It will not come as a surprise that I am no lover of winter, but I will concede that it can be very pretty. I love the sparkle of morning frost, especially when a thin dusting of it adorns every tree branch, porch step, and fence post. On a perfectly crisp morning the neighborhood looks positively frosted in diamonds, and if I have the luxury of staying in all day with a big pot of tea, my mukluks, and a good book, that’s a pretty darn perfect day. Days like that are what inspired this Morning Frost Face Mask.
On days when we get a frost after a Chinook (a few days of unseasonably warm weather—the temperature can jump 20°C/70°F in a day or two) has blown through, you can see lots of golden grass poking out of the semi-melted snow on our prairie bluffs. When those golden stalks are coated in crystalline frost, it’s unbelievably beautiful. With that mental picture, I thought yellow + white would be a great starting point for this mask.
The base of the mask is soft white kaolin clay, rich coconut milk powder, and hydrating silk peptides. To that I added sunny yellow calendula petals, calming chamomile flowers, and anti-inflammatory marshmallow root. All of this was blended together in a coffee grinder to create a uniform powder that smells softly herbal and can easily be whisked into a wee bit of water to create a quick, simple face mask.
To use the mix, measure one teaspoon of warm water (or steeped tea) into a small bowl and slowly whisk in two teaspoons of the mask mix—you’ll end up with a thick, creamy mixture. Spread it over your face—you’ll find it’s a bit oatmeal-y, thanks to the addition of the herbs (and especially the marshmallow root, which gets a bit gummy when wet). Leave it to dry for approximately ten minutes before rinsing off and following up with a serum or face cream.
I love this mask for how simple and gentle this Morning Frost Face Mask is. There’s a wee hint of exfoliation thanks to the bits of herbs blitzed into it, which is great for keeping winter skin looking and feeling fresh, but without being too aggressive. Thanks to the coconut milk powder it’s not too drying, either, which I really appreciate. The soft herbal scent with a wee hint of coconut is lovely and not at all overwhelming. It’s brilliant for a day spent hibernating at home—I think you’ll love it.
Morning Frost Face Mask
2 tbsp white kaolin clay (USA / Canada)
2 tsp powdered coconut milk (USA / Canada) (or other milk powder)
1/4 tsp silk peptides (wondering about substitutions?)1 tsp dried calendula petals
1 tsp dried chamomile flowers
1 tsp dried marshmallow rootMeasure all the ingredients into your DIY-only coffee grinder, pop the lid on, and blend everything together for a full minute. Leave the lid on for another five to give the dust time to die down.
Before you remove the lid of your coffee grinder, give the lid and sides a few sharp raps with the back of a spoon to knock any powder that might’ve climbed up the sides of the grinder back down into the dish. Gently remove the lid, and give the mixture a stir. I found that the different weights and textures in this meant that one blending was sufficient to get a uniform blend, but if that’s not the case with your grinder, give the mixture a bit of a turn-over with a spoon, pop the lid on again, and blend for another minute. Repeat the wait and rap bit, and at that point your mixture should be uniform.
Transfer the mixture to a jar for use at a later date—you’ll need a jar that’s approximately 60mL (1/4 cup) to hold the mix.
To use, blend 2 tsp of the dry mixture into 1 tsp of warm water. Spread it across your face, let dry for 10–20 minutes, and rinse off. Follow up with your favourite moisturizer and enjoy your lovely complexion!
We finally got rid of the airmeggeon (I think most of it was fog actually in this city but meh it was an extra excuse to toss on a mask and answer the door all day) and I decided to celebrate with a mask earlier today. I made almost this exact recipe only mine had some with some ground up orange peel and bamboo extract!
And now the smog/fog is gone, the air is back to its awesome winterness chrispness perfect sleeping weather, I’m under two feet of fuzzy blankets while my window is wide open letting the fresh -7C air in reading. I envy you your wickedly cold Alberta weather!
Can I have it?
Thanks for the winter descriptions! It is truly something I miss!
I’ll bite;where do you live? Is it smoggy and foggy? I’m in Kansas, South central, rural, and it’s been unseasonably warm here. Highs of 50 degrees, lows of just above freezing. Weeds, I’m afraid, will be a real and terrible thing in the garden at this rate this year. And we are planning our garden now, as well as spring and summer craft fairs to sell soaps and lotions and balm. Btw, super congrats on your book Marie; it showed up over the weekend.
Hello! Currently I live in Liaoning, China. I live less than an hour from the ocean which is why I think it was more fog than pollution. Pollution is usually yellow and wickedly stinky. The past few days it’s been mostly foggy colour.
Ohhh! What kind of balms do you sell? I’m trying to figure out a good cuticle balm with lanolin like Qticas but not quite there yet. Waiting for my bellina to arrive as I think that might be the magical ingredient! Good luck in all your craft fairs!
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Thank you! 😀
Yes. Yes, you can have the gross -26°C wind windchill weather I am “enjoying” over here LOL.
Looks like a good gentle mask, Marie, and one I think my niece and her boyfriend will love. It’s gotta be love when you do face masks together. She has the prettiest flawless skin I’ve ever dreamed of owning so I like to keep her masks gentle. I don’t know what his skin is like.
I have a question. In almost every wonderful (hilarious) mask picture of yourself, you leave the tip of your nose bare. It can’t be a coincidence anymore, can it? Why not the tip of your nose? Is it bad to mask there? In my world, noses need a mask the most.
Ha! Honestly, it’s just because I don’t love the idea of accidentally inhaling bits of drying mask, and the tip of my nose doesn’t need the love 😛 It’s really the septum bit I don’t put mask on, but I guess it starts to blend into the tip of the nose 😛
I’d love a screensaver of the picture you described at the top of your post because it sounds so beautiful!
Me too! Sadly the last time I was out in such conditions all I had was my phone and that really didn’t do it justice.
I just made it, added a bit of oatmeal flour to it as well. Sitting on my face it smells like I could eat it! Lovely!
Beautiful! I think I’ll have to do another round of this one tonight 🙂
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!!! How long can the unused powdered mask be safely stored? Thanks
I’d say at least 9 months to a year, if kept dry and cool 🙂 All you’re really worried about is the oil oxidizing, and that’s not so much a safety issue as a freshness issue 🙂
whats your favorite DIY mask??
Usually anything with French green or kaolin clay, but that’s sort of like asking what my favourite breakfast is—it depends on lots of factors like the weather, how much effort I want to put into it, and how my skin is feeling that day 🙂
How long is the shelf life of this recipe? Does it need a preservative to be safe ? If so how much?
Maybe 3 days; read this to learn more 🙂
I leave milk powder, silk & marshmallow root because I don’t have them (sound like everything 🙂 ). I put 10 drops each EO Chamomile & Apricot Kernel Oil. And the result… mmm…. smell like… not very nice. What EO should I put to make best smell & best result for my face (aging skin or dry skin)
Good morning Elok!
I am with you, I think chamomile essential oils smells like dirty gym socks! But it is amazing for the skin, and my skin loves it! Here is a link to all the masks on the site, you will need to look for masks that talk about soothing and hydrating. Just make sure to follow the ingredients for as Marie says in the substitution section, “As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.“
Thank you Barb. I make HA facial serum also using blue chamomile hydrosol. I kept telling my self “this is good.. this is good..” event though I’m smelling something… yeeiikk. But thank you to Marie, I’m no longer buying skin care product since I learn many thing from her blog & her sources
Howdy Elok!
Me too! I came across Marie’s blog when she first began posting eons ago for some soaping inspiration- I think. But she has been a wealth of information and inspiration for many things! Glad you are loving it! And how does your skin enjoy the chamomile? I know. Stinks like… well stinks. But once you get past that strong hay scent… you notice your skin is like, “hello Dolly!“
What can I use in place of silk peptides. Amazon says its unavailable. Id love to try this mask!
You could use more clay instead in this project 🙂