Let's Be Essential Natural Skincare

🍯 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞! 🌿

Honey has some lovely properties when it comes to skincare. Did you know it's a humectant? This means it helps attract and retain moisture, making it a useful ingredient in products designed to hydrate and condition the skin.

You'll find honey used in all sorts of products, from lip balms and creams to face masks, shampoos and conditioners.

But there's another side to using honey in skincare that I want to share with you.

Back in my early days as a DIY'er, I made a couple of products containing honey, following information I'd found online. Many bloggers even touted that it helps preserve a product. At that point, I hadn't yet taken any skincare formulation courses.

When I went on to take my courses, I learned more about the importance of preservation and the challenges that can come with certain ingredients, including honey in water-based products.

Although honey itself has properties that help resist microbial growth, when it's added to a product containing water, it can make preservation more complicated. The natural sugars in honey can provide nourishment for microorganisms, so extra care needs to be taken to ensure the finished product is properly preserved.

Personally, I prefer not to work with honey in my skincare products. ❤️

I prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to preservation. I also like to keep my formulations aligned with my natural and eco-conscious approach, and I'm not comfortable introducing a more robust preservative system specifically to accommodate honey.

That doesn't mean honey can't be used successfully in skincare. It's simply a personal choice I've made when it comes to the ingredients I work with and the products I make.

There's a lot more to formulating skincare than choosing ingredients for their benefits. Understanding how they behave in a formulation and the challenges they can bring is just as important. 🌿

🥬𝐈'𝐦 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐀𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

Oh, if only it were as simple as seeing an interesting ingredient and clicking "add to cart!" 😂

When it comes to the ingredients I use in my skincare, I don't rush into buying something just because it catches my attention, or has a lot of hype.

I can spend weeks, sometimes even months, learning about a new ingredient before I even consider purchasing it.

And sometimes, that means going back and forth with a potential supplier, asking questions and waiting for answers before deciding how to proceed.

It's not an overnight decision, and I'm perfectly okay with that. There are so many things I need to consider before buying a new ingredient. Compatibility with other ingredients, is it worth the price point are just a couple of things to consider.

There are so many interesting ingredients out there, but that doesn't mean every single one needs to find its way into my products.

I'd rather take my time than buy something simply because it's popular or everyone's talking about it.

Being interested in an ingredient and deciding to actually use it are two very different things! 🥬

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞.

💙 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐥 — 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧
🌿

Here's why I chose this ingredient.......

Cornflower is known for its soothing and softening properties, making it a wonderful ingredient in skincare formulations, particularly those designed for delicate or sensitive skin. 💧

🌿 So, what does cornflower bring to skincare?

💙 Soothing care — valued for its calming properties, cornflower is a wonderful addition to formulations designed to care for skin that feels delicate or uncomfortable.

💧 Softening properties — makes it a great choice in skincare designed to leave skin feeling soft and comfortable.

🌸 Gentle botanical care — cornflower is commonly used in formulations for delicate skin, including products intended for the eye area.

One of the things I love about botanical ingredients is that they each bring their own unique qualities to a formulation. It's about choosing ingredients thoughtfully and understanding the role they play in a product. 🌿

💙 You'll find Cornflower Hydrosol in two of my skincare products:

✨ 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫

✨ 𝐅𝐨𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡

Two different products, each created with its own purpose, with cornflower as part of the botanical goodness in their formulations.

I love being able to share not just what goes into my products, but a little about the ingredients themselves and why they're chosen. 🌸💙

🛁 𝗔 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗵-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁!🌿

I know not everyone is a bath person, but if you are and you love a good Bath Bomb, did you know I make those too? 💕 For now, at least!

My Bath Bombs contain a plant oil that helps leave your skin feeling soft after your bath. They’re lightly scented with essential oils rather than fragrance oils, for a lovely, gentle touch.

They come in a variety of fun shapes and in both mini and large sizes. The minis are especially sweet for the little ones in your life — children, grandchildren, or anyone who enjoys a little something special at bath time. 🥰

And the minis aren't just for little ones! They're also an affordable little stocking stuffer or a lovely addition to another gift. 🎁🎄

A little note about my Bath Bombs: I’m still deciding what the future will look like for them. I purchase ingredients for the Bath Bombs in larger quantities to keep my prices as affordable as possible, but I don’t sell enough of them throughout the year to justify keeping all those ingredients stocked year-round. So, once my current ingredients are used up, I may decide to phase them out. I’ll take another look at things in the new year before making any decisions.

The good news is that I still have lots of ingredients on hand, so unless Christmas is exceptionally busy for Bath Bombs, I expect to have plenty available for quite some time yet! 💗

In the meantime, I’ve included my Bath Bombs on my 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁, so if you're looking for a few gift ideas, they're worth a peek!

And if baths aren't your thing, no worries at all — there are plenty of other goodies on the list! ❤️

🌿 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐒!

Yes, some of my products have fairly long ingredient lists, and I know that can look a little overwhelming at first. But there's a reason behind the ingredients I choose to use.

There's a lot of talk on social media about keeping ingredient lists short and simple, and while I understand where that comes from, formulation isn't always that straightforward.

When I formulate my skincare, I'm not just thinking about the oils, butters or other ingredients that people might recognize or get excited about.

There's a lot more that goes into creating a well-formulated product.

Depending on the formulation, I may include multiple humectants, emulsifiers and co-emulsifiers, chelating agents, preservative boosters, antioxidants and other ingredients that each serve a purpose.

For example, humectants help attract and retain moisture. Emulsifiers help bring oil and water together, while co-emulsifiers can help support the properties and stability of an emulsion. Chelating agents help bind certain metal ions, and preservative boosters can help support a product's preservation system.

These ingredients all have different roles to play, depending on the formula.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐈'𝐦 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬.

Of course, a longer ingredient list doesn't automatically mean a product is better, just as a shorter one doesn't automatically make it better or safer.

There's a lot more to formulation than counting ingredients!

I just wanted to share a little of my thinking behind this, because there's so much information on social media, and sometimes a little more understanding can make all the difference. 🌿

Keep an eye out with this month’s preorders! 👀 You’ll find a little mini Thank You Gift 🎁💕

🌿 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐀 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄. 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄.

I know this from personal experience.

My skin looks healthier today than it did years ago. But that didn't happen overnight, and it certainly didn't happen without consistency and patience.

And here’s the truth… I'm not always great at following my own advice! 🙈

There are days when I get a little lazy with my skincare routine, and my skin can look dry, duller and less refreshed.

Life happens. We're human.

But I've noticed the difference that taking care of my skin consistently can make over time.

For me, it's about supporting my skin barrier, maintaining hydration, and using thoughtfully formulated skincare with ingredients that each have a purpose.

When skin is well cared for, it can look smoother, brighter, more hydrated and refreshed. Fine lines may also become less noticeable.

But everyone's skin is different. What one person notices relatively quickly may take someone else several months. It depends on where your skin is starting from and how it responds to a consistent routine.

And let's be realistic: skincare cannot stop the natural ageing process, erase every wrinkle or replace treatments like Botox.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 💚

This is why I take my formulations seriously. I learn everything I can about ingredients, consider why they belong in a formula, and don't simply add something that’s just popular.

No miracle promises. No overnight transformations.

Just thoughtful formulations, consistency, patience, and realistic expectations. 🌿

Because even a skincare formulator has days when she needs a little reminder to take care of her own skin! 😉