So called industry experts never fail to use every opportunity to convince us that we absolutely positively need the plethora of every inconceivable beauty products ever created in order to look younger, more radiant and achieve a flawless complexion. The majority of us have probably spent thousands of dollars in our lifetime trying various potions or magical elixirs which contain dubious and indecipherable chemicals that purport to solve all our skincare issues. After all, these products were "invented" using fancy schmancy scientific experiments and undergone "rigorous" testings so they know what they're talking about. Right?
Being a mother has made me more careful about the food I eat and the stuff I pile on my face. Funnily enough, I'm healthier and my skin's looking better using a more simplistic and natural approach. Natural skincare is more readily available these days but do you know that you can make them right at home with very little outlay? Here's my favorite girl, Laura who will talk about this in more detail.
As
much as I love luxurious designer goods, one place they don’t exist is
in my skin care cabinet. Over the years, I have tried it all - Chanel
Sublimage, anything and everything from Kiehl’s, anything and everything
from Lancome, Oil of Olay, Clinique, Shu Uemura, Mary Kay, a few lines
from some doctors, Caudalie and so on. But now, I’m done. Yup! None of
this stuff goes anywhere near my skin anymore. Now, I’m not talking
about makeup - I still wear Chanel and YSL cosmetics but when it comes
to skin care (the stuff closest to my pores,) I’ve gone completely
clean, using a myriad of things that grow naturally and are not created
in labs. My skin has never been better, my routine has never been easier
and my wallet has never been happier - leaving, of course, more money
for things that go in my closet!
From this.....
I
believe that the skin care industry has us convinced that we need to
buy SO MANY PRODUCTS to look and feel beautiful and healthy. And, of
course, these products can only be created by those that have the latest
super-secret formula to achieve eternal youth or perfect skin. This
might be an unpopular opinion, but I believe just the opposite. I
believe we have everything we need growing around us! We just need to
know how to use it all. And we don’t have to have white lab coats to do
it. (Unless you count the fabulous white A.P.C. blazer I have my eye
on... but that’s another post. And if you want to wear this while making
your serum, by all means!)
In
my experience, the products that are supposed to be miracle workers
have left my skin tired, dull, break-out prone and just plain confused!
And who knows what those chemicals have done inside my system, where I
can’t see it? It bugs me when some companies appear to be oh so natural,
but their ingredient labels read like a toxic lab nightmare! I’ve
decided that I shouldn’t have to have mineral oil in my products. I
shouldn’t have to have sulfates, parabens, artificial fragrances or
artificial colors in my products. And now, I don’t.
...to
this! Everything that goes on my face now. Homemade toner, serum and
oil cleanser. Coconut oil to remove eye makeup and condition eyelashes.
Now,
there are many companies that make beautiful, natural skin care lines
that are free from the things (and many others) that I listed above.
They do a great job and it’s nice to have a few of these lying around
too! But over the next few weeks, I’m going to show you how easy it is
to make your own products if you choose to do so. Again - more money for
shoes!
Let’s
start with serum, because Marlene is really interested in this one.
Friend, I’ve got you covered! I no longer use moisturizers on my face. I
use one serum twice a day that combats aging, breakouts, dry spots, age
spots, sun damage and whatever else is going on with me! My serum is
based on essential oils. These are the same oils that are found in those
expensive brands - but in those cases, they’re unfortunately
surrounded by all sorts of fillers that we just don’t need. It’s the
fillers and artificial fragrances (and pretty labels) we’re paying for.
The great thing about using these oils is that you can change your serum
based on whatever your skin is doing. Is it winter and your skin is
more dry and blotchy? Adjust your serum by adding a bit of the more
emollient avocado carrier oil to your usual carrier oil(more on how to
do this in a bit). Are you suddenly noticing a few sun spots after your
trip to Hawaii? cough, cough - moi. Well, add a few drops of
frankincense in there! By the way, as I’m typing this, I’m noticing that
those pesky spots are fading fast!
Linda Rodin
I got the idea to do this when I read about Linda Rodin in Vogue. Who is Linda Rodin? She’s
a New York socialite and former model who felt the same way I do. She
got tired of the skin care hype, decided that natural was best and
experimented in her kitchen with essential oils. After a few attempts,
she came up with a serum that worked like nothing she’d ever tried
before. She loved it so much, she began giving it as gifts to close
friends. As with anything good and extra special, word spread and people
began hounding her for the recipe. She created a company and now sells
her serum online and in fine establishments. She calls it Olio Lusso.
I’ve
heard it’s downright magical! And completely pure and clean.
But....it’s expensive! It runs around $150 for a small bottle. Now, can I
afford this? Yes. Would I pay $150 for something non chemical based that actually
works and would really change my skin? Absolutely. And I almost did!
I
told my friend (who also makes her own everything) and we decided to
maybe buy one bottle and split it. Check it out. See how it works. At my
house one day, we put our detective caps on (Chanel, of course...) and
found out a list of the ingredients. It’s basically a couple of good
carrier oils and a list of 11 essential oils. That’s it. “Can’t we just
buy these oils ourselves and make our own?” she asked.
Yes
we can. And we did! And even better, we did our homework and found a
couple of websites that tell you exactly how to do this. And unlike
Linda’s Oilo Lusso, our serums have only what we need for our individual
skin issues. There were a couple of things in Linda’s that are not
right for my combination skin. There were others not right for my
friend’s oily skin. But now, our serums are exactly right for us.
So,
how much did I spend? My initial investment was about $50. That was for
a bottle of my carrier oil of choice - Jojoba oil, and for about 4
starter essential oils from Aura Cacia that I mix in. I also use
these oils in other ways all around my house - from combating colds
and making body scrubs to adding them to cleaning products, I really get
my money’s worth out of them. I also bought a one ounce dark colored
glass apothecary bottle with a dropper top to store it in. This is a must-do. Mine was $1.99 at my local health food store.
My One Ounce glass bottle with dropper top.
It
only took 1/3 the amount of the carrier oil and only about 2-4 teeny
drops each of my chosen essential oils to complete one bottle of my
serum. You do the math! I have months worth of product to make batch
after batch! More money for Isabel Marant!
And how do I make a batch? Here’s what I do:
- Fill a 1oz. amber/dark glass tinted bottle about halfway with my carrier oil(s). I’m using jojoba oil right now.
- Add
2-4 drops of each of my chosen essential oils. (more of some, less of
others) I swear by lavender, carrot seed, geranium, and ylang-ylang.
Right now, I’m replacing lavender with frankincense to get rid of the
Hawaii sun spots. (See - it’s adaptable and you only make a small amount
at a time.)
-
Fill up the remaining space with the carrier oil.
- Shake
- Apply
4-6 drops of serum in the morning under makeup and in the evening after
cleansing. Warning, depending on what you’re using, the smell of the
oils combined might be strange! But it only lasts a few minutes.
Promise!!! Commercial products add all sorts of stuff (that I don’t
want) to combat this. Personally, I’d much rather deal with less than 2
minutes of the essential oil fragrance than having artificial
ingredients.
Ready to use!
Total
time to make this? Less than five minutes. It takes longer to drive to the
store to buy a pre-made product. What’s the difference between a carrier
and an essential oil? You may ask this and more, as I did. I used the
information on the site below to make my serum. This site gives you the
proper ratios to use of all of the oils. Be sure to check out the
various tabs that talk about the properties of the oils and how to
combine them safely. There are also other recipes for toners and oil
cleansers that you can eventually work up to making if you choose.
Here's my favorite skin care site!
If any of you give this a whirl, I would love to hear about it! Happy skin!
A HUGE thank you to Laura for putting this together. A lot of research, time and effort have gone into this post. Thank you, Laura!!
