"A mythical Greek goddess whose name meant harmony and balance, Cosmeos gave to mortals the gift of herbs, flowers, and other simple pleasures to nourish the body and soul. She personified radiant health that flowed from a core of harmony and balance. Cosmeos never sought to mask what she was or how she looked; rather, she fed her inner fire with the eternal gifts of the earth. Her beauty was abundant as the flowers growing wild on the hillside and as powerful as the granite bones of the mountain. 
The modern word cosmetic stems from the Greek word kosmeticos, meaning "skilled in adornment." This is precisely what Cosmeos was all about; it was never her intent to cover up; she used her creations to revel in who she was. She is one of my favorite goddesses. I envision her as a wild woodland creature running free through the forests with her sister herbalist Artemis, whose name also has been immortalized in the name of a plant.
Cosmeos, though much misunderstood in the modern-day world of beauty, still yearns to flower in each of us. Her life force is in the rare and unique beauty that resides in the heart, that inner sparkle of the eyes and the radiant glow of the skin. Her teachings are not about what makeup to paint your face with or how to arch the curve of the eyebrow but are, instead, lessons rich with the lore of plants, of health and playfulness."
~Rosemary Gladstar, Family Herbal
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