Restock Update!

1 January

When the shop reopens in January I will launch my new lines of hair and facial care products.  I've been posting pictures of shampoo bars for a while now, but the four formulas available will be Blucalyptus, Cafe Mint, A&A, and Creamy Thai.  All four are formulated for slightly different hair types, but great for most!

Also available will be my regular solid conditioning bars as well as my Stellar conditioner bars formulated specifically for colour treated hair.  Menhadi will be back in stock as well as an all new 8 ounce bottle of creamy rinse out conditioner.

Several new salt bars will be available in a new 'handier' size for kitchen sink side use!

I'm super proud to launch my facial care line which includes my green tea and rose oil-free lotion for problem skin.  It soothes, calms, and reduces redness.  Also available will be an oily skin gel cream, and herbal eye serum, a foaming face wash for sensitive and aggravated skin, and a beautiful super emollient skin cream with sunflower oil.

Several soaps will be available and restocked, including Lavender Cream and a much requested SUPER XL tube of Nataraja Healing Heel Balm will be available in limited quantities!

15 January

I will launch my Limited Edition Valentine's Day products on the 15th!  My super best selling grab bags will once again be available.  I'm switching things up, they'll no longer be just 'samplers' but instead include some limited edition items.  The theme of the Valentine's bags are super cute!

There will be a super amazing Valentine's salt bar, my Lovely in Lace bars, and my Whipped Dream bar, and my super amazing Cioccolato Orchidea bar which I must admit is super gorgeous.  I'm also releasing an all new Friendship bar.  Same beautiful colours and scent, all new formula and size!  Also coming will be a mildly exfoliating pineapple bar and a girlie and sweet fruit scented shave bar.

GGA2, my men's inspired line with exclusive manlier packaging will also launch mid January.  Available will be a soothing after shave lotion, a carrot face cream, an eye serum, scrub, as well as several new shave bars and a limited round shave bar.  They're harder to make and get out of a round mould as the formula is softer at cure!

I'll also be adding to my regular facial line.  My White Lychee cream is super emollient and full of antioxidants.  I'll have a beautiful new anti-puffiness eye serum in a roller.

Make sure you keep an eye on my Instagram, @glitterandgratitude for sneak peeks and as always, if you have a request, let me know!  I love to hear what you're thinking, my goal is to help and heal YOU!

With glitter and gratitude,
Gia

Why Soy Free?

A lot of people ask me why I don't use soy in my products because apparently everyone thinks that soy is an amazing natural and organic ingredient!  I see people boast about using it and I can only sigh.

Soy is the #1 GMO product in the world.  That means it is the least natural plant source.  It's been chemically and biologically altered to grow better, hardier, and more.  Now, some argue that that's what we need to do to ensure that crops are safe and we produce more food for the population.    This by no means means that that plant it now organic.  It means it's been bread to survive, which means it can withstand certain chemical pesticides other plants can't so when they spray the field with the pesticides, everything else dies, but it lives.

GMO crops can cause new allergies to be develop, create super resistant bugs and weeds that means STRONGER pesticides need to be used and that's not good for the crops or the surrounding environment.

ASIDE from all that, yes.  There are some nongmo soy sources, so let's talk about those.

Soy contains phytoestrogens that hinder the body's natural estrogen from attaching to cells. 

Soy is also high in isoflavones, a natural type of plant estrogen that can increase estrogen levels in humans.

There are several studies that say soy causes issues with breast cancer and certain ones that say it's perfectly fine.  The fact is, soy contains estrogen altering substances.

I have endometriosis.  It's painful.  It's crippling.  I will have a hysterectomy because of it.  Soy makes it worse.  Soy causes complications.  Soy exacerbates the tissue growth.... not just ingesting it, but applying it on the skin.  Yes, it's got some great omegas, etc.  But I can get those from over a dozen other sources that will not render me immobile with pain.

I didn't make the choice to keep soy out of my products based on fear mongering or random studies.  I did so based on my own personal experiences with it knowing it's done me more hard than good.  I would never want to risk that for anyone else.  Ever.

Here is a great article about the differences between Eastern and Western soy consumption and what should be avoided.  Again, use your own judgment.

Here is another good article explaining what to eat and avoid with endo.

Here is a personal account of one person's unbiased experience and research.

Formulating 101: Emulsifiers

What is an emulsifier?

When water and oil are mixed together and vigorously shaken, a dispersion of oil droplets in water - and vice versa - is formed. When shaking stops, the phases start to separate. However, when an emulsifier is added to the system, the droplets remain dispersed, and a stable emulsion is obtained.

An emulsifier consists of a water-loving hydrophilic head and an oil-loving hydrophobic tail. The hydrophilic head is directed to the aqueous phase and the hydrophobic tail to the oil phase (see figure 1). The emulsifier positions itself at the oil/water or air/water interface and, by reducing the surface tension, has a stabilising effect on the emulsion. 

In simple terms an emulsifier is a compound that can blend oil and water together into a homogeneous mixture.

My favourite and most used emulsifier is ECOMulse 

ECOMulse is a natural source, self-emulsifier for oil in water emulsions.   It contains no ethoxylated ingredients. This system is based on acyl lactylates, which are conditioning to both hair and skin. The anionic lactylates are produced by a reaction between the acyl group of fatty acids and lactic acid. Lactic acid and fatty acids are natural moisturizing factor (NMF) constituents that are found in the skin. The lactylates are excellent viscosity enhancers, stabilizers, and conditioners. ECOMulse™ is a complete, balanced and highly desirable emulsification system. When used in lotions and creams, it will provide a soft, conditioned, talc-like feel to skin.  Note, because this is based on anionic lactylates, it does not conform to the HLB system for non-ionic surfactants and no HLB number has been determined by the manufacturer.  EcoMulse is manufactured using raw materials that are GMO-free.

It's a naturally derived compounds that fits the needs of most of my lotions and potions!  It's fairly easy to work with.  It's also often called Natramulse or Ritamulse, depending on the manufacturer.

For cationic emulsions I use SugarMulse or one of the popular BTMS formulas available.

Although the components sound long and complicated, they're natural and not at all harmful.  You will often see a company claim that their products are 'chemical free' or 'free from chemicals'.  

EVERYTHING IS A CHEMICAL.  Anything with substance or components is a chemical.  Water is a chemical compound!  Don't trip and fall for fear mongering!

What's in a name?

I get asked a lot about the names of my products!

In each listing I include the translation and in many cases, a brief explanation of what it means.

The names I've chosen for my hand care line are all Hindi.  They're picked to specifically match the formulation.  For example, Gulaba means rose and it's the name of my hemp and rose hand cream.  Sometimes it's a random and everyday word that is just beautiful to me, other times it's the name of a Hindu deity.  After all!  The logo for Glitter and Gratitude is a little G shaped elephant, the god Ganesh, the remover of obstacles!

He was an important part of the concept and motivation behind my shop and he helped motivate me every step of the way!

I know it's a little confusing, which is why I'm going to rearrange a few things.  Starting in 2016 when I reopen, my core hand care/skin care line will bear the original Hindu names.  But.  All of my soaps, hair care products, and upcoming men's line will have more...  user friendly names!  It's important to keep the original focus of my company intact, it's important for me to continue to focus on why I started GGA.

Formulating 101: HLB

One of the first things you need to learn when you formulate creams, lotions, conditioners, cosmetics, etc is something called the HLB system.

In 1949, while working as a chemist at the Atlas Powder Company, William C. (Bill) Griffin developed the HLB System. HLB stands for `Hydrophile-Lipophile Balance` and is a measure of the relative proportions of water-soluble and oil soluble components in a surfactant. For any given surfactant function, such as detergency, emulsification or wetting, there is usually an optimum HLB value. Current emulsion technology dictates that the surfactants' HLB in a system must match the HLB requirement of the insoluble materials. The HLB Calculator is an Excel Worksheet based on that system that quickly and easily allows the formulator to calculate HLB requirements for cosmetic formulations.

The HLB system is a complicated formulary that helps you determine how much of certain oils and emulsifiers you need to create a stable and ph balanced emulsion, aka: lotion.  The oil portion is called the lipophilic portion and the liquid portion is called the hydrophilic portion.

Each oil and butter had a very different makeup and requires a different percentage of emulsifier to break the surface tension that keeps an oil and liquid mixture apart and keep it combined.  So you add the values of each ingredient and do some crazy math to determine what you need to do to combine everything into the consistency you want.  You also need to take into consideration the ionic charge of your ingredients, either they are cationic (positive) or anionic (negative)!

You cannot just add some em wax to some oil and mix it in with some water and get a lotion!  No!  You need to break everything down into percentages and saturation levels so that it's a balanced solution.

I hate maths, I do, but this system has made it fun for me and I love experimenting with things to change up the emolliency and the feel of the finished product!

Later this week I'll talk more about actual emulsifiers and how they work and what they're made of.

With Glitter and Gratitude!

Holiday Happenings!

Black Friday!

• 10% off orders of 10$ or more 
• 20% off orders of 20$ or more

Everything currently in-stock (creams, soaps, etc) will be included and most of the core creams will be restocked for the sale.  There will be a limit of three (3) of each item per order!

Everyone who orders on Black Friday will be entered into a drawing for 10% off their entire purchase good Cyber Monday only.

The shop will be closed over the weekend to get ready for the MASSIVE HOLIDAY RESTOCK.

Cyber Monday!

My massive holiday restock will be launching at noon CET (3am PST and 6am EST for those in the US).

There will be three Cyber Monday exclusives including:

• Elf Sweat cold processe soap
• Jack Frost cold process shave bars
• Santa's Sack Goodie Bags with minis of a dozen holiday products (limit 1)

Also launching will be:

•  Limited Edition Game of Thrones inspired soap trio
• Two new core collection body creams in a new 200g (8 oz) size
• Complex-ion problem skin cold process soap bars
• Seven new cold process soaps
• Three new shave bars
• A limited trial of balm deodorant
• Fourteen Limited Edition GG Holiday items
• Three new core hand creams including Menta, a special holiday inspired release
• Three new lip glosses including Twisted, a special holiday inspired flavour
• Noel Kali cuticle balm in regular and new travel stick sizes
• Winter Candy Apple Varuna mani soak

For sneak peeks please check out and follow my Instagram! I also have a #giveaway running so head over and enter.

Glitter and Gratitude Apothecary can currently be found on Etsy!

Hullo!

I took an unexpected hiatus there. 

The past few weeks have been hectic.  My mum is visiting and it's been a blast having her around.  We've done a lot of sightseeing and poking around and a LOT of eating.  I've cut back to only 30 minutes of yoga a day, so I need to kick myself back into gear.  It's crazy how much you can tell you miss it!

I have been working a great deal on the shop.  It's taken a lot of focus and determination to get it going and I'm keeping on an upward trajectory!  I did really well with my Halloween releases and it's sort of taught me a bit about what I need to be doing for my Holiday releases.

There is so so much coming!

And that means that there is so so much to do!  I'm going to launch the Holiday shop on what's called Cyber Monday, for those of us in the EU that's the online retail version of Black Friday in the US, which is a massive shopping day.  I'll keep the shop open for three weeks and shut just before Christmas.  That way nothing ships and gets lost in the rush and because I'm having surgery and will use the time to relax!

More details will be available as soon this settle.

In nail news... my #mentalityburns are still healing.  My nail growth is still very brittle and while the damage looks like it's grown out?  My nails are thin and very ridged.  I haven't been able to get much free edge!  I'm working, though, on a new vitamin system and oiling every half hour!

How have you been?  Anyone still lurking?!

With glitter and gratitude!

MOTM: October!

October already?!  This year seems to be going by fast!

This month's kit contained:

From Heather's Hues:
-Full sized polish in Vampirette
-Mini polish in Witches & Werewolves & Ghosts, Oh My!

From Dream Polish
- Minis of both Gem Glam and Smooth Gem in Zombie Food
- A full sized cuticle balm in Zombie FOod

From Nails Redesigned
-A sheet of dripping blood guides
- A sheet of bat masks
- A sheet of witchy decals
- Assorted gems

Vampirette is stunning.  It's vampy, yes, but also oddly sweet and bright!

It's a deep purple with a gorgeous fuchsia undertone and sparkles of tiny shimmer.  It's opaque in two even coats, even over my wonky ripply damage!  This is something I can see working with year round, not just in the Fall

WWG, Oh My is a black jelly jam packed with little purple, green, and orange glitters.  It's opaque in two shades but with all the glittery polishes I wear, I use three thing coats for depth.

Apparently zombie's eat some pretty good stuff because this month's scent is slightly fruit and very fresh.  Maybe with a hint of apple?  It's really nice and light and easy to wear, it's not overwhelming.

The vinyls this month are so cute!  I wish my nails were not so damaged.  They're not very even and nothing seems to want to lay flat, but I reallllly love the bats.  You can use them not just as a mask, but the little cut outs as decals as well!

NWP: Pumpkin All The Things

This month's NWP mystery box was pumpkin themed!

Pick the Perfect Pumpkin (full) is an organe jelly filled with orange micro glitter.  It's pretty much opaque in two coats, I used three because my accent nail is wonky from #mentalityburns.  It's a gorgeous and bright crisp orange!

Unicorns Love Pumpkin Cheesecake (mini) is a great addition to the Unicorn line!  It's got the same shimmery white base and is loaded with various shades and sizes orange and copper glitters.  It's opaque in two coats, I always use three for glitter depth.

Also included this month was a mini cuticle oil in Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice which smells amazing.  I love NWP's oil formula, it's nice and works well. 

ALSO also included was a full size Hurry to the Pumpkin Patch scented top coat!  It's perfect with the polishes and goes really well scent wise with the cuticle oil!

Nubs

Sigh.

My nails finally got to the point they were too damaged to save and I've trimmed them all off.

They're growing super slow now and they're very wavy, it makes it tricky to do anything other than paint them!

Aleppo

The migrant crisis is overwhelming and devastating here in Europe.  While thousand and thousands of immigrants are flooding across Central Europe this week, Italy saves thousands and thousands from shipwrecks and abandoned ships.

The major country these people are fleeing from is Syria, home of a city I'm sure you've heard before in the news.  Aleppo.

One of the amazing things about Aleppo, and I'm sure there are hundreds as the city of ancient and full of wonders, is that it is the birthplace of something called Aleppo soap, which is considered the first soap ever made.  Originally hot processed, that is cooked, it's now more easily made through the cold process method.

Aleppo is made with a rare oil, something called Laurel Berry, which has the most amazing earthy/herby aroma.  It's considered a Castille bar, that is it's made with only one or two locally sourced oils.  That means that the process of making the soap takes months, and even years.  Once you've made the soap, it needs to cure, which means it sits and hardens as the water in it evaporates.

The soap is amazing.

Aleppo soap can be used daily as soap for washing and shampooing, as face mask, as shaving cream, and for bathing infants and babies.^[7]
The soap is effective against insect bites^[8] and is used for a variety of skin ailments such as skin allergies, irritated skin or conditions such as general dermatitis like eczema, psoriasis, bacterial dermatitis, acne, herpes, rosacea, it also helps prevent hair loss and it aids in the recovery of skin diseases.^{[9][unreliable source?]}
Laurel oil is an effective cleanser, antibiotic,^[10] anti-fungal^[11] and anti-itching agent. Compounds extracted from Laurus Nobilis have recently been identified as an inhibitor of human melanoma (skin cancer) cell proliferation,^[12] as well as inhibiting other human tumor cell growths such as amelanotic melanoma, renal cell adenocarcinoma, and breast cancer cell lines.^[13]
Olive oil has been known for generations not only for its healing qualities but also as a natural, deep penetration moisturizer, regenerating skin cells and softening the tissue.

Wikipedia

It's facing a crisis, just like everything else in Syria.  Traditionally in the Middle East, and to be honest here in Southern Europe as well, soap making is a trade that is passed down through generation.  If your father made soap, so would you.  The artisan framework is strong and traditions long.  With so many people fleeing the country, along with them go the knowledge and the skill to make this soap!  Not only are the artisans fleeing, but the farmers who raise the crops and make the oil!

It's not 'just soap'.  It's so much more than that.

I've recently found someplace to import some Laurel Berry oil, as it's hard to get and a tad expensive.  I'll be documenting my process and making my own Aleppo soap, the proceeds of which will be donated to help support refugees.

Why Safflower?

I was talking to my mentor last night about my shop and what I was doing to get ready.   In talking I realized that I tend to favor using Safflower in my work!

So, why Safflower?

The Safflower I use is high-linoleic, which is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid.

Linoleic acid has become increasingly popular in the beauty products industry because of its beneficial properties on the skin. Research points to linoleic acid's anti-inflammatory, acne reductive, and moisture retentive properties when applied topically on the skin.

Wikipedia

In my experience using it, it has all the qualities I wanted.  It's a light, easily soluble oil that doesn't feel heavy or greasy in lotions.  It's full of things like Vitamins A, D & E, lecithin, and omega 9.  It's amazing for mature or damaged skin and very moisturizing.  It even offers cell regenerating properties and excellent skin penetration so the good things in your lotions are able to be maximized by your skin.  It has low comedogenicity, which means it won't cause break outs or clog pores.  It's rich with ceramides that prevent moisture loss and help restore elasticity to the skin.

I use organic and non-gmo safflower which is a little more golden in colour than it wold be if it were more processed, but in the finished lotion it's an amazing consistency and typically fairly bright white when whipped and combined!

It's also an amazing carrier oil.  I've had amazing success in infusing it with helpful herbs such as chamomile and calendula.  It's also a good base for an essential oil blend as it's surfactant qualities do not damage or break down the eos.

Safflower oil can be found in my Shakti and Santi hand creams, Narangi balm, Saqqara scrubs, and in several soaps and soaks.

MOTM: September!

I'm loving getting these boxes a little earlier.  I usually can't wait to see what's in them! 

This month's box contained:

From Dream Polish

• A 5 ml Gem Smooth Base Coat
• A 5ml Gem Glam Top Coat in Maple Apple
• A 5mlGem Glow cuticle oil in Maple Apple

From Heather's Hues

• A polish mini in Caramel Dipped Granny Smiths
• A full sized polish in Hoodies and Hayrides

From Nails Redesigned

• A sheet of gold vinyl leaves
• A sheet of vinyl leaf maskes
• A sheet of vinyl apples
• An assortment of gems

Hoodies and Hayrides is a rich blue jelly full of generous sized flakies that gleam like little flickers of fire.  It's a little tricky so I used three thin even layers and it looks amazing.

Caramel Dipped Granny Smiths is very unique!  It's a creamy cream crelly with little green and gold glitters.  The colour combination is so pretty and there is a subtle gold shimmer.  I feel like it's somehow very elegant.  I used three layers here, and although I found it a little thick, it wasn't difficult to work with.

Maple Apple may be my fav scent from Dream Polish yet.  And I say that all the time.  It's amazing!  Maple (or apple or caramel or... pumpkin for that matter) isn't a popular scent or flavour at all here in Italy.  It's certainly not readily available or seasonal.  Maple Apple is exactly that, a sweet maple scent with a hint of the fruit underneath.

The vinyls this month are so cute!  My nails are still really damaged and uneven (as you can clearly see) so I couldn't get any of them to lay flat for me!  The apples are a particular favourite and I do have a mani planned for them when things smooth out!

Also included this month were minis from two guest Indies.  Indian Fire from MTK Design is a yellow jelly full of pink/gold shimmer.  It's very pretty and sheer.  I used three thin layers in the mani below.  The second is Corn Maze from Polish TBH.  It's a military green cream with gold glitter and glitter flakes!

The next MotM box goes on sale this week, don't forget to grab yours!

Neverending Fairytales!

This month's Never-ending Fairytales from Fairytale Finish Polish were bakery themed.  I'm not even sure what I might have been expecting, but I am completely blown away!

Triple Berry Tart is a BRIGHT pink crelly full of berries... er, glitters of a bunch of different shapes and colours.  It was opaque and smooth in two coats, as always I use three thing to create depth with the glitter.

Choc Full o Holo is exactly that.  It's a super rich chocolate brown FULL of holo.  The formula is perfect, not thin at all like so many holo polishes are.  Two even coats gave amazing coverage and depth!

Grow grow grow!

A couple of people (ie little girls) have left some rotten comments on a couple of my IG posts about nails looking 'effed up'.

I do have some damage from some polish I used a while ago which I have since discovered if from something called Arminex base.

Here are a couple of shots of my 'accent' finger, the one I use for my #macros and the one I swatch on, it's the worst.

There is nothing you can do but grow the damage out!  You can see that the skin around  my nail is still growing back.  It was quite blistered and raw for a while, too!

NWP: The Unicorn Edition

This month's Native War Paint's monthly mystery was unicorn themed!  It's bright and unique and I'm having such a fun time with it.

Unicorn Dreams (full) - This is a really unique crelly.  It's not quite white, it has a shimmer of green/teal duochrome through it and after trying to capture it on IG, Amanada told me it GLOWS IN THE DARK.  It does.  Oh, it's amazing.  It's full of neon green, blue, yellow, and purple dots as well as a touch of multishaped iridescent bits.  It's opaque in three thin coats and really looks pretty with all the glitter layered through out it.

Unicorn Wishes (full) - This glitter bomb is full of the same sort of colours as Dream, with the addition of purple and pink as well as some tiny holodust and larger multicoloured diamonds.  It's not all that dense, but it's easy to place pieces as the formula is nice and not gloopy.

Unicorn Tears (mini) - This little polish is a bright purple jelly base full of tiny microglitters that match the colours in the other two polishes.  It's sheer, but semi opaque in three thin coats and is a really pleasant formula to work with, the microglitters are not overwhelming.

Thermal Polishes

I wanted to post a quick... something about thermal polishes.  Over the last few months you've seen me review a bunch of MotM boxes and thermal polishes from Heather's Hues.  She makes my fav thermals.  They are always nicely pigmented and not gloopy and they always work.  My second favs would be from Dam, hers are always super creamy and smooth.

I would say confidently that I know not only how thermal polishes work but how to GET them to work.  So, when I say a thermal polish doesn't work.  It.  Doesn't.  Work.  Telling me to go to my sink is ridiculous because wouldn't you think I'd have not only known that, but tried that?  No COMPANYIWILLNOTNAME, your thermals never work but shame on me I keep buying them hoping they will.

So to end this on a super glittery and amazing note, here are some awesome thermal polishes in action!

Getting Ready

The countdown begins!  Glitter and Gratitude's By Hand, For Hands launches in ONE MONTH on 14 September!

I've done a lot of work and research and have figured out the best way to work things for me, my schedule, and Mia's schedule!

There will be one massive restock of all the core products the middle of each month with smaller restocks of limited edition (bespoke) or 'test' products listed randomly.  If a test product does well, I'll probably move it into my core line!  Each core product will have an amazing Hindi based name so that you can identify them and be assured they'll always be around.  

I hadn't planned on making cp soaps part of my shop, but I've really love formulating them and will try my best to have a collection of them available each month! 

Right now it's looking like I will launch with:

• a selection of 5-6 cold process soaps
• three core hand creams
• three limited edition hand creams
• two whipped butters
• three core balms
• two different hair conditioners
• body spray
• three core bath products
• one core eye serum
• and three other surprise limited edition products

By Hand

Someone asked me yesterday where I get the base for my lotion because she's allergic to certain chemicals.  I replied that all of my products were hand made and she replied, asking again where I get my mix from.

This made me realize I have not done a very good job of explaining By Hand, For Hands!

Everything I make is made from scratch, that is, there is no base, mix, etc.  Let me explain the process to give you a better idea.

One of my favourite products is the hand cream I've been using every night.  I don't have a name for it yet, but it was one of the first things I formulated and it's something I created specifically for me, a little luxury.

I wanted something emollient and rich to wear at night, something that lasted and yet something not sticky.  One of my pet peeves are lotions that 'stick' and this is usually because of their glycerin content or because they are made with things that will evaporate off your skin rather than nourish them.  The evaporation takes time and leaves yuck.

What I do first is research the oils and butters I want to use.  Each oil (like argan and safflower) and butter (like shea and cocoa) is made up of a complex chain of fatty acids.  The way these bonds are formed create different properties in the oil making it either light or heavy and giving it all sort of different nutrients like vitamins, ceramides, and beneficial acids like gamma linolenic.  Some oils are anti inflammatory, or anti acne, and some can actually help regenerate damaged or aging cells.  These are facts proven by science, not some fear-mongering consumer site.

I figure out what my goal is for the product I'm making and pick oils and butter that fit that need or 'fix' the issues I'm blending for, like a little Rx.  For this cream I went with cocoa which is occlusive, which means it forms a barrier to your skin to keep it hydrated.  I also used olive oil with is really rich in amazing things to hydrate and heal.

Sometimes I will even go so far as to infuse those oils with herbs to go one step further and add even more nutrients and benefits. 

Then I'll chose the liquid portion of the cream.  Most often big companies fill theirs with fillers like chemicals or alcohols.  I use either pure distilled water but most often, herb infused teas and hydrosols to jam even more healthy things into the lotion.  I often add things to keep your skin moisturized like humectants.  In my night cream I used chamomile tea as well and lavender hydrosol and glycerin.

Each 'phase' of the lotion must be blended and it's usually a combination of things, never just 'an oil' and 'water'.   Once blended you heat and hold these phases in order to be able to combine them and to ensure that they are contaminate free.

From there you add a couple of naturally derived fatty acids or fatty alcohols to get things to emulsify, that is for the water and oil to combine, and you whip it like heck while it's still warm and as it cools it becomes a luxurious cream that you can add even more things to like essential oils or skin loving allantoin and panthenol.  Of course you need to consider the over all make up of the blend to make sure there is enough going on to keep it thin enough to use and to keep it combined and not separate or to ensure it stays fresh and doesn't mold or go rancid.  The night cream is formulated to be thicker than a day cream might be.

I use as many locally sourced products as I can whenever I use things like goat's milk, lanolin, and olive oils and I never use soy.  My oils are organic and non-gmo.  I never fill my products with chemicals.  I never dump some base into a jar and add a scent, in fact, I don't use any artificial scents in my body products, just eos or herbs.   For my night cream I used lavender eo.

I do use some amazing scents in my soaps and scrubs, but I will also make a separate soap line that is still all natural.  I never use palm or animal products in my soaps.

In the end, the night cream I formulated is rich, hydrating, and soothing via it's herbal and eo additives.

Every time I sit to formulate a new product I do so with a need in mind create my own 'prescriptive' remedy, by hand.