Grainy, mealy, uneven body butters are the bane of any formulator’s existence. You’re dreaming of something silky smooth and divine, but instead your body butter feels like its full of sand… or perhaps you were promised a solid bar, but got oily slop instead. Bleh! Let’s learn how to solve all that 😄
Even though I make most of the skincare products I use, I still enjoy perusing the skincare departments at Sephora and airport duty-free shops—paying extra attention to the luxury brands. I sample, sniff, and examine ingredient lists like a lotion detective. If a single lotion costs 3x my monthly grocery budget, I want to know what’s going on 🧐 What formulation magic has that fancy brand used to create a product that feels like its worth $400?! Fancy actives and proprietary botanical blends definitely pop up quite a lot, but I’ve noticed five cheap, easy-to-implement strategies in heaps of luxury formulations, and I want to share them with you so you can make lotions that feel like magic 🤩
If you’ve been frustrated by heavy, melt-prone body butters, this is the formulation for you. In this post I’ll be teaching you how to make an easy 7-ingredient body butter that is lighter than traditional DIY body butters, won’t melt in hot weather, won’t seize up if it gets too cold, and won’t go grainy on you. It’s also cheaper to make!
Today we are diving deep into the archives to Bee Better a project I published almost exactly nine (!!) years ago. This formulation began life as a Lush dupe(ish), and while the 2014 version wasn’t bad, I’ve learned a lot since then. Today’s updated version is softer and more cosmetically elegant, uses fewer ingredients, and I think it smells better, too. Let’s get making!
In this post I’m sharing two lighter whipped shea butter formulations—Lavender Calendula and Coffee—and I’m sharing the easiest formulation strategy for creating lighter, less greasy body butters. Let’s go!
Today’s formulation is a soft, creamy butter that works beautifully for haircare and skincare. Depending on how you use it, it can be a super-concentrated leave-in hair conditioner, a hair serum, a regular-strength leave-in hair conditioner, or a body butter. It’s versatile, luxurious, and smells fantastic. Let’s dive in!
Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care is now available at booksellers all over the world!