by Marie | Feb 14, 2019 | Best of 2019, Featured Posts, Lotion, Other 2019 Favourites, Projects with Videos
I’m really excited to share this formula with you guys—this Pemberley Hand Lotion was my Formula Botanica final project, and I received a mark of 100% for it! The project was to create a product for a specific customer. I designed this gorgeous hand lotion for professional women, aged 30–40, who work in an office setting. It had to be ultra hydrating but also super fast absorbing so the user wouldn’t leave greasy fingerprints on papers or touch screens. The scent had to be soft as heavily perfumed products are frowned upon in office settings, but I also wanted it to be luxurious and pleasing to give the user a bit of a sensory break from their busy day. This is what I came up with!
(more…)
by Marie | Jan 17, 2019 | Best of 2019, Facial Hydrators & Toners, Facial Serums & Balms, Featured Posts, Other 2019 Favourites
Today’s recipe is kicking off a new soothing skin care series that is perfectly timed for the driest, darkest, and often coldest part of the winter here in Calgary. The formulas in this series star a beautiful selection of wonderful, effective ingredients that have been proven to soothe, moisturize, and repair the skin. We’re starting with this simple, super-hydrating serum for a serious hit of moisturizing, barrier-boosting skin care goodness.
(more…)
by Marie | Dec 17, 2018 | Essential Reading, Featured Posts, Projects with Videos
Today I want to talk about something that really isn’t all that sexy or exciting, but it is super useful—using spreadsheets for your DIYing and formulating! Even if you don’t formulate I’d recommend stepping away from online recipe calculators in favour of spreadsheets. You can use them to calculate, re-calculate, and store all the recipes for everything you make. When I’m formulating I work out most of my formulas in spreadsheets, and use them to track my iterations and adjustments. Spreadsheets are incredibly useful for working in percentages, scaling batches, and comparing formulas, and you definitely don’t need to be an expert to do any of those things. I’d really like to encourage you to start storing the formulas for the things you make in a program like Google Sheets; that will make them easily searchable, and you can quickly review, revisit, and scale formulas as needed. It’s great!
(more…)
by Marie | Nov 19, 2018 | Best of 2018, Conditioner, Featured Posts, Sugar Plum
This Sugar Plum Cleansing Conditioner is a wonderful continuation to the fun I’ve been having making cleansing conditioners over the last few months. My aim with this one was to create something lighter that could work better for anyone with hair that can be easily overwhelmed with oils. The end result is heavier on conditioning and lighter on oils for a fantastic, volumizing cleansing experience.
(more…)
by Marie | Nov 5, 2018 | Best of 2018, Body Butter, Featured Posts, Projects with Videos, Sugar Plum
I’m having a hard time deciding if I can give this Sugar Plum Conditioning Body Butter away. I mean… it’s just so nice. I really want to keep it for myself. I really should give it away. I am a one-woman skin care stuff factory and I am not due to need another body butter until sometime in 2026, and yet… it’s just so lovely! Rich and creamy, with a velvety skin feel and a shockingly fast absorption speed. It leaves my skin feeling all kinds of smooth and soft and protected in a way that’s noticeable for hours. It’s just… you should probably just make it and see. And then you can agree with me—I shouldn’t give it away.
(more…)
by Marie | Sep 17, 2018 | Chewy, Face, Featured Posts, Other 2018 Favourites
This sweetly fragrant, refreshing facial toner has become a fast favourite of mine. It smells deliciously of roses, features several soothing and lightly hydrating ingredients, and leaves my skin feeling revived and gently cleansed. It’s also crazy easy to make (no heat required!) and uses just a handful of pretty simple ingredients. I think you’re going to love it, too!
(more…)
