Rose Skin Tonic with Strawberry Glycerine Extract

On the left: strawberry glycerine extract (the one we made not too long ago). On the right: rose (rosa damascena) hydrosol with a titch of strawberry glycerine extract.

Can we just talk about color for a moment?

Is this not the most
pinky
girly
feminine
oh-my-goodness-what-a-delicate-shade-of-delicious color you have ever seen?

(insert appropriate oohs and aaahs here)

How To: Strawberry Glycerine Extract

It's summer and it's strawberry season around these parts of Scandinavia. I've been waiting for the ripest, plumpest, freshest strawberries to be available so I could make this glycerine extract.

And here they are - fresh picked and deliciously aromatic.

Shall we get busy?

Overpreserving - As Bad as Underpreserving

Preservatives are powerful. They have to be. They have a pretty important job: keeping bacteria, fungus, and mould at bay without otherwise compromising the product.

Working with preservatives is tricky and very demanding, so it's not surprising a lot of DIY skincare makers are uncomfortable working with them.

It's not the kind of ingredient where you can 'wing it' when it comes to type or dosage. The amount added – when it is added – and which one functions best is specific to each formula.

It's definitely not the kind of ingredient where you can add 'an extra dash to preserve even better'.

It just doesn't work like that.

An extra dash can cause more damage than one might imagine, which brings me to today's story: what can happen if you overpreserve a product.

Lip and Cheek Tint in a Stick

While playing around with foundation colors, pencil bases and other such make-up making fun things, I decided to put together a quick lip and cheek tint stick.

The chunky-sized balm containers I ordered from a new supplier just arrived.

Perfect timing!

Grapefruit For Skincare

I love the lip-puckering tart freshness of grapefruit in a tossed green salad or in a dessert, but to be perfectly honest, I love it even more as a skin care ingredient.

Let's take a look at what this tangy fruit has to offer with topical use, shall we?