Li's Crafting Thoughts 11-16-07

Haven't done a crafting thoughts entry in a while, though I've been crafting like mad recently.

In addition to all the wonderful essential oils combinations I made in Jeanne Rose's class (and I like some of them so much that I am considering using some of these combinations in my future business), I've worked on several products for my future line.

Serums: I've been working on oil based serums for specific skin types for many months. I am happy with half of them, and the other half though I've done the formulation on paper I still need to make and tweak them. It's taking me a long time to create them, since there are so many carrier oils I've researched, tried, and love (it's hard to pick a favorite especially since so many are beneficial to the skin). The next steps will be formulating the rest of my serums, and then starting work on the essential oil combinations.

Body Oils: I also started working on body oils. I'll probably offer a few formulations since different people like different textures and "slips" for body oils. The easy part is working with all of my carrier oils to craft a nice base. The hard part will be choosing which essential oils combinations to use. I am not sure if I'm going to offer scents just based on smell, or combinations for specific conditions (that just happen to smell good too) yet. But I really like some of the blends I created for class, and of course I have about seven years of notes on essential oil combinations to shift through (so it's hard to choose a favorite since I think everything smells good!). Maybe I'll offer both :)


Perfume: I am still working on complex perfume blends. I've been working on a jasmine based floral blend for a while; I still need to tweak it a bit but I really love the scent so far. Though it's jasmine based, it's not too heavy or overpowering like how some jasmine based perfumes can be. It's light but wonderfully sensual.


Whipped shea: What can I say?: I love whipped shea butter. It makes it so much easier to spread, and is so creamy :)

Soap:I'm working on liquid soap cleansers and also glycerin (melt and pour) soaps, though I may consider rebatching soaps too (not at the cold process stage yet! One day...). I just crafted a couple butter soaps, one of them I think I'm sensitive to the base, and the other I still have to use. I am not completely sure yet which base to use for my business, since I've only tried a couple brands and I haven't bought any in a while, and so need to try more companies in the near future.


In the coming weeks I will be working on the above as well as:

Lip Balms: I have been meaning to craft new lip balm formulations for a while but never got around to it since it took me forever to order the herbs and essential oils I wanted to use, and then I got distracted in crafting other products, so never crafted them. I did just craft a very basic one, just trying to figure out how much I like the wax blend I'm using; still deciding on which waxes to use (everyone who's tried my different formulas for lip balms seem to love them so far but I am not sure what to think of the wax I'm using).

Mineral Makeup: So far I just have a bunch of shimmer and sheen multipurpose powders. I plan to craft even more colors, but eventually will start working on matte and semi-matte colors as well. I still have no plans to work on foundation yet, since I believe more in healing the skin than covering it up (but I have to admit I love using MMU as sunscreen, so if I manage to craft everything else, I will start working on foundations, but probably this will not be for a while since I have to work on cleansers and toners first).

All Natural Cream: The weather is changing, and I need to craft some for myself since I've been using mainly serums (my own), and some lotions from natural companies. Natural preservatives are extremely effective (when you use the right ones, in combination with each other), but I am still sometimes wary of giving my creams to others because they have a much shorter shelf life than creams preserved with synthetic preservatives. Honestly I won't be offering creams initially, since I won't sell them unless they undergo bacterial and fungal testing (if not challenge testing), but testing can be quite expensive.