I am feeling a myriad of emotions now: pain, sadness, love…. Earth Alkemie will be closed during this week, due to a death in the family, and to spend some time with my family.
I won’t be able to ship any orders at this time. It may take me a few days to answer emails and forum posts too.
Earth Alkemie will reopen/start shipping again on next monday (September 12). Thank you for understanding.
Just wanted to post that I am out of Woodlands Outdoor Oil, so the only freebie 1 oz Outdoor Oils (with orders over $15, not including shipping and tax) left are Picnic and Lemongrass Forest. I still have several bottles of Picnic left, and a few bottles of Lemongrass Forest. I will continue to give out one 1 ounce Outdoor Oils with orders this month as long as they are available. 🙂
I am still getting the website ready to launch containers and ingredients (it always takes me longer than I think to release new items but I am excited). I will only have a handful of items up for now but will be adding more on the site later (keep reading this blog for updates, since they will be added erratically as time permits). After adding containers and ingredients, next up on the agenda will be working on getting new products up (including the xiao and grande sizes of Swan Luna Elixir) so I am happy about that as well (I will need to make the final batches, do labeling, packaging, pictures and the website for that so hopefully will get that up by the middle of the month).
I am still awaiting some hydrosols for Balance toner, and also some hydrosols for Purity toner to arrive, so for now Balance is still off the website (I still have a few bottles of Purity toner left so haven’t taken that off of the site yet). Sorry for the long wait.
Just a reminder, just a few more hours to enter a contest to win free products from the all natural beauty websites (one of the prizes is an Earth Alkemie product, plus a lot of other great natural vendors have also donated products). It ends tonight! I just saw the reminder myself on the anb’s facebook! This is a great contest, hosted by my friend Sharon of the all natural beauty website, the anb portal, and anb mall.
One of the things that I love crafting the most is all natural perfumes. I think perfumery is linked to my love of aromatherapy: when I craft something I not only pay attention to an ingredient’s properties but also its scent as well (aromatherapy is much more than just ‘aroma’, most essential oils have cosmetic, spiritual, emotional, and other uses too). Since I craft with only natural ingredients, to me perfumery goes beyond making something that smells good. I view natural perfumery as a connection to the internal self; I believe natural fragrances can influence the mind, emotions, and soul, as well as the body.
Every perfume I create has a theme, depending on the perfume. Sometimes the theme is around a single note, such as rose or jasmine (my favorite notes in perfumery are definitely the floral notes!). Often my perfumes are built around accords; I’ll make an accord (a blend of three or more essential oils, absolutes, co2 extracts, etc) and will use that accord as my middle note, and build the rest of the scent around it. I also like creating scents around a concept: what scent combinations captures the essence of sunshine or a tropical island, or if the soul is like a garden then what plants would grow in my soul-garden?
I sometimes look at fragrance families too, both traditional and the classics: I especially like making single floral perfumes and floral bouquet perfumes. I have been experimenting with vegan amber and oriental perfumes (historically these were made with many animal ingredients but there are so many wonderful veggie subs for musky and amber notes available nowadays). I once made a modern day chypre before I even knew what scents went into chypres (I had crafted it intuitively and then later found out that that many of the essential oils I used were the ones used in modern type chypres!). In addition I love citrus, almost as much as I love florals. I like gourmand perfumes too now (dessert like scents. Related note: my chocolate blends for my Dreams and also my Buttercremes are simple gourmand blends. But these are blends, not perfumes, which are different).
I like to make spiritual or emotional perfumes (and also blends). When making emotional or spiritual perfumes (and blends), I’ll research all of the scents that are helpful for those uses, and then create a perfume using only those scents. I do the same with esoteric perfumes. Two of my current perfumes, Hu and Tuzi, are perfumes I created that represent the essences of those born in the Years of the Tiger (Hu) and Rabbit (Tuzi). My Chinese astrology perfumes combine astrology with history, my culture, aromatherapy, as well as the emotions and spirit.
I am also experimenting with recreating perfumes from history. I look at different recipes of a historic perfume, and then will create my own version of it. 🙂
So I am proud to offer the Perfume Lover’s Sampler with my previously unreleased perfumes in them (only for a limited time, I introduced them in early August, and they will be here until at least mid September). Each sampler has four lovely, divine creations, packaged in petite sample vials. They are priced between 22-36% off of what the retail prices would be, so the Perfume Lover’s sampler kit is a very good way to try some exquisite creations at a great price. If you order more than 1 sampler, you will get different perfumes in each one: currrently I have enough to make three different samplers. All of the perfumes have not been released for sale before (though a few may have been sent to some customers during specials).
Some of the perfumes I have made:
Florida: this one is based on a historic classic. I have made an oil based formulation (traditionally it was made in an alcohol base), and made it at a stronger concentration (an eau de parfum concentration, instead of a cologne) so it lasts a bit longer than the traditional fragrance. I researched many different recipes for the types of ingredients that go into various versions of Florida, and then experimented with different ingredients (using my own proportions), to create my version of the classic. It is a citrus, rosemary based perfume. My version has neroli (orange blossom) essential oil in it, so my version of Florida is light, fresh, and heady. 🙂
Mei gui hua. This is the perfume that was the intuitive modern day chypre (I created it, using ingredients I thought would pair well with rose, and created a chypre without even realizing it). I originally made this for perfume swap. This is a rose perfume in the truest essence. Rose perfumes are often made with a blend of different rose scented ingredients since rose essential oil or rose absolute is so expensive (those perfumes are lovely, I’ve made several in the past). But Mei gui hua is different: when I made this I wanted this perfume to have only a heart note of pure rose, so the only rose scents I used were rose essential oil and rose absolute (I used several different kinds, from different areas and different species of roses). I have been thinking about making this one into an Earth Alkemie product, but because of the very high cost of the ingredients for my rose middle accord, I have not (each rose ingredient I used costs up to $1-2 wholesale for a single drop so if I bring this one out, it will be pretty expensive to keep all the ingredients in stock). But I am looking for new perfume packaging, and am considering making it an ephemeral (limited edition) product. I am still debating though, since I think it is truly one of the best perfumes I’ve ever made, but also one of the most expensive! ;P Mei gui hua means rose in Mandarin Chinese.
The Perfume Lover’s sampler will contain an assortment of perfumes (so some samplers will contain the above two perfumes and some won’t). But if there is an ingredient you are sensitive to, or are partial to, please email me after you place an order, and I will try my best to choose scents that you will enjoy. 🙂 Li@earthalkemie.com
I love all of my perfumes but because of the high concentrations (and cost) of essential oils, absolutes, co2 extracts used in all natural perfumes (I use a lot of rare and very expensive essential oils, absolutes, co2 extracts in my perfumes, and make perfumes at the eau de parfum concentration), I will only be able to release a few of my perfumes as regular products. I would love more feedback on these perfumes, so please let me know what you think about each perfume; help me choose which perfumes you would like to see as regular Earth Alkemie products! 🙂
Wishing everyone in the path of the hurricane safety!
My county is not supposed to be in the hurricane’s path, but there is a tropical storm warning or a severe thunderstorm watch in this area (different sources say different things), and my area is gearing up for wide spread power outages, and maybe some flooding and strong winds. It was recommended that we buy non-perishable supplies enough for three or so days. I hope my power does not go out but considering that the power goes out a few times a year when it rains a lot in my neighborhood–during regular, all day storms–I am preparing for it, just in case.
Depending on if there is flooding, I may or may not be shipping on monday.
The new items (raw ingredients and containers) will probably be posted early to mid next week (since I still need to take a few more pictures, and won’t be able to this weekend).
Originally I was going to take the samplers off the site at the end of the month. However since several people emailed me or posted on the forum about the samplers (and if the upcoming raw ingredients, containers, Swan elixir, or Balance toner would be available before I take the samplers off the site), I decided to keep the samplers on the website until the middle of September. 🙂
So the current samplers will be on the site until September 15, 2011, 11:59 pm EST.
In addition I still have Outdoor Oils left so will continue sending them out in September until they are all gone.
Every order over $15 (not including shipping) will receive a 1 oz size of an Outdoor Oil, while supplies last. After you place an order, please email me if you’d like Picnic, Woodlands, or Lemongrass Forest, or if I don’t get an email I will choose one at random for you 🙂
Picnic’s fragrance is lemony and grassy (citronella), floral, and herbaceous. This one is safe for children over the age of two to use.
Lemongrass Forest. Lemony (from the lemongrass), spicey, grassy, with woody, herbaceous and floral notes. I crafted this one to smell like a simple perfume.
Woodlands is very lemony and herbaceous (it has catnip, lemon tea tree, lemon eucalyptus, and other essential oils in it). It contains probably the best known and potent essential oils for outdoor use.
My crafting and product release plans over the next couple weeks:
I will be putting some raw ingredients and containers on the website hopefully by early next week. I will initially only be putting a few items up, and will add more items over time (I will blog about each of the items I add, so keep reading this blog for current updates). 🙂
After I get the ingredients and containers up, then I will work on making a new batch of Swan Elixir and packaging it in the xiao (5 ml) and grande (1/2 ounce) sizes.
Last but not least, I didn’t get to post about the earthquake here on the blog (though I posted about it on facebook and the forum when it happened on tuesday), but my family, friends, and I are all okay (Earth Alkemie is located in Northern VA/the D.C. metro area). I hope that all my east coast customers and friends are okay too. ((hugs)) to all!
Take care!
Hi everyone
Balance toner will be out of stock maybe for a week or two. I just received owyhee and ylang ylang hydrosols from new vendors (need to check the quality for those). I am pleased with their scents but still need to test them in depth (for quality/how it reacts on the skin, and simple bacteria/fungi tests). I have taken Balance off the site until I test these hydrosols, and I am also awaiting the arrival of other hydrosols in it (ran out of a couple) so I can make a fresh batch 🙂 Thank you for your patience!
Edited to add: I got new bottles for the toners too (blue plastic). Will be switching over to those (a couple toners have already been sent in the blue plastic bottles). Purity toner will shortly be changed to the new bottles too, as soon as the current batch of that sells out. (Pictures of the new bottles aren’t up yet but the 1 oz size is similar to the new blue plastic bottles that I package the 2 oz Warrior aromatherapy cleanser in–same cap but the xiao/small toners are packaged in a 1 oz size bottle. The grande/full size has a flip top cap too).
Heaven Deep Cleansing Sampler is the second deep cleansing sampler I created for the month of August. A customer (hi K!) requested a deep cleansing sampler and I could not resist offering two of them! 🙂 The products are also sold on the website separately (on their own) in the same sizes, so I hope that everyone will still find this post informative after the sampler is no longer sold.
Heaven Deep Cleansing Sampler comes with a petite (sample, 0.4 oz) size of Heaven Herbal Cleanser; a xiao (small, 2 oz) size of Sunset Cleansing Oil; a petite (sample, 0.4 oz) size of Pina Colada Mask, and a petite (sample, 7.5 ml) size of Warrior Aromatherapy Liquid Cleanser. Like all of the other samplers it is discounted off of my regular prices (15% off regular prices, so it is like a mini-sale!) and comes packaged in a pretty organza reusable bag.
This sampler comes with many cleansing and deep cleansing products that can be used on their own or use them together. You can also mix and match them with the products in the New Day Deep Cleansing Sampler!
Heaven Herbal Cleanser is the name stake of this sampler kit. I choose to name this sampler after Heaven Herbal Cleanser because I think that these products are heaven for the skin, and plus all the products smell heavenly! Heaven Herbal Cleanser is probably one of the best smelling cleansers I have made (okay, I know that is debatable since all of my products smell yummy. But I am particularly proud of the scent in this one because usually coconut scents in cosmetics are synthetic because coconut essential oil doesn’t exist. So there aren’t that many ways to get a true, all natural coconut scent in a product). It smells like coconut candy, or as a customer (hi Linh!) said on the forum, ‘it smells like coconut cake!’. For the scent I’ve combined many different kinds of coconut ingredients with vanilla oleoresin, and Heaven smells absolutely delicious! (P.S. It may smell like candy or cake but please do not eat this cleanser, LOL!)
This cleanser not only smells good but like my other herbal cleanser, Soothe (which is in the New Day Deep Cleansing Sampler), it is detergent free, soap free, and cleans with the power of plants! Heaven is made with a touch of kaolin clay so it really removes impurities deep within the pore. This cleanser is super gentle and very emollient (one of the ingredient is coconut milk). Please note though this product is vegetarian, it is not vegan (most of my other products are vegan), since it has coconut milk powder in it (and all coconut milk powders currently on the market contain cow milk protein in them).
This cleanser is in a powdered/dry form and needs to be made fresh before each use. Or you can make a few days worth, store in the fridge, and use it up within a few days (if you make it the second way I recommend adding a preservative to it).
Sunset Cleansing Oil is my version of a cleansing oil (oil cleansing method). Contravary to popular belief, cleansing oils are not a new fad, but have been used for thousands of years (not every culture used soap, detergents, or plant saponins). Herbalists and others who use traditional remedies have kept this practice alive over the centuries, and it recently has become popular again.
Sunset smells delicious, like juicy oranges with a bit of oomph from the palmarosa and patchouli. Sunset Cleansing Oil works by removing surface dirt, and also by helping balance the skin. It sounds ironic but by giving your skin a little oil, it can help ‘balance’ the skin’s oil levels (this is also why Earth Alkemie’s elixirs work. For more information on why oils and also waters are important for the skin, please read my eco living article ‘All Natural Moisturizers‘). Oils also help soften and lubricate clogged pores, helping to keep them clear.
I love the combination of oils I have used in Sunset–it just glides over the skin, and doesn’t feel greasy on the skin. Unlike many other cleansing oils available, I did not add an emulsifier to Sunset (many crafters will add one, to help with a cleansing oil’s rinseability. I personally don’t care that much for them, since most of the ones used in cleansing oils are synthetic and I try to craft as all natural as possible :)).
I recommend using cleansing oils a few times a week. You may or may not need to use them with another cleanser (many people don’t need to use another cleanser afterwards, but some people, including me, do!). A few people use them daily (but if you choose to use them every day, keep a close eye on your skin, and adjust the amount of oils in the rest of your routine). I like using Heaven or Soothe Herbal Cleanser after using Sunset, or I like to use soap (like an African black soap, an aromatherapy bar soap, or an aromatherapy liquid cleanser) afterwards. Best of all, cleansing oils double as a makeup remover–Sunset is awesome for removing stubborn eye makeup.
Pina colada mask: I initially crafted this one for a product swap sometime last year, and I loved it so much I added it to my line! ;P When I set out to create this, I had it in mind to make a mask with all the ingredients and flavors of virgin (alcohol free) pina coladas: so I used coconut & pineapple. I also used pina colada’s garnishes: limes and cherries. I used only natural ingredients to create its natural fragrance (most pina colada scents on the market are synthetic scents, since pineapple essential oil and coconut essential oil don’t exist). I added clay because the product swap was a clay product swap. 🙂 I originally made it with fresh ingredients, and then worked on converting it to a dry powdered form (so it would have a long shelf life). The result: a delicious smelling mask that is all natural!
When you first take a sniff of it, you’ll notice the scent of juicy limes. After you add water to it, you’ll notice a bit of coconut, and the very delicate scent of pineapple and cherries (the scent of coconut, pineapple, and cherry is more subtle than the limes, since the lime scent is an essential oil, while the scent of coconut, pineapple, and cherries are from the fruits and coconut milk). Please note this is a vegetarian but not a vegan product (due to the cow milk protein in the powdered coconut milk).
I love the scent of it, but I love what it does for my skin more! 🙂 The clays remove impurities from deep within the pore, and the pineapple and cherries mildly exfoliate. Emollient coconut milk makes the skin feel really soft.
Warrior Aromatherapy Liquid Cleanser is tough on blemishes, but super gentle! This soap based cleanser mildly cleanses the skin, without over drying it. It contains many herbs, herbal extracts, and essential oils that help improve the appearance of blemished skin, including certified organic aloe, certified organic licorice & milk thistle & dandelion extracts, and rosemary essential oil. Its gentle scent is lemon-like, herbaceous, yet sweet.
I created this cleanser for use before my moon days (when my skin can get a little out of balance); it helps keep my skin clear. I named it ‘Warrior’ because warriors are not only fierce/tough but many have a softer/balanced side to them. However, if I had to choose another name for Warrior it would be ‘fresh’ because this cleanser leaves your facial skin feeling so refreshed and clean! 🙂 (And since I like making multi-tasking products, I think I will mention this cleanser also makes a wonderful shampoo! ;P I like using it on my body too sometimes).
Warrior has been out of stock for a long time. I was trying to find better packaging for it but could not find the right of packaging, until I found a new (to me) container company that sells a wide variety of containers. Finally found containers for it that I am happy with, yay!
My newest eco living article is on anb mall’s website! This month my article is on a simple deep conditioning hair treatment that you can make at home! Though I sell deep conditioning hair treatments, like Tropical Dreams (one of my best selling products that triples as a blemish treatment, and a skin oil), I enjoy sharing ‘kitchen cosmetics’ recipes. I often post recipes in my eco living articles, on my eco blog (Solarkat’s Eco Blog), and on some forums too. Some of the most simple but effective treatments and ingredients from nature can be found in your cupboards and fridge!
This recipe is very simple, just two ingredients–one of which (a surprise ingredient!) you probably have in your fridge, and the other (an essential oil) is easy to attain locally at health food stores. Your grandmother may have used the surprise ingredient on her hair to keep it conditioned and soft. 🙂 Just wanted to mention that Earth Alkemie will soon be selling some essential oils, co2 extracts, carrier oils, and other raw ingredients and some containers too. I will be adding some raw ingredients and packaging on the website over the next couple weeks so keep a look out for that!
I hope you enjoy my newest eco living article!
Since I just put the new samplers on the website a few days ago, I thought I would post some information on each of them. I decided to start with New Day Deep Cleansing Sampler. This sampler is only available throughout the month of August, however each product is available on the website individually for purchase too. So I hope many people will still find this information helpful after the sampler is long gone.
New Day Deep Cleansing Sampler comes with a xiao (small, 2 oz) size of Earth Alkemie’s New Day Aromatherapy Bar Soap, a petite (sample, 0.4 oz) size of Morning Mask and Scrub, a petite (sample, 0.4 oz) size of Cinderella Mask, and a petite (sample, 0.4 oz) size of Soothe Herbal Cleanser. Like all of my past samplers, it comes packaged in a beautiful organza bag. The sampler is currently on sale for 15% off of regular prices.
At first this sampler was not planned for this month (I only had the Perfume Lovers and Nirvana samplers planned, and was still thinking of another one to offer). But a customer (hi K, and thanks!) asked for a deep cleansing sampler set (and also a sampler set with the two herbal cleansers, which is the Herbal Cleanser Duo Sampler), so I put together this set. She wanted a set that ‘deep cleanses’ the skin, because it is the summer time and she mentioned her pores get more clogged in the summer. So I have put together not one, but TWO deep cleansing sets (the other one being Heaven Deep Cleansing sampler, which I will be posting about next).
So why did I choose these products, and what is deep cleansing anyways?
To me deep cleansing products are something that not only effectively removes surface dirt, but also helps clean deep within the pore, loosening trapped dirt, debris, sebum, and other toxins. Deep cleansing products are especially good for blemished skin with clogged pores and blackheads, but any skin type (even normal/balanced skin) can benefit from them.
I think that each of the products in this set either cleanses or deep cleanses on their own to various degrees, but when used together, all of these products have an amazing effect on the skin, and can transform the appearance of the skin over time. That is why I have chosen the name ‘New Day’ for this set, New Day is not only one of the products in the sampler, but I think the products will help give a new life/day to the skin too. 🙂
I recommend using all of the products, in conjunction with each other (together) once or twice a week. The cleansers, New Day Aromatherapy bar soap and Soothe Herbal Cleanser, may be used twice daily, if desired. The masks and scrubs, Cinderella mask and Morning mask and scrub, can be used once or twice a week. Both of them mask and exfoliate at the same time. This sampler set can be used with products from Heaven Deep Cleansing sampler too (you can mix and match cleansers and masks/scrubs).
So what do all of these products do?
New Day Aromatherapy soap is one of my favorite soaps ever. It is made with one of my African black soaps (Northern Ghana). But I have taken a lot of organic shea butter and certified organic coconut milk, and added them to the soap. The amount of shea butter and coconut milk make the mild African black soap even more gentle, and much more emollient. This also makes an amazing body soap, hand soap, and also shampoo (it is one of my current favorite shampoos right now too).
Best of all is New Day’s scent: floral & heady ylang ylang, juicy & sunny orange, sweet & calming floral lavender, and a touch of deep dark rich patchouli. In other words it smells amazing. The scent is not overwhelming, just enough for an aromatic experience. Many of these essential oils are great for blemished skin too. With the combination of black soap, shea, and coconut milk, New Day is an excellent soap for all skin types, especially blemished. It helps remove excess sebum but will not strip the skin, it leaves the skin very soft. New Day works by removing surface dirt, and providing some emollience to the skin.
Soothe Herbal Cleanser: this cleanser helped save my skin in the winter, and I love using it just as much in the summer too. Soothe Herbal Cleanser is different than many other cleansers on the market: it cleans with only the power of plants. It is detergent free, soap free, and preservative free. I created the herbal cleansers by researching old and new herbals for plant based ingredients that cleansed the skin. This cleanser contains many plant cleansers such as certified organic oatmeal and certified organic soapnuts. Every ingredient in Soothe is rich in vitamins and nutrients. It also contains many soothing ingredients for sensitive skin, such as certified organic oatmeal, aloe, tapioca, and bananas. It also contains many well known anti-inflammatory ingredients such as lavender and owyhee essential oils. Best of all it smells very fresh, the essential oils combine well with the herbs creating a scent that is soothing for the soul.
Soothe is in a little different than what most people are used too. It is made in a dry powdered form, and needs to be made fresh each time, by adding a little water to it (or another liquid). Or you can make a few days worth, and store in the fridge (use up within a few days. If you make it this way I recommend adding a preservative).
I added Morning mask and scrub and Cinderella mask to this sampler. I made sure to put them together in a deep cleansing sampler because this duo can not be beat. Every time I use this combo (I either use them the same day, mixed together OR I will use Morning one day and Cinderella the next) my skin simply glows. There is just something about the synergy between these two products that my skin simply just loves.
Many people avoid scrubs on their face, since they believe that scrubs are harmful for the facial skin. Though, many scrubs are made with very harsh scrubby particles that I personally don’t recommend using on facial area, Morning mask and scrub is different: it is made with gentle scrubby exfoliants that do not harm the delicate facial skin. Oatmeal is a well known exfoliant, and though I do not usually recommend exfoliating daily, it is one of the few exfoliants that is safe to use daily–it is that gentle. Depending on how you make Morning, the certified organic oatmeal in Morning may or may not exfoliate, see my directions on how to use Morning and all of Earth Alkemie’s products 🙂 . Morning contains other gentle exfoliants, including adzuki, which is a traditional ingredient used in Japanese skin care for soft, radiant skin. Morning contains many nutrient rich ingredients, including carrot and dates (date extract is currently well known for its anti-aging abilities. I have used the whole fruit!). Morning is particularly good for use on dehydrated skin.
I named Cinderella mask ‘Cinderella’ because of the pumpkin in it, and how it seems to transform the skin after use. Pumpkin is a super gentle but very effective exfoliant, I have only used pumpkin (the whole squash itself) and I did not add any lab derived acids or enzymes to this product. The result: a gentle exfoliant combined with a lot of other vitamin and mineral rich ingredients and clays. The clays gently pull toxins out of the skin, and pumpkin exfoliates, leaving the skin with a natural glow.
Like the herbal cleansers, I make the masks in powdered form. Here is a good article on why I make some products (like masks and herbal cleansers) in a dry form.