A Most Gorgeous Creation.

When I was a little girl, I used to get Make Your Own Cosmetics and Fragrances, by Elizabeth Francke out from the library ALL the time. I would spend hours attempting to make Queen of Hungary Water in the garden, and tiptoe into the kitchen to commandeer various items from the fridge & pantry for my creations. (before I channelled my desire to make things into this book, I would sit in the garden with a mortar & pestle, smashing up mint geranium leaves to make fairy potions:) )


A few years back, I happened to see the 25th anniversary edition of the same book on the sale table in our local bookshop. So, with renewed enthusiasm, and a kitchen full of my own ingredients & paraphernalia to draw on, I picked up where I'd left off as a little girl. 


I absolutely adore Dr Hauschka products. I'm a strong believer in being careful about what you put onto your skin, and their natural ingredients, biodynamic growing, and delicious smelling concoctions have always been a favourite of mine. Unfortunately they're also super expensive, and just not an option any more. Enter my magical book!


With a little tweaking, the cold cream recipe makes a fantastic moisturiser. I'm still working on the perfect proportions of rosewater, beeswax & olive oil (each time it's just a little different...), but it's all I use. Once I'm happy with the consistency I'll post a recipe - I've been making this stuff for about five years & still haven't got it 100% right. I use a toner made from rosewater (the stuff I use in my cooking), and a little glycerine. The cleanser had always left me a little mystified though, nothing I'd made could quite do the same job as my favourite Hauschka cleansing cream. Until now!


A Recipe for Magical Cleansing Cream...

• Some raw almonds (we foraged some abandoned almonds from under a tree. They are amazing, and taste like marzipan...although I suppose that's to be expected as marzipan is almond!! It's been that many years though, I'd forgotten!).  Ground almonds from the supermarket would be great if you don't happen to stumble upon a lonely almond tree, though. 
• Some glycerine, I get it from the chemist. Very cheap indeed.
• Some kaolin clay (I ended up using some clay face mask I had lurking in the cupboard).
• Some rosewater (I'd actually used it all up in a curry not long ago, so used boiled water & a little rose geranium essential oil!).

I didn't measure anything, I smashed almonds out of their shells until I lost interest, ground them up in a coffee grinder, then added the other ingredients a little at a time until I liked the consistency. You want it to be wet, but not runny. 

To use this gorgeous creation, you take a little wee bit in your palm, and rub it around your hands. Press onto your face (don't scrub!), like you're giving your face a gentle massage. Rinse with cool water. Wonderful. Just as good, might I be so bold to say, as my old favourite Hauschka one. 

It's amazing how, after a long day of pursuing a small boy who likes to scale bookcases & investigate what the world looks like from the top of the television, using a delicious concoction on your face can make you feel like a human being again. Magic.