It all started so innocently. I was in a show and needed some good theatrical makeup. Instead of driving to the costume shop I stopped in and just picked up some foundation from Sephora. The evil fairy at the register smiled when she rang me up and asked if I'd like some samples. Sure, I said. What would it hurt, I said. It'll be fun, I said. Ah, how innocent I was then.
The orange-citrus toner was amazing. It instantly made me twenty years younger. People stopped on the streets to ask me where I'd gotten my skin.
The almond shower oil was also amazing, and the natural face mask and the soap made from Shea butter and exfoliating cocoa shells. Dammit. Who knew that the whole purpose of sampling something is to make you realize how freaking awesome it is and realize you can't live without it? The only sample I've ever had before was Costco hot dogs and Sees candy. I never stayed up at night wondering how I was going to afford to buy Scotchmallows. Damn you, Sephora, you got your perfectly exfoliated Shea-peddling talons into me.
 |
| Would you or would you not like a sample of our new pore gel? Answer. Quickly. |
One of my most ridiculous addictions is a delicious smelling natural deodorant from Lavanila. When I switched to using a natural deodorant I had a hard time finding one that was both effective and comfortable to use; Pit Paste, the most economical (and unfortunately named) product, was grainy and didn't control dampness and odor like cheap but reliable Secret, and the coconut-lime fragrance was faint and didn't last. Barring going back to a commercial antiperspirant, Lavanila fresh lemon-vanilla stick was natural, luxurious and smooth, I liked the scent, and it kept me smelling nice. The only problem? $14.00 a stick. When I came across a recipe for homemade deodorant with what looked like similar set of ingredients, I knew I had to try it.
Lavanila Natural Deodorant
Lavanila Natural Deodorant
Ingredients: (source--Little House in the Suburbs)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup baking soda
2 (sometimes more) tbl coconut oil
Essential oil
Recycled deodorant container
Mix cornstarch and baking soda completely in a small bowl. Add 10-20 drops of your essential oil (I
used 20 drops of lemon). Add coconut oil a bit at a time until it turns crumbly and sticks together in the consistency you like, and press it into the recycled deodorant container. I started with two tablespoons of coconut oil and ended up with more like a quarter of a cup.
used 20 drops of lemon). Add coconut oil a bit at a time until it turns crumbly and sticks together in the consistency you like, and press it into the recycled deodorant container. I started with two tablespoons of coconut oil and ended up with more like a quarter of a cup.
I found that this deodorant makes more than my Lavanila recycled container could hold, so I put the rest into a jar. It firmed up a bit more each day until about the third day and it was almost exactly the consistency of Secret, if a little more powdery; but it kept me much more dry and controlled over better than Pit Paste or Lavanila. It rolls up normally in the deodorant container but although it did firm up, it's too crumbly to roll up too far above the lip of the container. The lemon essential oil I used lasted throughout the day and not only controlled odor, but kept releasing sweet lemon scent throughout the day. As much as it is possible to love a deodorant, I love this deodorant.
Cost (depending on what kind of essential oil used): $1.75 for about a stick and a half--cheaper, by the way, than Secret, which comes in at around $3.85.
Another obsession from those crack-addictive Sephora samples was a little bottle of L'Occitane almond shower oil. A half ounce was all it took to get me to decide to spend every gift certificate I ever received on a bottle of this delicious smelling oil that made my skin feel amazing; like some grown up version of Charlie Bucket and his Wonka Bars. Except: $46 per 3.4 oz. Holy cow. I mean...it does have a nice glass spray bottle with a lovely French graphic, and a very nice misting top... but damn. As I got more addicted and tried to think of ways to pay off my new habit, I took a trip to my grocery store and idly wandered into the natural beauty section. Huh. 16 oz of almond oil, $12.99.
That can't be right.
I bought it just to prove myself wrong but it felt exactly the same. It smelt exactly the same. It worked exactly the same. I put it in the L'Occitane bottle and sprayed it; it sprayed the same. Once I checked the ingredients for the bottle I was even more excited since the first oil ingredient isn't even almond oil, it's grapeseed oil, about $4.99 a bottle even at Whole Foods; and then coconut oil, about the same price. I looked up some shower oil recipes to find out the proportions and to see if I needed to add anything to make it bubbly; they all used a basic blend of three oils in equal proportions. Although L'Occitane's version has more ingredients (using among the chemicals a Shea butter emulsion and apricot kernel oil), I found the consistency and scent of this to be very similar to the original.
Almost L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil
Ingredients:
Almond oil
Coconut oil
Grape seed oil
Essential oil (I used lemon)
Bottle
1. Pour 1/3 cup each almond oil, coconut oil and grapeseed oil into the container and shake well. Add 8 drops essential oil if desired for additional fragrance.
2. (Optional) put it in the L'Occitane bottle.
3. Use and pretend it's L'Occitane.
4. Save a holy crap ton of money.
I found these oils in the beauty section of Sprouts (also called Henry's) and Whole Foods. They have it in the cooking section of big box stores like Vons and Albertson's, but not for quite as cheap.
My other addiction starts with Sephora and ends at Williams-Sonoma--delicious artisan bar soaps. I love the cocoa exfoliating bar soap from Fresh; but the coconut shells they supposedly mix in as an exfoliant seemed a little daunting to try to replicate. The Williams-Sonoma gardener's hand soap seemed like an easier project to tackle, so I dutifully schlepped out to Michael's and bought my first brick of goat's milk soap (the same base as the Williams-Sonoma bar). At only $9.99 (and I didn't think to use the 40% off coupon I had at home) it was less than half the price and twice the volume of the Williams-Sonoma soap. A quick trip to the website to see what the scents were comprised of, and then it was just a matter of following the directions on the soap-making package.
I used the essential oils the Williams-Sonoma catalogue describes plus lemon for "other botanicals"; use whatever you have on hand. 6-8 drops for a 1/2 lb is about the right amount of essential oil in whatever combination you use.
Williams-Sonoma Gardener's Goat Milk Hand Soap
Ingredients:
Goat milk bar soap 2 pound brick
Sage essential oil
Cedar essential oil (I used "Texas Cedarwood")
Rosemary essential oil
Lemon essential oil
Peppermint essential oil
Soap making molds
Poppy seeds (optional)
Break soap brick in quarters. Following directions on the soap package, microwave 1/4 soap brick in a microwaveable bowl for 30 seconds, then in 10 second intervals until liquified. Stir in 2 drops each sage, rosemary, cedar, lemon and peppermint essential oils and mix to blend. If using poppy seeds, mix into soap mixture. Pour into molds and leave to dry. One quarter package (or 1/2 lb soap) makes three small handsoaps in molds.
This makes a slightly exfoliating, very herby, woodsy, garden-scented soap that although it's pleasant and sweet enough for me, is not overpowering and too floral for my husband.
I also love an exfoliating scrub. I use them religiously on my face with brightening masks and one of my favorites is the Cupcake mask from Lush, a gentle exfoliating mask with coffee and cocoa. Body scrubs at Sephora use all kinds of caffeine extracts to fight cellulite at price points from $15/oz all the way up to $65, so I thought I’d see if I could make something similar with stuff I had on hand. This coffee scrub for the body uses only three ingredients: coffee grounds, sea salt, and coconut oil. S8ce we spend an obscene amount of money on our coffee beans, I liked the idea of getting a little more use out of each bean than just composting the grounds.
Lushly Scrubby Coffee Body Scrub
1 cup coffee grounds
3 tbl sea salt
6 tbl coconut oil
Mix and keep in the shower to hand scrub or use with a dry brush. Note: since this product has no preservatives, keep in a covered container. This scrub smelled bright and strong like the coffee it brews with an hint of the coconut scent; leaves behind the coconut oil moisturizing properties and buffs off to fresh soft skin.
Lush also inspired my love of lip scrubs with their chocolate lip scrub: since it’s made of all natural and edible ingredients you polish your lips with it and lick off the excess. My first and only pot of this decadent product ($20 for a tiny pot!) I literally ended up eating it, it was so delicious. I kept the teeny pot afterwards and made my own.
Lushly Yummy Chocolate Sugar Lip Scrub
1 tbl cocoa powder ( I used callebaut, the high quality cocoa I use for baking)
1 tbl white sugar
1 tbl coconut oil
Mix to blend and put in small pot. Dip out a pea sized amount and scrub on lips, lick off excess. This formula was far more chocolate-y than the Lush version, which looked pale brown in comparison to how deeply dark chocolate brown mone came out, and mine is more bitter and more dark chocolate flavored. If this is too bitter for you just adjust the chocolate to sugar ratio. I also tried this with brown sugar—to me the molasses flavor of the brown sugar overpowered the chocolate but the scrubby texture was rougher, which may be more to your taste but was not to mine
Now if I can just learn not to open the Sephora "what's just in!" emails...
No comments:
Post a Comment