Nov 22, 2010

shea butter goodness



I embarked on this little project last week when I was interested in finding a natural body moisturiser that was more effective than most reasonably priced decent brands, not to mention better cost-wise. The outlay for the shea butter was my biggest spend (bought at Ceres, though I've since found somewhere cheaper to buy it - www.gonative.co.nz - so many good things here).

I made this recipe (a half batch) a few days ago, which I found here:

Homemade Shea Body Butter Recipe

2 cups of shea butter
3/4 cup olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon vitamin E oil
2-3 drops jojoba oil
2-3 drops lavender oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch (for binding)
1/2 ounce Vanilla extract (if desired)

For this shea body butter recipe, start with melting shea butter. You can add it in an appropriate size saucepan and put over low heat. Wait till it melts and immediately remove from heat. Make sure you do not overheat or burn shea butter. To the liquid shea butter, infuse olive oil and allow to settle for about 30 minutes. Before it solidifies completely, add vitamin E oil, jojoba oil, lavender oil, cornstarch and vanilla extract. Using a blender, whip concoction till it turns light and fluffy. Transfer shea body butter into an air tight container and keep in a cool place.


I've actually been using this same concoction as a body moisturiser, a hair pomade, a facial treatment and a hand moisturiser! It's quite nice to put a bit on at night instead of my regular facial moisturiser. As it's mostly shea butter and olive oil it's very rich and nourishing. It could also be a pre-wash hair treatment too.

I'm not sure whether it's the cornstarch I added but it does feel ever so slightly gritty when I scoop a bit out of the jar though this disappears quickly. Whether this recipe even needs the cornstarch in it I'm not sure.

All in all I am quite pleased at my first attempt with shea butter, and with all its uses I've probably been enjoying it most as a hand cream and night facial treatment.



I think I will be trying this recipe next, which appears to be more scientific in its production and which I am guessing will produce a better result.

Jun 23, 2010

Oil-Cleansing Method


Posts are slow on this site but that doesn't mean things aren't happening! I am still religiously shampoo-free, and still loving it. I recall I started in May 09 so it's over a year now and I'm still very happy.

Lately I've been playing around with facial cleansers. It probably started when I ran out, and up until that point I'd been using Trilogy and then Sukin. All lovely ingredients within, but I just wanted something simple yet effective plus a product I wasn't really reliant on to go out and buy. The other day my sister said she is trying the oil cleansing method for cleansing her face.

Intrigued I read about it here on the advice of my dear sister, and then promptly went out and bought the castor oil to add to the extra virgin olive oil I had in the pantry. It's such a simple concept (like the baking soda/ apple cider vinegar wash for hair) yet after my first go at it I am really pleased, and intend on sticking with it. My skin is normal to slightly sensitive, so simple things are best for it. My sister swears it removes all makeup. I don't wear heavy eye makeup so can't attest to its powers there but have read it is effective. Castor oil is the purifying oil, which explains why I wasn't left with an oil slick on my skin. It felt moisturised and not at all oily.

You can read about the method here.

The author of the blog said she now eschews moisturiser, saying the oil cleanse itself is enough for her skin. Wow! And, as always, the added bonus is not having to spend money on expensive products with big claims and mysterious ingredients. Highly recommended.

And she also wrote about her thoughts on going shampoo-free here.

May 21, 2010

Best ever lipstick



I'm on to my second lipstick in the Chanel Aqualumiére range and I absolutely love the formulation. If, like me, you don't wear full on lipstick but favour lipstains (I used to get laughed at in my younger years for applying lipstick, wiping most of it off, then declaring 'I'm ready'!), then you might like this too.

My first colour was Amalfi (a vibrant peachy pink), and now I'm on to Porto Rodondo, which is more red. I think I will go back to Amalfi next time as it's so utterly wearable and lovely, though the red is fun for now. And it's a red you are not fully committed to due to it being a lip shine.

So good. I do love Chanel makeup.