This rich blue balm is a DIY version of a very popular and very expensive shop-bought balm. This particular balm is known for its striking dark blue hue that comes from a hefty dose of expensive blue tansy essential oil. I’ve created a more budget friendly version you can make at home with some lovely butters, silky oils, and gorgeous essential oils. It smells divine, has a delightful melty consistency, and can be easily tweaked to suit what you’ve got at home.
I’ve been gifting homemade lip balm to friends and family for so long now that people have told me they just hold out for Christmas rather than buy more—and I’m definitely not going to let them down! This year’s holiday lip balm is Sugar Plum themed (it seemed much more lip-compatible than Christmas Tree!). It is softly purple, deliciously fragrant, and it has got staying power that’s suited to colder winter temperatures. I think you’ll like it!
These pretty tri-coloured bath bombs are a fizzy, bath-friendly tribute to the rather ubiquitous candy corn. If you’re not familiar with candy corn, it’s a triangular candy with a white tip, orange center, and yellow bottom. And, to state what might be a controversial opinion, it tastes awful (yet apparently over 35 million pounds are sold annually!). It is really quite striking, though, and the colour combo is perfect for some Halloween themed bath bombs!
This soft, sweet Sleepy Time Lavender Benzoin Lotion has become a fast favourite of mine. I look forward to smoothing it down my arms and legs before tucking into bed and drifting off with sweet vanilla-frosted lavender floating around me. I also find the oats in the lotion really help soothe my dry winter hands—between dog pets and cold prevention they sure get a lot of washing these days. So, between pre-bedtime and daytime use I’ve been carting my wee tub of lavender lotion around the house with me so it’s available for all my assorted dry skin/sleepy time needs. High praise indeed!
Most of the vegan lip balms I’ve tried share the characteristic of being quite glassy and thin—they lack that rich creaminess of beeswax lip balms. With a beeswax lip balm you can really schmear it on and it’ll stay there and lock in moisture for ages (especially this recipe). Vegan lip balms made with candelilla and carnauba wax are pretty much the opposite of that, though; they tend to “slick” on quite thinly, leaving a thin, glassy coating. Now, this isn’t a straight-up bad thing (it can be great in the summer!), but in the midst of a dry winter I find glassy vegan balms are pretty much useless. That’s the problem I wanted to tackle with this Vanilla Spice Vegan Lip Balm recipe.
It has been far too long since I’ve made a body butter bar, and this year’s Vanilla Spice theme was absolutely begging to be body-butter-barred. I also wanted to play a bit more with some silky, lightweight cetyl alcohol to create a luxxy body bar that was a bit lighter and more satiny than some of the ones I’ve made in the past. As with all body butter bars it comes together in a flash—measure, melt, stir, and pour, and that’s it! Perfect for gifts 🙂
Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care is now available at booksellers all over the world!