How to: Make Your Own Budget Body Butter

Jo Malone's English Pear and Freesia Body Creme - that's my favourite! I was given it as a gift once, by a dutifully generous employer... It's divine.

I still have the pot, I cannot bring myself to part with the pot - I keep hair pins in it...

Now that I'm free of the benefits of permanent employment and I find myself financially responsible for my own beauty regime... time to call upon the "resourceful in demanding situations" bullet point on my CV.

Many years ago I staunchly ignored the advice of a lovely nurse practitioner who informed me that I have very sensitive skin and all my "highly perfumed" products would "have to go". She handed me a utilitarian looking tube of Aqueous Cream.

 Apparently anyone who's ever had a baby knows about this stuff - they give it to you to lather up your nethers when they've been through testing times - ENOUGH!!! All you need to know is that it's one of the best basic moisturisers around. It has a similar consistency and is considerably more purse friendly than Jo's heavenly concoction.... (I have found it for less than £3 for 500g).

Too good to be true? Well... erm.... a bit.... It doesn't smell horrible but it's not glamorous.... frankly.... it's just, well...dull.... Am I convincing you? to rush out and get some yet?!!!! (Please bear with me)

The second (not very) secret is Aloe Vera Gel, the jellied juice of a spiky plant found in parts of the world more exotic than London. This is wonderful stuff - promoting healing, having an emollient (moisturising) effect, it firms your skin, soothes it and leaving you feeling generally wonderful. It's excellent used neat between cleansing and moisturising your face in lieu of a serum. I read somewhere that it acts as a conduit for other products. So it's great to use under moisturiser if your skin is particularly dry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe_vera

Cutting to the chase: the two products together are a minor miracle for the skin. Mixed together they make a great after-sun, fantastic base for self-tan or a lovely rich night body lotion after a hot bath it’s major moisturisation and great for the winter months.

The smell, mmm….. now I can cope with it – but if you’re a major olfactory nut then I would suggest adding a couple of drops of essential oil. You could try lavender oil for a lovely restful bedtime body butter, or neroli (orange blossom) for a lovely fresh day-time scent. You need not go over-board with expensive oils - the range at Holland and Barrett are very accessible. Black Pepper and Ginger would be a really up lifting treat!

Mix as follows:

1 part Aloe Vera Gel to 2 parts Aqueous Cream - add as much pure essential oil of your choice as needed – you need around 2 drops for every “heaped tablespoon” of the mixture. Be careful with this as the essential oils can be the thing that people with sensitive skin can react to (Rose is particularly bad for this - but Lavender is often a safe bet).

Have a look at this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatherapy#Popular_uses for some popular/suggested fragrances to suit your mood.

Of course, you could save pots and jars throughout the year and make up a big batch of this and give it away as a gift. What's not to love?