Today we’re revisiting a project I first shared in May 2014—a rich body lotion inspired by a popular LUSH product—as part of my Bee Better work. This six-years-later update features a new emulsifier, fully percentage-ified amounts, clearer instructions, and a hefty dose of moisturizing vegetable glycerin for super-soft skin. It smells wonderfully of roses and lemon and leaves your post-shower skin feeling fantabulous!
We’re continuing our Lavender Aloe theme today with a batch of beautifully swoopy and swirled Lavender Aloe Soap. The top is decorated with a dusting of violet biodegradable glitter, and I had a lot of fun bevelling the edges of each bar with a vegetable peeler for a softer look (seriously—if you’ve never taken a vegetable peeler to your soap you are missing out!). Let’s dive in!
Today’s lotion is one I created at the request of some friends. Their daughter (Little E) had painfully dry, cracked hands through the winter, and she really didn’t like to use lotion as most of it stung and hurt. That really resonated with me as that’s what my hands were like when I was younger. I remember my mom applying lotion to my hands before bed and it stinging to the point of tears. It was awful. So, I asked Little E what she’d like her new lotion to smell like, we settled on lemon, and then I set to work.
Welcome to our first formulation of 2020—a beautiful Moisturizing Repair Cream! I am so excited about this rich, nourishing hand cream. It’s positively perfect for this time of year, helping protect skin against the winter dry and cold. Our two power ingredients are deeply moisturizing and inexpensive vegetable glycerin and niacinamide, AKA vitamin B3, which helps reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and boost ceramide production. The finished cream has a rich, decadent texture and delivers a long-lasting immediate hydration boost. Booyah!
Last month I shared a Creamy Autumn Grounding Salve, starring an intoxicating blend of essential oils—patchouli, lavender, benzoin, and ylang-ylang. I’d intended for the salve to be a one-off, but after sniffing away at it for a few weeks I knew I needed to use that essential oil blend again! Hence, today’s project. This lotion is the perfect companion to last month’s salve, starring the same essential oil blend, but in a fast-absorbing lotion format that’s perfect for drier fall days.
This decadent Rich Shealoe Butter Cream is the first project I’m tackling in my Bee Better series; it’s an update of the Homemade Shealoe Butter Cream I shared back in February 2014. The idea was to create my own shealoe butter type product, inspired by the plethora of shea/aloe butters for sale from DIY suppliers. I’d like to thank Rhonda for inspiring me to update this project—she shared some of the changes she’s made to it over the years in the comments section on the 2014 version and they sounded divine! I’ve adopted a couple of her improvements and added a few of mine as well.
Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care is now available at booksellers all over the world!