Our Story

Throughout history, humans have turned to mother nature for medicinal purposes as well as skin care. Ancient Egyptians were some of early adopters of practices still used today in skin care and spas all over the world. Cleopatra is said to have utilized mud (and some say Crocodile dung!) from the Nile River for skin scrubs and facial masks. Ancient Egyptians were also known to understand the benefits of goat milk for skin care. In the days of ancient Rome, grape skins, grape seeds, and olive oils were all used to create skin and hair treatments. Sophia Loren, is said to use pure Italian Olive Oil as her skin oil every day. Many Italians to this day, not only use olive oil to cook, but as a skin oil, and many drink a tablespoon of pure olive oil every morning. 

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There have also been some really bizarre beauty rituals throughout history. Queen Victoria's white face was a result of a with a paste of lead and vinegar to cover scars from small pox and she used cinnabar, which contains mercury, for her red lip stain. It is said she had her makeup applied once a week, and did not take it off the entire week, thus allowing the lead and mercury to further soak into her skin. Serious health issues plagued her throughout her life. Uguisu no fun,(literally meaning "nightingale faces" in Japanese), also called the "Geisha Facial", refers to the excrement (fun) produced by a particular nightingale, the Japanese bush warbler (uguisu). The droppings have been used in facials throughout Japanese history.

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While we appreciate creative thinking in spas, we will stay away from the bizarre and dangerous and icky, and keep to the nice side of Mother Nature's bounty! During harvest at Descarado Winery, we will process, on average, eight tons of grapes. As a result, we have a lot of leftover pressed grapes. Until now, only the cows grazing on our ranch benefited by snacking on all grapes. We realized these pressed grapes still had a lot of benefits. First comes the wine, and now, second comes Grape Expectations Skin Care. The result of all this? Healthier, stronger skin! We've thoroughly researched and talked to industry experts to determine which oils are best for the skin, best for hydrating, best for healing, and best for overall skin health. Grape Expectations skin care products utilize pure and natural products that are known to be healing and nutrient-rich for the skin. No preservatives are used, and no weird, crazy additives that are man-made or made from who knows what. Instead, we've just tapped into Mother Nature to use what she's provided to us since the beginning of time. 

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Descarado Winery is proud to find a beneficial use for our extra-pressed grapes.

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The cows, however, are missing their "treat" at harvest.

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