SONYA DAKAR’S BEVERLY HILLS beauty clinic is hard to miss. Towering over the famous criss-cross of intersections around the Beverly Hilton, the clinic where Sonya Dakar’s famous facials are administered has been a celebrity mainstay for years. The oxygen facials are an award season must, her skincare, supplements, and homeopathic treatments are top notch, and facials can be scheduled to take place high atop their rooftop garden. What else would you expect from a top Beverly Hills facialist?
Below, Sonya shares a little of her beautifying wisdom with us. Try these five sips and elixirs for better winter skin…
Raw cacao powder is a powerful antioxidant thanks to its high levels of resveratrol (a wonderful anti-oxidant that helps prevent skin from aging and environmental damage). Combined with warming cayenne pepper, raw honey and almond milk, a raw cacao latte is the perfect addition to your morning routine.
Raw Cacao Latte
Ingredients:
8 oz almond milk
1 Tbsp raw cacao
1 tsp raw honey (or more, to taste)
1/2 tsp coconut oil
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of vanilla extract
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat on medium. Whisk until combined and heated through. Pour into a mug and enjoy!
Many people love the taste of hot chocolate during winter months but sometimes I am in the mood for something a bit more subtle and just as delicious. I combine my protein powder to make a medical-grade healthy morning beverage that is low-glycemic and completely balanced with 15 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Plus, it tastes amazing!!
Ultima Power Hot Vanilla
Ingredients:
2 cups almond (or coconut) milk
2 scoops Sonya Dakar Vanilla Ultima Power Powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
Directions:
Bring milk and Ultima Power Powder, cinnamon, and ginger to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until powder is dissolved. Pour into your morning mug and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
I grew up on this drink and it is very refreshing. I still like to drink it first thing in the morning – before I eat or drink anything else – and it is super easy and simple to make.
Much like lemon can be used as a cleaning product, the citrus fruit has the potential to clear up everything from your skin to that nasty cold you’ve been harboring for weeks.
Hot Mint & Lemon
Ingredients:
1 lemon
1/4 cup mint leaves
4 cups boiling water
Directions:
Carefully remove rind from lemon using a vegetable peeler, making sure not to get any of the white pithy part of the rind, and reserve lemon for another use. Place rind, mint leaves, and boiling water in a large bowl; cover and steep mixture for 5 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard rind and mint. Serve immediately.
Chai tea (a combination of black tea, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon and clove) contains powerful antioxidants that help destroy free radicals, which can breakdown the skin. Many of the vitamins, phytonutrients, and essential oils in cardamom act as antioxidants, cleaning up free radicals and resisting cellular aging.
Homemade Hot Chai Coconut Latte
Ingredients:
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 cardamom pods
8 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 pieces fresh ginger
6 bags black tea
2 cups coconut milk
¼ cup agave
Directions:
Lightly crush the peppercorns, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, and put into a medium saucepan. Add the ginger, if using. Add 6 cups cold water to the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and add the tea bags. Let them steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, and let steep another 10 minutes.
Put the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to simmer. Strain the tea mixture into the milk mixture and heat through for 1 minute. Whisk the mixture until frothy.
Clear, perfumed, orange blossom water, is actually a by-product of the distillation process that creates the essential oil, from bitter-orange blossoms. In the Middle East, orange blossom water is given to children to treat upset stomachs and indigestion.
Orange blossom water is available at Middle Eastern and other grocery stores.
Hot Orange Blossom
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups hot water
5 tsp orange-blossom water (more or less, to taste)
1 Tbsp agave
Directions:
Add the orange-blossom water and sugar to the hot water and mix thoroughly.
Clear, perfumed, orange-blossom water is actually a by-product of the distillation process that creates the essential oil, from bitter-orange blossoms. In the Middle East, orange-blossom water is given to children to treat upset stomachs and indigestion.
