either turns lobster red or coming back from vacation still looking like a snowflake).

So my summer essential is... Coconut Oil!

First of all, the smell. Mmmmmmmh! Second: You can use it for everything and lazy as I am that's exactly what I need. I put it in my hair, either overnight as a mask or just a tiny little bit in my tips to moisturize them, on my body and even on my cleaned face. And my very dry skin and hair thank me with a healthy shine.

Benefits, benefits, benefits. And did I mention the delicious smell?

"Turns out coconut oil is a great-all-in-one. It is an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. It improves nutrient absorption. It can be used for cooking. It is a lip balm, moisturizer, shaving cream, deep treatment conditioner, makeup remover, body scrub (mixed with sugar makes a great exfoliant), bug bite balm, Athlete's Foot treatment, and canker sore treatment. It has also been proven to boost metabolism and aid in digest."