Mistakes: my most pongy and expensive mistake to date - and I'm sure they'll be more in time - has been a whole litre of vetiver liquid soap that just made us all feel sick and ended up being thrown away. I seriously overdid the vetiver and didn't get the smell of clean that I was after. A good lesson in less is more. I've made mediocre eau de parfums and colognes, face toners that went off and face oils that weren't good for me because I diagnosed my skin-type wrong!
Successes: These are two fragrances of bath & body oil and a facial exfoliator. The bath & body oils are spring and winter inspired and I've called them 'Persephone' and 'Demeter' because the spring-like scent is from fruity and floral essential oils that are chosen for their uplifting effect; the fruit and feeling of renewal a reawakening. The counterpart then had to be winter and the time for Demeter's lament over the loss of her daughter. This scent is of grounding essential oils such as patchouli and frankincense - great favourites of mine - befitting an earth goddess. The facial exfoliator is the only survivor of my first attempt at making my own skincare. It has a gentle aqueous base, some walnut grains for visual effect but the work is really done by jojoba beads. Finally I add neroli essential oil because of its suitability for all skin-types, including sensitive, and its efficacy as an oil for skincare. My daughter now won't use anything else and she gave some to a friend as a present, her friend's mum uses it too...
Obsessions: I have obsessive crazes - several months buying old perfume bottles, but only under £10, and now old compacts, again they have to be under £10. The latter I might fill with lip balm for gifts but I've not yet got the formula quite right ... well, perfumery, unguents of all types.
Experiments: I've had a go at making glycerine soap - no report on this yet, and I'm having another go at blending an eau de cologne fragrance with essential oils, only this time I'm sticking with a bath & body oil (they seem to be working for me) and not adding the alcohol etc..
