Homemade Soap: Goat's Milk, French Green Clay and Peppermint EssentialOil

Soap making seems like a pretty fun thing to do and I love showering (and I don't just mean normal love... it's goes beyond that) it's a pretty serious kind of love. *true story*

Anyways I did a lot of research into this and realised that in Singapore, there's no way you could make bar soaps from scratch because you can't buy lye here. (Maybe I don't know where to get it but I'm quite sure it's not sold here coz it could be used to make stuff that could cause serious damage.) Lye is the solidifying agent and allows the liquids to become solid = giving you the bar.

I managed to find a place in Singapore that delivers the soap bases with help from some trusty people (yes you super tweenz). I went ahead and purchased 1kg of Goat's Milk Soap Base and 1kg of Clear Soap Base. Each for SGD $25.90 at Massage Supplies Warehouse. The service was prompt, the order was placed in at night, the next morning I was contacted by the salesperson, and the next day it arrived (delivery charges were SGD $6). Pretty impressive hey! One of the reasons I love Singapore is efficiency like this.

Now that the goods were in my hands, more research was underway as I couldn't decide on the smells, colours or combinations for my first try. Eventually the choice was made...

Goat's Milk, French Green Clay & Peppermint Essential Oil

French Green Clay is a mineral clay - a strong natural antiseptic with anti-inflammatory properties, feeds new cells by promoting blood flow, draws toxins and impurities out, removes dead cells... the list goes on. Pretty impressive stuff. If you have read my previous post on DIY Makeup Face Powder, you would know that I also use French Green Clay. I buy it from Cest Natural, also online for SGD $28.90, no delivery as the seller met me and passed it to me the next day.

Peppermint Oil is minty and good for asthma, flatulence, headaches, nausea, sinusitis and vertigo. It's stimulating and enhances alertness and stamina. Not to mention how refreshing it feels and smells! I buy my essential oils from Young Living even though they are really expensive SGD $44.75 for 15ml, but they are therapeutic grade oils (I've added these oils to my drinks to change my tea to peppermint tea. 1 or 2 drops go a really long way) and I believe in using top grade stuff in fear that my skin will be messed up otherwise... I have really sensitive and bad skin.

Instructions

I couldn't find a disposable container, you know the ones where you buy take away food and they give you a rectangle plastic box? So I had to use the baby size pyrex and lined it with aluminium foil. I lined it completely so that when the soap is ready, I can pull the foil out and not face the problem of having all the soap stuck in the dish.

I used about 1/3 of the 1kg block of goat's milk soap base, cut it into small blocks so that it microwaves quickly and evenly and put it all into a microwavable bowl. The soap base felt a little sticky but not in a gross way. Microwaved it in 30 second intervals so that I could stir it. After 2 minutes, I had what looked like a bowl of milk. It didn't smell like milk either so that was a relief.

I added in 2 teaspoons of French Green Clay and about 5ml of Peppermint Oil. Mixed it up well and poured it into the foil lined pyrex, popped it into the fridge. Easy! Took me less than 15 minutes in total. It doesn't look that nice considering the foil was all crumply, but it beats not being able to get it out of the dish. Also most of the clay settled on the bottom of the dish, to prevent this I think you need to stir it when the soap is semi hardened. I will try that the next time.

DIY Makeup Face Powder

This is for all of you who have had a heap of trouble trying to find the right shade of face powder. I've tried almost every brand there is out there and none of them seem to suit my skin tone (I have no idea WHY!!!!) and also tried adjusting the tones with brozers and still no luck. My face will always end up looking pasty and weird. Not ideal I guess... unless you hang around in really dimly lit places all the time. To top it all off, I have extremely sensitive skin so many powders didn't work as they caused me to have breakouts.

It may sound really troublesome just thinking about making this but it's really easy and doesn't take much time at all. You only need 3 ingredients, only 1 of which I had to search for. The other 2 are pretty everyday items.

1. French Green Clay

2. Cornstarch

3. Pure Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)

Yes you read me right... it's cornstarch and cocoa powder. You will smell like chocolate but that's not a bad thing right? I bought normal cornstarch from the supermarket for a few dollars and Hershey's Cocoa Powder.

French Green Clay

Anyways, I bought the French Green Clay online from Cest Natural (if you're in Singapore that's easiest I suppose. She met me the next day to pass it to me at Orchard). For $28.90, it goes a LONG way. I think it can make you powder to last 2 or 3 years, everyday use. Not to mention a lot of wastage cause that's the way I roll. 

How To...

Take equal amounts of french green clay and cornstarch and mix it together thoroughly. Then add in the cocoa powder bit by bit till the colour is suitable for your face. 

Done! Easy right?!

Hate blackheads? Biore Pore Pack

Well I've got JUST the solution for you... because I'm a little crazy and don't know what moderation is. I pushed the boundaries and found this to be SUPER effective. For the sake of all the gentlemen and ladies out there who have been spending tonnes of money and hours going for facials, trying to get better skin, I have decided to throw away my dignity and share this with you. You will probably laugh when you see the picture but I already told you that I'm crazy. So be nice!

I have super problem skin and no facial in the world has managed to help my skin get better. Instead, all the squeezing made my skin inflamed, infected or break out. In between facials I would also take it upon myself and attack my face with a vengeance. Totally mashing the bejeezus out of it to try and get it clear, then waking up the next day to a few more pimples. I've tried almost all brands of face wash, soap, AHA... but my skin is sensitive and anything and everything gives my skin the shits. Years ago when I saw the Biore Pore Pack, I thought hmmm... let me try it. I did as I was told and used 1 piece on my nose. The next week I got a stroke of genius... *light bulb comes on* If it works on my nose, it MUST work on the rest of my face!

I did some pretty hopeless pore pack patchwork on my face. Covering every spot, cut and paste. I look totally ridiculous but no one said being beautiful was easy.

Biore Pore Pack

To my delight... it worked. 80% of my blackheads were removed. Painlessly and extremely effectively. Even the ones that are impossible to squeeze out... came out. You will know when it's ready to be removed when you feel that it's hard, peel it off slowly. If it feels damp, you need to wait a while longer. Once it's off, wash your face and moisturise. I'm pretty convinced this pore pack has the same stickiness of duct tape or something. It's so super hardcore, but SO worth it. I never got more than 1 and a half weeks without doing this. Each time I use like 1 and a half packs. Each pack costs $3.90... best money I ever did spend.

One very important tip though: If you live in the tropics where it's super humid, you get the best results in an air-conditioned room. I'm impatient so on top of the air conditioner, I also blast the fan at my face. 

I considered posting photos of the results, but I think it's a bit disgusting. If I get many requests in the comments, I might surrender and post it. Like I said... for the good of all mankind. 

You can thank me later, when you're even more beautiful.

Washing Makeup Brushes

Truth be told, not many people wash their make up brushes...ever! Some do wash it occasionally, but I think most have not even done it once. I make it a point to wash my make up brushes weekly or fortnightly, just because there's a really good and easy way to do it that doesn't even take 5 minutes. I normally wash my brushes in the evening so that they will be dry in the morning. Here's the trick and you only need 3 things:

1. A dish/bowl

2. 1 part olive oil

3. 1 part dishwashing liquid

The olive oil breaks down the make up that's on the brush and also keeps the brush soft. In case you didn't know, olive oil can be used as a make up remover! 

Combine the olive oil and dishwashing liquid in the bowl, wet the brush thoroughly and start stirring the brush around the bowl. Yes it's THAT simple. You will be able to see the brush becoming the colour it was when you just bought it. Rinse the brush out, making sure there's no more soap trapped in it and then fling it a few times. This gets the water out pretty good. Leave to air dry. That's it. I've done this numerous times and it hasn't spoiled my brushes. Pretty neat hey!