These little jars of sweetness, my lovely Lemon and Rose hand cream, are probably my most popular recipe for workshops, so I thought I’d share a slightly modified version for you to try.  You don’t really need any special equipment, you probably have everything you need in your kitchen – here’s a list:

Equipment

Two pyrex or similar heat proof glass jugs, 2 – 4 cup volume.

Pots that fit the jugs, for water.

Stick blender.

Jars for storing your cream, with lids, dark or amber glass is best.

Measuring spoons, knife and spoons for stirring, a spatular.

Scales, that work in small increments.

As for ingredients, you’ll probably need to shop online, but you maybe able to find your oils and beeswax from healthfoodor organic shops.  Here it is:

Lemon and Rose Cream

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons refined rosehip oil

35 gms Beeswax

20 gms Shea butter, refined

6 Tablespoons rosewater

½ teaspoon Vitamin E

½ teaspoon essential oil of Lemon

Place the first three ingredients in a heat proof glass jar, held in a pot of simmering water (a baine-marie), melt and hold over heat for 25 minutes (65 degrees is ideal).

In another heat proof glass jar, gently warm rosewater for approximately five minutes, it is ideal to have the waters and oils at approximately the same temperature to combine.

After the oils and waxes have been hot for 25 minutes and you are ready to combine, add vitamin E and lemon essential oil the oils and waxes, then slowly add the warmed rosewater, blend immediately. Continue to blend the cream until it is well combined and smooth. If separation occurs, return to heat and blend again. Continue to blend as it cools, this may take about 10 minutes.

Finally, pour into sterile jars, this makes approximately 120mls. You might like to place the jars in the refrigerator to cool, this is also a suitable place to store until you are ready to use them.  Remember to label and date your pots.  You can read more about my best ingedrients, up coming workshops over at Bella Luna.

A new post from over at Bella Luna…

Rich, green and so soothing, avocado oil is my new favourite raw ingredient.

When I started making my own skin creams, it was about finding the best ingredients for my skin and creating a really lovely blend of vegetable oils, butters and essential oils.

As much as I love making my own blends, packaging them up, giving them away and using them myself, I find myself more often using oils and butters neat.  You know how busy life can get, so when I haven’t had a couple of hours to whip up a fresh pot or two, I grab a chunk of Shea butter or a teaspoon of vege oil.

I brought home a bottle of cold pressed avocado oil, just off the shelf of my supermarket, tried it out, and wow, I’m loving it.

Avocado oil absorbs easily, has a mild and not unpleasant aroma, is VERY green (so watch your clothes) and is a rich source of vitamin A, B1, B2, D and E, as well as amino acids, pantothenic acid, lecithin and other essential fatty acids.  It apparently has many long term benefits, is effective in softening skin, soothing eczema, and healing other skin problems.

Of course, you can just cut open a ripe avocado and make yourself a face pack too!

As Bella Luna, my next Nana Technologies workshop is coming up next week, Thursday evening, 7 – 9pm at Highbury House, 110 Hinemoa Street, Birkenhead, Auckland, more details, including how to book, are available here.

I’ll have some samples for you to look at, raw ingredients, and we’ll talk about some of my favourite raw ingredients, and how you can tailor your skin creams to suit your own needs and preferences.

This evening I’m teaching a workshop on making your own skin creams, a Nana Technologies course, through the Kaipatiki Project.

An introduction to making your own skin care products at home.  The venue is Highbury House, in Birkenhead.

The evening will focus on making my Lemon and Rose skin cream, a good base recipe that includes ingredients such as rosehip oil, rosewater, shea butter and lemon essential oil.  Working from start to finish participants will have the opportunity to get a bit hands on, ask questions, talk about troubleshooting, including how to work through any problems that may arise when you make your own beauty creams at home.

We will go over basic equipment needs, and discuss optional extras. A key part of the workshop will involve testing samples of the base ingredients and discuss other ways to combine oils.  This has been very popular at my recent workshop!

Bit of bio:

I have been making my own beauty products for the last four years, a long precess of trial and error I’ve found out what works for me, and just how easy it can be to do it yourself at home.

Initially I was keen to have more control over what I was putting on my skin, as well as saving money.  However, this interest has become something of a passion as I enjoy learning about the potential healing properties of many vegetable and plant oils, and making it myself is so very satisfying!

Some ingredients for testing…

And more samples were had…

The finished product, ready to take home, mmm mm, smells just divine!

Photos were from my last workshop at Lopdell House…  Thanks to Lisa.

Come to Lopdell House for a Make and Cake workshop!

This Sunday 3rd June, 11am – 4.30pm.

This is a new venture, for Bella Luna, my other personality, I will be demonstrating how to make a delicious Lemon Rose skin cream and my friend Carla Sweetlove will be demonstrating how to make a yummy Body Butter!

Would you love to learn but cannot make this weekend?  Did you know that as Bella Luna I make skin creams and run workshops, in your home and elsewhere?  You can contact me through this website, or head over to Bella Luna and find out more…

Maybe you read my previous posts about my big new venture, Bella Luna, making skin care products from local ingredients, lovely local ingredients, with no nasty petrochemicals, good for people and good for our planet..

Big news is I have applied for an AMP Do Your Thing Scholarship, I’m so excited, if I can get some extra $$ it will make it all happen faster, I have been working on it over the last couple of years, and I’d love to get it out there for people to use.

So watch this space, and if you like, you could even vote for me in the people’s choice award!  Oh and swing by my Facebook page, I’ll be looking for peeps to try some samples…

So it’s about time I made an update this big new thing of making and selling some beautiful skin care products…

Today I made another batch of my favourite cream, it’s a lemon and rose night cream, SO divine, it smells like a delicious lemon cheesecake when I’m blending it, oh so yum.

Looks good ahy?  All my products are made from natural ingredients, and use natural rather than synthetic preservative, are mostly organic, grown and crafted in New Zealand.  I have made some adjustments to the recipe and it will be one of the first products I will make available to you.  Can’t wait!

Just sorting out some pretty packaging and the whole media online launch thingee…  I’m also trying not to be too sidetracked into making more creams for myself and friends, I keep giving the stuff away for people to try.  Can’t help it, it’s exciting and I want to share it around!

I have been working on  a new venture, it’s very exciting to write about it and I suppose now I really need to.  My plans is to make beauty creams, from mostly locally produced organic ingredients.  Such as lovely olive, almond, rosehip and macadamia nut oil, plant and bees waxes, and beautiful essential oils like lemon and lavender.  I will have to source some really special ingredients like Shea butter and couple of other products that just don’t grow here, as well as organic coconut oil.

For the last year or two I have been making and perfecting my balms and creams, I love making them and it so good to work with such superior ingredients.  What’s also exciting, and partly why I’ll be writing more about it and sharing photos of my work and probably giving out samples (yes!  Lucky YOU!) I’m planning on applying for the AMP do you thing scholarship, it would make a huge difference if I could get a little extra cash to get it all off the ground, wheels move somewhat slowly for me these days with the kiddies an’ all.

Here are some jars I’m going to fill, I’m starting out with small jars so people can test them out, 15ml and 30ml, they are very small when it comes to labeling – but I have to start somewhere!

They will look good.