Now that I’ve fallen in love with face creams for winter skin hydration, I’m afraid I’m finding myself on a slippery slope. I caught myself drifting off to sleep the other night thinking about orange blossom water in face cream, and evening primrose oil. Some silk, perhaps… and suddenly I am dreaming about surfing on a cresting wave of neroli-scented face cream. Or something like that. Anyhow, I think you will enjoy sliding down this particular slippery slope with me, as this orange blossom face cream is divine.
The base of this cream is a blend of fragrant orange blossom water, protective allantoin, hydrating vegetable glycerin, and healing, amino-acid rich silk. Orange blossom water is a wonderful thing, and if you love neroli, but recoil at the price tag (~$90/5mL!), you’re going to love orange blossom water. A bottle is just a few dollars at the grocery store, and it smells just like neroli!
A blend of linoleic-acid rich evening primrose oil, argan-oil-esque abyssinian oil, and rich shea butter make up most of the oil part, with added cetyl alcohol for a thicker, richer cream, and some BTMS-50 to emulsify everything together. Both shea butter and evening primrose oil are heavier, richer oils with slower absorption speeds—the sort of thing you might not love to apply to your face straight, but when they’re diluted in a cream you can enjoy their benefits without feeling weighed down.
Some vitamin E (tocopherol) and vitamin B5 (panthenol) bring up the rear, along with a touch of white champaca (michelia alba) essential oil. I find the michelia alba blends beautifully with the neroli, helping brighten and sweeten what can be a bit of a dusty citrus note.
I tried a new toy making this lotion—a higher powered milk frother with interchangeable attachments as an alternative to an immersion blender. The one I got buzzes up to an impressive 15,000 RPMs, and definitely handles a bit easier than an immersion blender (with less splattering and less product loss). I’ve been eying the Minipro Mixer from Lotion Crafter, but adding $30 in shipping (plus duties and currency conversion) to a $20 purchase seemed… silly… so I went with the Ozeri mixer that’s available on Canadian Amazon instead. So far, so good!
If you love neroli and enjoy a richly hydrating, silky face cream, you’re going to love this stuff. Give it a go—I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Orange Blossom Face Cream
49g | 1.73oz water
20g | 0.71oz orange blossom water
1g | 0.03oz allantoin
2g | 0.07oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
2g | 0.07oz silk peptides (wondering about substitutions?)5g | 0.17oz evening primrose oil
5g | 0.17oz abyssinian oil
5g | 0.17oz refined shea butter
3g | 0.1oz cetyl alcohol
5g | 0.17oz BTMS-50 or Emulsifying Wax NF (USA / Canada / AU)2g | 0.07oz Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
1g | 0.03oz panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)
0.5g | 0.017oz Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada) (or other broad spectrum preservative of choice at recommended usage rate [why?])
4 drops michelia alba (white champaca) essential oilPrepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.
Weigh the water, orange blossom water, allantoin, glycerin, and silk into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Cover that measuring cup with some foil, and place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through. Weigh the evening primrose oil, abyssinian oil, shea butter, cetyl alcohol, and BTMS-50 into a second heat-resistant glass measuring cup and place that measuring cup in the water bath as well.
Heat both parts through for twenty minutes; this ensures the oil part is thoroughly melted, and helps the allantoin and silk fully dissolve in the water part.
After twenty minutes, pour the water part into the oil part. Remove the measuring cup with the two parts from the water bath and set it on a dishtowel to insulate it from the counter top. Using an immersion blender (or a high powered buzzy milk frother—mine does 15,000 RPM), blend the solution together, in bursts to prevent the lotion from leaping out of the measuring cup. After a minute or two of blending, leave it to cool for ten minutes before returning to blend it some more.
Do that a few more times until the cream is only a bit warmer than room temperature, and then stir in the vitamin E, panthenol, liquid germall plus, and essential oil. Transfer the cream into a 120mL/4oz plastic pump-top bottle or jar.
To use, smooth a small amount of orange blossom face cream over just-washed skin. Enjoy!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cream contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project is likely to eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
I do not recommend scaling this recipe up as 100g is quite a lot of face cream! After three weeks of 2–3x daily use I’ve barely made a dent in mine.
Hi Marie,
Ive been wanting to make your winter solstice cream but waiting until I hadall the ingredients and now this orange blossom looks fantasttic also. Heres my question… If I leave out the silk like you said we could under the link then should I sub 2 grams of something else to keep the recipe complete?
Marie! I finally made your winter solstice cream yesterday and I am happily wearing it today. It feels light, goes into the skin quickly and my face feels well-hydrated. Lovely! I have replaced allantoin and glycerin with NMF mix which has a those two plus some others. I can see in this new recipe you are using a little less water base and imagine this feels a bit heavier, which is great especially for winter. Looking forward to trying it out soon! Oh yes, and your book has arrived and it is beautiful!
Woo! I’m glad you’re enjoying the solstice cream; I’m definitely still flipping between that one and this new one 🙂 And thank you so much for buying my book! I can’t wait to hear about the things you make from it 😀
I made my own version of Orange Blossom face cream with the ingredients I had, and it was quite good, but I am wondering what oils are a little less oily? I used Rosehip, Lavender Essential Oils + Vitamin E and C but not all at the same time, I made 2 batches. one with Lavender and one with Rosehip. The other ingredients were Shea Butter, Coconut Oil and a little Beeswax, Jojoba and Almond oils.
Maybe I’m using too many oils? Or is there an ingredient that makes the cream less oily?
I love the Orange Blossom Water, I will try Rose Water as well next time…..
Another hydrolized protein would be the best thing to swap it for, otherwise you can just use another 2g of water in the water phase 🙂 Happy making!
Marie, thank you so much for this recipe! I love the idea of using orange blossom water in a cream – I can’t wait to try it! Would you have any suggestions on what to use instead of michelia alba essential oil? … It’s the only ingredient I’m missing >_<
Hmm. Michelia alba is really unique, but I included it for its brightness, so perhaps cardamom? Litsea cubeba? I’m just trying to think of “bright” smelling EOs here… run with that and whatever you have in your stash 😉 Happy making!
Have to try this Marie…thank you for sharing.
Happy making! Thanks for reading 😀
I’m wondering if I can get away with no cetyl alcohol and subbing baobab oil for the abyssinian? A friend gave me some and I’m anxious to use it since I have no abssynian.
I have plenty of orange blossom water. Whenever we go to an Indo-Pac store, my husband stocks me up ridiculously. Really, it’s ridiculous how much of that and rose water I own now.
This cream looks so yummy for my skin and it’s next on my to do list. Thanks Marie!
I’m sure you can! I imagine the lotion will be a bit thinner, but that’s likely the only change you’d notice 🙂 Enjoy working your way through that rose and orange blossom water—that doesn’t sound like a bad problem to have at all 😉
I’m getting set up to make this and I notice in this recipe, you’re adding vitamin E later, with cool down ingredients. Something I’ve never done. Does heat harm E?
I made it yesterday. I thought if it ended up too thick for my face, I’d use it as a neck and body cream. But it’s not! It’s light and after smoothing it in, my skin reminds me of my mother’s when she got ready for bed and came out of the bathroom with that glowing luminous skin that I loved so much.
I wish my face could look like that all day, like a light glowing under the skin. Maybe it will after continued use?
Love this, Marie!
Ooooh, yay! I love this 😀 Nostalgia & happy skin all in one!
I’ve read both yes and no (and both on POI, though I’ll be darned if I can find both articles now LOL), so I figured adding it during cool down couldn’t hurt anything. Meh 😛
Heya, Marie! What do you think of this cream for my oily/combination&acne-ish face skin? Is there any good enough substitution for abyssinian oil which I cannot find where I live? I canot even find the inci name of it … strange. I hope you can help. I’d really like to try this cream. Thank you sooo so much! Best regards, leeloohla
Hey Manaca! I find this cream to absorb quickly and leave a dry touch finish, so I think your skin would like it—I know my acne has improved significantly since switching to water based creams. You can use argan oil instead of abyssinian oil 🙂 Happy making!
Hey Marie, thank you for your answer. But now I already have a new one. :p Namely I’m having hard times receiving silk peptides in time, but I do have silk peptides dilluted in water on hand (INCI: Hydrolyzed silk (protein)) – I see ingredients included are: 4-5% silk peptides, glycerin, water and ethyl alcohol. What do you think of using this instead of powder thing? Do you think it would be ok to do this? If so, in which phase should I use my fluid silky stuff? Thank you soooo so much. Manca
You definitely can! Add ’em to the water phase 🙂 Happy making!
Hi there, thanks for another great recipe, can’t wait to try this out. Recently purchased your book here in Australia too and its awesome! I was just wondering, I’ve been using the mini mixer from lotion crafter that you mentioned but I find it puts a lot of air into my lotions and makes them kinda foamy and not such a smooth texture. After a few weeks the air dissipates and the texture improves but leaves air pockets which is a little odd looking. Am I doing something wrong? I wonder if I made bigger batches if less air would incorprate? No idea lol just wondering if this happens to anyone else too thank you!
Hey Robyn! Thanks for buying my book 😀 I haven’t had a chance to work with that particular mixer, but if you are finding any mixer is adding too much air to your concoctions, try keeping it closer to the bottom of your container and not pumping it up and down as much. You might also try blending less. How big are your batches?
Thanks for your reply I’ve been making small batches, about 100 to 200g. Although over the weekend I made a larger batch and used the immersion blender instead, and only blitzed it a few times rather than continuously for say 30 seconds, and the texture is much better. So I think you may be right, less mixing and keeping the mixer at the base of the container seems to do the trick. Thank you!
Huzzah!
Good morning! I’ve been spending the morning catching up on my favourite blog and all the fantastic recipes I’ve missed! I cannot wait to try them all! My kitchen has been cleaned, my pans are getting warmed as we speak and I cannot wait to give this a go!
Ok. So. Question. Silk. When you posted your winter solstice face cream, I noticed you had 1g in that recipe and it made about 100g of cream. In this recipe, 2g in about 100g. I know silk is delightful on the skin, and the skin likes it, but that’s a lot of silk! I’ve found some info on silk useage rates, and the useage rates I’ve seen are generally .25-1%. Is using more benefitical or just to make your skin taste better?
I think I saw that Susan often uses 2% silk, so I was like “WHY NOT?!” 😛 That’s about it, haha.
For quite some time now, I’ve been making a face cream on the same sort of lines – only I use rose water and a little rose wax. I also use mango butter instead of shea and for oils, I like passionfruit seed and rose hip seed. Next time I make mine, I’m going to try adding some glycerine. I use this cream in the morning after my shower. It’s silky and light and does a great job of moisturizing my skin. I love reading your recipes. They’re such an inspiration.
Ooh, lovely! Thanks so much for reading and DIYing with me 🙂
OK.stupid question. Are orange flower water and neroli hydrosol the same thing? Thanks for all you do and loving the book!
From my reading, no—but the floral water might actually be a better choice for our purposes!
Hello,
I want to piggyback this question.. You mentioned in a more recent video that you now prefer to use hydrosols rather than rose or orange blossom water.. would you recommend sticking to the water still?
As far as scent goes, is orange blossom a floral or citrusy flavor? I have never tried it before! (I am hoping for an orange citrus scent). And lastly, does michelia alba make a huge difference? I would love to just add something else like grapefruit or something else orangey if possible as I don’t think I’d get much other use out of the michelia alba.. Or would I? 🙂
Thank you!
Orange blossom = neroli (and the hydrosol will always be infinitely better than the grocery store “water”!). It’s a very perfumey, sweet, powdery scent—definitely not citrussy at all. The michelia alba helps counter/cut that perfumey sweetness. Nothing about this cream smells citrussy, so if that’s your aim you’ll probably want to swap out everything scented 🙂 Be sure to watch the maximum usage rates for any photosensitizing EOs!
Love this face cream! Feels and smells heavenly, definitely a new favorite!! Thanks Marie
Woohoo! Thanks for reading & DIYing with me, and enjoy the cream!
Hi Marie, I am definitely going to try this. I ADORE the idea of orange water and I treated myself to michelia alba. I’m wondering, though, as I really don’t want to purchase BTMS-50 if it’s only available in the US (crazy exchange and shipping rates, as you know) — can I use emulsimulse instead?
Yay! And yes, you can definitely use emulsimulse instead—but also check out Windy Point for BTMS-50 🙂
Thank you! I did find Windy Point.
Oops, I missed asking if can use panthenol in liquid form in this recipe? Would it be a different amount?
Definitely! I’d use the same amount unless your supplier indicates its dilution level 🙂
LOVE THIS. First time my skin has felt HYDRATED! And it goes on with a dry finish, not oily in the least, which is amazing. Thanks Marie 🙂 I’ve been struggling with my skin now that’s it’s older and dry/dehydrated, unlike the younger me, who had oily/combo skin. In this dry climate, I find oil serums alone don’t hydrate enough. Takes some adjusting to find things that work. I do have a tiny vial of neroli so I indulged and added a drop, plus a couple drops of jasmine. It smells heavenly.
YAY! I’m so thrilled! It sounds like your experience is a lot like mine, where suddenly your skin is SO much happier and it’s a very welcome surprise. I’m sure your real neroli/jasmine blend smells utterly sumptuous, too 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me!
This stuff is amazing! I’m loving it! I use it as a day cream under my makeup and it is soooo smooth. And the smell! Seriously, I love it, I didn’t have the Michelia Alba so I used Litsea Cubeba. Worked beautifully. Anyway, I’m going to use this same formula but scent it with rose. Do you think if I kept everything the same only use rose water and rose eo it would work fine? I think yes, but I wanted to check with you.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! And yes, those rose changes will work—you’ll be more or less making a hybrid between this and my Winter Solstice cream 🙂
Hi Marie,
I just made this cream using rose hydrolat instead of orange blossom water, and 1.5% Optiphen Plus instead of liquid Germall.
The cream thickened up nicely after I mixed both phases and gave it a good whirl with my stick blender. After it cooled down a bit at rt, I added the cool-down phase ingredients and gave it one more blitz with the blender. The cream immediately turned runny 🙁
Could it be that the Optiphen Plus destabillized the cream somehow, or did I make a mistake to blend it at the end (as opposed to just stir the cool-down ingredients in)?
I love your blog and all your recipes. You are incredibly creative!
Hmmm. I think it may’ve been the extra powered blast at the end; I have had this happen to me a couple times, so I’m beginning to suspect it’s a no-no, but I really don’t know why :/ It makes no sense to me at all! I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted if I ever get a “why”!
I’ve made this four times now, and finally got it “right.”
First, I found that not all orange blossom water is created equal. The first one, that I bought from a grocery store, wasn’t as fragrant as the Cortas brand you use and recommend, and when I tasted it, it was really sweet, not bitter like Cortas. The texture was also a little grainy.
Second, I used the Cortas brand orange blossom water, but when I was putting in the michela alba, my hand slipped and I put in about twice as much, which overpowered any remaining orange blossom aroma (I think one of the powdered additives also has a smell, too).
Third, I used the Cortas brand and the right amount of michela alba, plus a drop of neroli absolute, but I realized that I don’t really like the smell of michela alba (at least in this), the smell of orange blossom water really didn’t come through as much as I liked, plus I forgot to put liquid germall in it, so the entire batch went bad within a week.
Fourth, two nights ago, I made it up again, omitted the michela alba, added two drops of neroli and one drop of jasmine absolutes, remembered the liquid germall, and finally it feels and smells right – like a little bit of dry tropical heaven. I think I also added some niacinamide as per your Green Tea Face Cream, because why not? (I made all three of your face cream recipes on the same night to stock back up)
So, finally! I like this one now because it smells amazing, and it also feels a little thicker and more luxurious than the other two facial creams; I alternate using each at night. My skin got a little dried out between summer sun and running out of face creams due to being really busy, so I’ve just been using oil serum moisturizers for a few weeks, and my skin is already happier for two or three days of cream!
I admire your perseverance! It definitely sounds like we’ve got some differing tastes when it comes to scents as jasmine and I are in the midst of a lengthy stand-off due to jasmine smelling awful 😛 I wish I loved it, it seems like I should since I love rose! The niacinamide addition is definitely a great one, I feel like it’s hard to go too far wrong with that stuff ’cause it’s magic ✨ And I’m so glad to hear your skin is loving the lotions—mine definitely needs plenty of proper water-based hydration these days, and that’s my basic recipe for happiness 🙂 As always, thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi Marie, Thank you for your blog and tutorials, its inspiring me to become a diy’er in skin care and makeup-love your book as well. Can I substitute cetyl alcohol with stearic acid? I have lots of it on hand. Thank you in advance!
You’re very welcome! You can, though it will result in a thicker final product 🙂
Hi Marie,
I love your blog – soooo many yummy recipes!
I’ve tried making this recipe, but I was having trouble with the allantoin and/or silk peptides not dissolving even after about 30min – it seemed to recrystallise and even when I mixed and mixed it, it remained slightly grainy. (Unfortunately my weighing out wasn’t the best, as I was doing the silk, about 7g dropped into the jar with the other water phase ingredients 🙁 ) I’ve also noticed that some suppliers advise to use allantoin in the cool-down phase?
The cream is ever so slightly grainy (like there’s icing sugar in it) and when I apply it, I get a slight stinging sensation for a couple of minutes – is that normal? I wouldn’t say I normally have sensitive skin…
Hmm. Are your silk peptides hydrolyzed? If they aren’t, they will never dissolve, so that could be it. Allantoin feels “shardy” when it’s not dissolved, so if it’s more icing-sugar-esque I’m suspicious of the silk peptides.
Hi Marie,
In one of your other recipes, you mention adding the allantoin in the cool down phase otherwise it feels like crystal shards. In this recipe it’s added in the water phase & heated. I’ve just received some & didn’t want to waste a batch and I’m a little confused, as to when to add it.
Thanks for your help & what you do. You’ve given me the confidence to make my own lotions…and now face creams, which I never thought I’d be able to do.
Good morning Lia!
Ah. Allantoin. I’ve been working with that stuff for years and it is still a problem ingredient from time to time depending on the supplier. I found the best way to incorporate it is to measure it out into a beaker, then boil some water, and measure out a bit whilst stirring like mad. Then add in the remainder of your heated liquid phase and carry on as usual. This always gives me the most consistent results. Marie has an encyclopedia entry on it for some guidelines!
Oh my! I have had this cream on my list for a while and finally got around to it. I switched up a bit, using Olive m1000 for the emulsifier and camellia seed oil instead of abyssian cuz I had it. I changed out the EOs’ for neroli and jasmine EO and its beautiful 🙂 silky smooth, soaking right into my skin and not leaving me shiny. I think this ones a keeper:) (and olivem1000 worked! I was really just experimenting with it to see.)
Wheee! 😀 I’m so excited to (finally) play with some Olivem1000!
ohh, let me know what you think!
LOVE! Oh my heavens… so whippy and decadent and SWOON. Stay tuned for a lovely new body lotion at the end of the month 😉
I’m trying to decide if this is a night cream or day cream. I have been using it as a day cream – but find I have to add the Forest Facial Lotion around my mouth because it feels dry there.
Day or night cream?
Honestly, it’s whatever works for you. I use the same creams day and night, so I don’t really differentiate.
Hi Marie
I was going to tackle this cream next and in searching for the ingredients ran into Citrustem on Lotion crafters…have you ever tried that ingredient? It is pricey but lovely…
Goodness! I hadn’t but now I want it! Dang you, Lotion Crafter, with your wily ways 😛
Orange Blossom: I love the ingredients in this product but have found this cream to be drying on my skin. What ingredients is causing this so I could substitute something else? Instead of Shea Butter I used Mango Butter because I don’t like the “greasiness” of Shea. I’ve researched all the FAQ’s and can’t find the answer. Thanks.
Is it drying or does it just dry quickly to a powdery finish? I find it dries down to quite a powdery finish, which I really like, but it’s not actually drying—it doesn’t remove moisture from the skin. With all the water in there I don’t think it can actually dry out your skin, just like coffee doesn’t actually dehydrate. If it is actually making your skin feel irritated/dry I’d suspect an allergy or sensitivity to one of the ingredients.
Hi Marie. I made this with rose hydrosol instead of orange blossom because that’s what I have, but after heating and holding long enough for the allantoin to dissolve, the rose does not smell great 🙁 Do you think I could add it as a cool-down ingredient, or does all the water need to be used in the emulsion? Obviously I could try heating the allantoin etc in just the plain water, and add the rosewater just before combining the with the oils, but I’m curious about whether it chemically needs to be all added together and at heat to emulsify. Thanks 🙂
Hmm—what type of rose water are you using? Is it a proper hydrosol or a grocery store rose water? I’ve found hydrosols stand up to heating really well but the grocery store ones tend to go a bit funky.
Ach, shame, maybe I didn’t get a good one then! I should have ordered it online, but I got impatient and bought some from the store O:-)
I know the feeling! There’s always next time 😛
Hi Marie,
first of all thank you for your wonderful work!!
Then, my question
Ive made this cream but it looks more like a milk, so not like a cream, not thick enough. do you possibly have any hint where could this come from aka where is my mistake?
thank you again!!
Hey! Did you use Polawax or E-Wax NF and not use an immersion blender? That’ll give you a very thin lotion that takes a few days to thicken.
Sounds wonderful! Only one question: I don’t have allantoin, abyssian oil, cetyl alcohol, or or panthenol. For the allantoin and panthenol, is it possible to leave it out? What kind of difference in end product would there be?
For the abyssian oil, what kind of oil should I substitute? (I ran out of argan a while back, and I can’t find the one I used before, so no chance of that)
For cetyl alcohol, could I possibly use isopropyl myristate? Would that work??? (Or if not, could I just leave cetyl alcohol out? 🙂
thanks so much!
Oh! And I forgot to ask (mental head thwack), if I don’t have an immersion blender, could I use just the regular electric hand mixer I use for everything DIY related instead?
Hand mixers (like you’d use to cream butter) aren’t a great choice. They are designed to beat air into things, which is not what we want at all.
– You can replace the panthenol and allantoin with more water. You’ll lose the benefits, obviously, but the recipe will remain in balance and will still work.
– Give this a read for more information on carrier oil substitutions
– I wouldn’t use isopropyl myristate to replace a thickener as isopropyl myristate is a thin liquid with no thickening powers whatsoever. I’d use more of a liquid oil or butter.
Hope that helps—happy making!
thank you so much! Just one thing… what would substituting cetyl alcohol for liquid oil change about the cream (i.e. texture, absorbency, slip, etc.)? Thank you so much for all that you do, Marie!
It’ll make it thinner and a bit less silky 🙂 Happy making!
hi – I have a question for you! I’ve been making a modified version of this cream and its been turning out beautifully except for one thing!! It seems to start to discolour after a week or two. It is beautiful and white at first but then turns to more of darker yellow brown colour. I do not like this! Im wondering if you can help me figure out why it might be doing this, what ingredient it may be etc. Thank you so much!!
Hmm; it sounds like something is oxidizing. Given you’ve modified it I’d guess it is one of your modifications, but it is impossible to say what that might be without knowing exactly what yo’ve done.
I purchased the Ozeri mixer per your recommendation and noticed that it goes up to 20,000 RPM’s. Looking forward to using it on my first ever attempt at making a body lotion. Yay!
Woo! I hope it works better for you than it did for me—I quickly found that the “up to” was just that. Any added viscosity and it slows right down.
Hello Marie,
I have read and watched hours of your work and have just started making and am so excited! Thank you for all this awesomeness!
This recipe was one of the first I wanted and the third I tried. I bought all the ingredients and tools (down to the mixer) and whipped it all up and it smells and feels wonderful, but is really watery after 3-4 goes of stirring (with the mixer) and cooling. I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FP0HAMG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and am wondering if there is a difference because it says, “emulsifying wax PASTILLES” or if I did something wrong somewhere else?? Any reason you might guess it is not thickening?
Thank you!
Hey Gina! I suspect what is going on here is that the e-wax you are using can take a few days to thicken up if it isn’t blended with high-shear mixing, and I’ve found that little mixer struggles to deliver that kind of power. I suspect everything will be fine in a couple days—I’d pop a lid on it and check back early next week 🙂
Marie,
You were right! it did set up over the next couple days and it turned out perfect! Thank you!! Unfortunately, I think my skin is sensitive to the floral parts of the blossom water, so I am going to work on another batch substituting that out. Two questions if I may? I purchased the Ozeri frother recommended and it stopped working directly after this batch. Any suggestions for a less cheap frother? I do love that it was small and didn’t waste product like the immersion blender would. (I am in the US). Second, would it be nice to sub aloe water/juice for the blossom water? I think I read on here once that aloe doesn’t always respond well with other products.. if not I’ll just go with regular water!
I’m glad it set up! Sadly my Ozeri frother has also been retired due to not being very good after a while 🙁 I did get a powerful one from Lotion Crafter, but they stopped selling it because of QC issues… and mine has since gone wonky. The shaft is just the tiniest bit off kilter and the whole mixer is pretty much bunk because of it 🙁 I’m currently experimenting with a dremmel with one of the mixing attachments from the Ozeri in it, fingers crossed that’ll work!
You could use aloe juice instead 🙂
Hello Marie!
So I’ve tried this recipe twice, both times I loved the result until it molded 🙁 I used recommended amount of liquid germal plus.. the first time I thought I just have messed up on measurements somehow but when it happened again I was sad for all the product loss and wanted to know what I’m doing wrong or how much to up the measurement of the preservative? I used all the recommended ingredients, though the second round I substituted aloe juice for orange blossom. Any thoughts? I’m super sad because I loved the cream! 🙂
Hmm, how strange indeed! Are you using distilled water? That could be one thing to change. You might also consider including a chelator like Disodium EDTA to improve the stability of the product. You don’t want to use more than the maximum recommended amount of the preservative, which is what we’re using here. Are you certain everything is clean when you’re starting? Perhaps try storing it in a pump-top bottle instead of a jar? Just some ideas!
Maria,
I’ve tried both types of bottles actually, pump the first time and jar the second. How much of the stabilizer would you recommend? And I’ll try distilled water and maybe just use the water only instead of aloe juice?
(The two creams were in two different climates as well, so that wasn’t a factor. One on the coast, and again made and used and molded in the desert side of my state.. I wondered about that but then remembered how own I made for my SIL molded in Seattle) 🙂
Hmm, strange! You’ll want to follow supplier recommendations for the supplier, but it’s usually less than 1%. Remove that amount from the water to keep the formula in balance. If you were using tap water the switch to distilled should help, as would using only water instead of aloe. Keep me posted!
Lovely cream!!! The only substitution I made was replacing the michelia alba EO (I didn’t have any) with neroli oil. Thank you for this beautiful recipe.
I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying it! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
I made this lovely cream yesterday, the only substitutes was Baobab oil and hydrolized oatprotein. The smell is wonderful. My question : The cream takes a while to sink in to a dry fine feeling, but it feels too tight on my skinn, like wearing a mask. What is the reason for this?
Thanks for your inspiration and enthusiasm!
HI my name is Susan, I am just starting out. without buy everything, i just need a simple recipe for face lotion using the product that i have. Ceteraryl Alcohol/certeareth 20
and glyceryl stearate/peg-100 strearate
I have glycerine, almond oil, hyaluronic acid, witchhazel, Vit e oil.cocoa butter and shea butter and organic bees wax.
Help me out with a simple recipe please
Hi! great recipe, I am about to make it shortly! Just wondering (and for future knowledge) is this fine to use anionic cetyl alcohol and cationic BTMS-50? How do two of these behave together, one being negatively charged and the other positively ? Thanks.
Hey girl, just popping in to say that I’ve been following you for months now and have been trying this and that formulation, learning SO MUCH from all your recipeS, Buying ingredients accordingly, inspired by your insta, wondering where to buy better tools (like the super thin glass mixing sticks that you use) Half wishing I could have seen you in Vancouver this weekend since I live here, and just generally having a lot of fun being a chemist:) I know that formula botanical offers classes but you should think about it too, You would have heaps of students! Anyway best wishes for Vancouver and off I go to make one of your older formulas…