The last couple of weeks I've crated several things, and I've also been organizing all my essential oils, herbs, and oils: taking stock of what I still need to get, what I need to use up in the next few months, and also rebottled a few of my essential oils. I don't think I've ever mentioned this on this blog, but in addition to keeping essential oils out of direct light and storing them in a cool and dark place (colored glass and refrigerator storage), after you use part of the bottle, it is good to rebottle your essential oils into smaller bottles. This will help prevent oxidation (less air space equals less air in the bottle that will degrade the essential oils).
Things I've crafted recently: body oils, butter balm, scented liquid soaps, yucca root shampoo, and complex perfume blends
Body oils: I crafted one when I was sick (with MQV/Niaouli oil) a couple weeks ago and also one to help with some of my stress related health symptoms.
Butter Balm: I made a 100% butter balm with a mix of several different butters (only with my regular stash of butters, but I just got the sampler pack from Camden Grey, and have even more butters to play with; many kinds that I haven't worked with yet. ;P Wicked grin. The only bad thing about the CG sampler was they included a refined shea. Yuck. Though LOL I am sure some other butters I have are partially refined, and I am just being anal about the shea). Anyways there are two important things that I learned in making this butter balm:
1) Do not attempt to pour a 100% butter balm into large tubes, since they will leak (I've made big lip balms with these tubes so oils/butters plus waxes don't leak because they harden and also cool down within minutes).
2) Suprapein (a natural lab tested blend of herbal extracts used to preserve products) has a very strong scent even at the low recommended concentration. Now I like herbal smells (I think tea tree and eucalyptus smell great!) but this was even a tad too much for me! Definitely needs to be blended with essential oils. I think I need to remelt it down and add something or else I won't be able to use it!
Scented Soaps: just scented some liquid soap with some essential oils.
Yucca root shampoo: made like soapwort decoction, except the roots need to be way more crushed, I will be using this to clean both my skin and hair. Seems to clean pretty well.
Perfumes: M. Green's book is definitely a superior blending recipe book to anything that's out there (I was writing a review for that book but never finished it, and now it's out of print! I need to blog and craft more!). I've made several of the recipes, and they all smell like heaven and all the essential oils blended beautifully together, unlike other blends in other books (when you can find perfume recipes). Though a couple other blending books are good too (for less complex blends). I can only one day hope to be as good as a master blender like Green. :)
3 comments:
hi li, its georgette from the gow board, where can you fing the book by green, and what it called.i love the idea of creatimg scents. i can add that to my growing library of books you already suggested
Hi Georgette
Thanks for posting :)
Green's book is out print (which is why I never posted my review of her book. I think I will eventually post it since it's a great book but it's nearly impossible to find at a decent price right now). Right now someone is selling it at amazon for $36 (and others are selling at for $80) which isn't bad but the book's original price was under $20 (like $13 or 15 or something).
You best bet is looking at used book stores or try to get it through inter-library loan. And once you get it, xerox it (that way it'd be way cheaper than buying a copy).
It is very hard to find good blending books. Most are out of print and people are charging a lot for them. Others are pretty good but still kind of hard to find. I recommend just getting a bunch of aromatherapy books, since most will have at least a few recipes. Don't know if you are getting Keville's and Green's Aromatherapy: a complete guide to the healing art, but there are about 6 perfume recipes in that one (and many others for actual ailments that smell good too!)
Link to Green, natural perfume book on amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Perfume-Book-Personal-Aromatherapy/dp/1883010624/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7072448-3874425?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178404613&sr=1-1
Cheers,
Li
Okay my link didn't work :) I'll email it to you :)
Cheers,
Li
Post a Comment