Today we’re making a lovely Lavender Vanilla Vegan Lip Balm that’s brilliant for spring. With a light-but-creamy consistency and a bright, sweet essential oil blend it’s just the thing to shake up your lip balm routine as we move towards warmer days.
This super simple Puppy Paw Paste has become my go-to thing for schmearing on Lottie’s paws before we head out for snowy walks. Lottie has hilariously fluffy wookie feet and legs. Her feet appear to be roughly three times bigger than they actually are thanks to her adorably floofy feet. In addition to all the fur you can see, she’s also got quite a lot of it coming out from between every pad in her wee paws. All of this fur is a total snowball magnet in the right conditions. She’ll be covered in snowballs—they’ll dangle off her from the belly and all down her legs (I usually have to give her a bit of a luke-warm spray down in the shower when we get home otherwise she’ll be melting all over the house for the next hour). When there’s lots of wet snow, something to keep it from glomping all over her feet is a must. This Puppy Paw Paste is what I’ve been reaching for.
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!
I’m having a hard time deciding if I can give this Sugar Plum Conditioning Body Butter away. I mean… it’s just so nice. I really want to keep it for myself. I really should give it away. I am a one-woman skin care stuff factory and I am not due to need another body butter until sometime in 2026, and yet… it’s just so lovely! Rich and creamy, with a velvety skin feel and a shockingly fast absorption speed. It leaves my skin feeling all kinds of smooth and soft and protected in a way that’s noticeable for hours. It’s just… you should probably just make it and see. And then you can agree with me—I shouldn’t give it away.
This is our second Sugar Plum recipe for holidays 2018 making, and it makes for a delightful gift (or, you know… keep it for yourself!). It’s easy to make, can be dressed up with a pretty bottle, and feels really quite expensive and posh. The recipe is easy to scale, so you can make a big batch, bottle it up, and have yourself half a dozen or more gifts in well under half and hour. Booyah!
When I was in Montreal last year I visited Coop Coco, a local DIY supplier, and poked around, looking for things I didn’t have that would fit in my suitcase. I ended up picking up a bottle of Sucragel, a cold-process emulsifier I’d never worked with before, brought it back to Calgary, and then pretty much forgot about. Until now! Ewelina sent in a recipe request for a very intriguing oily cleansing gel, and when I read through the ingredients, there was Sucragel, right in the thick of things. It was definitely time to pull Sucragel out of the pantry and start playing.
Make it Up: The Essential Guide to DIY Makeup and Skin Care is now available at booksellers all over the world!