Luxurious Whipped Cocoa Body Butter

It finally happened. I ran out of my precious Body Shop body butter. Let me tell you about this butter: I've been using it for YEARS, and since my favourite flavour is blueberry, I would wait till it came out every year, and then buy enough to last me a year. And that is all I would use. Because lotion never cut it for me. Plus, who can resist those blueberry fumes?! Not this girl.

Well, that is until I found cocoa butter, smelled it, and figured out it was WAY cheaper to make my own amazing body butter - plus I didn't have to wait a year to find my favourite flavours!

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It amazes me how far I've come in my quest for homemade and natural alternatives for every-day essentials. I've always been a fan of being more on the natural side, but never in my wildest dreams would I have seen myself making my own products to save money and save myself from the chemicals that are lurking in many toiletries on grocery store shelves - the ones I've been using for a long time! 

I vowed that once my blueberry body butter ran out, I would make the switch to homemade, and let me tell you: I've not yet looked back!

This body butter is so smooth, soft, luxurious feeling and SMELLS AMAZING. It also feels so great and does not feel greasy at all. It's also super easy to make, and easy on my wallet.

I'm confident it will be a perfect moisturizer as Winter makes it's way here. 

What you need:

1/2 C Cocoa Butter (I used this one)
1/2 C Shea Butter
1/2 C Coconut Oil
1/2 C Sweet Almond Oil

what to do:

1) Using double boiler, melt everything together.
2) Add to mixing bowl and place in the fridge until solid, but still soft (about 50-60 minutes).
3) Using electric hand mixer, whip mixture until light and fluffy.
4) Transfer to glass jar and store in cool place. 

Note: mixture will hold texture perfectly fine at 75 degrees F (about 24 degrees C) and below.

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Needing a new body butter to prepare for Winter? Ever tried making your own?

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Easy DIY Moisturizing Face Cream

A few months ago, I became increasingly dissatisfied with the face cream I had purchased. Though claiming to be moisturizing, my skin always seemed dry just moments after its use. To top that off, I didn't particularly like the smell of it. I kept on using it though - there was no way that an $11 face cream couldn't "work" properly. The only thing it had going for it was the sweet jar it came in. It was blush pink. I like blush pink.

I finally decided to pull the plug as I became more and more frustrated and more and more aware of the harmful ingredients being put into face creams (and many other personal care items in our bathrooms!). Remember, our skin is our largest organ, so if something is toxic to eat, I'm not really excited to slather it on my body either.

Today, I share with you how I "made" my own face cream and my experiences.

This post contains affiliate links.

Making this face cream was so much easier than I thought! I scoured the internet looking for inspiration and everyone seemed to be using the same ingredients - the same ones you'll see over and over in my natural living posts - coconut oil and organic raw shea butter being a few. Of course, sweet almond oil was involved, as were essential oils! I love essential oils :)

Speaking of essential oils, when I first tried this out, I used lavender. My husband hates the smell of lavender though (something about moths...), so for my next batch I chose something else. Check out this post from Body Unburdened (and seriously, the rest of her website - Nadia has a wealth of information!) for a list of top essentials oils for skincare and more. Fun fact: I've used 7/10 on this list (but not all at once).

At first I thought my concoction might be greasy, and though it does feel greasy as you take it on your fingers, once it's rubbed in, it isn't at all! I really appreciated that. Nothing worse than walking around with a shiny face all day...

I've been using this face lotion for several months now, and I have to say that it's one of the best I've used for my skin (I have really dry skin). I was impressed from the first time I smeared it on my face! It made the winter a bit more forgivable, and the cream (and drinking plenty of water) helped my skin stay hydrated.

I fully intend to try out a different lotion recipe, but for now, this is what I use. Never again will I spend $11 on face cream.

ingredients

1 TBSP Shea Butter
1 TBSP Coconut Oil
1/2 tsp Sweet Almond Oil (I've also tried with Vitamin E Oil)
2 tsp Beeswax Pellets
5-10 Drops Essential Oils

What to do

1) Melt shea butter, beeswax, and coconut oil using the double boiler effect (small bowl or jar in a pot with water) on low heat.
2) Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the sweet almond oil. 
3) Add essential oils and allow to solidify (I let it sit for 24 hours).

**Note: Once set, if you stir it with a popsicle stick, you will get a more "lotion-like" texture!

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There you have it! A super easy and natural face cream! That wasn't hard at all, was it? Next week, I'll be back with another DIY I've been testing out to share with you! I've had several on my shelf that I'm excited to write about! 

Now it's your turn. What do you think? Would you try this easy face cream? Why or why not? Comment below!