Why every Botanica Essentia formula is kept in violet glass

What the glass is. Every bottle, jar and dropper in the collection is Miron violet glass, made in the Netherlands. It looks black on the shelf and deep violet against a window. That colour is the point: the glass is designed to limit the visible light that reaches the contents, while letting through the part of the spectrum at the violet end. Miron publishes its own transmission data; we link to it rather than restate it. to be confirmed

Why a naturopath cares. Connie formulates with preservative-light bases and a great many essential oils, and essential oils are the part of a formula that changes first when light gets at them. Keeping them in the dark is the oldest preservation method there is; apothecaries used dark glass for the same reason for two hundred years. Violet glass is the modern version of that habit.

What we do not claim. We do not say the glass "energises" anything, or that it extends shelf life by a number of months, or that no light of any kind gets through. Every formula still carries a best-before period to be confirmed, and we still ask you to keep the bottle out of direct sun and away from heat.

Keep the bottle. The glass is heavy, the closures are ground glass or metal, and the crest is fired onto the surface. When a bottle is empty, wash it in warm soapy water, dry it, and use it again: for your own oils, for dried herbs, for the bathroom shelf. We would rather you kept it than recycled it, because violet glass is not accepted in every kerbside stream. to be confirmed

How much is left. You cannot see the level through the glass. Our droppers and pumps are sized so that a 30 ml bottle used as directed lasts about to be confirmed; if you would rather know, stand the bottle against a lamp and the line shows.