by Marie | Oct 16, 2023 | Articles
Have you ever purchased a brand new ingredient and then had no idea how to actually include it in a formulation? Or perhaps you’ve been wanting to create your own formulation for something that’s unlike anything you’ve ever made before, but you have no idea where to start? I ran into these challenges all the time when I first started making, but then I discovered an amazing (free!) resource that helped me seriously level up my formulation skills, and fast. While this resource isn’t a secret, per se, I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about it, and how to get the most out of it.
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by Marie | Sep 25, 2023 | Articles
If you dream of selling your handmade skincare someday, one of the many responsibilities you’ll be taking on is properly labelling your products. Different countries have different labelling requirements (so make sure you’re researching and following all the rules set out by the relevant regulatory bodies in the country/countries you’re selling in), but no matter where you are, you can be pretty sure your cosmetic products will need an ingredient label.
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by Marie | Sep 18, 2023 | Articles, Lotion
So, you’ve finally made your very first lotion. Exciting stuff! If you’re anything like me, you’re now dreaming up all the different ways you’d love to customize the formulation. Could it be thicker? Can you add some colour? What about some scent? However, as a new lotion formulator, you aren’t sure what you can and can’t do without making the whole thing curdle, split, and die a sad, separated death.
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by Marie | Sep 11, 2023 | Articles, Essential Reading
Essential oils are are some of the riskiest ingredients in DIY skincare, and most people don’t realise it because of all the misinformation out there. There’s this idea that they’re safe and simple to use because they’re all natural, but unfortunately, that’s not the whole story. Mis-use of essential oils can lead to everything from irritation to rashes to severe chemical burns. Using them properly is, well, essential.
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by Marie | Apr 17, 2023 | Articles, Best of 2023, Body Butter
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 😄
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by Marie | Apr 3, 2023 | Articles, Facial Lotions, Lotion
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 🤩
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