My Dream Cream

Ah, the wonders of lotion!  It keeps my skin from looking like this:

Thanks Google for the visual!

   

Not every lotion or cream will do the trick for me, so when I find something that'll ward off the evils of the "ash" it becomes a sort of "creamy crack" for me.

My current drug of choice

I've been using this for quite some time and it does the job nicely!











There's just one thing though: it's not fragrant and I love fragrant creams and lotions!  See, I very seldom wear perfumes or sprays because they're usually too heavy and they irritate my bronchial tubes.  I've found a few that I can work with but I reserve them for special occasions.  I am talking everyday use.  What tends to happen is this: I'll combine the Nivea with an oil, cream, or fragrant lotion just to get the right combination of moisture and fragrance that I'm looking for.  There's just one thing:  I end up spending way too much money for products and running out of room to put things. Take a look at my current stash.

  
You might be thinking "that's not too bad" but let me tell you, that's tame!  What you see in the picture is actually a fraction of what I usually have on hand.  I am happy to say that in my efforts to simplify things, I've used up quite a bit of my stash and whatever I didn't use I passed on to a couple of my daughters.  I mean honestly, I don't need that much lotion!  I just need something that'll moisturize my skin and leave me smelling like a rose.  Okay, maybe not a rose but you know...all pretty like!   Here's the problem: my skin is really dry and the older I get, the worse it gets.  No joke; I am dead serious!  I am afraid that in a few years I'll need something industrial strength to keep me from looking like this:

      


Just for the record, that's not my foot!

Google images can be harsh sometimes but very useful in getting your point across.  As the saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words"! So, what's a girl to do in order to smell good and keep from looking like that in a few years without breaking the bank?  I don't know what the person in the picture did, but let me tell you what I did.  First, I need to tell you how I ended up on this path. 

I owe it all to the stuff in this little jar:








  
I purchased it a few months ago from New Leaf Market for a whopping $7.99 (on sale).  I fell in love with the smell and how it feels on my skin, but the price!  I am not accustomed to spending $7.99 (on sale) for a 4oz. jar of cream, no matter how good it smells.  However, I considered it an investment and here's why:

Ingredients: Raw Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter),
Extracts of Frankincense & Myrrh,  Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
Essential Oil Blend

There's only a few ingredients and they're all natural.  How often do you find that in a lotion?  As a matter of fact, how often do you find that in anything?   So, guess what went through my mind as I read the ingredients?  I bet you guessed it!  "I can make this myself."  Wait a minute!  Is this a trick?  Every time I think I've found my "dream cream" I end up disappointed.  Sure, it smells wonderful and feels like silk on my skin but how's it going to feel two hours from now?  That's the true test for me.  I need to wear it for a while before I am confident the smell won't dissipate and the "ash" won't return within minutes.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this product.  The combination of the Shea Butter and Vitamin E works very well for my skin.  Turns out, Shea Butter and Vitamin E have quite a few benefits.  This got me to thinking: "Are there other combinations of butters, oils, and essential oils that I might like?"  That's when I began the process of  researching and experimenting and I found this recipe HERE.   It's a natural body moisturizer that I made with coconut oil, almond oil, and tea.  Yep, you read that right...tea!  




To begin with, you'll need a cup of cold brewed tea. I used a flavored tea to enhance the scent of my moisturizer.

     
Note: The original recipe calls for 1 cup of filtered water, rose water, orange blossom water, or cold brewed tea.   Considering that I was making enough for 4 people, I decided it was more cost effective to use tea.

  
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You also need the following:

• 3 tablespoons of beeswax beads. The original recipe calls for grated beeswax.  If all you have on hand are the beads then that's fine. 
• 3/4 cups of oil, such as unrefined coconut oil, almond, avocado, or olive.  I used a combination of almond and coconut.
• A few drops of essential oils for fragrance. This is optional. 
• 1 tablespoon of Vitamin E oil or, as in my case 15-20 small Vitamin E capsules.

    

In a Pyrex measuring cup combine the beeswax and oil.  Place the measuring cup in a medium size sauce pan and fill sauce pan with water until it reaches about halfway up the cup.  Bring water to a slight boil allowing the oil to reach a hot enough temperature to melt the wax.  I added my Vitamin E capsules as soon as the beeswax beads melted.  My capsules melted completely.   When the wax has completely melted, remove the measuring cup from the water and allow to stand for 2 minutes.

 

When the 2 minutes are up blend the water or tea on medium speed.  Keep blending while adding the oil gradually.  If using essential oils add them in now. As the mixture begins to emulsify you may need to turn your blender up for a few seconds.  I have a pretty old blender so it stalled on me a couple of times.  No worries!  I used my spatula to turn the mix so the oils ended up on the bottom and it ran like a charm.
     

Avoid the tendency to over blend the mix. Over blending will cause the mixture to separate.

Voilá Lotion!

     

This is what it should look like:

Use a rubber spatula to transfer it to your nice, clean, sanitized containers.

Cover with cheesecloth and let stand for an hour or until it reaches room temperature.  Placing the lid on too soon will cause condensation to build, which will water down the lotion and cause bacteria to build up.  I let my mixture stand over night before placing the lid on it.







Cleaning the blender after making this recipe can be a bit challenging.  Here's what I did: I used about 10-15 coffee filters (we gave up paper towels a while back) and wiped all the gunk out before I processed to wash it.  A little Dawn dish washing liquid, white vinegar, and baking soda finished the job nicely.  Consider yourself warned!    

Vanilla-Sandalwood & Lavender-Vanilla Body Cream  

This recipe is perfect! The cream is rich, thick, and it does the job. I finally have what I've been looking for: moisture and fragrance all wrapped up in one cute little package. Time to really say goodbye to product madness and hello to simplicity!

Containers courtesy of Earth Fare Supermarket.

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