Rose Water Facial Mist

We’ve all been told water dries your skin out. It’s true, but with conditions. Your skin needs water. It needs water from the inside and on the outside. But if you don’t trap that water on the outside it will evaporate, wah wah- dry skin. That is what lotion does best. It doesn’t so much put moisture into your skin, as keep it from evaporating (unless of course it as a humectant like glycerin that will draw water to your skin from the air). This is why body oil doesn’t work unless you trap some water under it. This is why lotion after a shower works so much better! Why staying hydrated from the inside is so much better! And why humectants are king of the skin world. So, let’s trap some fancy dolled up water against our faces.

Hot Toddy

There seem to be a lot of ways to make a Hot Toddy. I think the older a drink is, the more amorphous it becomes. I’ve had somewhat similar experiences with the Old Fashioned. There are a few rules for the Hot Toddy that can’t be broken. Hot (obvs) and whiskey. Those are the only things we all seem to agree on! I like this version with hot water, honey, spices and lemon.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Spicy dark chocolate is a bridge between the sweets loving people and the savory loving people. It has everything! Sweets, little hint of heat from the chili pepper, warm spiciness from the cinnamon, and of course chocolate. I went through a couple online hot cocoa mix recipies before using this one from Smitten Kitchen. I like that it doesn't have powdered milk. That isn't something I keep on hand, and found it strangly expensive to purchase.

Tomato Parmesan Soup

I have made this Tomato Parmesan soup more than any other soup in my repertoire. I’m sure you have noticed I am a soup person by now. I can’t wait for the first cold day in fall to make it, and I don’t get tired of it all winter. There are so many choices and soup is really easy to make. Easy to invent!

Black Tea & Woods Soy Candle

‘Tis the season for fir trees! Before the holidays I went to a craft fair and man- there are some good candles out there. I didn’t leave with a candle, (I chose this fun smoky salt) but I did leave inspired to try a woodsy scented candle of my own. I know for many this probably comes too late, as fir is most associated with Christmas (and that is almost upon us-yay!) I think fir needle also goes really well with a cozy blanket, a cup of tea and snow falling outside. There is no reason for the winter ambiance to die after the 25th.

Irish Cream

I made Irish cream for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. So it only seemed right to make it for Christmas. This is truly delicious stuff. Very rich and sweet. Perfect for an after dinner dessert-drink or an addition to morning coffee on Christmas. I found the original recipe on Design Sponge. I did change it and halve it, so I am including my take here!

Beeswax and Olive Oil Candle

I’m not a huge candle person. Most of them smell too strong or fake, and I generally just forget to light them. As a craft it didn’t appeal to me because it seemed too easy. (I know, I know). I mean, what is there to it? You melt wax and pour it! That is how all the non-specific-crafty blogs make it seem. They make lovely pure beeswax container candles and make it look easy.

White Russian

As promised, a White Russian. This is a straightforward recipe of three things poured over ice. No special tools needed. I only drink White Russians during the chillier months of the year. Something about cream and coffee doesn’t seem very refreshing and summery to me. But it's perfect for winter and fall!

Silky Facial Oil

I tested this formulation for a LONG time before sharing it. Confession, a lot of the B&B products I make are one-offs. I make them, use them and enjoy them- but never make them again. This facial oil (and another product coming soon!) are the exceptions. I have been using this for a year and I love it.

Moisture Wrap | Lavender Body Lotion

Moving on from the face in this glycerin series, let's address the whole body! So this lotion is... weird. I'm not going to sugar coat it. Ok so it's kinda thin, goes on super smooth and liquidy then dries to a kind of tacky feel. Then a couple hours later skin is smooth. It has its drawbacks of being sort of thin and more than mildly sticky (getting into cotton leggings right after was an exercise all on its own). But, it offers 24+ hour moisture and I know it's not just covering up ashy skin* but actually -I can't say heal- but definitely helping my skin get through winter less scathed.

All Good Things | Nightly Facial Serum

This whole glycerin craze started with adding a few drops of glycerin to my night time moisturizer (I use Egyptian Magic cream). It made such a noticeable difference that I figured, why not make an awesome glycerin based serum! I recommend you try just the plain glycerin on your face before you make a serum, just to see if you like it before shelling out. This serum can be personalized to your face and what ingredients you have on hand.

Little Bubbles | Low Lather Facial Wash

Since glycerin and not drying our skin out is the focus of this series, lets do a super duper gentle face wash! When I say super gentle, I mean this baby hardly foams. I used just one mild surfactant and used it only at 20%. Low lather should really be "no lather" but I managed to get a few bubbles.

Sweet Glycerin | A Three Product Series

Do you ever get to a point with your skin where it feels like nothing you do is making any difference? I have such dry facial skin and it gets bumpy and itchy in the winter. I use a humidifier during the night, slather on a thick face cream and try to only wash it with a cleanser once a day (the other time I wash with water). Yet this is not enough.

Hand & Foot Trio | Honey & Yogurt Scrub

Part 3! The final product I made was a salt scrub. I usually like an emulsified scrub with sugar, but I wanted to try something a little heavier this time. This gift trio is about homemade pampering and I wanted to use more ingredients and some fancy salt I bought. Equally as easy to use fancy sugar and it might have even gone with the scent better, but darn it, I wanted to use salt! Just this once. This scrub was inspired by three things. Yogurt powder, European Spa salt and Goat Milk & Honey fragrance oil. Take all my money WSP. 

Hand & Foot Trio | Chill Pill

Part 2! Since I have never been able to make a bath bomb stay together, I love bath melts. They are super easy to make and add a lot of smoothing oils to bath water. I've realized that I can't assume people will take baths. Showers yes, but baths aren't popular with everyone. I wanted to make a foot specific bath product that could be used for a nice soak at the end of an on-your-feet day. Just thinking it's more likely for a non-bath enthusiast to be more into a foot only bath. I soak my feet as part of my home pedicure!

Hand & Foot Trio | Night Time Balm

Part 1! This is a heel balm recipe I found on Soap Queen. I only changed out the avocado oil for rice bran oil because I didn't have it. This isn't my recipe even a little! (Head over here for the original recipe). I wanted something rich and smooth with Cera Bellina and this fit the bill.

Winter Body Oil with Oat Extract

While usually I prefer lotion (especially in winter), there is something luxurious about slathering on body oil in the post shower steam and wrapping up in a fluffy robe. Body oil works best when applied to damp or even wet skin post shower or bath. It spreads easier so you use less and it sinks in better so you aren't a grease ball. The star of this show is the Avena Oat Oil I purchased from The Herbarie. You can use any oat extract or oil you want, but it has to be oil soluble. A water soluble extract won't fly in this formulation!

'Everything Butter' Winter Lotion Bar

Ok, this is barely mine. Barely. I saw this post Argan & Sandalwood Vanilla Lotion Bars on the Soap Queen and decided to give lotion bars another chance. These are just so pretty and look like pats of butter.

Winter Lanolin Balm

It's common knowledge that winter is a dry skin chapping season. I alter my skin and beauty products (and routines) to keep on top of the chapped skin! In all honesty, Linsinoh HPA Lanolin doesn't need any alteration. If you have chapped skin, especially lips, I highly HIGHLY recommend this product. Don't be put off by the fact that it's for breastfeeding Mommas. If you are looking for more for your $$ or a non-baby related product (even though the HPA Lanolin is nothing but pure deodorized lanolin) you might have to get something less deodorized. I haven't found another lanolin I could buy that didn't have at least a little of that lanolin chemically-leather smell. But seriously,  the benefits outweigh the smell; using pure lanolin on your lips nightly can really help stave off the worst of chapping and drying.