I’m feeling really tired and overwhelmed these days. I don’t know if it’s because it’s winter or what, but I feel like I’m running around like mad, barely managing to keep on top of my to-do list. It feels like everything is piling up and all I want to do is turn off my phone and watch Netflix in bed. I did a dumb yesterday; I was filming videos, so I temporarily turned off the furnace so it wouldn’t be whirring and groaning in the background audio. Then I went out for the night and forgot to turn it back on, and when I got back it was 8°C (46°F) in the house. Brr. I remember making a mental note to turn it back on before leaving, but I clearly didn’t, and boy did I feel like a dolt when I waltzed inside and wondered why it didn’t feel as warm as it should. Duh. And ugh. I spent the rest of the day hanging out in my jacket and toque and feeling like a proper idiot. Anyhow, that led to the need for these London Fog bath salts—so I could take a nice hot bath and crawl into my pre-heated bed and hopefully fall asleep without feeling like I was winter camping.
In keeping with my not wanting to do a whole lot as I was freezing, this recipe is quite a simple one. The bulk of it is baking soda and Epsom salts. Baking soda helps soften the skin, and Epsom salts are great for sore muscles. I also added a few good-sized scoops of coconut milk powder to really amp up the latte part. You could definitely use a different kind of milk powder if that’s what you have—cow’s milk or goat’s milk powders would both be great choices.
I added some safflower oil and olivem300 to the salts so you get some added skin hydration, and the olivem300 helps emulsify the oil into your bath water so you don’t have to worry about slipping as your bath drains away. I’ve included some alternatives to olivem300 in the recipe if you don’t have it 🙂
For the essential oil blend, I’m obviously channeling the super delicious London Fog—a tea latte made with Earl Grey Tea, vanilla syrup, and steamed milk. For the Earl Grey part I’ve used palmarosa essential oil (which smells like tea) and bergamot (for that bergamot note). Benzoin brings that sweet vanilla note, and the milk powder rounds it out with the steamed milk note. Yum!
Once you’ve got all the ingredients, these London Fog Bath Salts come together in a flash. They smell great and are a wonderfully easy way to treat yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Trust me—I would know 🙂 They create a lovely milky froth the surface of the water to start with, and the bath water feels extra lovely; a touch more substantive than plain ol’ water. It’s smooth and rich and luxurious, and I’m a big fan. Make these London Fog bath salts. They’re awesome.
London Fog Bath Salts
1 cup baking soda (USA / Canada)
3/4 cup powdered coconut milk (USA / Canada)2 “blobs“ benzoin essential oil
7 drops palmarosa essential oil
10 drops bergamot essential oil1 tbsp Olivem300 or Polysorbate 80 (USA / Canada)
1 tbsp safflower oil or other lightweight, inexpensive oil2 cups Epsom salt (USA / Canada)
Measure the baking soda, coconut milk powder, essential oils, olivem300 (or alternative), and safflower oil into a food processor or blender, and blend everything together. You’ll probably have to scrape down the sides a few time to get a good, even blend.
Dump the baking soda mixture into a big bowl and stir in the Epsom salts. And that’s it! I filled a 1L (two pint) mason jar with the salts. Depending on how generous you’re feeling with your salts you could do two to three baths with them. I wouldn’t increase the batch size or keep them around too long as they’ll have a tendency to clump, especially if you live somewhere humid (or store them in a humid bathroom). Definitely avoid putting them in a jar with a narrow neck/mouth as the salts can clump up below the neck and then you won’t be able to get ’em out.
If the worst thing you’ve done is forget to turn back on the furnace I think you’re doing a great job! This is my first time living in a house that runs off oil and three weeks after I turned the heat on the house got cold… Turns out I ran out of oil. On Friday. In December. So I turned on all the faucets to a drip and hoped nothing froze before I could get more oil… And the house got to about 44 (fahrenheit) and then stayed there. For 6 days. Turns out I kind of like it and now I only turn on the heat for 2-6 hours to get the house back up to 50 or so (Unless I have company who didn’t realize they were on an Arctic vacation). A warm bath sounds delightful and I love your London Fog EO blend. Stay warm!
Oh no! I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to live in a home that depends on oil for heating—that definitely sounds like a thing I’d forget to tend to! I’m amazed you like it, I definitely did not enjoy my little Arctic vacation in the slightest LOL.
Ooohhh this recipe is perfect timing, I just ordered some Bergamot EO. Mmmm… I bet these smell delish.
I am about to order the palmarosa EO!
Earl Grey party!
Woo! Enjoy 😉
Marie, thanks so much for this. I just did a weekend of hiking the Arizona desert (only time of year it’s possible without heat stroke) and it’s going to be a great bath afterwards for sore muscles and relaxing. I absolutely LOVE the orange face cream too! It’s always dry here too and it keeps me from looking too old. Carve out some time to relax like you did in the bath. If I don’t do this, I’m constantly overwhelmed. Blessings to you, Lin
Oooh, beautiful! And I am so glad you’re loving the orange blossom face cream—I just put some on and I am still madly in love with the scent 🙂
Hi Marie…just whipped the London Fog bath salts together and looking forward to having a lovely soak tonight, maybe with a London Fog Latte :)) It smells fab in the jar! The Orange Blossom face cream is in the works as well..just waiting for my ND order to arrive with the one item that I needed. Have you ever thought about doing an eye cream? I’d like to tackle one but definitely need some guidance as I’m still finding my footing with lotion making. Thanks for all you do, its very much appreciated. Finding Humblebee and Me in my inbox always brightens my day..
OOoh, lovely! I hope you had your bath and I hope it was downright decadent 🙂 I have thought about working on an eye cream, but here’s the thing… I lack a testing subject. Neither I, my dog, or my boyfriend require one (or any of my girlfriends, haha), so without a test subject I’m hesitant to call anything an eye cream as I’ll have no idea if it works on those eye things people use eye creams for.
Congrats on the new four legged addition. Animals are a huge part of my life and I’m a better person for it. Life for me would be bleak without them around!
My bath was uber decadent. Is there any reason why I couldn’t increase the EO’s since I’m led by my nose and love a highly scented bath?
I never used an eye cream until a few years ago but now I can’t be without one. If you ever reconsider and need a test subject I’d be happy to help out. I’m a fellow Canadian 🙂
Thanks again for all that you do for your bees….
Thank you! She is currently napping on my left foot haha. She is so darn adorable, despite getting me up 3x last night. You can definitely increase the amount of EOs, it’s pretty hard to reach an unsafe level of EO concentration in an entire bathtub of water! Happy making and soaking 😀
Love earl grey tea so will definitely be making this… especially since its a bit chilly here in London 🙂
I don’t have olivem300, but I do have olivem1000 (yet to play with this), can I use that instead?
love your blog & youtube channel 🙂
Thanks
Neena
Hey Neena! Olivem300 is a thin liquid and Olivem1000 is solid shards, so that’s a definite no 🙂 They are very different!
What I wouldn’t give for a private bath tub right now…..
Sorry haha. At least you live in the land of pine pollen!
Lol! You think you’re funny don’t you? How did your pine pollen stuff turn out?
While in England I actually bought myself a kilo of coconut milk powder. To make a few soaks for my toes. It’s such a shame, a fairly decent portion of China has coconut groves, I get wicked cheap virgin coconut oil made by old women, I can get grated coconut, coconut husks you name it. But the one thing I cannot get is, coconut milk powder or coconut milk that isn’t sweetened. It’s like milk powder here. It’s loaded with sugar so cannot use it in soaping. So sad.
I sent you an email about a friend visiting soon.
Me and pine pollen are getting on GREAT. I think you’ll like Thursday’s email! 😀 Congrats on the new coconut milk hail!
Friday’s email you mean??? Lol! Time zones aren’t my friend when I’m in the future!
Ooooh, fancy pants time traveler Penny 😛
Hi Marie, I was on the newdirections website and they only have polysorbate 20,60 and 85. The 85 used to be 80, and I was wondering if it has just replaced 80, or if it is completely different (as in, am I able to use 85 instead of 80)? Thank you!
Well, that’s annoying! The HLB of PS80 is 15, while the HLB for PS85 is 11. PS20 is 16.7, PS60 is 14.9. (source). So, if we’re looking for something with a similar HLB value, I think 60 would be the best alternative to 80 rather than 85 🙂
Thank you! Sometimes it can be confusing (especially since 85 and 80 sound like they should be more similar than 80 and 60) hahah
Agreed, it is weird and not at all what I expected at first!
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe! I am so used to your recipes being in metric measurements that this gave my head a run around. Not that metric measurements are crucial here but do you have plans to update the recipe?
Hey Luvena! I have no plans to update this recipe 🙂 Fortunately, super precise measurements aren’t as necessary for bath salts as they are for some other things; future bath salt recipes will be in percentages and weights, but this is still fine. Happy making!