Olive Oil

A liquid oil pressed from olives, commonly used in cooking but it’s also awesome for DIY projects!

A greenish-yellow liquid oil.

Smooth

It varies by grade and variety, but it ranges from  a fairly characteristic “green” scent to little to no scent.

Average

Oil

It’s an inexpensive, easy to obtain, carrier oil.

I use it almost exclusively in soap, though it has made it into a few other recipes.

Buy the cheapest stuff you can get for DIY recipes—this is usually pomace grade. Save the beautiful extra virgin variety for cooking and eating!

Easy to purchase, versatile.

The colour and scent can carry through to final products, which may or may not be desirable.

Rice bran oil and soya bean oil are good swaps, as are other average-to-absorb carrier oils, though it can be hard to find options as inexpensive as olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)!

I love it in soap, where it tends to make up about 40% of any bar soap recipe.

Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) should last at least two years.

Olive oil is primarily composed of Oleic Acid.

100mL (3.3fl oz)—unless you’re planning on using it in soap, in which case I’d start with at least 1L (34fl oz).

Buy it from an online DIY ingredient supplier or Amazon. Costco also sells a two pack of olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) jugs that’s a great deal.