The Passionate Olive
Olive Oil: The Golden Treasure
by Nick Caridi
I’ve been traveling for over 20 years, doing makeup for many cosmetic companies. You give up a lot of your life, which is not always good, but one good thing about traveling is that you meet interesting people. Recently I did makeup for Carol Firenze, author of The Passionate Olive, at Saks Fifth Avenue in downtown San Francisco. Carol loves olive oil so much that she wrote her book about it.
I grew up with Italian parents. My father, Vincent Caridi, and my mom, Mary Prochilo, came from the same town in southern Italy called Oppido Mamertia in Reggio Calabria. This town is surrounded by hundreds of olive trees. My parents used olive oil in everything from salads to frying meatballs. Any Italian family knows they have the three-gallon tin of olive oil in the garage and a one-gallon one under the sink, standing in the bottom of a cardboard box to prevent leakage. But Carol’s passion reaches out to other uses for this golden treasure; her book is subtitled 101 things to do with Olive Oil.
"Any Italian family knows they have the three-gallon tin of olive oil in the garage and a one-gallon one under the sink, standing in the bottom of a cardboard box to prevent leakage."
She always starts with extra virgin olive oil for everything in and on the body. Extra virgin is best because it’s less processed and has higher degrees of phenols. Olive oil contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated good fats and it has no cholesterol or trans-fat. Monounsaturated fats may help lower cholesterol called LDLs when you use them in place of saturated fats in your diet. Be sure to read label and only buy olive oil that is certified extra virgin and look at the back of the label to see where the olives are grown. Buy olive oil from the country where the olives are grown.
Different countries have seals of certification; for example, in California look for COOC on the label; in Italy look for DOP; in Spain, DO; in Greece, PDO. Another tip is to go to stores for olive oil tastings so you can decide what intensity you like.
Besides being delicious to cook with and dip your bread in, here are some olive oil tips Carol suggests that can enhance your love life and health. I’m in the process of trying them.
- Facial mask: Mix olive oil with avocado for a great face mask that leaves your skin so moist and it also tastes great.
- Body and face exfoliant: Mix olive oil with sea salt for a great exfoliate and this, too, tastes great.
- Hair conditioner: Olive oil is a good hair conditioner for people with dry hair.
- Shave with it: I tried this one and I still would use shaving cream, but it make a great preshave oil if put on the night before; you get a close shave the next day.
- Post-waxing: Smooth skin after waxing treatments.
- Massage oil: Massage with olive oil
- Bath oil: It smells great. I would add a glass of wine and candles to this to add to the mood.
- Makeup remover: Olive oil is good for waterproof makeup, and as a nighttime moisturizer.
- The Ultimate Beauty Secret: Two tablespoons a day. Carol said that whether you use it in cooking or on your salads, it’s about the same.
- Nail oil: It’s a great nail oil for your hands and feet, but if you use it on your feet wear soaks afterwards so you don’t stain anything.
- Lip balm: It tastes great while it moisturizes.
- Use olive oil soap: You can buy it at any health store.
- Shoe polish: In a pitch it makes a good shoe polish.
You can purchase an autographed copy of The Passionate Olive from www.amazon.com
NickCaridi is coming to a city near you. Give him a call in the United States at 516-330-2666, or email ncari9@aol.com.
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