So the 'bookmark a week' thing had become increasingly inaccurate, given how rare my blog posts have become. Also, I was running out of bookmarks that I really wanted to do, so maybe I should just delete them all off my phone and start again. In light of this I have a new series - 'fings wot I haz dun'.
Once a week (hopefully) I will do a little project, photograph it, and write a blog about it. So here goes....
Like everyone, I like to have a clean face. All the muck that gets on your face during the day plus any makeup can be kind of icky and not great for your skin, but cleaning it off was always a giant ball-ache as far as I was concerned.
You could use cream cleanser (messy and wasteful of cotton pads), soap (all skincare people gasp in horror), cleansing wipes (feel like sandpaper) and various other concoctions with one thing in common. They don't really work very well.
So a couple of years ago I discovered cleansing balms and, guess what? They only bloody work. They pretty much dissolve even waterproof mascara and other ickyness, then you wipe them off thoroughly with a clean flannel. Clean skin, no ouchiness. Result.
There is, however, a downside. Price.
The first cleanser I tried was fantastic. It was the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa (nope, me neither) cleansing balm. And there's a reason all the skincare bloggers love it. It's rich, smells gorgeous, melts in your hands and leaves your skin clean and soft.
The only reason I even had it was because it came free with a magazine subscription, but it costs around £35 for 100ml. I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to part with that much cash for something that sits on my skin for 2 minutes a day and gets washed off.
I researched cheaper options and got the Champneys Super Rich cleansing balm.
That's around £10 for 100ml. More reasonable, but still bloody pricey and not as nice to use.
In the interim I had discovered something called the oil cleansing method.
It involves mixing castor oil with another cold pressed vegetable oil (normally olive) and using that as a cleanser. And it really does work a treat, but it's super messy and just isn't as nice a sensation as a balm. I also sometimes use almond oil which I decant into tiny dropper bottles, but I prefer to reserve that as a pre-moisturiser treatment mixed with a little vitamin e oil (ain't I fancy?), or as a pre-cleanse when my eye make-up's really ridiculous.
So in the end I went searching and looky what I found.
I had all the ingredients bar beeswax and I knew where to get that. So I decided to do it.
It's super simple. Really, you just melt together the oils, the cocoa butter and beeswax in a bowl over simmering water, add essential oils.
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| Easier than melting chocolate, seriously. |
Then pour into a container to harden and use.
Look how pretty!
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| No idea where to get the jar from I'm afraid, it was a gift from my lovely in-laws. They know me well. |
To be honest though, it set a bit bloody hard. It took a real effort to get any out of the pot, and no matter how I scrubbed my skin it seemed to leave a waxy residue. Incidentally, residue is not a pleasant word. Residue.
Right, moving on!
So I thought, bugger it I'll melt it again in the jar and stir in more oil. So I did and it worked. I didn't measure it at all so that's probably no help to you, but I shall be attempting it again soon without the cocoa butter and I'll let you know how I get on. If it works.... christmas gifts! And just as a special treat for you, this is how attractive you can look while using it!
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| Sometimes my eyebrows are green. |
Now I've loosened the mixture it's a pleasure to use, removes even the silliest makeup and leaves no residue (there it is again) at all. Highly recommended once you tinker with the recipe a little.
Next I need to make face cream...
Love and kisses,
H.
