make your own skincare

No news !

2009-03-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

So 9 weeks from when we returned home and discovered the burts pipes, and still the house is drying out! I am hopeful that the dryer machines will be removed any day now and the plans to rebuild the interior of our house can commence soon! We are living in a very comfortable house on the edge of Exmoor, which is beautiful, but a little remote for my liking! Still it has its benefits, we woke to find 3 deer in the garden yesterday morning! How wonderful is that! So I am having to pop my little bath and skin care projects on hold, the legistlation for the making of these skin care items is so strict, I would not want to comply fully and create any more difficulties for me than I already have!

Happy Holiday - Burst Water Pipes !

2009-01-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

Well I have been away for the last 3 weeks having a fabulous holiday in Thailand, and really looking forward to creating my blog on my return full of fantastic hints and tips from my travels, all blown out of the water when we opened our front door yesterday afternoon! To the sound of running water and complete chaos, with our ceilings lying in bits all over the floors! And the carpets soaked to bone!

It is everybody worst nightmare when you are enjoying sunny climes, in the winter, what is happening at home. however we always thought living in the west country, and the slightly higher temperatures we normally enjoy would have protected us! Clearly not!

So as the house is uninhabitable, we have spent the night at a local hotel, and very warm and comfortable it is too! Now we have to wait for the Loss Adjuster and a plummer, which I do hope arrives soon, as I am quite litterally freezing !

So needless to say my postings will have to be put to one side for a while, along with my new business which I was planning on launching when I returned!

This was our kitchen ceiling now on the floor! So apparently we are not the only ones to have suffered this fate, and the Loss Adjusters cannot make a visit unil next Wednesday ! Just as well the hotel have offered us a good rate, at least the insurance people are happy for the time being to pay !

Travelling Light - Natural Skin Care Travel Kit

2009-01-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

6 Essential Items in my Natural Skin Care Travel Kit ! Holidays are a wonderful opportunity to not only restore your body and mind, but also treat your skin and hair to lots of pampering, and have a fabulous holiday too! Despite having a late night in the freezing temperatures of Bideford Quay seeing in the new year, today I have spent this afternoon putting together my own natural skin care travel set, ready for a forthcoming holiday to Thailand. Lip Balm and Body Balms - Moisturise, nourish and re hydrate your skin

Included is my own natural lip balm, decanted into a cute little pot, not only keeps my lips in tip top condition and prevents my lips from drying out during the long flight, but nourishes every night whilst I am away and is the perfect protection during the day agains the sun shine! Plus is a rich in flight moisturiser as well ! My skin dries out so much more when on a long flight, and I find the natural skin nourishing ingredients of the lip balm, the cocoa and shea butters, are the perfect way to noursh my dehydrated skin ! Great for for a mini shoulder massage as well!

Lavender Oil - Relax, Air Freshner ,Anti Bacterial, Burns and Bite treatment

The most versatile of Essential Oils is the fantastic Lavender Oil, I always make sure to take a bottle of this when I travel,first I make a little Lavender Spray, using a finger spray bottle, this is a great to aid relaxation on the flight, I spritz a little on a hankerchief which I can use to inhale and help me to relax and catch up on some relaxing sleep too, plus it is a superb air freshner, full of anti bacterial properties too! When we are away, it is ideal for a quick treatment, too much sun, it can be applied to treat sun burn, so soothing, plus any bites of stings, helps to alleviate and heal straight away due to the high anti bacterial properties! Keeps the room smelling nice, and a little spritz on the pillow is a delight, totally indepensable!

Insect Repellent - Keep those bugs at bay

I blend mineral water with a a selection of Rosemary, Citronella, Eucalyuptus and Lavender Essential Oils, and not a chemical in sight! Not only do I spritz this onto and around myself, but my hotel room too.

Protect and Nourishing hair Treatment,Hair Serum,Body Moisturiser & Massage

Coconut Oil, another fab favourite, which I just love due to it's versatility, there is no reason at all to return from your hols with dry straw like hair, it is the perfect opportunity to restore your hair to strong shiny and nourished condition, every morning before going to the beach or pool, simply apply a litte in the plam of your hand and warm gently by rubbing your hands together and apply a little to your hair, apply throughout your hair, for my long hair I brush it, secure into a pony tail and twist it, then secure with a hair clip/grip and not only is the coconut oil, nourishing and proecting my hair from the harsh sun shine, salty sea water, as well as the cholrine from the pool, but also keeps it in place looking stylish all day too! A great bonus is at night time, wash your hair, and you will have beautifully shiny moist hair for the evening.

Keep your flyway hairs from being annoying and no need to bring your serums with you either, simply rub a drop of coconut oil between your palms of your hands and smooth onto your hair, sleek and shiny! Plus I also like to apply a little as a skin oil, makes my skin feel great and moisturised too! Lastly it makes a fabulous massage oil, perfect way to enjoy some relaxing moments on holiday !

Anti Aging, After sun cooling moisture

Rose Aloe Gel, I usually always have some Aloe Vera Gel in the cupboard, either a plain clear gel, or perhaps one with the beautiful Otto Rose Essential Oil, at the moment I have the Rose, this I use as my anti anging treatment gel, perfect to apply around the delicate area of your eyes, as well as my mouth too, we often overlook the lines so close to our mouth! As this is blended with the healing and cooling Aloe Vera Gel, it also makes a gorgeous after sun body application, particular if you can keep it in the fridge, the coolness of the gel against the warmth of your sun drenched skin, it is heaven!

Natural Face Masks

One of my favourite relaxations on holidays is to make use of some of the beautiful fresh fruits that you can pick up, so I will take some Rhassoul Clay, not only to cleanse my face and body but when made up with some mashed Avocados, or mango flesh, or even bananas, then applied to my face and the back of my hands, really helps to nourish, moisturise and replenish your skin, particularly benefical after a day in the heat of the sun!

That's my travel bag, all set and hopefully will cover all eventualities !

See you soon !

Bideford Quay ! Happy 2009

2009-01-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

So despite all the freezing temperatures many thousands of people converged down onto Bideford Quay in true Bideford style - dressed to impress! The fancy dress outfits were fab, and including some friends of mine too! Go on make my day !

It was so cold, but the fireworks were fantastic and seemed to last for ages too ! Definitley worth the freezing wait !

Happy New Year to everybody!

Nourishing Natural Face Mask

2008-12-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favourite and particularly nourishing natural face masks, feel free to adjust the ingredients but this is just how I like mine! Whilst I am relaxing in the tub, which I have filled with warm water and some skin loving moisturing natural bath tea with calendula, cocoa butter, shea butter and oatmeal, light a little tea light, and lie back whilst my mask goes to work! I

rinse off the mask with warm water after approx 20 minutes, and gently wipe my face with some rose water, before applying a nourishing borage oil cream. My skin just adores all this attention and feels plumped, soft and silky smooth!

When applying any treatment to your skin, don't forget to apply some to the back of your hands as well, I always apply any face mask and moisturiser everytime I pop some on my face, my hands look fab, and many people often comment on just how smooth and good they look!

40% Rhassoul Clay 30% Banana Powder 10% Honey Powder (or use some of the real thing) 20% Oatmeal Simply mix all your ingredients together, then when you are ready to use some or all, mix with some warm water, and leave for a few minutes for the powders to dissolve and the Rhassoul to absorb the water. Gently apply to your skin. Leave for anything up to 20 minutes, or longer if you prefer, then rinse with warm water. You may wish to add some natural yogurt as well. Don't forget - treat your hands too ! They will thank you for this tlc !

Borage Oil Dry Skin Luxury Body Butter - Love your skin!

2008-12-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

Along with making your own Shea Whipped Butters, I also like to adapt a body butter to include some additional skin nourishing properties as well, in particular Borage Oil, which is particularly beneficial for dry and more mature skin types. borage oil is a rich source of the essential fatty acid GLA (gamma linolenic acid), which helps to nourish and strengthen skin and is widely used in natural skin care ranges.

Body Butters Recipe 250g Shea Butter 250g Cocoa Butter 50g Beeswax 50mls Borage Oil 50mls Coconut Oil 50mls Vegetable Glycerine 5mls Vitamin E Oil 2 x 5ml Fragrance Oils (Optional)

Instructions to make : • Chop the Cocoa and Shea Butters into small pieces.
Melt the Cocoa Butter slowly and gently first, once melted take off from the heat and add the Shea Butter.
When melted, turn the heat back on and add your beeswax and allow to melt.
Once all melted, slowly add the Coconut Oil, Vitamin E and Vegetable Glycerine, stir thoroughly.
Adding fragrance, if you wish to make 2 or more different fragranced butters, simply divide your elted mixture into different bowls, then add your chosen fragrances to each bowl. NEVER add the fragrance whilst the mleted mixture is still hot, as the fragrance will simply evaporate - wait at least 10 minutes then add and stir.
Voila! Once cooled spoon into your chosen containers and you have some delicious skin drenching and nourishing natural body butter.

Top Tip - don't foget when moisturising your skin, to include your hands, we often forget and neglect them and frequently complain how they give our ages away!

New Year Eve Mega Celebrations in Bideford

2008-12-31T02:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New year to everybody !

I will be celebrating New Year's Eve with 10's of thousands of other party people in our town - Bideford. Just a few years ago New Years Eve in Bideford was mentioned in The Times Newspaper as one of the top 10 places to be in the world on New Year's Eve! Quite a compliment for our little town !

SO what exactly happens, well firstly and this is the most important part - everybody dresses up - fancy dress is the only dress to be seen in, the majority of the revelers, go really out of their way to dress to impress, this is a link to some of the photos taken at last years event ! I rather liked the gnomes!

These are my 'French Friends' oooh la la !!!!!

We all enjoy the good humour, dancing,music and of course the fireworks !

So Happy New Year to everybody and I look forward to posting some of tonights photos in 2009!

Make your own 'Flowering Scrunchie Loofah Soap' (scrunchie type)

2008-12-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

I came across a recipe for a loofah soap, I have been making these for a long time, however I was using the tradtional 'loofah' this is slightly different and looks fab, using a nylon scrunchie and so practical too! You will need to buy a nylon scrunchie and a mould, I would use my silicone muffin moulds (bought from Poundland store for yes a £1.00) but any soap mould will do. You will need Melt and Pour Soap Base Colour (Optional) Fragrance or essential oil (must be a Cosmetic Approved one) Scrunchie Soap Mould Instructions

Chop your melt and pour soap base into peieces and melt in the microwave, using short bursts of 10 seconds only until melted
Add your chosen colour
Add your fragrance/essential oils remember to keep within recommended guidlines of the manufacturer (too much and your soap will be sticky and horrible)
Pour your melted soap base into the muffin cups / or mould until approx ½ full
Place the loofa into the mould & compress with your fingers or if too hot use a spoon, ensure that the part of the scrunchie has absorbed some of the base.
Pour the remaining soap base over the scrunchie and leave to set for approx 2 hours (or longer)
When hardened, simply pop out of your mould and you have a fab 'Flowering Loofa Soap!

You can leave the soap base a neutral and use a brightly coloured Scrunchie!

Woohoo my blog has been mentioned on somebody elses!!!!

2008-12-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to a kind lady Jenny, who has mentioned my blog on hers ! This is Jenny's and I love Milo the dog! http://craftheaven.blogspot.com/ Look forward to keeping up with Jenny's events!

Making Bath Melts - Orange Blossom & Cocoa Butter

2008-11-28T09:10:00.001-08:00

I have just completed an order for some delicious Organic Cocoa Butter Bath Melts fragranced with the delightful Jo Malone type fragrance - Orange Blossom.

Here is the official fragrance description for the Jo Malone Orange Blossom perfume

'Inspired by a stay at a hotel in Bel Air, Orange Blossom is pure delight. The scent of clementine leaves in the morning dew sparkles above a heart of orange blossom and water lily, transporting the wearer to a garden oasis'

For me, it simply reminds me of how lovely Spain is in the Spring when the orange groves are

laden with the blossom and the air is so sweet ! One of my favourite fragrances!

Top Tips for creating your own Bath Melts

The trick to making your own scented bath melts is to ensure you are using a professional fragrance oil, and to add a maximum of 2 % of the toal of Cocoa or Shea Butter, i.e. 100g of Cocoa Butter, you only add 2ml of fragrance oil. The reason is that if you add any more it will simply ooze out of your finnished bath melt and just be all sticky and horrible!!!!

Second top tip is make sure you have let your melted butter cool down otherwise the heat will simply cause the fragrance oil to evaporate and you finnish up without any scent in your bath melt!!!!

Cupcake Soy Wax Tarts

2008-11-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

As we are off to Spain shortly for our pre Christmas visit to friends I have been busy making some Cupcake Wax Tarts for our using in our house and as gifts for my friends!

I have used some really gorgeous fragrances, I just love making these and candles, simply for the aroma, such a fab way to scent your home! Plus they look delicious too! I use a lot of glitter on mine as well, which I just love !

The hardest part is deciding which of the wonderful fragrances to use, I am particularly fond of the 'foodie' ones, yummy candy floss, angel cake, pink sugar is a real favourite, and of course the copies of Jo Malone Fragrances, are truly delightful, a favourite is Nectarine Blossom and Honey.

Chocolate Orange is the next to be created, some rich brown and dazzling orange I think will look good!

Thanks Snow Queen

2008-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

I am very excited today, along with some recent sales from my Folksy shop, and my website, which is always great news, it is so nice to know that people like my products as well, and thanks Snow Queen for mentioning me on her great blog !!! It is such a lovely blog and quite inspiring too ! http://topsnowqueen.blogspot.com/ Thanks very much !

Viva Espana - The Spanish Wedding

2008-11-27T05:44:00.000-08:00

Iris and Paco Wedding Day Well, I haven't made any postings recently as I have been doing a little travelling, the first of which was a visit to our house in Spain and to our Spanish friends daughter's wedding, which was fabulous. I guess all weddings are wonderful, but I enjoyed the 'differences' of a tradtional spanish wedding very much. It was the wedding of Iris and Paco, and this is only my opinion, but Iris could knock spots off Kate Moss. Night before the Big Day ! Or should I say the morning after the night before!

So what do the bride and groom do the night before their wedding? They have already held their own stag and hen parties, so perhaps a quiet night in, slap on a face pack, few beers with the boys, no way, it is tradtional for the Groom to visit the 'bride to be' at her home and serenade her and give a gift of flowers. Perhaps a tranquil romantic love song, oh no, our friends are Valenican's and they love to party ! So this was no gentle romantic evening, the have a party, in the garden (well this is spain ) ! Which didn't start until 11.30pm with the garden having been arranged with a large table for drinks and then the groom arrived with approx 50 - 60 friends and a band ! A tradtional spanish band, with drums, trumpets, clarinets etc etc it was fabulous and everybody sang and danced until the wee hours - including the 4 year old bridesmaid ! The party goers left at 3.30 am and that included the bride and groom - so no early night and lots of beauty sleep required! 3.30 and only going to bed might be ok for the weddings that are held in the evening, but not for Paco and Iris, who are getting married at 12.30 lunch time!!!

The Big Day is here !

On the big day more friends and family arrive at the Bride's House, and whilst all the photos and video action is going, the Groom arrives with his family to meet his 'Bride to be', and more photos, lots of cheering, and then Iris and Paco are driven to town in their beautiful antique convertible car. Not to the church though, but only as far as the town centre and then they walk to the church, with the parents, family, friends all in a large procession behind, it was fab, lots of well wishers lent out of windows and stepped out of doors, just great, eventually by the time they arrive at the Church, the majority of the wedding party has joined the procession and we are all ready to go in, but unlike here, the guests all wait outside until the Bride and Groom are ready and they are first to walk into the church ! They walk down the aisle with the father of the groom and the mother of the bride, Laia the 4 year old bridesmaid (not a happy little bunny bridgesmaid, having only had 5 hours sleep), and then all the family and guests follow in afterwards.

Something we noticed at previous weddings, there is no obligation of the guests to actually go into the church for the ceremonies, and many people simply wait outside until the service is over !!!

Fireworks and Rice ! - Warning it is loud!

This is my favourite part, the Valenicans love their fireworks as well, so whilst the wedding photos are being taken in the church after the service, their friends, arrange for some fireworks to be lit once the bride and groom leave the church and boy does it go with a bang!

If you want to watch the video , you need to turn your head sideways - I haven ' t been able to turn it round !!!! But it is very noisey!!!! So take care where you watch this, as it does sound like gun shots!!!!

As the firwork smoke clears, you can see the happy couple as their friends throw rice over them !!! Well this is Valencia and it is home of the Paella.

Lastly of course is the fun part - the wedding reception which was for 400 guests !!! Which is usually a 7 or 8 course meal and a whopping big wedding cake !

They dimmed the lights and the music came on, and then they wheeled this HUGE cake out, quite a nice effect I thought. If you listen to this, however you will notice the song they play is an sung in English, which I found fairly amusing, as they do not speak any English !! Not a word and nor did the guests (accept us)!

The cake is on the trolley and decorated with little candles and sparklers, looking fab, and the knife used to cut the cake is a pretty big Sword ! Another local tradition.

Oh and no wedding speeches either ! Absolutley none, the Bride, Groom and Parents, all simply walk amongst the guests during the 7 course meal !

If you are ever given the opportunity of attending a Spanish wedding - go, it is pretty good fun!

How to make Bath Bombs - Beginners Bath Bomb Recipes

2008-10-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

Bath Bombs are a bit like huge alka-seltzers for your bath, drop one into your tub full of warm water, and watch while they whirl and spin releasing their skin softening ingredients and beautiful fragrances. Bath Bombs were made really popular by the shop ‘Lush’, and now you can buy Bath Bombs of all shapes and sizes in many shops, however they can be costly, but in actual fact, they are really quite inexpensive to create, and you can make bath bombs in your own kitchen, whats more you can have the all the delightful benefits of the bath bomb experience, whilst saving a lot of money, and being to make them as fabulous gifts for friends and family too! .

Beginners Recipe for Bath Bombs As a beginner I always suggest to keep it simple, when making your first bath bombs, use the basic ingredients without adding any extras such as oils and butters, until you have perfected the technique, then move on to using more delicious ingredients once you are more confident and speedier when blending.

You will need the following :

large mixing bowl Kitchen scales (ideally that weigh in 1 gram increments) finger spray bottle or also known as Spritzer containing clean cold water or witch hazel domed shape moulds or round shape moulds, (makes it much easier to remove if rounded or domed shape) Basic Ingredients: English soap Beginners Bath Bomb Kit which contains the following: (Makes approx 8 – 10 Bath Bombs)

Bicarbonate of Soda
Citric Acid
Cosmetic Grade Colours
Fragrance Oil
Re usual plastic moulds
Glitters
Botanicals - Petals
Cellophane Bags for gift wrapping
Instruction Brochure

(If not purchasing a kit, then the ratio is 300g of Sodium to 100g to Citric Acid plus a few drops of fragrance and some colourants) Instructions

Mix the sodium Bicarbonate and the citric acid into the mixing bowl
Sieve the mixture ensuring there are absolutely no lumps.
Adding the colorant – IMPORTANT only use a teeny weeny amount! Remember less is more! If you’re using liquid colour you will just need a few drops & you will need to mix it in quickly to prevent the bomb fizzing. If you’re using a powdered colour simply add a teen weeny pinch, at a time, until you have your desired colour, the colouring will look a lot lighter, once your bath bomb hits the water it will deepen in colour dramatically again, I always recommend that use only a teeny weeny pinch, a tip of the teaspoon is all you need.
Measure 10ml of either fragrance or essential oil into mixture. Most essential or fragrance oils will not cause the mixture to fizz, but certain citrus oils may, so if this happens, mix in quickly and thoroughly.
Do not leave the mixture to stand or it will slowly start to set.
Important – Blending with the finger spray bottle
Now this is the slightly tricky bit, with your finger spray bottle full of clean cold water or witch hazel, spritz onto your mixture, whilst stirring with the other hand. Spritz, then stir quickly, spritz then stir again, until your mixture begin to look a little wet and when your sqeeze some in your hand it begin to hold its shape, see my picture. If in doubt sprit then squeeze a bit, pop back in your bowl and spritz & stir again then squeeze until you are happy with the consistency.
IT MUST ONLY JUST HOLD TOGETHER when you squish your mixture in your hand, too much water and it will simply begin to fizz, not enough and it will fall apart

When it is sticking together push your mixture into the moulds, as hard as possible to fill the mould, and fill each half of your bath bomb mould with the mixture. Press the 2 halves together and if you are using moulds that come with clips, clip together.
Leave to dry for approximately 30 minutes then ever so gently remove one of the moulds, leave the bath bomb to harden on a dry surface, for approx 20 minutes then remove the other half of the mould. You may need to tap the mould to remove it, be careful as they are still very fragile. Leave for as long as possible to harden fully, I leave mine overnight to be sure. Hints and Tips: If you would like to make a two tone bath bomb using either a basic white with a colour or 2 different coloured bath bomb, at the initial stage of weighing out the mixture, then split into two different bowls, and proceed as the instructions, When putting the mixture into your moulds, simply alternate pressing the mixture into the moulds, Adding Petals and Botanicals, pop these into the base of your moulds before adding the mixture, this will ensure they are on the top of your finished bath bomb and will be visible! Add some glitter, again sprinkle into the base of your mould before adding the mixture to the mould, this will ensure your finished bath bomb will have a beautiful glitzy shimmer . Using colourants, you should always use cosmetic grade colours, however it is possible to use general food colourants too. REMEMBER DO NOT ADD TOO MUCH COLOUR AS IT WILL DYE YOUR BATH AS WELL AS YOURSELF AND YOUR TOWELS. Examples of a pretty pink rose bath bomb, using rose petals and fragranced with a English Rose scent.

Novelty ‘Boot Bath Bomb’ I made one of these from a Soap Making Mould. I made this for my friend who is a keen gardener, along with some fab gardeners soothing hand balm and soap.

Once your have mastered the techniques, it is easy to create some fabulous and unique bath bombs, just use your imagination and have lots of fun! To purchase one of my English Soap Co Beginners Bath Bomb Kits, this is a secure payment via Paypal. Beginners Kit £10.00 plus UK P + P Cost £4.50

If you wish to purchase one of my kits, and live overseas, please email me to request the postage prices.

See my website for more kits available and bigger choices !

Cannot see what you are looking for, simply contact me and I will try to help.

Etsy store now open!

2008-10-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

My Etsy store is now open! So for the next few days I will be incredibly busy 'stocking the shelves' ! There are so many gorgeous things on Etsy to buy, it is hard to choose, and full of really creative and talented folks too! Here are just a few of some of the things I have found and just love ! Pennydog Creations - beautiful - and a really really nice person too!

Hand made Natural soaps wrapped in Cath Kidston fabrics, feather and organza ribbons! The perfect gift.

2008-10-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the first of my beautiful handmade soaps all beautifully presented in some gorgeous Cath Kidston fabric, tied with a beautiful bow in pink organza, and some pretty embellishments too, including a pale pink feather!

I love to use silks, satins and vintage fabrics to present my soaps and natural bath time treats in, I think they deserve the very best of luxurious wrapping, ensuring these are not only delicious to use, but a beautiful gift to receive as well!

These are some of our soaps that we will be wrapping in these gorgeous fabrics! Beautiful Buttermilk Coloured with sweet ginger, full of moisturising Cocoa Butters, Avocado and OliveOils, and the most beautiful scent, all in a buttermilk coloured base with swirls of toffee coloured delight! Fabulous Fushia, simple off white base with rich fushia pink and a hint of purple, scented with such a delicate fragrance, these soaps produce the most wonderful large silky coconut bubbles to soft and cleanse your skin, sheer bliss!

Make Lip Gloss - Easy Recipe to make lip gloss!

2008-10-03T04:39:00.001-07:00

I have received so many requests following from my lip balm recipes for lip glosses, so here it is another really easy recipe to make lip gloss! Without all those horrible harsh chemicals, this is pure natural skin care. Ingredients:

15 ml Castor Oil
5g Beeswax
2g Carnuba Wax
5ml Sweet Almond Oil

If you want to make larger quantities, simply x this by 10 for a much larger allowance of Lip Gloss.

Instructions:

Pop your beeswax in a jug and place in a sacuepan of simmering water, allow to melt
Mix in the sweet almond, castor oils and carnuba wax
Allow to melt and mix thoroughly

This is your basic lip gloss, simply pour into your chosen pots or bottles, and leave to harden.

To add a little flavour, a natural choice is some yummy essential oils, my personal favourite is Mandarin, but Grapefruit, Peppermint, or Lime are great too, try blending a couple of oils together for a really unique flavour! Remember just add a little drop to your mixture! It is easier to add another drop than try and take it away!

You may like to add a little colour, try a few drops of natural beetroot juice to create a pinkish effect!

Tips!

If your gloss is too sloppy for you, melt it down and add another little piece of beeswax, then leave to harden.

Luxurious Handmade Natural Soap - Just gorgeous!

2008-09-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

So my fabulously luxurious handmade soaps are now ready! I am so excited and delighted!

If you have never actually used 'real traditional soaps' then you are really missing out on a blissful experience. I would love everybody to use these, they are truely fabulous on your skin.

Firstly I love to use these because they leave your skin feeling so silky smooth, unlike commercial mass produced soaps that leave your skin feeling dry and a little tight.

Traditional soaps, such as these are made without chemicals, full of skin loving natural oils - rich Olive oil, gentle Avocado oil & luxurious Cocoa and Shea Butters, just perfect to drench your skin with moisture.

These soaps are not only fabulous but with out any harsh SLS or SLES, which are generally contained in the glcyerine soaps, but also look wonderful as well as smelling devine.

The top photo is of my Pomegranate Soap, a beautiful off white with a rich deep fushia pink & hint of purple swishing design.

This 2nd photo is a fab ginger soap, such sweet fragrance with a hint of ginger, and a beautiful creamy buttermilk colour with toffeee coloured swirls. Both soaps contain the skin nourishing Cocoa Butter, moisturising Avocado and Oilive Oils, and of course a hint of scent. Apart from leaving your skin soft and oh so silky, why not pop a bar in your drawer and you will love the aroma every time you open it! I will be putting these on my website this weekend, but I am sure these will not be around for too long! Each bar of soap is cut individually from the block, therefore the shape and appearance varies slightly, but all adds to the character and charm of a handmade soap! TIP Handmade soaps are much softer than the commercial mass produced soaps, it is always best to use a soap holder with good drainage, this allows the soap to dry out, and will ensure the life and therefore pleasure of your bar is much longer! Lastly I shall be wrapping these in beautiful pieces of Cath Kidston fabrics, beautiful to look at and fabulous to use!

How to make solid perfume balm- make your own skin care

2008-09-17T08:59:00.001-07:00

Whilst I was creating my gorgeous make your own lip balm kits, it struck me, that I had some lovely fragrance oils for my soap kits, and that these would make fabulous little gifts as solid perfumes and that also lead to creating some solid perfum balms! Naturally, you may wish to use your favourite Essential Oil for a truely ' pure' solid perfume, plus by using a more medicinal essential oil, it can easily double up as a 'rescue' balm as well!

Ingredients include

10g x Beeswax pellets
10 ml x Sweet Almond Oil ( or another light odourless oil)

Few drops of your favourite essential oil or fragrance oil

Melt the beeswax pellets in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted.
Leave to cool slightly, add the sweet almond oil
Leave to cool a bit longer, before adding your essential oil, do not add whilst still hot, as it will simply evaporate and your perfume will not have any fragrance at all!

Carefully mix, ideally to mix you need something as thin as possible, this is because whatever you put into the melted oil will simply form over the spoon and you will loose a lot of the mixture as it hardens onto your spoon!

Pour into your chosen container, little lip balm pots work really well, and just as great and easier in my opinion is to use a push up lip balm tube, you only need to push it up and rub on the chosen area! No hands, keeping everything clean as well!

Tip

whatever you use to mix, pop it under hot water first, as you would pop a spoon into hot water before you put it into the honey jar! Nothing will stick to it now!

Other useful ideas for your solid perfume balm

Make a little balm with Neem Oil, and rub on the collar of your pet, this will help act as an insect repellant, you could use cedar oil as well, works very effectively and smells a little better!

Create a rescue balm, and use Lavender Oil, these are better for travelling, particularly if travelling by air, with all the restrictions on taking 'liquids' on board flights still in place!

I read recently I think on the Jo Malone perfume website as a suggestion to wearing their perfumes, apply one to the front of your body, and a different (but complimentary perfume) to your back, this way creating some very different affects when meeting people, as you speak and as you leave them!

However you choose to wear your solid perfume, just enjoy!

How to have smooth silky soft lips! Naturally

2008-09-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

Tops tips for obtaining those luscious kissable lips!

Throw away your cheap chap sticks and chemical laden commercially made lip balms, they have abasolutely no goodness and simply provide a barrier, instead of moisturisation and nourishment.
Definitely throw away the little tin of vaseline - full of nothing but chemical derivatives!
ONLY use a pure natural Lip Balm, using pure natural ingredients, Cocoa, Shea Butters, Beeswax, and a light vegetable oil. As my previous blog entry tells you, these are so amazingly easy to easy to create yourself, incredibly cheap too, and once you have used a pure lip balm, your lips will never let you use anything else!
Always carry your pure lip balm around with you
Regularly 'exfoliate' your lips, using a gentle natural exfoliant, such as sugar, blended with a little honey to make a paste, and gently exfoliate your lips, dry and then apply a slick of lip balm.
Apply a nourishing lip balm to your lips at night time, just before you go to sleep, the balm will gently nourish and prevent your lips from drying out through the night.
I always wear a moistursing lip stick during the day, especially in the summer and when I am sun bathing too. Prevents sun burnt lips, and moisturises and looks much better than those sun blocks for lips !

Certainly after a few days there should be a noticable difference, your lips should look lighter, plumper, and so soft and supple !

Enjoy your kissable lips!

How to make natural Lip Balms - Chemical free - Natural make your own skin care

2008-09-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

I now have all the gorgeous ingredients to help me create my newest kit ' make your own luscious Lip Balms'. I was horrified the first time I read the ingredients label on a lip balm and discovered all the chemical derivatives that they contain, so with a little research and a lots of practicing I have (in my opinion) come up with a recipe for a gorgeous natural chemical free lip balm.

I love lip balms, not only because they are so good for my lips, but as they are full of skin nourishing natural butters, they good to use elsewhere on your body too! Not just lips, they are good to apply to any area of your skin which is need of some nourishment and tlc! Indeed a friend of mine uses her pure naturally made balm on her babies bottom, and when in a lovely lip balm tin, they take a fraction of the space in a bag to carry around with all the other bits that are so neccessary when travelling with babies!

I should stress that there really is no absolute definitive recipe for lip balms, it really is a case of personal choice, and that is one of the great things about creating your own natural skin care, you can play around with the original recipes, add a little more oil, add a little less butters, and you will eventually find the quantities that will give you the luscious lip balms that you love to use!

So this is really only a guide, a starting place,

Ingredients:

5g Organic Cocoa Butter

4g Organic Shea Butter

3g Beeswax pellets

10ml of Oil ( I prefer Sweet Almond)

1 drop of a yummy flavour - Peppermint/Mandarin/Lime Essential Oils are very nice!

1) Gently melt the cocoa & beeswax first, in a bowl or a jug over a sauce pan of simmering water

2) when melted, turn off the heat from under the pan, add the shea butter to the melted oils and allow to melt.

3)add the liquid oil of choice (Sweet Almond)

Tip!

Leave to cool down for a short time, add your essential oil, if you add these when it a hot mixture, the essential oil will evaporate in the heat and you will not have any flavour in your lip balm!

Once cooled a little, pour into your sterilised and cleaned lip balm containers, either pots or lip balm tubes.

Hints and Tips

Some recipe call for Castor Oil, which works really well, it is just slightly a too strong flavour for my liking if I am making a completely natural lip balm.

Want a harder lip balm? Add fraction less liquid oil, and a touch more cocoa or beeswax

Want a softer lip balm? Add a bit more liquid oil, and a bit less beeswax

It is simply a matter of trial and error to find the recipe that you enjoy as a final lip balm!

Don't forget when doing your trials, always write the quantities down, so that you know what is that you have made, when you finally find the consistancy you like!!!

Add some honey as another natural flavour, and a hint of beetroot juice is a fabulous natural colourant as well!

Sore and chapped lips? Perhaps use some calendula oil instead of the Sweet Almond for it's healing abilities.

However you like your lip balm, certainly enjoy making them!

Jo Malone inspired soap kits! Make your own handmade soaps!

2008-09-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

I have spend all weekend working on my website, I have been writing the descriptions for my new and exciting ranges of 'make your own skin care kits' and I am only halfway completed! I love my new Soap Kits, as with all my kits, they are really a labour of love, as I take a great deal of pelasure in creating these, including as many georgous natural ingredients as possible, with lots of inspirational recipes too! I firmly believe these should be a delight and a pleasure to receive, and not simply a chunk of soap, a mould and a bottle of colourant! I particularly love the 'fragrances' for me it is one of the joy's of creating your own products, and I use a supplier who produces the most fabulous fragrances which are 'similar' to the delicious perfumes of Jo Malone. Enabling me to enjoy these delightful fragrances, yet I can create my own unique scented bath time treats! Sheer joy!

I am delighted to say that 'melt and pour' soap bases, have come a long way since they were first introduced as I now only use SLS Free soap bases and also offer a certified organic soap base as well. Such a big improvement and also offer people the opportunity of using a more kinder and natural soap base, that in fact is quite tricky to buy as well a fabulous hobby too!

Acne Blemish Spots - Natural skin care treatment - Rhassoul Clay

2008-09-13T03:29:00.000-07:00

I have been contacted today by a recent customer who had purchased some of my Rhassoul Clay to help treat her son's acne, he has been so delighted with the success of using this pure natural mineral, that they have purchased some more.

So this is what has prompted my blog for today, Rhassoul as I mention many times, is a truely unique natural mineral.

To treat acne or blemished skin, it is ideal to use as a daily cleanser on the effected areas, complimented with treatment masks on the areas as well.

Cleanse daily
Treatment masks

To prepare, simply take a spoonful of the powder clay and add a few drops of previously boiled and still warm water. DO NOT stir, simply leave and allow the mixture to absorb the water, it will swell in size. After a few minutes stir gently.

This can be prepared in advance and left in a bowl covered with clingfilm, or a jar with a lid.

Application:

Simply apply to the affected area, as a treatment mask, apply and leave for approx 10 minutes or more if you wish.

To remove, wash with warm water and pat dry.

As a daily cleanser, it gently massage into the skin and wash off with warm water

Certainly I have read and received many complimentary comments from happy customers who have been delighted with the results.

The successful effects as an anti - acne agent and skin emollient have been registed by Ecocert which is the French equivalent to our Soil Association.

You will read in my many posts about Rhassoul just how outstanding a natural organic product it is not only beneficial for the treatment against acne, but also ideal for sufferers of eczema and psoriasis, along with other skin conditions.

deal for people who are allergic to Soap, or simply wish to use a chemical free method of cleansing their body and hair. See my other posts as a natural and chemical free method to cleanse your hair.

I have put a link to my website for full and further details about this fantastic natural product.

Organic Natural Chemical Free Way to cleanse and wash your hair! Rhassoul Clay

2008-09-12T07:20:00.001-07:00

If you like me, have been horrified at all the chemicals that are contained in Shampoo and are looking for a more natural and less toxic way to cleanse your hair, then look no further than this fabulous Mineral - Rhassoul Clay.

Rhassoul Clay is also known as Lavaerde and this is a 100% natural organic cleansing powder Rhassoul Clay is a truely unique and amazing highly sought after clay which is completely non irritating to skin and your scalp. As it is a natural organic mineral powder it is perfect to use to cleanse both your hair and skin, this will replace Shampoo to cleanse your hair naturally. Without any harmful chemicals at all! 100% pure and natural mineral powder. This cleanses without removing all of your protective sebum, which conventional shampoos do! As this is a powdered clay, and not a tradional shampoo, it is ideal for people who wish to replace using shampoo with a natural, and chemical free way to cleanse their hair and also their body. It is the high levels of mineral content that attracts the dirt, impurities and excess oils to it and then simply rinses away with warm water. Leaving your hair silky soft, shiny and removing impuritities, looking amazing! HAIR AND SCALP TREATMENT BENEFITS INCLUDE : 100% free of irritants and very kind to ALL hair types Cleanses all skin types & hair without stripping the natural protective layers, (never removes the oils in your hair or skin or your skin's sebaceous glands, as aggressive shampoos or soaps often do.) Removes dandruff and eases problems with excessively oily hair, (reduces need for frequent washing) Enhances volume. (really great for very fine, oily hair types)Leaves hair soft and shiny Gradually reduces the need for frequent hair washing. Great for naturally curly hair, afro hair will love this. Adds lots of shine and softness to your hair, particularly benefical for naturally curly hair types Can also be used as a TREATMENT MASK Frequently asked is it suitable for ALL Hair types and the anwer is yes it is, and is particularly good for Afro Hair as well. I would always suggest those who have coloured their hair perhaps do a little patch test first just to ensure it is quite safe, and also to double check for any allergic reactions. However I have never been informed of any by my customers, but there can always be a first for everything!

If you would like to purchase a sample pack which will certainly provide at least one wash maybe more depending on hair length, I have some available but this is a limited stock.

25g Sample Pack £1.69 plus UK Only PP £0.69 Total £2.38

Click here to Find out more and buy a packet!

Make your own Organic Chocoloate Fizzing Bath Melts

2008-09-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have had several of my friends in Spain ask me to bring over some more of my really popular and very delicious Fizzing Bath Melts Kits.

This I confess is probably one of my successful make your own skincare kits, and is perfect to add some delicious organic chocolate too for the chocoholic lover! So I decided this would be perfect to share on my blog!

These are a lovely blend of Bath Belts with a fizzing Bath Bomb. Quite often many people find that Bath Melts alone, provide just a little too much oil for one bath so by combining with some fizzing therapy ingredients the oils are more finely dispersed as well as enjoying the benefits of the fizzing therapy too!

All that is required if you have not bought one of my kits which is complete with everything you need, ingredients, instructions and moulds, is some yummy natural ingredients and a some delicious fragrances and cute little muffin moulds too!

Ingredients:

Cocoa Butter

]Shea Butter

Sodium Bicarbonate

Citric Acid

Fragrance Oil

(Optional) Organic Chocolate Powder ( I love Green's Organic Cocoa Powder)

Moulds (Paper or Foil mini muffin moulds are great)

The instructions are along these lines:

1) Gently melt the cocoa butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water

2)When it is completely melted, turn off the heat and add your Shea Butter and leave to melt without using any heat.

3)Sieve the Sodicum Bicarbonate and Citric Acid powders with a spoonful of the cocoa powder, this will look a very light brown but once you add liquids it will turn a much deeper colour.

4) Quickly add your melted butters to the sodium and citric powders, and mix thoroughly yet gently

5) Add to your moulds or simply roll into small balls on the palm of your hands and wrap in cling film to help prevent fizzing and keep their shapes

6) Leave to cool and harden in a fridge for as long as possible.

You may wish to add some fragrance too, this can be added at the final stages

Now when you are ready to use one of your delicious fizzing bath melts, simply run your self a tub full of warm water and drop a bath melt into and allow to fizz and gently melt their moisturising oils into your bath water.

Sheer Bliss!

If you would like to buy a complete kit with all the luxurious ingredients, moulds and instructions simply buy one here!