Super Simple Recipes

If you're looking for recipes that use simpler ingredients, you've come to the right place. These recipes don't use emulsifiers or require preservatives, and are made mostly from plant based ingredients like shea butter and almond oil. There are obviously some limitations that come with these ingredient restrictions (no lotions, for example), but there's still plenty of things to make—as of early 2021 there are nearly 300 projects to choose from. Enjoy!

Making Substitutions

Don’t have the oil or butter called for in the recipe? Here’s a guide on how to choose a good alternative from what you do have.

What's with the waxes?

Beeswax, carnauba wax, candelila wax, bayberry wax—how are they different? Can you use one instead of another?

Help, I made a mess!

My best tips for cleaning up your DIY messes 🙂
Gold Dust Lip Cream

Gold Dust Lip Cream

Today we're fully embracing summer with a rich, sparkly Gold Dust Lip Cream ✨ A creamy base carries a generous helping of shimmery gold things to bring some beautiful 24 karat loveliness to your days. Enjoy! Want to watch this project instead of reading it?...

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Passionfruit Facial Glow Oil

Passionfruit Facial Glow Oil

Today we're getting our glow on with a simple & shimmery Passionfruit Facial Glow Oil. This beautiful facial oil serum features a blend of luxurious, exotic carrier oils, a potent skin-repairing antioxidant, and a touch of customizable shimmer. The end result is...

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Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer

Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer

Today's Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer is a riff on something I first tried back in 2016, and it's lovely. Massage this soft, putty-like Passionfruit Coconut Matte Velvet Moisturizer into your skin and you'll feel it turn into a velvety, super-smooth...

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Passionfruit Coconut Vegan Body Butter

Passionfruit Coconut Vegan Body Butter

If you've been dreaming of enveloping yourself in tropical scented wonderfulness, this beautiful all-natural Passionfruit Coconut Vegan Body Butter is for you. A base of beachy coconut oil and passionfruit oil is thickened with a combination of stearic acid and...

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Nourishing Lip Mask

Nourishing Lip Mask

Today we're blending up a simple, all-natural, Nourishing Lip Mask. I've called it a lip mask, but honestly, it's a super versatile salve for all kinds of dry, irritated skin. It stars a short and sweet list of rich, soothing emollients to create a gorgeous ointment...

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Cinnamon Cocoa Massage Bars

Cinnamon Cocoa Massage Bars

I had a lot of fun creating these deceptively simple Cinnamon Cocoa Massage Bars. They're silky smooth, cocoa and cinnamon-scented body butter bars that liquify readily on the skin, transforming into massage oil. Inspired by a LUSH product, I had a lot of fun...

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Watermelon Mint Lip Scrub

Watermelon Mint Lip Scrub

I had so much fun designing and creating this adorable pink Watermelon Mint Lip Scrub! I'm loving (and needing) lip scrubs pretty regularly these days thanks to Calgary's dry winter weather (I know it's technically spring but I don't think the weather here has...

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Chocolate Cherry Face Mask

Chocolate Cherry Face Mask

We're keeping it ultra-simple and accessible today with this cocoa-scented Chocolate Cherry Face Mask. Four beautiful, all-natural ingredients come together to create a silky, rich face mask for some at-home pampering ❤️ Want to watch this project...

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Argan Rose Soap

Argan Rose Soap

Today we're swirling up some luxurious bars of Argan Rose Soap, made with vitamin-rich argan oil and dusty pink Australian clay. Crimson rose buds and rustic Himilayan pink salt stud the top of the bar, and a rich pink swirl dances through the middle of the bars....

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Chocolate Cherry Lip Balm

Chocolate Cherry Lip Balm

Today we're kicking off a decadent new theme—Chocolate Cherry—with an equally decadent lip balm! Mouth-wateringly delicious cocoa butter co-stars with oh-so-lovely cherry kernel oil. I thought a lip balm would be a great place to start as the idea of chocolate-cherry...

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Argan Rose Valentine Bath Bombs

Argan Rose Valentine Bath Bombs

Happy almost-Valentine's-Day! We're celebrating this year with some seasonal bath bombs, featuring some shimmery mica painting and lovely pink fizzing. They smell beautifully of rose and lemon, in keeping with the shampoo bars I shared last week, but you could...

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Watermelon Mint Cuticle & Lip Butter

Watermelon Mint Cuticle & Lip Butter

Today we're whipping up a rich and creamy Watermelon Mint Lip & Cuticle Butter, designed to help pamper and protect the delicate skin around our nails and mouths. The base is just three simple, all-natural ingredients that come together to create a rich butter...

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Lavender Aloe Soap

Lavender Aloe Soap

We're continuing our Lavender Aloe theme today with a batch of beautifully swoopy and swirled Lavender Aloe Soap. The top is decorated with a dusting of violet biodegradable glitter, and I had a lot of fun bevelling the edges of each bar with a vegetable peeler for a...

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Winter Solstice Bath Bombs

Winter Solstice Bath Bombs

Today we're creating some striking bath bombs to celebrate the winter solstice (technically the solstice was the night of the 21st, but here in Calgary the 23rd is only 8 seconds longer than the 21st, so I think we can still call it solstice season!). A cool, purpley...

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White Chocolate Peppermint Lip Scrub

White Chocolate Peppermint Lip Scrub

I've had quite a few requests for a new lip scrub formulation recently, and I thought our White Chocolate Peppermint theme was perfectly suited to a lip scrub—so here we are! This DIY is quite crunchy, with just five simple ingredients. It's pretty easy to whip up...

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Cranberry Orange Whipped Body Butter

Cranberry Orange Whipped Body Butter

Today's DIY is a whippy, lightweight, fast-absorbing Cranberry Orange Whipped Body Butter—and it's also our last cranberry orange DIY of the 2019 holiday making season! You'll only need four simple ingredients and some electric beaters to whip up this body butter....

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Creamy Autumn Grounding Salve

Creamy Autumn Grounding Salve

Today we're creating something simple—an aromatic, creamy salve with an intoxicating essential oil blend designed to ground and calm. It's a great DIY for beginners, with a relatively short ingredient list of simple, plant-based ingredients. I'm loving both applying...

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Strawberry Rose Clay Face Mask

Strawberry Rose Clay Face Mask

Today we're putting on our super-crunchy DIY boots and whipping up a summery Strawberry Rose Clay Face Mask. This pink mask pairs fresh, in-season strawberries with golden honey, fragrant rose hydrosol, and creamy clays for a sumptuous and simple summer-time skin...

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Sweetgrass & Honey Face Mask

Sweetgrass & Honey Face Mask

Today we're embracing the crunchy side of DIY skin care with a beautiful four ingredient clay face mask. It's smooth and creamy, smells of honey and summer days, and leaves your skin feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. It's perfect for a bit of solo pampering, or you...

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Lavender Vanilla Vegan Lip Balm

Lavender Vanilla Vegan Lip Balm

Today we're making a lovely Lavender Vanilla Vegan Lip Balm that's brilliant for spring. With a light-but-creamy consistency and a bright, sweet essential oil blend it's just the thing to shake up your lip balm routine as we move towards warmer days. Want to watch...

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Soothing Hand Butter

Soothing Hand Butter

This rich, creamy Soothing Hand Butter is an absolute delight to massage into hands that could use a bit of pampering. It stars some ultra-creamy emollients and beautiful botanical-infused oils to create a stunning, sumptuous skin treat. I've used a slightly...

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Rose Bentonite Clay Facial Mask

Rose Bentonite Clay Facial Mask

Today's recipe is a super-crunchy, super simple clay mask starring four lovely, natural ingredients. Fragrant rose hydrosol and moisturizing vegetable glycerin team up with creamy French green clay and powerfully absorbent bentonite to create a rich face mask that...

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Calendula Sunshine Salve

Calendula Sunshine Salve

Today we're making a simple salve starring calendula, with a supporting cast of sea buckthorn and lavender. It's easy to make, and the end result is a lovely warm yellow salve with a gentle, calming scent. If your nose is sore from too much blowing, or perhaps your...

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Mango Mango Body Butter

Mango Mango Body Butter

If you love mangoes, brace yourself—this new series will have your mouth watering and your skin feeling all kinds of mango-themed love. This creamy, dry-touch-finish body butter smells so much like mangoes (naturally!) that your mouth will start to water. The oil and...

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