Orange Spice Cologne

An exotic, sensual blend suitable for either sex.To me it's vaguely reminiscent of a good tea store in the fall.


Ingredients:
1 cinnamon stick
25 whole cardamom pods
15 organic cloves
1 vanilla bean, cut into small pieces
the zest of one fresh orange
8 oz Vodka

Crush spices in a mortar and pestle (do not blend in coffee grinder as that is too fine a grate). Combine with vanilla bean pieces, orange peel zest, and vodka in a glass mason jar. Cap tightly and shake once or more per day. After 2-6 weeks, strain the spices and pour the infused liquid into a glass bottle with a mister top. Simply add more spices if you desire a stronger cologne.

Spa Quality Facial Cleanser & Facial Mask

Most exfoliating scrubs use harsh abrasives that can tear the skin, making great little pockets for bacteria to settle in. That's how a well scrubbed face can still get pimples.



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oatmeal
1 tablespoon almonds
2 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
1 teaspoon french green clay
1/4 teaspoon matcha tea
5 drops lavender essential oil

Grind oats, almonds, and flowers in a clean coffee grinder until finely powdered. Sift through a mesh screen to remove larger pieces. Run the larger pieces through the coffee grinder a second time. Add clay, matcha, and essential oil to the powder and mix thoroughly. Store in a glass jar.

To use, mix a small amount with water, milk, cream, yogurt or hydrosol until a smooth paste forms. Apply to slightly damp skin and gently massage with fingertips, avoiding the sensitive areas around the eyes and lips.  When finished, rinse off with cool water.

To use as a mask, simply apply a light layer on the face, making sure to avoid the delicate skin area around the eyes and mouth. Leave on for 10 minutes or until the mask feels taught and dry, then rinse off with cool water. For dry or sensitive skin types, leave on for 5 minutes or less.

Essential Pomade

My guys go through this and hair gel like water. I'm talking everyday. To buy the really good stuff that's not full of drying agents and chemical crud is expensive. So... make your own tailored to your taste.

Ingredients:
1 ounce beeswax
1.5 ounces shea butter
2 ounces jojoba 
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon essential oil*

Melt beeswax in a double boiler over low heat. When the beeswax is melted, add in shea butter. When the mixture is melted, add jojoba and stir until just melted. Pour mixture into a container and allow to cool slightly, then add essential oil

To Use
Rub a small amount between your fingertips until there are no lumps, then work through hair and style.

*Notes on essential oils..
-Lime essential oils smells amazing, and is helpful for balancing oily hair (in a more concentrated form it may also lighten hair)
-Peppermint and rosemary essential oils stimulate hair growth and add shine. Great for normal hair
-Lemon balm, basil, thyme, patchouli, tea tree, yarrow and lemongrass have astringent properties which are beneficial for oily hair
-Chamomile, lavender, sandalwood and rosemary are helpful for dry hair.
-Tea tree, eucalyptus, patchouli and myrrh are helpful for dandruff

Coconut Lime Deodorant Bar

Want to smell a little like good old tropical Florida in your arm pits? I know I do- especially if I'm traveling out of Florida in the winter and my head is perma-stuck in some jacket that I've been wearing for the last 12 hours. Or in an airport Or both.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
5 drops lime essential oil

 Just mix it all together and put into a container.  If you want easier mixing, melt the coconut oil first and then let harden before using. Label the container so you know that it's deodorant and not tooth paste.

To use, scoop out a little bit (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) on your finger, press against your underarm for a few seconds to soften, then rub in.  Repeat on the other side.

Herbal Foot Soak

My feet are very sensitive critters. If I'm ill with a head cold, I soak them. If I'm aching from fibro pain, I soak them. If I wear my lemon yellow keds or any kind of dress shoes for more than three hours, I soak them. I despise most shoes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup epsom salt
1 tsp olive oil
Sprigs of fresh eucalyptus leaves, lavender flowers, peppermint leaves, rosemary, sage leaves, thyme, or oregano (If fresh herbs are unavailable, substitute with dried herbs or a few drops of essential oil)

Boil water and pour over herbs, then add salt and olive oil. Once the water has cooled to a comfortable temperature, soak feet for as long as desired. For an even more luxurious experience, place a few smooth stones into the bottom and gently roll your feet over the stones to naturally massage and relax them.

Shoe Deoderant Sachets

I used to be in the SCA, so I can tell you all about the various body funks of sweaty men in south Florida dressed in armor and leather for a good chunk of the day. I wish I'd had these then. The shoes were almost always smelling a little like the Black Plague.

Ingredients
2 cups of baking soda
40 drops rosemary essential oil
1 cup of sage leaf
6 large cotton muslin bags

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Fill the tea bags with the mixture and then stuff inside the cotton drawstring bags. Place one bag inside each boot. Makes enough for 3 pairs of stinky shoes and lasts up to 3 months. The baking soda will absorb the rosemary scent after a while, so feel free to add a few more drops of essential oil when needed.

Natural Hair Spray

This lovely DIY comes from A Blossoming Life. A nice, light, lovely hairspray without a ton of goop in it.

Ingredients:
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
10 to 15 drops of essential oil
fine mist spray bottle

Dissolve sugar in hot water. Let mixture cool completely and mix in essential oils (if the water is too hot the essential oils may decrease in smell). Fill spray bottle and its ready to use.

To use: Lightly mist over hair, wait 30 seconds to dry, and reapply if needed. Be careful not to over spray and soak your hair. Plus, this stuff is strong and a little goes pretty far.

Lime in the Coconut Lip Balm

I'm a Florida geek. I love the tropics. Here's a quick lip balm that will help bring the tropics to you. Lightweight, glossy, easy.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon beeswax
 15 drops lime peel essential oil
 A few drops of vitamin E oil

Lip balm preparation: Coarsely chop the beeswax or use beeswax pastilles. Place beeswax and oils in a small pot or glass Pyrex measuring cup and gently heat in the top of a double boiler until the beeswax has melted. Once melted, remove from the stove top and add essential oils and Vitamin E Oil. Immediately pour the mixture into lip balm containers. You can purchase lip balm tubes and jars, or you can reuse glass or plastic containers. Allow to cool completely before placing caps onto the lip balm containers. Your lip balm is finished! You can now add labels, ribbons, twine, or any other decorative elements. Makes approximately 1.5 oz of lip balm, enough to fill 10 lip balm tubes, 6 of our 1/4 oz plastic jars, or 3 1/2 oz tins or plastic jars.

Deoderant Cream

Now this is not an antiperspirant. You need to perspire to regulate your body temperature and sweat out impurities. It is an antiperspirant, so even though you sweat, you smell great.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons shea butter
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
essential oils (optional)

Mix your dry ingredients

Using as glass jar melt your Shea Butter and Coconut Oil ( coconut oil liquifies in warm weather so I didn’t need to melt it ) I put my glass jar in a small pot of water and slowly melted it over the stove

Add your essential oils in and mix.  Pour in your dry ingredients.

And, stir until well blended.

As your freshly made deodorant sits it will firm up. It does not need to be refrigerated and can be stored in your bathroom. For application I just put a little bit on my fingers and rub in as I would a lotion.

Basic Clear Stick Deodorant

I'm addicted to Old Spice deodorant. There.. I said it. I like the smell. Eventually I'll figure out how to master that blend and get it into this formula. The recipe below doesn't really have an odor. It also isn't an anti-antiperspirant, as we need to perspire to regulate our body temperature and expel impurities.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup cornstarch
10+ drops tea tree oil (up to 20 or interspersed with lavender oil)
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Smoosh into an empty deodorant container and allow to set for a few days. Use a lighter hand when applying- especially at first. It will go on clear and requires very little to work. (If you have especially sensitive skin, increase the amount of cornstarch to 6tablespoons and decrease the baking soda to 2tablespoons).