Last updated: 1 September 2026
The short version
Almost everything we sell is either food or something you put on your skin: herbal tea blends, seasonings, salts, essential oils, hydrosols, tinctures and creams. Once a seal is broken on any of that, we cannot take it back, resell it or accept it into our kitchen again — not as a policy preference, but because it would be unsafe and unhygienic to do so.
So in practice a refund or replacement is for when something is wrong:
- the parcel arrived damaged, crushed or leaking
- a seal was already broken, or a jar or pouch was not intact when it reached you
- the contents are spoiled — mouldy, fermented, rancid, separated, or otherwise not as they should be
- the product was past its best-before or expiry date on the day it arrived
- you received the wrong item, or something is missing from your order
- the product does not match how we described it
In all of those cases we put it right, at our cost, and you do not need to send the item back before we do. The one narrow exception, which the law requires us to offer, is set out under Sealed and unopened items below.
Something arrived damaged, spoiled or wrong
Tell us within 48 hours of delivery for anything perishable, and within a reasonable time for everything else. Email luminabotanicalgardens@gmail.com or call +357 99973631.
Please send us photographs of the item, the seal, the batch and date markings, and the outer packaging. For food and skincare this is usually all we need, and it lets us claim against the courier and check whether a whole batch is affected. It also means you do not have to post anything back to us — we would rather you did not return spoiled food, and we will not ask you to.
We will replace the item or refund it in full, including what you paid for delivery, whichever you prefer. If we do ask for something to be returned, we pay the postage.
You have a legal guarantee of conformity for two years from delivery. For food and cosmetics that guarantee is naturally bounded by the product’s best-before or period-after-opening date, which is printed on every item.
What we cannot take back
Once opened or unsealed, we cannot accept the return of:
- Creams, oils, hydrosols and tinctures — sealed goods that are not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed.
- Tea blends, seasonings, salts and any other foodstuff — goods liable to deteriorate or expire, and food that has left our control.
- Gift sets and anything made to your specification, including blends mixed to order.
These are the exemptions at Article 16 of Directive 2011/83/EU, as implemented in Cyprus. None of them applies when an item is faulty, spoiled, damaged or not as described — in that case the section above governs, whether the item is opened or not.
Sealed and unopened items
If a product is still sealed and unopened, and you simply changed your mind, you may return it within 14 days of receiving it. This is a right consumers have by law for anything bought online and we cannot remove it, but it is narrower than it sounds: the moment a seal is broken the exemptions above take over, and for most of our range that happens as soon as the product is used.
To use it, tell us before the 14 days are up — a clear statement by email or phone is enough, there is no form to fill in. Then send the goods back within 14 days to Lumina Botanical Gardens, 2 Ithakis Str, 7640, Kornos-Larnaca, Cyprus. You pay the return postage, and the goods must reach us sealed, unused and saleable. We refund within 14 days of receiving them.
Natural variation is not a fault
Our products are made in small batches from plants we grow and harvest ourselves, so they are not identical from one batch to the next. Colour, aroma and strength shift with the season, the weather and the harvest. Dried herbs settle in transit and a pouch can look less full than when it was packed, though the weight is unchanged. Creams may firm up or soften with the temperature, and unrefined oils can cloud when cold and clear again in the warmth.
None of that is spoilage, and it is part of what buying something handmade means. If you are unsure whether what you have received is normal, send us a photograph and ask — we would far rather answer than have you throw something away.
Storing what you have bought
Keep teas, seasonings and salts sealed, dry and out of direct sunlight. Keep oils, hydrosols and tinctures somewhere cool and dark. Creams are best kept below 25°C and used within the period shown on the jar once opened. We cannot refund a product that has spoiled because it was stored in heat or damp after it reached you.
How and when you get your money back
Refunds go back to the card or method you paid with, in full, with no fee. We refund within 14 days — of agreeing the refund where an item was faulty, or of receiving the goods back where you changed your mind about a sealed item.
Where a refund includes delivery, we refund the standard delivery rate. If you chose a faster, more expensive service, we refund what standard delivery would have cost.
Workshops, events and tickets
Bookings for workshops and events on a specific date are not covered by the 14-day right, which is the standard exemption for leisure activities at Article 16(l). Our own policy is:
- Cancel more than 3 days before the date and we refund in full.
- Cancel within 3 days and we can move you to another date, subject to availability.
- If we cancel — weather, too few bookings, anything else — you choose a full refund or another date.
Tea house reservations
Table reservations are free and involve no payment. If your plans change, let us know by phone or email so we can offer the table to someone else.
If you are not happy with how we have handled it
Tell us first — email luminabotanicalgardens@gmail.com or call +357 99973631 and we will try to put it right. If we cannot agree, consumers in Cyprus may contact the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, or use the European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform.
Nothing in this policy takes away your statutory rights under Cypriot and EU consumer law.